How to List Skill Levels on a Resume

Skill Levels on a Resume | How-to, Template & Examples

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Your resume needs to provide a clear representation of you, your experience, and your skills. To properly communicate your expertise in your field and your overall employability to hiring managers, quantify your skills with levels of expertise. In this article, learn about the best types of skills to include in your resume, where to place them, what skill levels are and how to list them effectively.

Types of skills you should put on a resume

The skills section of a resume serves as an outline of a candidate’s relevant or valuable abilities to the position they are applying for. Overall, there are two major types of skills—hard and soft.

Hard skills are learned and quantifiable, such as data analysis, SEO, and operating machinery. This may also include languages. In comparison, soft skills are more subjective and, therefore, more difficult to quantify. Some of the people skills you can list on a resume include conflict resolution, communication, and public speaking.

Hard and soft skills are both important to employers, so you should include some of each in your resume. It’s always beneficial to analyze the job description before listing your skills so that you’re aware of the position priorities, allowing you to tailor your listed skills and use keywords to accentuate your abilities.

Where to put skills on a resume

Depending on the resume format, you can prioritize your skills section in different ways. Place the skills section below the professional experience section or after a resume summary in most traditional, chronological resumes. Some online resume templates create columns. However, you can place the skills sections in a separate column located on one side of the page.

Within the skills section, some people find it helpful to create categories of skills based on the different responsibilities related to the position. It can also help to separate your hard and soft skills into different groupings because soft skills typically can’t be quantified by proficiency levels. For example, you could have a skills section for your hard skills and a qualities section for your soft skills.

What are skill levels for a resume?

Skills levels demonstrate your level of proficiency with relevant hard skills. Though listing your skills on a resume is helpful to employers, a simple statement does little to give them insight into your mastery of each skill. You can quantify your abilities with words, numbers, or charts to communicate your level of expertise. Providing your level of proficiency for corresponding skills is optional. You can choose to only include competency levels for certain skills on your resume.

Ways to list skill levels on a resume

Some people use numbers and bar graphs to list their skill levels on a resume, but this can be slightly ambiguous. For example, if you’re using a 10-point scale to rate your skills, it isn’t immediately clear what seven represents. You may assume it indicates that you’re proficient. Still, an employer might believe that eight or nine is a better indication of proficiency. For this reason, many people believe that using a universally understood metric is a clearer way to show your skill levels on a resume.

Examples of easily understood and versatile ways to rate your skill levels:

  • Beginner. As a beginner, you can perform basic tasks and have a preliminary understanding of the skill. Still, you cannot handle complicated aspects or troubleshoot problems. Typically, if you only have a novice understanding of a skill, it’s best to leave it off of your resume completely.
  • Intermediate. Generally speaking, you should only list a skill if you have at least an intermediate-level proficiency. This level of expertise indicates that you can handle a variety of uncomplicated tasks and situations. At an intermediate level, you may know some tricks and troubleshoot basic issues. Still, you likely have to rely on resources to complete certain functions.
  • Proficient. Someone who is proficient and can handle most tasks independently. They have advanced knowledge of the skill and its functions and can troubleshoot problems on their own.
  • Expert. Someone who is an expert has intimate knowledge of every aspect of the skill, its features, and any issues. If others often come to you for help and guidance, this is a good indicator that you are an expert.

How to list skill levels on a resume

Follow these steps to list skills and skill levels on your resume.

1. First, choose 10 to 15 relevant skills

When filling your skills section, it’s best to create a targeted, job-specific list. Focus on skills necessary for the job you are applying for or transferrable, and adopt the same verbiage found in the job description when describing them.

2. Second, decide how you will organize your skills

If you have quite a few skills to detail, it can help create a two or three-column list to split the skills up in an organized and visually pleasing way. Additionally, as previously mentioned, it can make more sense to categorize certain skills based on their specialized field. For example, you could create a technology or language skills section.

3. Third, provide evidence of your skills in other sections

Your skills section serves as a summarization of the skills you possess. In contrast, other sections describe how you have used those skills in the past with specific examples. This is especially true of soft skills because it is impossible to quantify them with a skill level. For example, you can demonstrate your communication skills by noting in your experience section that you developed an instruction manual, collaborated with multiple departments on a project, or facilitated and led training sessions.

4. Next, remain honest about your qualifications

Though you should tailor your skills section to reflect the qualifications that specific employers are looking for, remember to remain honest. Employers might ask you to prove your abilities during an interview or after they have hired you.

5. Finally, rate each skill by using a consistent metric

Using a consistent and clear metric, rate your level of expertise for each hard skill and language on your resume. It’s important to show your proficiency so that others will immediately understand, and using words like beginner, intermediate, proficient, and expert are commonly used for this purpose.

Template for listing skill levels on a resume

Here is a template that you can use when providing your skill levels on a resume.

Skills

  • [Hard skill] ([Level of expertise])
  • [Soft skill]
  • [Soft skill]

Languages

  • [Language] ([Level of expertise])
  • [Years studied and name of institution, if applicable]

Example of skill levels on a resume

Here is an example of how you could list your skills and their levels of expertise on a resume.

Skills

  • JavaScript (Expert)
  • Agile project management (Proficient)
  • UX design (Intermediate)
  • Communication
  • Teamwork
  • Organization

Languages

  • Spanish (Proficient)
  • Studied Spanish at Duke University for four years
  • Member of Spanish National Honor Society

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