20+ Effective Communication Skills (Good for a Resume)

20+ Effective Communication Skills (Good for a Resume) Were about to talk about effective communication skills for your resume and workplace, but first:What kills a relationship?Lack of trust, you say. Perhaps stagnation. Maybe problems on the ol marital futon.However, most experts (and shareable Pinterest quotes) would agree that poor communication hurts the most.Whether its with your siblings, significant other, or your fellow employees, effective communication is important to a healthy relationship.But what are communication skills and how to communicate you possess them?Dont worryThis communication skills guide will show you:The most common communication skills to put on a resume.How to know which communicating skills a company values most.Examples of the best verbal, non-verbal, and written communication resume skills.How to prove your skills on a resume and improve your skills on the job.Want to save time and have your resume ready in 5 minutes? Try our resume builder. Its fast and easy to use. Plus, youll get ready-made content to add with one click. See 20+ resume templates and create your resume here.Sample resume made with our builderSee more templates and create your resume here.One of our users, Nikos, had this to say:[I used] a nice template I found on Zety. My resume is now one page long, not three. With the same stuff.Create your resume now1What Are Communication Skills?Before we dive in deeper and get to the importance of effective communication in the workplace, we need to understand the basics.The Conference Board of Canada, an independent research organization, came up with their Employability Skills 2000+, a guide on the most important employability skills. In it, they list communication as the most fundamental skill needed as a basis for further development.Communication skills include:Absorbing, sharing, and understanding information presented.Communicating (whether by pen, mouth, etc.) in a way that others grasp.Respecting others points of view through engagement and interest.Using relevant k nowledge, know-how, and skills to explain and clarify thoughts and ideas.Listening to others when they communicate, asking questions to better understand.Hard Skills vs. Soft SkillsHard skills for a resume are specific abilities and know-how (e.g., Photoshop, cash register).Soft skills are self-developed, life-learned attributes (e.g., social skills, adaptability).Combined, these make up a skill set, which is a job seeker's range of skills and abilities.Communication skills fall under the soft skills.For a more detailed explanation of soft vs. hard competencies, see our dedicated guide: Soft Skills and Hard Skills For Your ResumeCommunication vs. Effective CommunicationWhat is communication? In the workplace, communication is the transmission of an idea, instruction, opinion, or emotion from one person to another, usually with a response or other feedback in return. It goes way deeper than just people talking to each other.But, communication doesnt necessarily mean effective communi cation, and this is where people struggle, especially in the office.See, often we think that we have communicated effectively simply because we said what we meant to say, but author Gypsy Teague said it best: Nothing is so simple that it cannot be misunderstood.Pro Tip: Ever heard of the 7% Rule? It says that communication is 7% verbal and 93% nonverbal. However, this itself is a miscommunication, as this study clarifies.Main Types of Communication SkillsCommunication skills at the workplace can be broken down into three distinct categories: verbal, non-verbal, and written.Verbal communication is communication that is spoken. However, it gets trickier, as effective verbal communication involves nuances such as the tone of your voice, enunciation, and inflection.Non-verbal communication is communication that is transmitted and received via other mediums, such as touch and sight. The most common of these include eye contact, hand gestures, facial expressions, and body language.Written communication is communication through the written word, including handwriting and typed text. Though it seems as if it should be included in non-verbal communication, HR managers like to differentiate here, as it is a major part of occupational dialogue.Communication Tip: According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, communication skills top the list of skills employers seek when hiring a candidate!Communication skills on a resume are important, but focusing on these dont preclude you from mastering the others! Check out our complete guide: 30+ Best Examples of What Skills to Put on a Resume2Excellent Communication SkillsHere are some of the most important communication skills in today's workforce:Listening.Good communication starts with listening.Listening skillsare essential here.You can launch a diatribe at your cat about who won the election, and the cat will hear you. Thats not listening. Listening is not just hearing something; it must be accurately receiv ed and interpreted for it to have been done effectively.A bad listener makes for a bad manager or employee. They wont be able to comprehend whats being asked of them, much less get it done.To paraphrase author Stephen R. Covey, Dont listen to reply, but rather listen to understand.Reflection.Stop and consider incoming communication rather than merely comprehending it.You can have a talk show playing in the car during your morning drive, but is it just background noise or are you actively paying attention.When people communicate with you, they dont want to talk to a wall (otherwise, they could just talk to a wall). They not only want you to hear what theyre saying, but understand it, chew on it, turn it over in your head.Also, reflection doesnt have to end when the conversation does. What separates reflection from mere listening is that you can continue to mull things over after the meeting is finished, back at your desk, or the following day.Communication Tip: Various communication skills often work together in a symbiotic way to make for effective conversation - reflection strengthens your listening skills, and eye contact enhances verbal instructions, for example.Friendliness.Foster communication with afriendly tone, an upbeat and polite attitude, and a general air of openness.See, this open air creates rapport and makes people feel comfortable when thinking about approaching you.Approachability does a lot for communication. Without it, a manager may only be consulted at the last minute, perhaps when its too late, because an employee didnt feel comfortable reaching out sooner.An approachable, open, and friendly attitude renders situations like these all but impossible.Confidence.Be confident in how you communicate. People shouldnt just believe in what youre saying, they should believe that you believe what youre saying.Lets say youre a manager. Youre trying to assure your team layoffs wont happen. Employees will believe you if you back it up with a confident attitude, and if they can feel that you mean it (well, data and a renewed contract would help!). Morale will not get further diminished, and you can get great support from team members who will still have your back.Portray a lack of confidence in your message, or fail to believe in it at all, and people will pick up on it. In the same scenario, morale will decline, workers will bail, and youll further struggle to right the ship.Clarity.Be clear and concise in a business environment.Your meaning or instruction shouldnt get lost in a sea of extraneous words and examples. Rambling is unprofessional, confusing, and the listener may just tune you out - a detrimental outcome when it comes to the workplace.The best way to be both brief and clear with your message: think before speaking. If you have time, you can also jot down some notes to help you get your point across. Listeners will thank you!Pro Tip: Clarity and concision are important in business communication, but you probably dont want to text your boss phrases like Hey, g2g, gettin hangry AF. TTYL. Be brief and clear, but in a professional