Communication Skills for Your Resume: What You Need to Know

Communication skills facilitate understanding and coexistence among individuals. Both in social interaction, as in the workplace and personal life, knowing how to transmit and capture ideas is essential to achieve a stable and harmonious coexistence. Understanding this will allow establishing win-win relationships in which the agreement between partners predominates. Otherwise, disagreements and problems will be frequent.

For your resume, communication skills are an important element when job searching (beside computer skills). From the start of making a resume, you show your written communication skills, one of the types of communication used in the workplace.

This article will tell you all you need to know to display communication skills on that great resume of yours.

There are five types of communication skills on a resume or CV. A communication section on a resume can further elaborate on any of these five types of communication skills:

Verbal communication takes place when there is word usage in the interaction between a sender and a receiver. It is vital to possess solid communication skills on your resume as one has to establish a good relationship with colleagues and clients, also to collaborate as efficiently as possible as a team, and also make the most of one's own skills in communication for a resume.

Elaborating verbal communication skills for your resume shows you are a well-rounded individual who can express yourself clearly. Therefore, it is important to be able to describe communication skills on a resume. Examples such as persuasion, empathic listening, and public speaking are some effective verbal communication skills to display in a resume.

Non-verbal communication is done without word usage, and sometimes it happens unconsciously. Body language usage, such as gestures and postures, are some non-verbal communication examples. For a resume, you can list such instances if the job demands it.   

It is important to note that messages carried out non-verbally can be hard to interpret. Unlike verbal and written communication skills in a resume, non-verbal communication does not follow any established norms.

In your resume, having good communication skills when it comes to nonverbal language shows you know how to express yourself other than words.  To make your message more successful, you should know how to communicate with peers, managers, and interviewees using gestures, tone of voice, and other nonverbal clues. These instances are some resume examples of communication skills you can display, especially in an in-person interview. We will look at more examples of communication skills for a resume in the next section.

Written communication is when a message is written in a code. Some examples are logos, alphabets, and hieroglyphs. When it comes to resume writing and in general, written communication skills are very important for every professional and their company. Not only is it a means to convey a message to your clients through email, but it also allows you to manage projects and internal work more efficiently. This is why it is essential to know how to clearly express all those ideas that we have in mind, and this shall be proven in your communication skills on your resume.

Additionally, strong written communication skills mean having no errors, and this is vital for your resume. Unlike other forms of communication, written communication errors are very noticeable and can face heavy criticism. Therefore, proofreading your resume will be effective to show your communication skills.

Visual communication is the practice of communicating ideas and information in ways that can be fully or partially perceived with sight. Visual communication skills on your resume can prove you are good with visuals such as videos, infographics, and slides and that you understand words alone may not be enough.

The importance of visual communication in a workplace is to avoid any communicative conflicts in its development. The same can be said for communication skills for a resume. The lack of a plan for the correct transmission of information generates a negative image for the public to whom the message is directed. Strong communication skills in a resume should display that you can convey any type of communication in a clear manner, both visually and for other types.

Interpersonal communication is the process where individuals exchange information through verbal and non-verbal messages. The importance of interpersonal communication skills for your resume stems from the use of verbal and non-verbal communication. When it comes to interpersonal communication, it should be noted that it is carried out between two or more people. This type of communication for a CV/resume is vital since possessing interpersonal skills is crucial to business success. 

For a resume, interpersonal skills show you have the necessary communication that is needed to discuss problems and evaluate pros and cons prior to making a decision. Additionally, interpersonal communication is critical to workplace productivity. When managers cannot clearly communicate tasks, workers can become frustrated or disengaged. Having excellent communication skills when making a resume for a managerial position is indispensable. Lastly, displaying communication and interpersonal skills in your cv/resume shows you have the ability to enhance communication and trust in the workplace.

Interpersonal skills in communication for a resume do include some of the types of communication previously discussed. With all things mentioned above, now you have a clear idea of showing excellent communication skills when crafting your resume.

Here is a comprehensive list of examples for each type of communication skill. These examples can give you an idea of which communication skills to put on your resume.

Verbal Communication Skills for Resume

Non-verbal Communication Skills for Resume

Written Communication Skills for Resume

Visual Communication Skills for Resume

Interpersonal Communication Skills for Resume

1. Incorporate your communication skills into resume summary statement.

A resume summary displays qualifications based on your past experiences. When writing a resume summary statement, detailing communication skills can be put in one of the last sentences.

As shown in the example above, you can briefly talk about your communication skills at the end of the resume statement. Additionally, don’t be vague by just saying “strong interpersonal skills.” Elaborate a bit further as shown in the example above to convey you have strong communication skills in your resume summary. 

2. Incorporate your communication skills into the work experience section.

When it comes to talking about your communication skills for a resume work experience section, all that is needed is to demonstrate past duties/responsibilities that show communication skills were put to the test. Some examples of communication skills for a resume in this section can be: mentoring new recruits, conferencing, negotiation, and sales.

3. Create an independent communication skills category under the skills section.

Skills in a resume usually contain hard skills and technical skills. If needed, you can create a new category named “communication” under the skills section on your resume. 

✅ Tip 1: Keep the skills listed relevant to the job.

Any communication skills you consider putting on your resume have to be related to the job’s demands. Make sure your list of communication skills in your resume is tailored for that job position.

✅ Tip 2: Use examples or measurable results to support your skills.

A good way to describe communication skills on a resume is by quantifying outcomes from your career. Examples showing your use of communication skills in your resume give you the edge your skills are top-notch.

✅ Tip 3: Highlight communication skills in your resume work experience section.

The work experience section is where you can describe communication skills on a resume with thoroughness based on past responsibilities in your career. If done correctly, your resume will show you have effective communication skills.

✅ Tip 4: Adopt the right format to showcase your skills.

Choosing the right format heavily affects the display of communication skills in your resume. There are 3 different formats to use in a resume you can use, and they all can list your communication skills for a resume. 

✅ Tip 5: Compare your current skills with the employer’s list.

Include the skills you possess based on the job description. If you are short in their communication skills, figure out which are your top skills so you can cover your shortcomings.

✨ Be open-minded.

Having open-mindedness as a communication skill for your resume is important in today’s world. Disagreements arise among individuals with different backgrounds and beliefs, so one shall understand their perspectives, otherwise establishing connections will be hard to accomplish.

✨ Understand before explaining.

Explaining something you haven’t fully understood is like guiding someone on how to get to a location you have never been to before. Therefore it is best to spend some time first studying a particular topic. Moreover, make sure your resume is clear to show you have excellent communication skills.

✨ Be assertive.

Being assertive demonstrates you have self-respect and stand up for yourself. This helps you avoid others imposing their interests above you. For example, if you paid for a specific service and it wasn’t delivered by its standards, you have the right to claim compensation for it.

--- Originally written by Jose Joaquin Rosales ---