The complete guide to listing analytical skills on your resume

Building a resume is a complex task. Fine-tuning resume wording to provide an accurate representation of your talents and experience can get confusing.

This complete guide to listing analytical skills on your resume can help tackle the nuts and bolts of explaining your abilities in the most effective way possible. 

Building a resume is a complex task. Fine-tuning resume wording to provide an accurate representation of your talents and experience can get confusing. This complete guide to listing analytical skills on your resume can help tackle the nuts and bolts of explaining your abilities in the most effective way possible. 

It is common for job descriptions to include something along the lines of “must possess strong analytical skills,” or “analytical skills are necessary for success,” under position requirements. Basically, this wording is a big, red flag highlighting the fact that effective decision-making and problem-solving skills are a crucial part of the role.

Also commonly referenced when speaking about “soft skills,” since there is no hard and fast way to describe the ability to measure the execution of analytical skills, listing the possession of these abilities on a resume is crucial.

What are analytical skills?

If you have ever heard someone described as an “analytical thinker,” you may already have a handle on what exactly employers mean by analytical skills. In short, analytical skills are skills that require the use of critical thought and analysis to complete. 

Analytical skills are what you lean on when you have no idea how to do something. When presented with a problem, how do you approach it? Between research, sifting through important and unimportant data, and the assessment of your options, the steps you take to analyze tasks and the decisions that impact the moves you make once you dive in are the sum of your analytical skills. 

Why should you include analytical skills on your resume?

In the workplace, when there’s a problem at hand, using analytical skills to solve it starts with the ability to analyze the issue, decide whether the problem is worth solving and if it is, discover how to resolve it. Sometimes, when one solution doesn’t work, analytical skills are also required to try different approaches until a resolution is reached.

A myriad of workplace scenarios requires the use of analytical skills. Everything from the basic brainstorming of ideas to solving complex problems utilizes analytical skills. When you list these skills on your resume, it shows prospective employers that you have what it takes to get the job done. 

Employers don’t expect their employees to know everything. However, they do expect them to be able to try and figure out what to do whenever they’re unsure about something or don’t know where to start with a specific project or task. Showcasing the ability to perform in this way on your resume means analytical skills must be included.

How to incorporate analytical skills into your resume

Every person’s resume will vary based on their experience and skill set, but analytical skills are something you never want to leave out. There are a few different ways to incorporate analytical skills into your resume, but they definitely need to show up in one way or another. 

Explaining your analytical skills under the skills section of your resume is the most straightforward way to list these abilities on your resume. Short, concise statements about your analytical skillset are easy for employers to digest because it efficiently summarizes your experience. While you don’t want to just point-blank say “I can research,” on your resume, presenting the idea that you have a background that allows you to effectively research topics and ideas when needed is the best approach.

If including a laundry list of these concepts under the skills section of your resume feels inauthentic, you can also utilize bullet points with specific examples of your analytical skills within the descriptions of different positions you have held. This can help employers get to know exactly what experience you have utilizing such skills within the workplace. 

7 key analytical skills with examples for your resume

To impress potential employers, the following key analytical skills are ones that should make an appearance on your resume. The wording of the examples here can be adjusted to fit within your personal work experience, but the general framework of the presentation of each skill can help give you an idea of how to include these skills on your resume.


The ability to solve problems at work is required for just about every single job out there. It is imperative to showcase your competency in utilizing different methods for problem-solving right on your resume. This lets your potential employer know right up front that you have what it takes to figure out how to get the job done, even when you hit a roadblock.

Example: “Adept at solving complex problems by utilizing a combination of research, creativity, and critical thinking.”


One of the most common soft skills employers like to see listed on a resume is creativity. It goes hand in hand with the ability to problem solve because often creativity will be utilized to formulate solutions to issues. 

How you explain your creativity on your resume will depend heavily on the industry that you’re in however because some positions will require a far more in-depth understanding and utilization of creativity than others. 

Example: “Utilizes creativity to find effective solutions to unique or complex problems.”


You’ve probably heard the phrase “communication is king,” at some point. As cliche as the phrase may be, there is much truth to its sentiment. It is vital to convey the ability to communicate in a way that is both efficient and effective with team members and superiors on your resume. 

Providing examples of this either in your cover letter or under your work experience descriptions can also be helpful. That way, you’re not just saying that you know how to communicate, you’re also showcasing your actual capabilities.

Example: “Ability to efficiently and effectively articulate ideas and information with all team members in conversation, correspondence, and presentations.”


The ability to find information to support how you will approach a task or solve a problem is one that many employers expect. With the internet at your fingertips, can you figure out what the right moves are without leaning too hard on your superiors? Explaining your approach to research can help potential employers understand how you might handle facing a challenge on the job.

Example: “Possesses an in-depth knowledge of industry standards and best practices, as well as the ability to seek support through research and outreach when needed to effectively complete tasks.”

Critical Thinking

All analytical skills start with critical thinking. When faced with a task, an employer wants to know that you can think through your approach using a fine-toothed comb to analyze each aspect of the task at hand.

Example: “When faced with challenges, I think critically to analyze the best approach and overcome obstacles.”


It may sound counterintuitive to list management as an analytical skill on your resume if you are not applying for a management role, but with regard to time, tasks, and communication, management skills are imperative in the workplace. 

Example: “Utilizes effective time and communication management skills in order to complete projects efficiently with ease.”


The ability to prioritize important tasks and projects is a crucial analytical skill that employers seek when looking for new hires. The ability to provide examples of how you have utilized the skill of prioritization to increase productivity either on your resume or during an interview will be impressive to potential employers. 

Example: “Possesses the ability to prioritize important tasks and projects to help increase overall productivity.”