manner!Accepting Feedback.Listen and reflect on what you've heard while accepting feedback given to you in a professional manner.It can be difficult hearing someone come up to you and dismiss a project youve worked weeks on - you may want to snap at them or go on a counterattack.However, in the workplace, more often than not, this feedback should be accepted as constructive criticism rather than ridicule or mockery. Use the criticism to better yourself, your project, and your goals.Giving Constructive Feedback.Communication is a two-way street, so being able to give constructive feedback is just as important as accepting it gracefully.As a member of a team, and especially if youre in management, you want to give feedback that recognizes the work and contributions of others.Too, you need to be honest and let them know if they screwed up, but you have to be diplomatic about it.Dont scream, make passive-aggressive comments, or sigh in frustration. This will only create ill will toward you and will not set things on the right track. Instead, be patient and kind in your feedback, and youll keep relationships intact and have the issue resolved in no time.Pro Tip: Couple feedback with openness. What I mean here is that an ideal work environment for everyone is where people feel comfortable giving and receiving criticism and comments. Dont just accept feedback from others - encourage it!Open-mindedness.Good communicators enter conversations with an open mind while displaying empathy, emotional intelligence and respecting the person they speak with, as well as their message.Dont immediately dismiss someone, their opinions, their ideas, or their solutions simply because you dont believe in them, their point of view, or their message.Even when you disagree, understanding and respecting their point of view or message, and them as a person, is key to a happy, pro blem-free working environment.Choosing the Right Medium.A good communicator communicates effectively, but also through the right medium.If your significant other immediately ended years of blissful relationship - by SMS - youd be a little pissed, would you not?Some things are meant to be said face-to-face and in person, but other things require documentation, such as a request for time off.The specific person should also be taken into consideration: busy or not, good news or bad, etc. Consider which form of communication is best and appropriate and itll be much appreciated.Nonverbal Communication.Body language is a key part of nonverbal communication. Use it to get your point across.Consider someone who just came back from their holiday and is excited to tell you about their adventures. Rolling your eyes during their story will surely make them feel insignificant, while glancing at your watch tells them you have better things to do.Hand gestures, eye contact, and body position all g et parsed subconsciously (or even consciously, at times) by the person one speaks with. Making them feel comfortable with your body language goes a long way to bolstering that openness we talked about previously.Pro Tip: Whether youre an introvert or an orator crowds flock to listen to, there is always room to improve your communication skills.Building Trust.Develop rapport with your fellow co-workers in order to build their trust.If you want others to trust you, communicate matters in an honest way. Don't promise something you can't deliver.Asking Questions.To show interest in what the other person is saying, you have to ask the right questions.Asking open-ended questions is a way to engage the other person and understand their way of thinking about a certain problem.Use closed questions (i.e. questions that start with Did, Do, Should, Have, Could) when you need an answer to a specific problem.3Examples of Communication Skills for Your ResumeReady to tweak your resume?Just say you possess Excellent communication skills on the resume and move on, right?Here's the problemEveryone's resume says their communication skills are excellent. Yet they fail to really get the message across (oh the irony!).We all know employers look for applicants with the best communication skills out there. We'll show you the list below, but you need to read on to learn how to use it.List of Communication Skills for a ResumeActive listeningClarityCollaborationConfidenceCounselingCross-cultural communicationDiplomacyEmpathyFeedbackFriendlinessLeadershipMediationNegotiationNonverbal communicationOpen-mindednessPhone callsPresentationProblem sensitivityPublic speakingSummarizingTeachingVerbal communicationWritten communicationHell, if they had a choice, theyd choose someone with every skill in existence (as long as it doesnt look as if youll soon leapfrog their position).But heres the thing: you cant just list all the communication skillson your resume.You have to curate the few skills th at are most relevant to them.Share salient points which showcase your personability, empathy, openness, and other communication skills.Find other communication skills important to them in the job offer or by talking to current employees.But, theres another thing to consider.Now that youve narrowed down the laundry list of communication skills, you cant just say that you have them, like this:wrongIm a great communicator, and I am adept at both giving and receiving feedback. I am confident, honest, and respect others opinions while keeping an open mind.See, everyone can write something like this, so why would they believe you?No, youve got to show, not tell.Prove to them that you have the skills you say by using past examples, numbers, and quantifiable achievements. Here are a few communication skills examples:To show empathy-My last team increased productivity by more than 35%, and this wasn't from a specific policy, but rather from working together to understand and meet the goals o f team members.To show openness-Through increased one-on-ones with my team members and by sharing department metrics more transparently, our team boosted key performance and engagement by over 50%.To show feedback-By changing our teams policy to publicly recognize a team member once per week, morale and happiness metrics all skyrocketed by at least 40%.Those examples above are great bullet points that would be perfect to add to a resumes experience section - or even as a top highlight in your resume summary or objective statement.Just remember this: Your first display of communication skills is when you hand in your cover letter and resume (and job application, perhaps).Your grammar skills, writing, and storytelling are immediately tested, so if you want to make a great first impression regarding your communication skills, make sure you know how to write a good resume and a good cover letter.Pro Tip: If you get past these first hurdles, your verbal communication and nonverbal commun ication will soon get tested at the interview!To be sure you use the right body language, eye contact, hand gestures, and other communication signals in your upcoming interview, check out our complete guide on the Best Interview Tips Advice.Key TakeawayCommunication skills are at the very top of skills employers look for in a candidate. Keep these points in mind:Be open - A good communicator fosters an open environment by being approachable and friendly, but they also listen to others with an open mind.Listen to understand - Dont just hear when another person is talking; you have to listen to them and reflect on what they say if you want to understand.Choose the right format - Theres a time and a place for everything, including each communication medium, and especially in the more formal environments of the workplace.Show, dont tell - You cant just say that you have such-and-such communication skills, you have to prove it to them using examples and past experiences and wins.It star ts with your resume - Showing you can communicate effectively begins with writing your resume and cover letter perfectly.Do you have any questions on good communication skills and abilities? Not sure how to describe your effective communication skills? Get at us in the comments below and we will answer your question. Thanks for reading!

