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Computer Skills for a Resume in 2023 [+ Top Software Skills]
Everybody knows that putting computer skills on a resume is a must these days. But very few know how to put them to good use on their resumes. Do you?
Conceptual skills are essential for workplace success. After all, they help understand intricate scenarios and come up with creative solutions. Scroll down to learn all about them.
Here’s the thing—
The idea behind conceptual skills isn’t new. In fact, it dates back to 1955 when psychologist Robert Katz presented his “trinity” skills model in Harvard Business Review. The three skills are technical, human, and conceptual.
And while the first two are relatively self-explanatory, conceptual skills are often confusing for job seekers. More so, when they need to highlight them on a resume.
But take heart. In just a few minutes, the concept will be clear.
In this guide, you’ll see:
do
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Check out more skills guides:
Harid Karim
Social Media Manager
Personal Info
Phone: 123-456-7890
E-mail: harid.karim@gnail.com
linkedin.com/in/haridkarim22
twitter.com/haridkarim22
Summary
Efficient social media manager with 3+ years of experience, skilled in different social media management tools like Hootsuite. Seeking to provide quality social media strategies at Four Sigmatic. At MainHealth, managed the organization’s social media presence, which resulted in a 42% increase in organic growth. Increased patient satisfaction experience by 98.9% by partnering with different teams, and established stronger customer retention and relationships for 3+ years.
Experience
Social Media Manager
MaineHealth, Maine
December 2017–April 2021
Social Media Specialist
Cleveland Cabinets
April 2014–November 2017
Education
Texas State University, BA in Mass Communication
2011–2015
Certifications
Awards
Additional Activities
Key Skills
You might've noticed them among the requirements in a job ad that interests you. Conceptual skills... What are they?
Here we go:
Conceptual skills are abilities that help you understand complex ideas and solve problems in a creative way. You can use them to identify and overcome challenging situations as well as make strategic decisions. Having well-developed conceptual skills is especially important for management positions.
Conceptual skills play a central role in the workplace, particularly for middle-management and upper-management positions.
For one, working professionals in positions of power need to steer the company toward its true North, ensuring each team member helps reach the company’s larger objectives.
Two, regardless of the industry, the company will inevitably face roadblocks that will call for out-of-the-box solutions to cut through them—that’s when conceptual skills take the stage.
That said, recruiters and hiring managers also look for conceptual skills in regular employees, not only leaders. After all, if you don’t have a crystal-clear idea of how your work contributes to the company’s functioning, you’ll likely lose steam and grow disengaged.
And that’s bad for business too, as poor morale inevitably leads to increased turnover, which can put an additional strain on the company’s budget.
So—
Strong conceptual skills are paramount to both personal and business success.
So far, so good.
You know employers place great value on conceptual skills because they help put things in the bigger picture.
Here’s a list of eight core conceptual skills examples to help you rise above the noise with every employer.
It’s no secret that making the right decision is hard because it takes time and energy to weigh your options. Things get even more complicated when you’re tasked with a hypothetical scenario. That’s why decision-making skills are critical to a company’s success at all levels of the org chart.
Strong analytical skills are critical in every position at every level. To develop a solution to the problem, you’ll often have to dissect big issues into smaller ones to see correlations and ultimately draw conclusions. So, having analytical skills in your arsenal can help you achieve company goals, improve your work, and ultimately support your own career goals.
Communication skills are all about how well you can interact with coworkers, managers, and other people outside your team. Plus, if you need to convince or motivate others, good communication skills will come in handy. Examples of communication skills include listening, straight-talking, and emotion control.
Conceptual skills require creativity. You need to devise outside-the-box solutions to abstract problems. It often requires getting other teams to rally around and think about how you can all work together to solve a pressing issue.
Once you’ve identified the problem, you need to develop a further course of action to address it effectively, making swift decisions to yield good results. That, in turn, requires an ability to prioritize and ignore extraneous information.
Expert Hint: It’s essential to receive feedback from all stakeholders. View it as an opportunity to collect as much advice as possible and don’t react defensively. Listen carefully to the feedback and use it to make better-informed decisions.
Leadership skills are an integral component of your conceptual competencies. That’s because you’ll often have to convince others to follow your vision for solving a problem, assign and delegate tasks, ensuring everyone delivers on their share of work.
