List of Key Strengths for a Resume (Personal & Professional Examples)

Listing skills on a resume is one thing. But what about strengths? Skills embody strengths. If you’ve excelled at managing a team of accountants, for example, leadership is not just a skill you possess, but your strength.

Employers are not interested only in candidates who simply know how to do certain things. When deciding who to put on the shortlist, they have specific strengths in mind. In other words, they need someone who excels at particular abilities. What are those strengths and how to include them in a resume?

In a moment you will see what strengths to put on your resume, but… Perhaps you don’t even need to read through—

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• High School Student Resume
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• Resume for Scholarship
• Resume with No Experience
• Resume Examples for Teens
• Resume for Internship Position
• Cover Letter Examples
• Resume Examples for All Jobs (for experienced and junior candidates)

What Are Resume Strengths?

Resume strengths are things you’re best at, traits or capabilities that make you excel at your work. Often they are talents that let you exceed expectations. Sometimes, they are even special abilities you may not be aware of, because they’re part of who you are. To help identify your strengths, keep in mind that they are closely related to your personal values.

Strengths for a Resume—Examples

The best list of strengths to highlight on a resume is relevant to the job you’re applying for and targets traits employers look for as well as key jobs skills.

Here’s a general list of examples of strengths for a resume:

• Detail-oriented
• Multitasking
• Technical skills
• Analytical skills
• Leadership skills
• Teamwork
• Interpersonal skills
• Effective communication
• Problem solving
• Organizational akills
• Critical thinking
• Decision making
• Marketing skills
• Writing skills
• Management skills
• Marketing skills
• Creative thinking skills
• Strong customer service skills
• Listening skills
• Collaboration skills
• Logical thinking skills
• Punctuality
• Work Ethic
• Negotiation skills
• Flexibility
• Adaptability
• Presentation skills
• Conceptual skills
• Microsoft Office skills
• Technical skills
• Time management

Interested in interview prep: What Are Your Strengths? and What Is Your Greatest Weakness?

The items above are strengths and skills. But what makes them your strengths is having a natural knack for using them. This is what the recruiters are interested in. All you need to do is to recognize yours, and to know how to highlight them in your resume. 

See many more ideas for resume-worthy strengths in:

• Words to Describe Yourself
• Core Competencies for Resume
• Employability Skills
• IT Skills
• Transferable Skills
• Computer Skills
• Soft Skills
• Hard Skills
• The Difference Between Soft Skills and Hard Skills

How to Include Strengths on a Resume?

The strengths you sprinkle throughout your resume depend on the company’s needs. How to do it the right way? Just follow these steps:

1. Read the job listing carefully to see what strengths their ideal candidate should possess.
2. Now, make a list of your own strengths.
3. Cross-reference both lists to decide which of your talents match.
4. Showing your knowledge of the company’s needs shows enthusiasm, which can go a long way in assuring success not only before, but also after you get hired.
5. Mention them in all of your resume sections starting from the summary of qualifications to the last section.
6. Prove each ability by providing an achievement which illustrates them.

Our sample candidate’s strengths are organization and marketing.

See how the candidate highlights them on their resume... and learn how you can make your strengths stand out on a resume:

Sample Strengths Resume Template

When making a resume in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building a professional resume template here for free.

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When you’re done, Zety’s resume builder will score your resume and tell you exactly how to make it better.

Here’s a summary on how to build the perfect resume: 

• Choose the best type of resume for you. The reverse-chronological resume format works best if you already have experience.
• Consider the font you’re using when deciding on the font size. Most acceptable resume fonts can be 12 points, while some sans-serif fonts can go as low as 10 points. When it comes to paper, go with white or ivory if you’re printing your resume. A study showed that resumes on white paper are received more positively than those on yellow paper, for example. 
• Add a resume introduction at the top of your resume to highlight your strengths and to show your interest in the job. Use a career summary if you have 2+ years of experience, and a career objective if this will be your first job in the field.
• Make your resume work experience section solid with bullets outlining your most impressive achievements. Begin every bullet with resume action verbs like fostered, spearheaded,assisted, coordinated, designed, etc.
• Be sure to include an education section. You can also add relevant coursework, Cum Laude, Dean’s List, GPA or studying abroad to your resume.
• Add a skills section that also includes your strengths.
• List professional certifications and licenses in their own section to make them stand out and impress.
• Improve your resume with additional resume sections if they further prove your strengths: language section, awards section, freelance work, projects, and hobbies and interests.

Read more: How to Build a Resume

Last but not least, remember to attach a cover letter to your resume, and be sure not to start it with salutations such as To Whom It May Concern, or Dear Sir or Madam. According to a Forbes article, these types of cover letter greetings immediately tell the hiring manager that you don’t care enough about the job to do even the most basic research. See our guide on how to write a cover letter.

Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:

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See more cover letter templates and start writing.

All that's left is to prepare for your interview with help from our guides on:

• Common Interview Questions
• What Makes You Unique
• What Motivates You
• Where Do You See Yourself in 5 Years
• Why Should We Hire You
• Tell Me About Yourself
• How to Introduce Yourself
• Describe Your Current Responsibilities

Thanks for reading! Would you like to see more examples of including strengths in a resume or do you have any suggestions? Let’s chat in the comments!