Spiceworks Community Digest: Quantifying the unquantifiable

Technical skills are easy to list, but how do you effectively sell abstract qualities like problem-solving, teamwork, and adaptability on a resume? In IT, these soft skills are often the deciding factors for hiring managers, yet they are the most difficult to translate into quantifiable bullet points. The Spiceworks Community weighed in on the tricky task of translating intangible soft skills into valuable resume content.

The Challenge of Proving Value

The most difficult skills to capture on paper are the ones that rely on personality and experience.

• EaglesFan87: “common sense, not overthinking the problem.”
• computerdave: “I would say any sort of ‘soft skill’ like user interaction are definitely hard to qualify on a resume.”
• egp_dave: “Peopleing is the hardest skill to capture on a resume and IMHO the most critical career skill.”
• General Tsao: “The ability to calmly work through a problem in an emergency…”
• JoeBridgeman: “It’s hard to communicate in writing, on a resume, the ability to take what a user says and translate it into actionable information.”
• spiceuser-tphz: “In sports, it’s called the ‘IT’ factor. It’s easier to do the job when you have a ‘clean pocket’ but what happens when that pocket collapses?”

The Solution: Show, Don’t Tell

Rather than using vague adjectives, the community agreed that successful resumes focus on quantifiable achievements and impact.

• TB33T: “I think value is hard to showcase in a resume… I started listing the projects I completed along with either the cost savings or time savings provided by the solution aka value.”
• J-Nonya: “Worry less about what you put on the resume, and more about how to speak during the interview process… Save the full list for the interview, and make SURE you have business specific questions to ask too!”
• Jay_Garrick: “listening, patience, and a willingness to learn new things are all items you can list in a resume or job application and hope that they believe you.”

What’s the hardest skill to put on your own resume? Join the conversation on the Spiceworks Community.