Soft Skills for a Resume: Examples and Hard Skills

The soft skills for a resume that matter most are communication, teamwork, problem solving and critical thinking, a positive attitude, professionalism and networking, the six areas in the US Department of Labor's soft skills curriculum. Hard skills are teachable technical abilities. Show soft skills through results in your experience, not as a bare list.

Key facts

• The US Department of Labor's Skills to Pay the Bills curriculum covers six soft skill areas: communication, networking, enthusiasm and attitude, teamwork, problem solving and critical thinking, and professionalism. (U.S. Department of Labor, Training and Employment Notice No. 48-11, May 2012)
• O*NET defines transferable skills as skills you can use across different jobs, such as communication, problem solving and teamwork, and tracks 25 of them. (O*NET Resource Center, The O*NET Content Model, 2026)
• O*NET defines social skills as skills used to work with others to achieve goals at work, and coordination as adjusting actions in relation to others' actions. (O*NET OnLine, Browse by Skills, 2026)
• O*NET defines social perceptiveness as being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do, and shows it across 910 occupations. (O*NET OnLine, Transferable Skills: Social Perceptiveness, 2026)
• The UK National Careers Service advises tailoring your CV to each job and, for a first job, focusing on skills learned through projects, work experience or volunteering. (National Careers Service, How to write a CV, 2026)

Employers hire for skills, and soft skills for resume sections often decide between two candidates with the same qualifications. Soft skills are how you work: how you communicate, solve problems, work with others and behave at work. Hard skills are what you can do: specific, teachable abilities such as using a spreadsheet, speaking a language or operating a machine. A strong resume shows both, and proves them.

This guide uses official skill frameworks from the US Department of Labor and O*NET to define the soft skills that matter, explains how they differ from hard skills, and gives examples you can adapt.

The six soft skills in the official US curriculum

The US Department of Labor developed a curriculum called Skills to Pay the Bills to teach young people workplace readiness. It focuses on six soft skill areas:

1. Communication: giving and receiving information and sharing ideas clearly, in speech and in writing.
2. Enthusiasm and attitude: a positive approach to work and an eagerness to get tasks done.
3. Teamwork: working well with others to reach a goal.
4. Networking: building and keeping useful professional relationships.
5. Problem solving and critical thinking: using knowledge, facts and data to solve problems.
6. Professionalism: behaving responsibly and working effectively with others.

These six are a reliable core for almost any resume.

How O*NET describes these skills

O*NET, the US occupational database, calls skills that work across many jobs transferable skills. It describes them as skills you can use across different jobs, such as communication, problem solving and teamwork, and it tracks 25 of them. O*NET also defines social skills as skills used to work with others to achieve goals at work. Two useful examples:

• Coordination: adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
• Social perceptiveness: being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do. O*NET shows it across 910 occupations.

Using the same words as these frameworks helps your resume match how employers and job descriptions talk about skills.

Hard skills for resume sections

Hard skills for resume sections are specific and testable. Examples include:

• software and tools, such as spreadsheets, accounting software or design programs;
• languages, with your level;
• technical methods, such as data analysis, coding, welding or bookkeeping;
• licences and certificates, such as a driving licence or a first aid certificate;
• subject knowledge, such as tax law, anatomy or marketing analytics.

Hard skills are often required to be considered at all. Soft skills often decide who is hired and who is promoted.

Soft skills vs hard skills at a glance

Example of soft skills for resume bullet points

Every example of soft skills for resume use should show the skill in action with a result. These were written for this guide; use your own real details.

• Communication: Rewrote the customer welcome email in plain language, cutting follow-up questions to the support team.
• Teamwork: Worked with sales and finance to fix a billing problem that had affected dozens of customers.
• Problem solving: Found the cause of repeated order delays and changed the packing process to remove it.
• Attitude: Volunteered to cover extra shifts during a busy season and trained two new starters.
• Professionalism: Kept accurate records for a year-long project, which passed audit with no issues.
• Networking: Built relationships with local suppliers that later helped the team source parts during a shortage.

