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10 Key Time Management Skills to Include on a Resume in 2024

Time management is crucial for effectively accomplishing your tasks and assignments without procrastination. Here are key skills and tips to showcase excellent time management skills on your resume.

Donna Wright Profile
By Donna Wright 3 minute read

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What are time management skills and why are they important?

Time management skills show how you can get work done in allotted time frames, and fall under the category of soft skills—traits that reveal your personality and interpersonal skills. Here’s how time management skills can be explained:

  • Time management skills allow you to measure your workflow so you’re not taking on more work than you’re able to.
  • Time management skills help you understand the amount of time allowed to spend on individual projects.
  • Time management skills help you maintain a healthy work-life balance and stay in control of your daily tasks.

So, why are time management skills important? Time management skills on your resume show a prospective employer that you’ve proven those skills through your impressive accomplishments and previous work history. How you use your time directly affects project management, which typically is organized according to deadlines and schedules.

Time management skills examples:

A customer service manager demonstrates time management by listening, analyzing and solving a customer issue quickly and efficiently, in order to maintain customer volume.

A nurse demonstrates time management by regularly monitoring multiple patients in a given timeframe, administering timely medicine and continually updating patient records.

A kindergarten teacher demonstrates time management by organizing a planned curriculum to fit a daily schedule while considering the short attention spans of very young students.

A journalist demonstrates time management by researching, interviewing and writing time-sensitive articles to meet specific publishing deadlines.

Pro tip:Mentioning on your resume that you have good time management skills is easy, but you must showcase specific examples of how you put these skills into action.
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10 time management skills for your resume

  • 1

    Prioritization

    You’re already demonstrating this skill if you’re making daily “to-do” lists at work. Some employees like to do the quicker, more easy tasks first and leave the more involved tasks for later on. Assessing responsibilities to plan out your day or week allows for effective time management.

    Example: A real estate agent needs to be good at prioritizing in order to juggle showing houses to multiple clients while simultaneously writing and negotiating contracts, handling closings and finding new leads.

  • 2

    Multitasking

    Mentioning that you can multitask, switching back and forth between tasks, on a resume is valuable if you can provide further explanation to truly convince a hiring manager that you’re good at juggling responsibilities. Use a measurable accomplishment such as being (i.e., “Managed tax preparation for thirty clients each month during tax season”).

    Example: An administrative assistant will use multitasking skills to greet guests in person, answer phone calls, read emails, set up travel arrangements and manage the office calendar.

  • 3

    Organization

    Most jobs benefit from an organized employee, so highlight your organizational skills on your resume. Explain how you stay on top of your responsibilities through a “to-do” list, detailed schedule, updated calendar and marking off tasks as you complete them. Regardless of whether you work in an office setting or remotely from home, keeping your workspace neat and being diligent about taking notes are a must-have aspects of organization.

    Example: A data entry clerk needs to demonstrate organization skills through being detail-oriented and accurate with data input and efficient recordkeeping.

  • 4

    Stress management

    A multitasker who demonstrates good time management with a positive outlook can be an ideal job candidate. There’s a difference between getting the job done and doing it in a way that results in stress that affects one’s mental health. Controlling stress is a necessity to remain motivated and work efficiently and effectively over the long term.

    Example: A psychologist must possess stress management skills in order to work with individuals facing complex mental health needs.

  • 5

    Delegation

    Managers must use delegation skills to divvy up responsibilities among a team. Delegation is an essential time management skill. Using a “more the merrier” approach is a great way to meet demand in a timely manner. It also shows off superior management skills, as a supervisor delegates by matching the best task to the right employees.

    Example: A creative director needs to delegate assignments to copywriters, graphic designers and editors in order to meet tight deadlines.

  • 6

    Strategy/planning

    If you demonstrate strategy and planning skills in the workplace, you help your company, team or clients achieve set goals. Developing effective strategies is a key skill and one that should be highlighted on your professional resume through measurable accomplishments which you helped strategize from inception to completion.

    Example: An accountant uses problem-solving skills to analyze a client’s financial picture to uncover issues and provide solutions.

  • 7

    Problem-solving

    Most job roles require some sort of problem-solving skills. Problem-solving skills help determine the source of a problem and come up with effective solutions. When combined with communication skills and critical thinking, problem-solving can be performed successfully.

    Example: A doctor or registered nurse uses problem-solving skills on a regular basis to diagnose and treat patients.

  • 8

    Decision-making

    Most managers will use decision-making skills to make informed decisions on behalf of a team. This involves performing research, reviewing facts and arriving at a solid action plan.

    Example: An attorney uses decision-making skills to assist, represent and provide legal advice to clients with the ultimate goal of protecting one’s legal rights.

  • 9

    Goal-setting

    To complete an assignment in a certain amount of time, it’s imperative to use goal-setting skills. This allows all team members to clearly understand work goals and feel confident that the goal can be efficiently achieved. Both short-term and long-term goal planning can lead to success at work and at home.

