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Table of contents

What are time management skills and why are they important?
Time management skills to include on your resume
How to list time management skills on your resume
How to improve your time management skills
More skills resources
Key takeaways

Every career path, from a doctor to a skilled tradesman, benefits from strong time management skills. These are the skills that allow you to complete your tasks efficiently and control the flow of your workday, making them invaluable skills to enhance your resume. But what are time management skills?

In this guide, we’ll help you better understand these skills and how you can make the most of them.

Read on to learn about:

What time management skills are and how to showcase them on your resume.
A list of example time management skills you can use as a reference for your resume.
How to highlight your time management skills on your resume so that potential employers can see your self-motivation.
How to improve your time management skills so that you’re prepared to handle any task in a timely manner.
Key takeaways to help you remember the most important details.

Need help building a resume where you can showcase your time management skills? Give our AI Resume Builder a try. This tool will help you beat that pesky writer’s block by providing professional text suggestions, automatic formatting, stylish templates and tips to help you make your resume shine.

What are time management skills and why are they important?

Time management skills are exactly what they sound like. Your time management skills are the skills that help you manage your time, stay on task and accomplish things without getting distracted or bogged down by irrelevant details.

You might already understand why these are some of the most important skills for any professional. No matter what your tasks are at work, time management skills put you in the driver’s seat so that you can run your day and prioritize the right things.

Employers want to hire employees that can handle the tasks they’re given in a timely manner. So, when writing your resume, your time management skills can be just as important as your more specific technical skills.

Time management skills to include on your resume

Now you know what time management skills are and why they matter, but what about specific time management skills? What skills can be called “time management skills” besides, well, time management? You might be surprised by how many resume skills you already have that can be instrumental in helping you manage your time.

Soft time management skills

The most obvious time management skills are a set of soft skills that work together to keep you on time and on task. These are the time management skills that come from the effective work habits that you’ve developed over the course of your education and career. These tend to be part of how you operate your day to day and are less technical than other types of skills, but they can still be honed and improved like any other soft skill.

Here are some “good habits” time management skills to list on your resume:

Time management
Organization
Attention to detail
Collaboration
Responsibility
Goal-setting
Reliability
Accountability
Flexibility
Critical thinking
Initiative
Efficiency
Effective communication
Stress management

Technical time management skills

Time management skills that are less obvious are the ones that allow you to work effectively with the tools of the modern workplace. Computer software has permanently changed the way that work is done for almost every field, industry and role. Knowing how to make the most of this software to help you manage your time is indispensable.

Examples of specific technical time management skills to help you navigate the modern workplace:

Proficiency with technology
Adaptability to new software
Familiarity with tasking software like:
- JIRA
- Trello
- Asana
Comfort with digital communication
Proficiency in communication software like:
- Slack
- Microsoft Teams
- Zoom
Proficiency in common workplace software like:
- Microsoft Office Suite
- Google Workspace

How to list time management skills on your resume

Now that you have a full toolbox of time management skills to use on your resume, we’ll help you learn how to add them to your resume so potential employers see that you are reliable, accountable and capable of handling the responsibilities of the role you’re seeking.

Step 1

Pay attention to specific skills and expectations in the job description

Job listings generally include lists of responsibilities for the role as well as keywords describing the skills and experience that the ideal candidate would possess. You should start by reviewing the job listing when deciding which time management skills to list on your resume.

Take this example job listing for instance:

Our ideal candidate is a marketing associate with:

A bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications or a related field.
At least three years of experience contributing to successful marketing campaigns.
A sense of innovation and accountability
An ability to deliver on deadlines.
Familiarity with Asana.
A flexible communicator who tackles new tasks with excitement.

The bolded terms on this job listing give us an idea of what time management skills this employer is looking for. If I were to write a resume targeting this role, I would highlight flexibility, accountability, communication and any tasking software that I’m accustomed to using.