Great Meditation Tips for Beginners

Great Meditation Tips for Beginners Finding ways to mellow out and relieve stress should be a top concern for a person. Letting the stress in one’s life become overwhelming can be very harmful to their physical and mental well-being. There are so many different ways for a person to let go of the stress that they have and among the most effective is meditation. Learning how to mediate properly will take some time and effort on a person’s part. Finding professionals, like Mind Body Vortex, in your area to give you advice on meditation can make this process much easier. Here are some of the things that a beginner to the world of meditation needs to remember. Don’t Get Overwhelmed The biggest mistake that most people will make when getting started in the world of meditation is that they try to meditate for too long. Usually, it is best for a beginner to meditate around three to five minutes a day. As a beginner gets more comfortable with meditation, they can increase the amount of time that they do it for. Be sure to speak with the professionals to get some advice on the best way to incorporate this into their daily routine. Being Open Minded Goes a Long Way Another mistake that a beginner may make when first getting started in the world of meditation is not having an open mind. While meditation can help a person, it is not a miracle cure all for everything that is troubling a person. The longer that a person participates in this practice, the easier they will find it to get the results that they are after. Pairing with professionals can help a person get the information they need to have success with meditation. Create a Meditation Sanctuary The next thing that a person will need to think about when trying to have success with meditation is making an area to practice it in their home. Getting a room that is quiet is essential in being able to meditate in peace. Taking the time to find a room in your home to set up for meditation will pay off in the end. If unsure about what needs to be in the room, then a person will need to meet with a profession in the industry. They will be able to give them the guidance they need to get a meditation room set up. Selecting the right professionals to help with your transition into the world of meditation will be worth the effort invested. Researching the meditation professionals in an area will help an individual narrow down the selection they have. Image Source; Image Source; Image Source

