The Most Important Science And Math Skills (With Examples)

Most students have experienced a classroom filled with teenagers all stating that they’ll never need mathematics or science skills in the real world. As youngsters, it seems plausible that these complex abilities won’t be useful past matriculation. However, quite the opposite is true in a lot of professional industries.

Many career paths rely heavily on a candidate’s science and mathematical skills. The knowledge is even helpful in jobs that are unrelated to the subjects. Highlighting these skills on a resume can result in receiving a call for an interview.

What Are Basic Science and Mathematics Skills?

Science and math skills need to be narrowed down to specific abilities on a hopeful applicant’s resume. Individuals whose daily work consists of using science and mathematics skills might find it simple to list out their skills in these areas. Candidates going for a position that’s less reliant on this knowledge can be less sure of what their basic science and mathematics are.

Some examples of basic science and mathematics skills that enhance a resume include:

• Probability and statistics

• Mathematical reasoning

• Profit measurement

• Laboratory analysis

• Medicine administration

• Programming skills

• Sterilization procedures

Properly listing skills like these and more on a resume can make you stand out as a job applicant. While science and mathematics skills are handy in plenty of jobs, they’re crucial in other career paths. Positions with a heavy focus on these areas of study include:

• Accountant

• Computer scientist

• Physicist

• Aerospace engineer

• Professor

• Research analyst

How to Include Science and Mathematics Skills on a Resume

Half the battle of impressing a hiring manager with your science and mathematics skills is showcasing them properly on a resume.

Even for candidates who have experience in resume creation, accurately enticingly listing skills can get muddled in the mix. Below are a few simple steps for including science and mathematics skills on a resume.

1. Decide on your most relevant skills. The point of a resume is that it’s quick to take in and easy to digest.

   A hiring manager must be able to evaluate a slew of potential candidates in a short amount of time, which is why a concise display of skills is the best approach. You need to be choosy when it comes to the abilities you’ll mention on a resume.

   While you’re probably a very talented professional in your field with lots of professional strengths to show for it, narrow down your list of traits to only the most crucial. Including irrelevant skills is distracting and unnecessary. Consider the position and company you’re applying for to determine what skills will be most valuable to the hiring manager.

   A candidate who interviewed for a business analyst role should emphasize their interpersonal and financial planning skills.

   On the other hand, an individual going for a position as a mathematics professor would be better served by illustrating their calculus and teaching abilities. Evaluate your circumstance and choose strategic skills to highlight on your resume.

2. Separate hard science and math skills. When organizing a skills section on a resume, it’s common practice to neatly group your soft and hard skills respectively. When focusing on science and math skills, the first thing that comes to mind is hard skills. These are learned abilities that are acquired over time through education.

   Group these abilities and follow it up with a list of relevant soft skills to balance the list.

3. Put the skills in a bullet-point list. Most sections of a traditional resume are formatted into bullet-point lists to keep the information succinct.

   Once you’ve decided on what science and mathematics skills to include on your resume and have separated them from soft skills, list them in this fashion. Start with the most important abilities to the position you’re applying for and continue from there.

4. Optionally give a brief description. While it’s not required, including a very brief description of each skill can be beneficial. Especially when highlighting talents in scientific and mathematical areas. If you decide to describe the skill, but it immediately after the ability’s title like a definition.

   Be careful not to make this description too lengthy. It’s always better to be more concise on a resume.

Example Resume Highlighting Science and Mathematics Skills

Tips for Including Skills in a Resume

• Tailor your skills towards the job you’re applying for. Since the skills section of a resume is often the shortest component, there are no excuses for not customizing it for each job you apply to.

  Hiring managers evaluate a candidate’s abilities to determine whether they’d be able to handle the job’s responsibilities. One great way to ensure that you’re viewed as qualified for the role is to go back to the job listing and scan for any hints at the qualities they’re looking for.

  Companies usually address the skills they’re hoping to find in applicants in their initial posting because it helps save time, something professionals can never get enough of. Find these skill preferences and include any that apply to your expertise.

• Don’t neglect relevant soft skills. When applying for jobs, especially in the science and mathematics fields, many candidates overlook their soft skills to include more information about their technical abilities on a resume.

  While you’ll need hard skills to effectively function in any given position, don’t neglect to mention relevant soft skills as well. When given the choice between two applicants who have similar backgrounds, a hiring manager usually goes for the person who acknowledged useful transferable skills on their resume.

  Some examples of soft skills that are helpful in science and mathematics focus include:

  • Verbal and written communication

  • Time management

  • Analytical and critical thinking

  • Patience

  • Attention to detail

  • Leadership

• Organize your skills section for effectiveness. One of the keys to sending off an impactful resume to a potential employer is proper organization. While you’re not confined to a traditional resume format at every turn, it’s best to keep your resume orderly regardless of the layout you choose.

  This is extra true for applicants who don’t have much experience in the field they’re applying for and need to construe their skills directly to capture a hiring manager’s attention.

  If you’re opting for a resume with more creative freedoms, ask a friend or colleague’s opinion before sending it to make sure that it’s understandable to an objective party. When applying for jobs with a hefty math or science focus it’s best to stick to the customary resume format and layout.

• Optimize for Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). Job-seekers understand the massive effort that the application process requires.

  From the first resume outline to negotiating a job offer, the hiring process is lengthy. A part of the job application process that many candidates fail to account for during all this madness is passing by an Applicant Tracking System (ATS).

  An Applicant Tracking System is the first line of defense that a candidate must go through once they’ve applied to a job. It’s a recruitment software that’s used by companies of varying sizes to evaluate and organize large applicant pools in an automated way.

  It weeds out candidates who are unqualified by scanning for relevant keywords in their resumes and other submitted documents.

  Bypassing an organization’s ATS during the hiring phase is achieved by optimizing your resume for success. Include industry-specific keywords and highlight skills that are required for the role. There’s nothing worse than getting passed on for a job because your resume didn’t get satisfy the ATS.

Author

Sky Ariella

Sky Ariella is a professional freelance writer, originally from New York. She has been featured on websites and online magazines covering topics in career, travel, and lifestyle. She received her BA in psychology from Hunter College.