How to choose the right soft skills

1. Read the job advert and list every quality it mentions, such as attention to detail or working under pressure.
2. Match them to your experience. Find a real example for each one.
3. Tailor every application. The UK National Careers Service advises tailoring your CV to each job and highlighting the skills the employer asked for.
4. Use the employer's words in your bullet points, so both the reader and screening software see the match.

Each soft skill in more detail

Communication

Communication is more than talking. It means listening, writing clearly, explaining hard ideas simply and choosing the right way to share a message. On a resume, show writing you produced, presentations you gave or problems you solved by explaining something clearly. In an interview, your own clear answers are the best proof.

Teamwork

Teamwork means helping a group reach a shared goal. It includes sharing work fairly, supporting others and accepting decisions you did not choose. Show a project where the team succeeded and say clearly what you did. Employers want to know your part, not only the team's result.

Problem solving and critical thinking

This is the skill of finding out what is really wrong and fixing it. Good problem solvers ask questions, check facts and test ideas. Show a problem you noticed, the cause you found and the change you made. Numbers help, such as time saved or errors reduced.

Enthusiasm and attitude

A positive attitude means you are keen to work, open to feedback and steady when things go wrong. It is hard to show on paper, so use actions: volunteering for tasks, learning a new skill quickly or keeping a team going in a busy period.

Professionalism

Professionalism means being reliable, honest and respectful. You arrive on time, keep promises, protect private information and treat people well. Show it through responsibility you were given, such as handling cash, keeping records or representing your team.

Networking

Networking means building good working relationships inside and outside your organisation. It helps you learn, find help and spot chances. Show partnerships you built, events you organised or contacts that helped your team.

How to build soft skills

Soft skills grow with practice, like any other skill. Take on tasks slightly outside your comfort zone. Volunteer to present in a meeting. Join a club, a sports team or a community project. Ask for feedback and act on it. Watch how respected colleagues handle hard conversations. Each new experience gives you a story you can use on your resume and in interviews.

Soft skills for students and first jobs

If you have little work experience, your soft skills are your strongest selling point. Use school projects, part-time jobs, sports, clubs and volunteering. A group project shows teamwork. Organising an event shows planning and professionalism. Helping customers in a shop shows communication and patience. Write each example as a short bullet with an action and a result.

Soft skills for career changers

Soft skills travel with you from job to job. A teacher moving into training already has communication and planning skills. A retail manager moving into an office role already has teamwork, problem solving and customer care. Name these skills clearly and connect them to the new job. Then add any hard skills you have learned for the new field.

Soft skills in your cover letter and interview

Your resume can only show so much. Use your cover letter to tell one short story about the most important soft skill for the job. In your interview, expect questions such as tell me about a time you worked in a team or solved a problem. Answer with the STAR method: situation, task, action, result. Your answers are live proof of your communication skills.

Common mistakes

• Listing soft skills with no evidence, such as excellent communicator.
• Using the same words as everyone else: hard-working, team player, passionate.
• Forgetting hard skills that the advert requires.
• Claiming skills that your examples do not support.
• Writing long paragraphs instead of short, clear bullet points.

Checklist

• I have chosen the soft skills the advert asks for.
• Each one appears in a bullet point with a real result.
• My hard skills section lists the tools and abilities the job requires.
• I use the employer's own words where they fit.
• Every claim is something I can talk about in an interview.

Example: a retail worker moves into an office role

This example was written for this guide and is not about a real person. Sami had worked in a busy shop for four years. His resume listed duties only. He rewrote it to show soft skills with results: calming upset customers, training new staff and reorganising the stockroom to save time. He added hard skills he had built, such as spreadsheets for stock counts. He applied for office coordinator roles and used the same stories in interviews. Within two months he started a new role as an office coordinator.

Soft skills by type of job

Different jobs lean on different soft skills. Put the most relevant ones first.

• Customer service and sales: communication, patience, persuasion and staying calm with upset customers.
• Health care and care work: empathy, social perceptiveness, teamwork and calm under pressure.
• Technology: problem solving, critical thinking, teamwork and explaining technical ideas simply.
• Management: leadership, coordination, decision making and giving fair feedback.
• Teaching and training: communication, patience, planning and adapting to different learners.
• Trades and technical work: reliability, safety awareness, teamwork and problem solving on site.
• Administration: organisation, attention to detail, professionalism and clear writing.