To know which ideas are trustworthy and which to reject, you need to reason and approach issues critically. That makes critical thinking skills essential to finding optimal solutions.
More often than not, you’ll have to collaborate with others to see your concepts come to life. That’s because going solo might not cut it if you want to push the company forward. Hence, robust interpersonal skills can prove to be invaluable. Some examples of interpersonal skills include empathy, teamwork, and dependability.
It’s worth remembering that we all need to demonstrate strong conceptual skills in our job application, regardless of seniority level.
So—
Let’s look at how to craft a resume, so it’s chock-full of conceptual skills.
Your resume profile (also known as a career summary or career objective) is likely the first resume section the employer will read. If you fail to grab their attention with good conceptual skills, you might get passed over. So, here’s how to showcase them right from the start.
Another critical section on your resume is work experience. That’s where recruiters and hiring managers will spend most of their time deciding whether to give you the callback or move on to the next applicant.
So, that’s where you want to put your best suit forward and spotlight your conceptual skills.
Below are three resume tips for nailing this section, followed by an example:
Social Media Manager
MaineHealth, Maine
December 2017–April 2021
If you don’t have much experience under your belt, your work experience section can use some help. So, add detail to your education section. List your GPA, mention extracurricular activities you’ve completed, and include individual modules you’ve studied to prove you have the conceptual skills necessary to succeed in the role.
Education
Texas State University, BA in Mass Communication
2011–2015
While you might be tempted to throw a random list of skills into your resume, don’t do it. Make it impactful and focused instead.
Below are a few pointers:
Skills
If you’re looking to stand out from the crowd, add additional sections to your resume. For example, you can add further examples of your conceptual skills. Below are some ideas for inspiration:
Certifications
Awards
Hobbies
Expert Hint: Showcase your conceptual skills and write a cover letter. A full 83% of HR professionals still think cover letters are important, as they can tip the scales in your favor if your resume underperforms.
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While many of us aren’t gifted with conceptual skills, it’s possible to develop them.
Here’s how:
When faced with a challenging task, do your research and see if other departments within your organization have already solved the problem. If that doesn’t work, go online and see how other businesses handled things (e.g., read case studies). To make better-informed decisions, reflect on past challenges, see what worked, and reverse-engineer a solution.
If you’re looking to elevate your conceptual skills, make friends with data and use it to your advantage when making a decision. Learn to obtain and analyze data relevant to your role, visualize and communicate findings, and draw logical conclusions.
If you have strong communication skills, it’ll be much easier for you to play well with others. So, hone your listening skills, develop an awareness of your body language, and learn to modulate how you express your ideas in different contexts.
Abstract thinking is an indispensable component of strong conceptual skills. To grow your creating thinking muscle, try challenging yourself to discover alternative ways to perform usual tasks at work rather than taking the familiar route.
Spend a good deal of your energy to pay attention to what you see, what’s happening around you, and try to make guesses about what could happen next. An excellent place to start is to disconnect from technology. If you want to grow more observant, unplug from your phone, iPad, or laptop from time to time and concentrate on your environment.
Throughout your career, you’ll often have to come up with creative solutions and oversee the completion of projects. Plus, you’ll need to maintain the team’s focus, ensuring direct reports deliver on their tasks. To improve your project management skills, master project management tools of your choice, be proactive and generally emphasize accountability.
Expert Hint: Make a point to continually practice your conceptual skills. You’ll feel much more comfortable when using them when you put them into action.
At the core of critical thinking, and by extension, conceptual skills, is the ability to ask meaningful questions that lead to useful and constructive answers. So, don’t just accept information passively. Instead, look for different views and opinions without taking things for granted.
One of the best ways to improve your interpersonal skills is to continually show interest in your coworkers. Learn something about their lives, hobbies, or generally what’s important to them. In the end, it’ll help improve your relationships with them.
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Having strong conceptual skills is essential for success in almost every job, regardless of where you stand in the org chart.
So—
Take the opportunity to elevate your conceptual skills and drive your career forward. It’ll help you come up with clever solutions to the company’s issues, but you’ll also become an effective leader who can mobilize your people and make a tangible impact on a company-wide scale.
Lastly, pepper examples of conceptual skills throughout your resume to ensure your application gets noticed.
Thanks for reading. If you’re still struggling with conceptual skills definition or just need some advice on adding them to your resume, let us know in the comments section below. We’re here to help.
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