How Oversharing on Social Media Can Hurt Your Career - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

How Oversharing on Social Media Can Hurt Your Career - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Social media can help you network and even find a job, but it can also hurt your career, particularly if you are one of the millions of “oversharers” out there. In this era of Facebook and Twitter, it’s perfectly acceptable to post your thoughts or status, even if it’s every ten minutes, but job seekers and the employed have to be careful about what and who they are sharing with. “It’s not oversharing in general that will hurt you; it’s sharing information that makes you look like you’d be a bad hire,” says Vinda Rao, the marketing manager at Bullhorn, a recruitment software company. “Companies won’t care if you’re oversharing photos of a Habitat for Humanity house you helped build. They’ll care if you’re sharing your innermost thoughts on political matters or if you throw around racial epithets.” For people looking for a job, it’s expected that your potential employer will do a Google search and visit your social media pages before having you in for an interview. Rightly or wrongly, many employers will skip over those job candidates that have social media pages full of inappropriate content whether its pictures of a potential employee slugging down shots or negative commentary about other people. While it’s hard to undo what is already out there online, career experts say there are ways for oversharers to manage their social media profiles without hurting job prospects. “The biggest thing is to make sure you are aware of the privacy settings and use them,” says Pamela Skillings, co-founder of job coaching firm Skillful Communications. “You don’t have to give up social media, but you have to understand what’s available publicly can hurt you in the professional side of your life.” And it’s not only job seekers that can see their social media profiles burn them. Many bosses will check in on their employees’ Facebook and Twitter pages and would likely look down on pictures of their employee partying when he or she called out sick. A great way to prevent a boss from busting you is to avoid friending the boss to begin with. If you have to include your boss in your social networks make sure he or she isn’t part of your private, personal group. In addition to making sure your privacy settings are turned on, job hunters and the employed need to stop and think before they post something in social media. According to Mark Jaffe, president of Wyatt Jaffe, the executive search firm, people have to ask themselves if is this something they would want their parents, children or boss to see and if the answer is yes, then post away. But if you think this would remotely offend someone in your network it’s a good idea to steer clear of whatever it was you were thinking of sharing. “The two pillars of wisdom are having something excruciatingly diabolically clever to say and pillar number two is not saying it,” says Jaffe. “If it’s purely personal don’t let anyone see your stuff unless they are a friend.” In today’s world, whatever you say on the Internet will likely follow you, but you can clean up your Facebook and Twitter account to make it a little bit harder for a hiring manager to discover any inappropriate content. According to Rao, it’s a good idea to delete posts and tweets that would make you look untrustworthy, lazy, immature or overzealous. It’s also smart to untag yourself from any pictures on your friend’s walls that would portray you in an unfavorable light. If you are still concerned, take down your Facebook page and use LinkedIn only and keep it professional. At the end of the day, the best defense is to stop oversharing altogether. Sure, it may be hard to wean off constant posting and tweeting, but career experts say oversharing is not only annoying to the people around you but it can also makes you appear weak. If you can’t curb the urge to share every few minutes than at the very least share things that will make you look informed and like an expert in your chosen career. For instance, if you are looking for a job as an accountant or you are already employed in that profession, retweet articles about changes to accounting laws instead of what you did over the weekend. If you are trying to land a fashion-related job then post style tips on your Facebook wall.   “Being professional means not alienating people or talking their ear off about stuff they don’t care about,” says Rao. “If you wouldn’t benefit from saying something long-winded to a co-worker or boss in person, doing so on social media certainly won’t help you.” Author: Donna Fuscaldo is a freelance journalist hailing out of Long Island, New York. Donna writes for numerous online publications including FoxBusiness.com, Bankrate.com, AARP.com, Insurance.com and Houselogic.com. As a personal finance reporter for years, Donna provides invaluable advice on everything from saving money to landing that dream job. She also writes a weekly column for FoxBusiness.com focused on technology for small businesses. Previously, Donna was an equities reporter for Dow Jones Newswires and a special contributor to the Wall Street Journal. Through the Glassdoor Blog, Donna will provide tips on how to find a job and more importantly keep it.

