Strong Work Ethic Skills: Example Usage on Resumes, Skill Set & Top Keywords in 2024

Three ways to show your work ethic on your resume in 2023!

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In This Guide:

• What is work ethic?
• Why is work ethic important on your resume?
• Skills & activities that help you show strong work ethic skills
• Strong work ethic skills on resume takeaways

What is work ethic?

To be ethical at the workplace means that you respect, care and love hard work and consider it a valuable quality. Strong work ethic means you’re also dependable, productive, collaborative, and passionate. People that exhibit the trait don’t slack, leave work unfinished, or complain about every little snag that impedes their process.

You don’t have to explicitly and deliberately demonstrate a strong work ethic - it is perceived that you have it when you show attention to detail, you’re learning fast, communicate well with your colleagues, or go through the to-do list diligently.

Why is work ethic important on your resume?

Strong work ethic however, is an expectation towards an employee, not a skill per se. There are qualities and skills that make up your whole work ethic. Adding it plainly to your resume sounds shallow, thrown out of context, and plays against your chances of getting hired.

Strong work ethic skills are highly valued by employers because they show you are intrinsically motivated to perform well.

If you have a strong work ethic, you’re more likely to meet organizational goals and put your best foot forward every day. Hiring people with a strong work ethic is critical for many companies to succeed.

What’s more, a strong work ethic builds up to you getting in a favorable position for promotion or receiving better job offers. If you prove you’re reliable, you’ll get exposure to strategic tasks that will lead to you demonstrating leadership qualities.

Then, how do you display it early on your resume and show how valuable you are as a team member?

Talk about your work ethic skills, and back them up with examples. Sounds easy on the surface, let’s put it in practice.

Skills & activities that help you show strong work ethic skills

There are different skills that contribute to your overall strong work ethic. Here are some you can safely bet on:

• Concentration, discipline & organization: being well organized, and putting distractions aside, such as your phone, works towards your work ethic. If you manage your time well, you’ll show your ability to focus and complete tasks on time.
• Accountability & goal setting: goal setting is more of a practice rather than a skill, but it helps you stay on point and motivated to get things done. Being accountable, on the other side, will show your employer you’re able to manage your work without oversight from them.
• Prioritizing & Quality of work: putting those together as they are intrinsically connected. By doing your work tasks in order of importance and impact, your work input will increase. Talk with your team, that’s a great way to ensure that you’re on the same page and you’ll have looked at the task from a different perspective.

How to demonstrate strong work ethic skills on your resume:

• Provide examples of times you’ve gone the extra mile to excel at a task or project
• Demonstrate how dedicated you are to your job and career
• Talk about times you did something because it needed to get done, even when it wasn’t your responsibility
• Describe times you’ve felt stressed or overwhelmed at work and how you handled it to still accomplished your goals
• Give examples of what you do when things are slow at work; do you sit back and relax or go above and beyond

Stating “I’m a hard working individual with a strong work ethic” is a space filler that you should avoid like the plague.

Remember, a strong work ethic is an expectation from an employee, rather than a skill. It’s exhibited in your daily actions, and that’s why it can be inferred from your past experiences.

• Did you take additional classes to improve a skill, or gained a certification?
• Did you meet a deadline against all odds?
• Did you go the extra mile to excel at a task or a project?

Now, for the thing you actually came here for.

Here are resume snippets from real Enhancv users, who subtly stated their strong work ethic through history of dedication, integrity and excellence at work.

Use them as inspiration and as a guide to build yours.

Example 1: Experience bullet points

Job situation: Product support specialist applying for the role of a Product manager