Pro Tip

Adding time management skills found on the job listing positions your resume to pass through applicant tracking systems (ATS) that screen out unqualified candidates based on the keywords that the employer is looking for.

Step 2

Include time management skills in your skills section

The skills section is the perfect place to highlight some of your time management skills. List them alongside some of the more specific hard skills that pertain directly to your career.

Step 3

Incorporate time management skills throughout your resume

List a few of your most important time management skills under the skills section, but don’t forget to elaborate on some of them in your work history section. This is a great way to demonstrate ways that you’ve applied your time management skills to achieve results.

You can also use your resume profile to highlight a few of your most important time management skills at the top of your resume.

Pro Tip

If you’re a beginner candidate with little experience, a functional resume format can be an effective way of showcasing your time management skills in lieu of the experience that you have yet to accumulate.

Step 4

Don’t overlook your cover letter

Your cover letter is an indispensable opportunity to highlight your skills once again. Use your cover letter as an opportunity to show how your time management skills apply to the specific role you’re seeking.

For help moving forward, take a look at some cover letter examples that make effective use of time management skills. Our Cover Letter Builder will help you get started by providing professional content suggestions and formatting help.

How to improve your time management skills

Everyone can benefit from improved time management skills. Whether you’re a lifelong procrastinator or a go-getter who tends to be overwhelmed by small details, learning how to hone the skills that help you overcome the intimidation of a full task list and chip away at that pile of work is a smart way to contribute to your overall effectiveness and success.

Improve your time management skills by:

Confronting procrastination

It’s often said that procrastination is rooted in anxiety. The uncomfortable feeling of a long to-do list or a difficult task makes us want to avoid it altogether. But this only compounds the discomfort since the only way out is to complete the task. It’s a counterproductive instinct that can take time to overcome. But, remember, our negative feelings about our work are often stronger than the actual difficulty that the work presents once we’ve gotten started. Develop systems to address your anxiety and push through your procrastination.

Taking stock of your time

Sometimes time passes us by and we aren’t even sure how we’ve spent it. To improve your time management skills, track how you spend your time. Be mindful about where your time goes and pay close attention to what you’re doing during those periods where time seems to get away from you. If you can identify how you’re wasting time, you can introduce discipline and unlock new pathways to productivity.

Eating the frog

Mark Twain once said, “If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And If it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.” This has led to a common piece of advice to help improve time management: Eat the frog right away. That is to say that you should try starting with your most rigorous or most dreaded task. Get it done right away so that you don’t have to waste any time dreading it. This also gives you positive momentum to help you get through all those smaller tasks that fill up your task list.

More skills resources

Looking for help understanding, improving or listing a different career skill? Check out our other guides for assistance.

Now, let’s get into some key takeaways to remember so that you can get to work on a resume that highlights your time management skills.

Key takeaways

Emphasize soft time management skills

The most valuable time management skills aren’t technical abilities. Instead, they’re the competencies that help you stay on task and get things done day by day. Your time management habits can include anything from working well on a team to having strong organizational abilities. Soft skills like these help give you a strong foundation for getting work done.
Showcase technical time management skills

The modern worker has access to all sorts of software tools to help manage their task list. Showcase your proficiency with common productivity software so that employers can see how skilled you are at making use of the tools at your disposal.
Incorporate time management skills throughout your resume and cover letter

Your skills section isn’t the only place where you can show off your time management skills. Pepper them throughout your resume, along with specific and measurable examples, to showcase your skills in action. Include time management skills on your cover letter as well to highlight how your abilities align with the needs of the specific role you’re applying to.
Improve your time management skills

Overcome procrastination and conquer bad habits by identifying how you spend your time and setting up systems to help you get through your to-do list. Improve your time management skills by trying different strategies to help you be mindful of how you spend your time.

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Hailey Brophy is an experienced writer with a diverse career in digital publication. She is passionate about using her unique skills and experiences to help job seekers find the information that they need to succeed.