5 Blogging Tools Every Professional Needs in 2017 - Classy Career Girl

5 Blogging Tools Every Professional Needs in 2017 Bloggers wear a lot of different hats in their daily work. Sometimes they’re a writer, other times they’re a social media marketer, and other times they’re a web designer. This constantly changing role is impossible for one person to do alone. Instead, bloggers use a variety of tools to make their jobs easier and give them an edge over the competition.  Today’s tools allow someone with little to no experience in SEO, social media, or graphic design to create content that stands tall among the competition. Here are five tools you absolutely should use to amplify all the aspects of your blog. 5 Blogging Tools Every Professional Needs in 2017 1. Yoast SEO When you’re learning about search engine optimization, Yoast SEO is the first place to go. This amazing tool will help you better understand your content and how optimized it is for both your readers  and for search engines. Not only does it provide a breakdown of your keyword usage, but it also helps you understand how you can make your content more readable and flow better. That’s just scratching the surface of what this tool can do for your blog. 2. Canva Visuals are a huge part of blogging and marketing as a whole. Whether you’re a fashion blogger, or a doctor using Doctor Hero to market your blog, this tool is something everyone should be using. It has a great drag-and-drop system that allows you to mix and match different elements with ease. You can even upload your own images to use on the platform. With Canva, everything is free, or you can pay $1 per premium element you wish to use. [RELATED: 6 Ways to Build Your Blog Audience] 3. BuzzSumo Investing time and energy into a post is scary when you don’t know how well the topic will be received. Is it something people are actually talking or reading about? With BuzzSumo, you can take out the questions and focus on topics that are performing. You simply need to enter your topic or keyword of choice into the engine. Another strategy  is to enter the web addresses of your competitors and see what topics are performing for them. Using these strategies, you can make this tool work for you and remain confident in your topics and posts. 4. Keyword.io This tool was something I discovered early on in my SEO efforts, and I’ve used it ever since. It’s a very thorough examination of keywords and phrases surrounding any topic you put into the tool. It also covers keywords for other platforms besides Google, like YouTube, Amazon, and Wikipedia. A free account is all you need to get started, and you’ll have a list of relevant topics and keywords in mere seconds. Trust me, once you’ve checked out Keyword.io, you won’t need anything else. 5. Buffer Most bloggers are active on at least one social media platform, but typically they are on more than one during their working hours. Whether it’s Facebook and Twitter, or some other combination, you’re probably going to be stretched pretty thin. Buffer can help take some of the pressure off of you by giving you the opportunity to schedule, publish, and even get analytics on your posts from one tool. Connect your social media accounts to Buffer, and you’ll be able to set everything up in advance. You can create and schedule posts up to a week before they go live, giving you the chance to handle things in the downtime and not when you’re busy doing a hundred other things. Starting a new blog can be a daunting task, and it can certainly result in some job anxiety, but with these tools, you can take a lot of the weight off your shoulders. Which tools can you not blog without? Let us know in the comments!

Writing an In Company Resume

Writing an In Company ResumeWriting an in company resume for your job search can be hard. For one thing, what good does it do to just grab a job offer and say that you are interested in it? You still have to find out whether or not the company is even offering you the job, and then you need to write a short but strong resume explaining exactly why they should offer you the job.Writing an in company resumes can be very difficult. There are also many things to consider when looking for a job, and the Internet is full of sites that offer this information, but it is not so easy to get to all of them. On top of that, you need to come up with a short, catchy yet succinct summary of your experience.Before you start writing your resume, you will need to know exactly what type of job you are applying for, and whether or not you fit the exact description of the position you are applying for. The application will help the human resource department to determine if they need more information on t he applicant and make it easier for them to categorize the applicants based on specific job descriptions. As you may already know, every situation is different, and the human resource person needs to be able to group your skills and experience into one or two categories, and make their decision on whether or not you should be considered for the position.When writing your in company resumes, you should first describe your skills. This will not only help you define your skills, but it will also help the company determine whether or not you are qualified for the position. Once you have established a base for your resume, you can then focus on your experience. Although this may seem like a daunting task, it will be easier than you think.You should describe your experience in one to three paragraphs, focusing on how you have used your skills to make yourself useful to the potential employer. What types of projects did you work on? Were you involved in any other projects that didn't work out? What types of tasks were you responsible for performing?In addition to describing your experience in detail, you should also focus on the skills that you will bring to the table as a potential employer. Describe what kind of employee you want to be and what qualities you think will make you a better employee for the company.Lastly, you should outline each and every skill you have, as well as the one's that you feel are unique to the individual's skills. Do not just list your skills. Describe them, and let the employer know how you would use your skills to further the goals of the company.If you find it hard to write your resume, it is a good idea to learn from someone who has done it before. There are plenty of online tutorials that will show you step by step how to go about it. The more prepared you are, the more effective your resume will be.