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List of Communication Skills for Resume

By Alison Doyle
Updated August 24, 2017
Regardless of the job you're applying for, employers will expect you to have excellent written
and verbal communication skills. Depending on the position, you will need to be able to
communicate effectively with employees, managers, and customers in-person, online, in writing,
and on the phone.

How to Showcase Your Communication Skills

Employers look for applicants with superior written and verbal communication skills for almost
every job they hire for. What's the best way to show them you have what they need? Your cover
letter will often be the first place an employer will review your writing abilities. In addition to
demonstrating your grammar skills, you will also be showing how you can compose a letter that
is to the point and, hopefully, interesting to read. Take the time to write a quality cover letter that
focuses on your most relevant skills for the job.

A face-to-face or phone interview is where you will demonstrate your verbal communication
skills. Are you comfortable talking with people in different types of settings? If you know this is
not your strong point, be sure to prepare for the interview in advance. The more practice you
have, the easier it will be to demonstrate how well you can communicate.

And, as with any other skill set, your communication abilities are demonstrated by your
professional history. In your application materials and your interview, you can draw attention to
how your prior experiences exemplify your communication skills.

Some jobs require different skills than others, so review the job posting to see what the employer
is seeking in applicants. Then take the time to match your credentials to the job requirements, so
you can show the employer you're a strong match for the job. Review this list of in-demand skills
you can highlight in your application materials and job interviews.

Top Communication Skills

Written Communication
Writing well is a major component of professional presentation. Many people who cannot write
well are very talented in many other ways, but people often mistake an inability to write well
with a lack of intelligence. Poor writing not only makes exchanges of ideas and information less
efficient, it also makes you look bad more quickly than almost anything else. Learning to write
well has an important side effect; because clear, readable text is also well-organized, straight-
forward and concise, learning to write also teaches you to speak and to think better.

Nonverbal Communication
Nonverbal communication includes vocal tone, eye contact patterns, body language, and more.
Nonverbal communication often carries more information than speech, and has a much greater
impact on rapport and trust. Learn the nonverbal signals you need to present yourself well. And
if you have non-standard body language (for example, if you are on the autism spectrum or have
a physical disability), you will have to find ways to avoid or correct misunderstanding.

Friendliness and Respect

Simple friendliness, politeness, and respect go a long way to create rapport and improve
communication. Part of this is simply being kind and considerate with everyone. Say please,
thank you, and I’m sorry as needed. Remember to ask people how they’re doing and listen to the
answer. Remember birthdays and preferences—take notes if you need to. But some signs of
respect are culturally variable and not always intuitive. You simply have to learn those.

Picking the Right Medium

Communication can be in person, by snail-mail, by email, by telephone, through text-message, or
by video. Each medium has its advantages and disadvantages and each adds something different
to the message you are trying to convey. Some messages are better suited to some media than
others. For example, most people prefer to have bad news delivered in person. But people also
vary widely in how they respond to different media.

For example, people who lack confidence in their written communication prefer talking on the
phone. Others prefer the slower, more thoughtful pace of email and actively avoid phones. You,
of course, have your own preferences, but part of communicating well is being able to identify
the preferred medium of the other person for any given situation and be versatile enough to use
it.

Communicating well is one of those abilities that is often overlooked, and yet those who have it
are at a substantial advantage to those who are not. Fortunately, many communication skills can
be learned.