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- Foundation Skills Language to Include in a Job Letter
Foundation Skills Language to Include in a Job Letter
By Joyce Lain Kennedy
Certain skills can apply to any job. When you’re searching for a job, you want to be sure to highlight these foundation skills in your cover letter and be able to give examples for an interview
Read through the following checklist of foundation skills. Mark the words and terms that truthfully apply to you. Include the terms as part of your skills language to use for job search documents and job interviews.
While these checklists aren’t exhaustive, they’re a good start; you may think of other words and terms to use as well.
A
| Ability to learn |
Abstract thinking |
Accepting consequences |
| Accepting criticism |
Accepting freedom |
Accepting supervision |
| Accommodating |
Active |
Adventurous |
| Affable |
Agile |
Alert |
| Ambitious |
Amicable |
Animated |
| Appealing |
Approachable |
Artistic abilities |
| Aspiring |
Assertive |
Astute |
| Athletic |
Attendance |
Attention to detail |
| Autonomy |
Awareness |
|
|
|
B
| Benevolent |
Benign |
Bold |
| Brave |
Bright |
|
|
|
C
| Careful |
Caring |
Casual |
| Cautious |
Charismatic |
Charitable |
| Charming |
Cheerful |
Chivalrous |
| Clever |
Colorful |
Commitment |
| Common sense |
Compassion |
Compliant |
| Composure |
Comprehension |
Concentration |
| Conceptualization |
Concern |
Confidence |
| Congenial |
Conscientious |
Conservative |
| Considerate |
Consistent |
Constant |
| Contemplative |
Cordial |
Courageous |
| Courteous |
Creativity |
Critical thinking |
| Cunning |
Curiosity |
|
|
|
D
| Daring |
Decisive |
Dedicated |
| Deft |
Deliberate |
Dependable |
| Desire |
Determined |
Devoted |
| Devout |
Dexterity |
Dignity |
| Diligent |
Discipline |
Dogged |
| Drive |
Dutiful |
Dynamic |
|
|
E
| Eager |
Earnest |
Easy-going |
| Economical |
Efficient |
Eloquence |
| Empathy |
Energetic |
Engaging |
| Enjoys challenge |
Enterprising |
Entertaining |
| Enthusiasm |
Entrepreneurial |
Ethical |
| Exciting |
Explorative |
Expressive |
| Extroverted |
|
|
|
|
F
| Fair |
Faithful |
Fast |
| Firm |
Flexibility |
Focused |
| Forceful |
Fortitude |
Friendly |
| Funny |
|
|
|
|
G
| Generous |
Gentle |
Genuine |
| Gifted |
Good-natured |
Graceful |
| Gracious |
|
|
|
|
H
| Hard-working |
Hardy |
Honest |
| Honor |
Humble |
Humorous |
| Hustle |
|
|
|
|
I
| Imagination |
Immaculate |
Impetus |
| Improvisation |
Incentive |
Independent |
| Industrious |
Informal |
Ingenious |
| Initiative |
Innovative |
Inquisitive |
| Integrity |
Intelligence |
Interest |
| Intuitive |
Inventing |
|
|
|
K
L
M
| Maturity |
Memory |
Methodical |
| Meticulous |
Mindful |
Modest |
| Motivation |
|
|
|
|
N
O
| Obliging |
Open-minded |
Opportunistic |
| Optimistic |
Orderly |
Original |
| Outgoing |
|
|
|
|
P
| Patience |
Perfectionist |
Persevering |
| Persistence |
Personable |
Pioneering |
| Pleasant |
Poised |
Polite |
| Positive |
Powerful |
Practical |
| Pragmatic |
Presence |
Pride in work |
| Progressive |
Prompt |
Prudent |
| Punctuality |
|
|
|
|
Q
| Questioning |
Quick-thinking |
|
|
R
| Rational |
Realistic |
Reasonable |
| Receptive |
Reflective |
Relentless |
| Reliable |
Reserved |
Resolute |
| Respectful |
Responsible |
Responsiveness |
| Restraint |
Retention |
Reverent |
| Risk taking |
Robust |
|
|
|
S
| Safety |
Savvy |
Scrupulous |
| Self-esteem |
Self-motivating |
Self-reliant |
| Self-respect |
Sense of humor |
Sensible |
| Sharp |
Showmanship |
Shrewd |
| Sincere |
Smart |
Sociable |
| Spirited |
Stalwart |
Stamina |
| Staunch |
Steadfast |
Steady |
| Striving |
Strong |
Studious |
| Sturdy |
Style |
|
|
|
T
| Tactful |
Tasteful |
Tenacious |
| Thinking |
Thorough |
Thoughtfulness |
| Trustworthy |
|
|
|
|
U
| Unbiased |
Understanding |
Unprejudiced |
| Unpretentious |
Unselfish |
|
|
|
V
| Venturing |
Versatile |
Vigilant |
| Vigorous |
Visualizing |
Vivacious |
|
|
W
| Warm |
Wary |
Watchful |
| Willingness to follow rules |
Wisdom |
Work ethic |
| Work habits |
Working alone |
Working under pressure |
