Skip to main content
RBC Thought Leadership Skills and Post Secondary Make Your Skills List and Check It Twice
Skills and Post Secondary
Skills and Post Secondary

Make Your Skills List and Check It Twice

How miscommunication is exacerbating Canada's skills gap.

Read time 2 minutes
But don’t blame the skills mismatch entirely — it’s also miscommunication. A U.S. report by LiveCareer, Bridging the Skills Gap, has found that part of the problem is around the way we talk about skills. For one thing, job seekers aren’t emphasizing them enough. The average job ad lists about 22 skills, but the people replying to it list only 13 skills. They aren’t articulating what they’re capable of doing. We also have a gap to bridge around the types of skills we’re talking about. Job ads in all categories mention hard skills more frequently than soft skills, encouraging people to highlight technical know-how over people skills. Of the 13 skills that the average person lists, 10 are hard skills and 3 are soft skills. But when employers sit down to review resumes, it’s the soft skills that jump out at them. They’re more likely to follow up with people who described themselves in human terms. If you have a positive attitude, say so. The report identified three highly-sought soft skills that people aren’t using in their resumes: energetic, detailed oriented and building effective relationships. When researchers compared the 20 skills that most frequently appear in job ads to the 20 skills most frequently listed on resumes, it revealed more interesting divergences.
  • Four of the top skills employers list in job ads don’t appear in the top 20 skills listed on resumes. Those missing resume skills are: multitasking, physical demand, teamwork, retail industry knowledge and positive attitude.
  • Five of the top skills job seekers do list on resumes don’t actually appear in the top 20 skills listed in job ads. Those are: budgeting, time management, being a team player and Microsoft Word.
There are lessons here for both sides. Job seekers need to showcase their full range of skills, even it means adding another page to their resume. But you can go ahead and delete Microsoft Word at this point. Employers should beware that relying on automated software to scan resumes and match skillsets might mean they miss out on qualified applicants. “Teamwork” is one of those most frequently listed skills in job ads. But people don’t use “teamwork” to describe themselves in a resume — they say “team player.” This isn’t a skills gap — it’s semantics. The skills gap is a long-term issue for us to tackle as a country. But we can close this communication gap between employers and job seekers first thing in 2019.

This article is intended as general information only and is not to be relied upon as constituting legal, financial or other professional advice. The reader is solely liable for any use of the information contained in this document and Royal Bank of Canada (“RBC”) nor any of its affiliates nor any of their respective directors, officers, employees or agents shall be held responsible for any direct or indirect damages arising from the use of this document by the reader. A professional advisor should be consulted regarding your specific situation. Information presented is believed to be factual and up-to-date but we do not guarantee its accuracy and it should not be regarded as a complete analysis of the subjects discussed. All expressions of opinion reflect the judgment of the authors as of the date of publication and are subject to change. No endorsement of any third parties or their advice, opinions, information, products or services is expressly given or implied by Royal Bank of Canada or any of its affiliates. This document may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of certain securities laws, which are subject to RBC’s caution regarding forward-looking statements. ESG (including climate) metrics, data and other information contained on this website are or may be based on assumptions, estimates and judgements. For cautionary statements relating to the information on this website, refer to the “Caution regarding forward-looking statements” and the “Important notice regarding this document” sections in our latest climate report or sustainability report, available at: https://www.rbc.com/our-impact/sustainability-reporting/index.html. Except as required by law, none of RBC nor any of its affiliates undertake to update any information in this document.

Read This Next

Competency-based Education. Explained.

A smarter way for adult learners to hone new skills

Powering a Postsecondary Pivot: Bold ideas to advance national ambitions in Defence and Space, AI and Energy

We gathered about 60 industry and postsecondary leaders to help craft a game plan

Testing Times: Fending off a crisis in Canadian postsecondary education

Five imperatives for Canadian colleges and universities entering a critical year

Important Notice Regarding Information on this Website and Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

The information on this website is intended as general information only and does not constitute an offer or a solicitation to buy or sell any security, product or service in any jurisdiction; nor is it intended to provide investment, financial, legal, accounting, tax or other advice, and such information should not to be relied or acted upon for providing such advice. Nothing herein shall form the basis of or be relied upon in connection with any contract, commitment, or investment decision whatsoever. The reader is solely liable for any use of the information contained herein, and neither Royal Bank of Canada (“RBC”, “we”, “our” and “us”) and its subsidiaries nor any of RBC’s affiliates nor any of their respective directors, officers, employees or agents shall be held responsible for any direct or indirect damage arising from the use of any information contained herein by the reader.

From time to time, we make written or oral forward-looking statements within the meaning of certain securities laws, including on this website, in filings with Canadian securities regulators or the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and in other communications. Such statements are subject to our caution regarding forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements on our website include, but are not limited to, statements relating to our economic and sustainability related objectives, vision, commitments, goals and targets as well as potential events and actions. By their very nature, forward-looking statements require us to make assumptions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties, which give rise to the possibility that our predictions, expectations or conclusions will not prove to be accurate, that our assumptions may not be correct, and that our objectives, vision, commitments, goals and targets will not be achieved. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on these statements as a number of risk factors – many of which are beyond our control and the effects of which can be difficult to predict – could cause our actual results to differ materially from the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements. ESG (including climate) metrics, data and other information contained on this website are or may be based on assumptions, estimates and judgements. For cautionary statements relating to the information on this website, refer to the “Caution regarding forward-looking statements” and the “Important notice regarding this report” sections in our latest sustainability report, available at: https://www.rbc.com/our-impact/sustainability-reporting/index.html.

Except as required by law, none of RBC nor any of its affiliates undertake to update any information on this website.

All expressions of opinion on this website reflect the judgment of the authors as of the date of publication and are subject to change. We do not guarantee the accuracy of the information or expressions of opinion presented herein and they should not be regarded as a complete analysis of the subjects discussed. No endorsement of any third parties or their advice, opinions, information, products or services is expressly given or implied by RBC or any of its affiliates.

All references to websites are for your information only. The content of any websites referred to on this website, including via website link, and any other websites they refer to are not incorporated by reference in, and do not form part of, this website.  This website is also not intended to make representations as to sustainability-related initiatives of any third parties, whether named herein or otherwise, which may involve information and events that are beyond our control.