Building Stronger Resumes Through Skills

On April 14, TEK hosted a dynamic and interactive skills-based resume workshop led by Nicole Keenan, Director of the Stuckert Career Center at the University of Kentucky, and her colleague, Jacob Lyons. The session focused on helping students translate their experiences into compelling, results-driven resumes aligned with workforce expectations.

A Shift Toward Skills-Based Resumes

At the heart of the workshop was an emphasis on the growing reality in today’s job market: employers are increasingly prioritizing transferable, or “soft,” skills alongside technical expertise. Drawing from the University of Kentucky’s 10 Essential Skills framework, Keenan emphasized that nearly 75% of employers report difficulty finding candidates with strong soft skills—highlighting the importance of clearly communicating these abilities on a resume.

This emphasis closely aligns with TEK’s approach to learning. TEK courses are intentionally designed to build and reinforce these same competencies, ensuring that students are not only gaining technical knowledge, but also developing the communication, collaboration, and critical thinking skills that employers value most.

The workshop underscored a critical takeaway: a strong resume is not just a record of what you’ve done—it’s a strategic narrative of the value you bring. For TEK students, this message is especially relevant. The skills emphasized in the workshop are already being developed through their coursework—what matters is learning how to communicate those experiences effectively. By aligning experiences with key transferable skills and articulating measurable outcomes, job seekers can present themselves more effectively in an increasingly competitive job market.

The 10 Essential Skills Framework

The workshop introduced attendees to what the Kentucky Graduate Profile has identified as the ten key competencies that define career readiness. These skills are considered necessary for every postsecondary graduate to possess upon entering the workforce.  These ten essential skills are: 

• Communication
• Critical & Creative Thinking
• Quantitative Reasoning
• Adaptability & Leadership
• Interpersonal Relations
• Professionalism
• Civic Engagement
• Collaboration & Teamwork
• Knowledge Application
• Information Literacy

Rather than treating these as abstract traits, Keenan and Lyons guided participants through reflection exercises to identify where these skills show up in their own academic, professional, and extracurricular experiences. Attendees practiced using structured prompts to help students present their experiences within the framework of the ten essentials skills. These prompts helped participants move beyond task descriptions and toward measurable achievements—an approach that resonates more strongly with employers. The workshop also included a peer resume review session, where participants exchanged resumes and provided feedback using guided checklists. This collaborative exercise allowed attendees to identify both strengths and areas for improvement with a focus on integration of the ten essential skills. 

The Stuckert Career Center offers many career services to the UK community, including resume and cover letter support, mock interviews, internship guidance, and career exploration resources. Attendees were encouraged to continue refining their materials and seek ongoing feedback through available career services.