Writing a resume summary with soft skills

A short summary at the top of your resume is a good place for two or three soft skills, as long as you link them to your work. For example: Customer support specialist with three years of experience resolving complex billing issues. Known for clear communication, calm handling of difficult calls and practical problem solving. Trained six new team members. Notice how the summary names the job, the soft skills and one result. It gives the reader a clear picture in a few seconds.

Using numbers with soft skills

Soft skills can feel hard to measure, but many results can be counted. How many customers did you help each day? How many people did you train? How much time did your new process save? How many complaints did you resolve? Did satisfaction scores, attendance or sales go up? Even a rough number, if it is honest, makes a soft skill far more convincing. If you do not have exact figures, describe the change clearly instead, such as fewer errors or faster replies.

Soft skills that employers notice in the hiring process

Employers also judge your soft skills through the way you apply. A clear, well-organised resume shows communication and attention to detail. A polite, timely reply to an email shows professionalism. Arriving on time for an interview, being prepared and asking good questions show attitude and planning. Thanking the interviewer afterwards shows courtesy. Treat every step of the process as a chance to show the soft skills you claim on paper.

Keeping your soft skills section fresh

Update your examples regularly. When you handle a hard situation well, solve a problem or receive praise at work, write a short note about it. Over time you will collect a bank of real stories. When you apply for a new job, choose the stories that best fit the advert. This habit makes it easy to tailor each resume and keeps your examples current and specific.

Balancing soft and hard skills on one page

Most resumes should show both kinds of skill, but the balance changes with the job. For technical roles, put hard skills in a clear section near the top, then show soft skills in your experience. For roles built on people, such as care, teaching, sales or management, lead your summary with the soft skills that matter most, and list hard skills more briefly. In every case, let the job advert guide the order. If it lists three technical requirements first, start with those. If it stresses teamwork and communication, put stories about those near the top.

Soft skills and screening software

Many employers use software to screen resumes before a person reads them. The software looks for words from the advert. If the advert says problem solving, use that phrase in a real bullet point, not only in a list. Avoid hiding keywords or copying the whole advert. Recruiters read the final shortlist themselves, and natural, honest writing makes a better impression than a page stuffed with buzzwords.

Soft skills across cultures

If you apply abroad, notice that soft skills can look different in different workplaces. Some cultures value direct, brief communication; others value more formal language and respect for hierarchy. Teamwork may mean open debate in one place and quiet consensus in another. Read company websites and job adverts from the country you are targeting, and adjust your examples so they fit what employers there expect, while staying true to your own experience.

Whatever the setting, the core advice stays the same: choose the soft skills the job needs, prove each one with a short, real result, and back them up with the hard skills the role requires. That combination tells an employer not only what you can do, but how you will do it alongside their team. Start today: pick one job advert you like, underline every skill it names, and write one true example for each. That single exercise will give you the core of a much stronger resume, and you can reuse the same examples in your cover letter and interviews. Keep them in one document, improve them after each application, and add new stories as your experience and confidence steadily grow over the coming months and years.

Live on Dev Global Jobs

Right now there are 195,573 open jobs on Dev Global Jobs (live count, 25 October 2026). Find the skills an advert asks for with the ATS keywords tool, then build a resume that proves them in the CV builder.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources

1. Training and Employment Notice No. 48-11: Skills to Pay the Bills, U.S. Department of Labor. Accessed 3 October 2026.
2. Browse by Skills, O*NET OnLine. Accessed 3 October 2026.
3. Transferable Skills: Social Perceptiveness, O*NET OnLine. Accessed 3 October 2026.
4. The O*NET Content Model, O*NET Resource Center. Accessed 3 October 2026.
5. How to write a CV, National Careers Service (UK). Accessed 3 October 2026.
6. Resumes, MIT Career Advising and Professional Development. Accessed 3 October 2026.

Source: Dev Global Jobs, updated 25 October 2026.