How to Write Soft Skills on Your Resume to Pass an ATS Scan

Soft skills determine your behavior toward colleagues and your management of responsibilities along with your flexibility across various situations. Soft skills demonstrate universal value because they apply to different professional sectors and work levels despite technical skills being job-specific. The employment market values these skills because they demonstrate how well an individual fits into the company culture while showing leadership abilities.

Listing soft skills as generic terms such as “good communicator” and “team player” provides insufficient value to employers. Your resume check score will improve when you strategically add these skills and make it compatible with ATS systems.

There are various sections where you can showcase your soft skills in a resume. A few of them are as follows:

Recruiters always begin their assessment with the professional summary section of your resume. The section includes your top soft skill competencies together with your professional background.

Example: "Possessing a dynamic marketing background with over five years of brand management expertise. Through creative marketing, I increased revenue by utilizing my strategic planning skills, teamwork knowledge, and compelling communication abilities.”

The free ATS resume scanner will evaluate your summary before recommending ways to match it with job description requirements.

The Skills section should focus mainly on technical expertise but job seekers should also include relevant soft skills which employers commonly seek.

Example of a Skills Section:

Leadership & Team Management

Conflict Resolution

Critical Thinking

Customer Service Excellence

Time Management

Your resume check score will show whether your resume contains enough applicable skills for ATS screening.

Show your soft skills through meaningful examples which you place into your descriptions of actual job responsibilities.

Example: “I lead a team of ten members across different functions to build team collaboration and problem-solving which improved project efficiency by 20%.”

The ATS system selects descriptions that demonstrate actions over broad statements about being an excellent team member.

A carefully written cover letter serves to enhance your soft skills through personal accounts and illustrations although it does not appear in your resume. The document provides you with an opportunity to demonstrate your adaptability skills as well as leadership abilities and communication competencies.

Example: “My leadership of a product launch involved coordinating with different departments to achieve clear communication and produce a 30% increase in sales.”