ResumeBuilder.com, the leading platform for professional resume templates and career advice, has released findings from a January 2025 survey highlighting the most in-demand skills hiring managers are seeking this year. The survey of 1,000 U.S. hiring managers reveals that nearly half (47%) consider AI abilities to be the most valuable hard skill for job candidates, with expertise in machine learning and generative AI tools becoming increasingly critical in hiring decisions.

In addition to AI skills, hiring managers prioritize customer relationship management (40%), data analysis and visualization (39%), cloud computing (37%), and project management (37%) as top technical competencies. Meanwhile, problem-solving (68%), communication (65%), and time management (64%) rank as the most important soft skills for candidates to highlight on their resumes.

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“Companies are placing a strong emphasis on candidates who can demonstrate AI skills, customer relationship management expertise, and data analysis abilities,” says ResumeBuilder’s Chief Career Advisor Stacie Haller. “Rather than spending time training employees from scratch, employers increasingly favor candidates who already possess these high-demand skills, enabling them to contribute to business operations more effectively from day one.”

The survey also found that hiring managers frequently encounter resumes that fail to properly showcase a candidate’s skill set. Over half (59%) say they often see resumes where skills are not well highlighted, while 37% report encountering this issue at least occasionally. When candidates effectively present their skills, 74% of hiring managers say they are much more likely to consider them for an interview.

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To help job seekers improve their resumes, Haller recommends:

• Emphasizing soft skills with specific examples – Candidates should illustrate their soft skills by describing real situations where they demonstrated problem-solving, teamwork, or communication.
• Showcasing technical skills with measurable impact – Applicants should highlight how they’ve applied AI or other in-demand skills to drive efficiency, increase productivity, or solve problems in previous roles.
• Aligning skills with job descriptions – Resumes should include the exact skills mentioned in job listings, ensuring hiring managers can quickly identify relevant qualifications.