What are some good skills to put on a resume? And how do I make it sound professional?

Question

I am trying to type up my resume and I am at the "skills" section. I have an idea what I want to put but I am not sure how to make it sound professional. If someone could give me an idea what to put I would appreciate it. Here is a few things about me that may or may not be put in my resume:
I can type, but I can not type very fast.
I have some computer skills.
I am friendly.
I work hard to get the job done
I am professional when answering the telephone.
I like to help customers.
I am creative (writing/art)
I have a clean criminal record.
This is the first resume I have ever made, so this is all completely new to me. I am working retail right now but I am hoping to get out of that position. I have never attended college but I don't think that should make it more hard for me to get a job that i know I am qualified for
Thanks, everyone for your help!

Sorry, I accidentally hit the submit button again!!

Answer 1

I think that all sounds like it belongs in a cover letter more than the resume. Resume is actual job experience and factual qualifications, cover letter is more description of who you are and why you want the job and why they should want you for the job. If you don't have any actual job experience, I would list school accomplishments (awards? gpa?) and any sort of relevant work (even babysitting) on your resume, as well as facts (the exact speed you can type - check out Yahoo's game page and play TyperShark and it'll tell you how fast you type). Also, be sure to list plenty of references if you don't have much obviously applicable experience.

Answer 2

First you need to be specific about your skills.
You can type, but how fast? (45/wpm) Computer skills? (Knowledge of Windows 95, 98, Xp....). What kind of pc programs are you familiar with? (MS Works, Word, Quicken, Outlook, Internet...). If you work in retail, you're a "team player" or have the "ability to work in a team environment".
A clean criminal record, should be a given, so you can eliminate that. If you're creative and used this talent for a project at your current job, put it down.
Just think about what you do every day, what types of machines you use...and put it on your resume. You can and should use pc skill you learned at home. It doesn't matter where you learned it, as long as you know how to use it.
Always use catchy verbs/phrases like "achieved, abilitiy to, met or exceeded, maintained, created...)

Answer 3

Computer skills:

You may wish to list the systems (Macintosh, IBM, UNIX, etc.) and applications (Filemaker Pro, Microsoft Word, Pagemaker, HTML, Excel, Powerpoint, etc.) with which you are capable.
If you know programming languages, list those as well.
You may even want to use italicized sub-categories:
Systems:
Applications:
Programming Languages:

Languages:

List languages in which you have more than just some basic ability. In other words, if you are able to carry on a conversation in that language, list it.
Indicate your level of ability ("basic conversational ability," "proficiency," "near-fluency," "fluency") or the number of years of college-level study.
Laboratory skills:

If you are applying for scientific or laboratory positions, you may want to create a list of your lab skills. A biology major might break those skills down into sub-categories such as "histology," "cell culture," and "staining." Of course, the sub-categories and skills mentioned should be relevant to the particular job.
Always check your skills list with a professor or mentor, unless you have significant professional experience in that career field.

Answer 4

You can list those in point form so you don't have to make prof. sentences. I am very good at doing that, but sorry, is time consuming.

You should add any skills like musical, or dance or any clubs you were a part of, volunteering. You can make a 'Other Attributes' section instead of skills if you like.

Answer 5

If you don't have any particularly good skills, you can skip the skill section and concentrate on the accomplishment you have during your work in the retail store. Better to exaggerate the things you did well than to mention a bunch of skills that are pedestrian.