What are some top organizational skills that employers look for in job applicants?

Organizational skills are important because they allow us to manage our time effectively and prioritize tasks. They also help us stay organized and get things done efficiently.

By highlighting the skills that would allow you to thrive within the company, you can highlight a successful track record in terms of demonstrating your ability to perform well under pressure, adapt quickly, handle complex situations, lead teams, solve problems, and prioritize effectively.

These are all essential qualifications that employers seek, but they aren’t the only ones that matter. Hiring managers also like to see a wide range of applicable experience.

That means including not just technical skills, but also non-technical skills such as leadership, teamwork, communication, critical thinking, problem-solving, and initiative.

In addition to highlighting the skills that would separate you from the competition, you can also mention any accomplishments you’ve had during previous positions.

How do you define organizational skills? 

Organizational skills are a set of skills that an individual possesses that help them maintain order and increase productivity at work.

Employers look for candidates who demonstrate this set of skills on their resumes because they indicate whether a person will fit well into the organization and contribute to its overall success.

So what exactly makes a candidate successful in a role? What kind of organizational skills does a recruiter look for? And how can you demonstrate them on your resume?

If you want to stand out among other applicants, it helps to highlight your top organizational skills on your resume.

Examples of organizational skills

Here are the most common examples of organizational skills:

• Prioritizing work – You can make a list of all of your responsibilities and then organize them into an order, starting with those you’ll do first. This helps you focus on what needs to be accomplished right now.

• Keeping track of deadlines – Make sure you know when things need to be completed so you don’t miss any important dates or deadlines.

• Handling multiple projects at once – If you have more than one project going on, it helps to keep track of each one separately so you don t forget about any details involved.

• Organizing meetings – It can be difficult to remember everything that will happen during a meeting. The best way to avoid this is to plan ahead and prepare notes beforehand.

Adding organizational skills to resume

Here is an example of how to add organizational skills to your resume:

John Doe
13th Street. 47 W 13th St, New York, NY 10011
johndoe@email.com

*SUMMARY: Experienced Content Manager with strong organizational skills and attention to detail. Able to lead a team to meet deadlines and increase productivity.*

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration
Columbia University, 2014-2018

EXPERIENCE

Content Manager
Content Marketing Solutions – New York, NY
June 2019-present

• Manage content team tasks and deadlines to meet client needs
• Communicate with team members to prioritize content tasks
• Administrate online content inventory system
• Create content team quarterly and annual budgets
• Conduct monthly team member project reviews

Project Manager
Content Inc. – Syracuse, NY
January 2015-May 2018

• Schedule client project reviews
• Coordinate project administration with project manager
• Organize client project needs to delegate to content team
• Analyze project workflow for productivity assessments

Office Admin
Market Solutions – Syracuse, NY
June 2013-January 2015

• Facilitate customer service through phone and digital interactions
• Coordinate office events
• Organize office inventory
• Schedule staff and client meetings

SKILLS

• Project management
• Strategic analysis
• Time management
• Meeting deadlines
• Setting and meeting goals
• Scheduling

Source of example: indeed.com. 

Identifying your top organizational skills

If you don’t know what skills you’d like to highlight on your resume, consider your previous experience. For example, if you’ve worked in sales, it might make sense to list “selling” as one of your skills. Or maybe you had success working in customer support, so you could include “customer service.”

Where did you excel?

Where would your peers say you’re especially practiced?

Here are a few ways to help you figure out which skills you should include on your resume:

• Look at your LinkedIn profile. You’ll see a section called Skills where you can describe how you’ve used those skills in the past. This is a great place to start.

• Think about your job history. What types of tasks do you perform every day? Do you use certain tools? These are all things you can add to your resume.

• Consider your work accomplishments. Did you lead a team? Were you responsible for creating something new? Write down everything you accomplished during your career.

Ways to improve organizational skills

How do you become better at using these skills? Start by making a list of all of the different types of organizations you currently use. Then try to incorporate as many of these activities into your daily life as possible.

For example, if you like writing lists, write down all the jobs you need to do today and then go through your list every morning.

You can start small and add new items over time. Or you could begin with basic skills such as keeping a calendar or prioritizing your work. Here are a few other ideas to get you started:

• Use sticky notes – Put them everywhere! Sticky notes come in handy for reminding yourself of various projects and appointments. You can stick them on the fridge, the bathroom mirror, or even the dashboard of your car.

• Create a system – Figure out which method works best for you. Some people prefer a physical filing cabinet while others like to use online storage sites like Dropbox. Whatever method you choose, decide how often you want to update it and ensure you know where everything is located.

• Have clear goals – Create specific goals for different areas in your life. You may want to create a goal sheet with specific instructions for completing different aspects of your life.

• Plan ahead – Many people find it helpful to set aside 5-10 minutes twice per day. During this quiet period, sit down and simply think about the next step you need to take for the day. Planning ahead makes it easier to complete your big tasks in the short term.

As you continue to develop your organizational skills, you should see positive results.

Matching organizational skills with the job you’re applying for

When you apply for jobs online, employers look at your resume and decide whether or not to invite you for an interview based on how well you match up with the position.

If you don’t know what the employer is looking for, you could end up getting rejected because you didn’t put enough effort into matching your skills to the job.

You might think that listing every skill you’ve ever had experience with is important, but there’s a big difference between saying “I’m skilled at Microsoft Word,” and “I am skilled at creating marketing materials.” Be sure to focus on the skills that are most relevant to the job you are applying for.

Conclusion

Organizational skills play a vital role in the workplace. However, they aren’t always taught in high school. As a result, many students enter college without knowing exactly what they are doing.

This is why it is so important to make sure that you prepare early in order to give yourself the best shot at landing the job you want.

By learning more about your organization skills and practicing them in your everyday life, you will be able to show potential employers that you are a valuable asset to their company.

On a side note, a well written resume highlighting your organizational skills is something our team of expert writers can craft for you to landing the job you want.