

Listen up, we’ve got the lowdown on active listening skills. Learn how to sharpen up your listening skills and include them on your CV.
This active listening skills guide can get you hired.
How?
By answering:
Why is listening important on a CV?
And—
How to prove your listening skill set, so employers want to hire you.
Do it right, and you’ll be listening to, ‘How soon can you start’?
This guide will show you:
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Sample CV made with our builder—See more templates and create your CV here.
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Ali Khan
akhan_zety@gmail.com
linkedin.com/in/akhan_zety
07777 777777
Efficiency-driven financial specialist with 6+ years experience. Excellent data-driven analysis skills with a relentless appetite for optimisation. Consummate professional in high-accuracy financial modelling and business model evaluation. Identified and rectified flaws in financial reporting system that led to 45% cost reductions and 20% rise in reporting efficiency. Seeking to leverage my abilities and experience at Zero Hedge Inc.
Work Experience
Financial Specialist
Smythe and Mountebank Finance, London
Dec 2015–Present
Key achievement. Modified risk analysis model which increased identification of business critical risks by 25%.
Junior Financial Specialist
Lloyds TSB, London
July 2014–Dec 2015
Key Achievement. Earned ‘Best New Starter’ 206 for innovation in risk identification modelling and process improvement that led to a 15% annual increase in profitability.
Education
BSc Economics (Hons), 2:1, September 2010–June 2014
Goldsmiths, University of London
Skills
Languages
Certifications
Active listening is a method that requires the listener to fully engage in concentrating on what is said plus understanding it, remembering it and responding to it.
Many think listening is a natural activity which people do without effort.
But hear vs listen are two different things.
Hearing is just receiving sounds. Active listening is working to understand them.
There are five active listening skills steps:
Then, repeat the attentive listening process when the speaker speaks again.
A coworker says:
I don’t like the way you’re delivering your work. It’s in the wrong format. I have to spend a lot of time correcting the layout.
You think:
Ugh. That’ll take a lot of work!
You say:
So you’re having to take extra steps because of the way I’m delivering my work. Is that right?
The coworker thinks:
Okay. He gets it. Now we can talk about how he sees the problem.
Active listening skills are central to most jobs.
Effective listening creates understanding that builds productivity.
When employers put listening skills in the job advert, they mean—
Can you use professional communication skills to get the job done well?
I’ll show how to prove that next.
Attentive Definition: The meaning of attentive is observing without distraction. That means putting your goals and arguments on hold.
Here’s a huge listening skills CV tip—
Don’t just list active listening skills on your CV.
Prove them.
Show you used effective listening to help the company.
Do it like these active listening examples:
Customer Service or Help Desk
Read more: Customer Service CV Example
Teacher
Read more: Teacher CV Example
Nurse
Read more: Nursing CV Example
Project Manager
Read more: Project Manager CV Example
Web Developer
Read more: Web Developer CV Example
Receptionist
Read more: Receptionist CV Example
Marketing
Read more: Marketing CV Example
Graphic Designer
Read more: Graphic Designer CV Example
Executive Assistant
Read more: Executive Assistant CV Example
Think you’re not a good listener? Practice makes perfect. See the active listening exercises near the end for help.
Pro Tip: Use metrics when you prove active listening skills. Percentages, dollars, hours, and other numbers add proof to your claims about your effective listening powers.
When making a CV in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building your CV here.
When you’re done, Zety’s CV builder will score your CV and tell you exactly how to make it better.
Slight problem.
The job needs active listening skills, but you don’t have them.
Here are the best active listening books & courses.
We’ve also got a handy list of active listening exercises below.
Ready to improve your active listening techniques? You can finish these ebooks and audio books fast. They make good CV bullet points too.
Learn listening online with five active listening courses.
Bonus: List classes and courses on a CV like this:
Want to know how to be a better listener? Need active listening activities for groups?
Try these listening skills activities and exercises.
Pro Tip: Need a great listener synonym? Try attentive, understanding, or perceptive.
Need other listening skills?
Active listening skills aren’t the only game in town.
Here are all the listening skills on record:
Active and empathetic listening are two key job skills.
Don’t put these listening skills on a CV:
Pro Tip: Really want to prove your active listening skills? Use them in the interview. Work to understand the job’s needs. The hiring manager will notice.
Plus, a great cover letter that matches your CV will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:
See more cover letter templates and start writing.
Here’s a recap of active listening skills:
Want to be a better listener? Need more active listening exercises? Give us a shout in the comments! We’ll be happy to reply.
Recruiters will trade great skills for a great job. All you need to know is what key skills to put on your CV and that job is yours.
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