    Example: A sales representative will demonstrate goal-setting skills by setting a weekly quota for selling.

  • 10

    Scheduling

    Just as goal setting can help you achieve success, it’s the scheduling skills that keep the goal in check to make sure it’s reached in a timely manner. Scheduling can be on an individual basis or for a team, a skill that involves strategic planning of the steps needed to take, and specific milestones along the way to completion. Of course, the scheduling skill can only be performed successfully with the right amount of bandwidth and a realistic timeframe.

    Example: A receptionist uses the scheduling skill to manage appointments, meetings, events, time-off calendars, travel and other office-related tasks.

How to list time management skills on a resume: 4 tips

Potential employers will consider hiring job seekers who can successfully demonstrate resume time management skills. The trick is to highlight proven achievements and abilities so you stand out from other job seekers, rather than just stating your time management skills.

Here are four tips with real-life examples to help you describe time management skills on your resume:

1. Follow the lead of the job listing

In every job posting, you will see a detailed job description. Within the description, there will be keywords explaining the job responsibilities and qualifications.

For example, here is a typical job description for an activities/event coordinator position:

“The activities/event coordinator manages the entertainment, activities and daily communications regarding community center events. This role requires leadership of an energetic, creative person with previous relevant experience, presentation skills, teamwork and time management skills for creating, scheduling and leading events in a timely manner.”

Reflect on what the job description is asking of job candidates and tailor those specific keywords in your resume through relevant experience, skills and your most impressive accomplishments.

Here is an example of an event coordinator resume experience section using those keywords:

  • Scheduled and led entertainment, sports games and other activity programs to enhance guest experience.
  • Effectively managed communication to community residents through daily online schedules, texts, emails and social media posts.
  • Energetically hosted/presented events with direct socialization with event attendees.
  • Assisted community center director, marketing manager and event sponsors to support all teams.

2. Feature your top time management skills in your skills section

To showcase how you used your best resume time management skills, list examples of how you’ve used time management to complete major tasks – specifics with numbers (e.g., “Led team improvement processes that resulted in 30% more efficiency in hitting deadlines”). You want to stand out from the competition by being recognized for managing stress levels while building effective time management skills.

Here are time management skills examples that a candidate could include on a dentist resume:

  • Prioritization of dental patients based on appointment type.
  • Multitasking between dentist office rooms and patients.
  • Organization skills whether in the office or tools in examining rooms.
  • Problem solving to provide dental treatment plans.
  • Critical thinking to make the right decisions regarding dental treatment.
  • Empathetic to a patient’s pain tolerance or fear of dental procedures.
  • Interpersonal skills to recognize whether a patient is comfortable during exam and treatment.
  • Communication to explain what a procedure entails and update patient records.
  • Detail-oriented when administering the right dosage of laughing gas or novocaine.

3. Show how you’ve used your time management skills in your work experience section

While you’re listing your previous work history in your resume work experience section, write your accomplishments to hit on required skill keywords as noted in the job description of the job posting. This will clearly identify how you successfully showcased the required skills for the job role.

For example, here is a typical job description of a marketing manager position:

The marketing manager role will support the strategic planning and development of all marketing initiatives by providing quick direction, delegating tasks, setting schedules and offering consistent, confident authority. This role will manage the design and development of all digital marketing, social media and retention programs. Marketing manager will work closely with other departments including brand, analytics, finance, product development, legal and editing.

Here is an example of a marketing manager resume experience section using those keywords:

  • Oversaw asset development, website design, email and digital media projects and scheduling with demonstrated success and growth.
  • Supported multiple projects and staff with detailed, strategic planning and out-of-the-box critical thinking.
  • Used organizational skills to consistently meet deadlines.
  • Collaborated effectively across teams globally to meet departmental goals through problem solving and prioritization.
  • Managed and developed planning and managing marketing budgets.

4. Feature a top time management skill in your summary

Since your resume summary is featured at the top of your resume just below your contact information, it’s a good idea to mention your top time management skill in your summary. Focus on an accomplishment that shows your commitment to time management and efficiency, something that will make you stand out from other job candidates.

Here is a resume summary for a logistics manager resume. Note the bolded words supporting the job seeker’s top time management skills that show this candidate is goal oriented, driven, efficient and successful.

Results-oriented logistics manager with 5+ years of experience and a proven track record of optimizing cost and service levels. Negotiated contracts and rates with suppliers, achieving a 29% cost savings while simultaneously implementing logistics software systems to increase efficiency by 21% and reducing order processing time by five days.

For more tips on presenting your skills, discover which skills employers are looking for on your resume.

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5 tips on improving your time management skills

  • 1

    Start prioritizing your assignments

    Prioritization can be achieved in a variety of ways. You can arrange tasks by due date or by level of difficulty. Making a to-do list shows you exactly what must get done. Seeing your list will lead you to demonstrate the “delegation” skill to help you complete work in a timely manner to meet business goals.

  • 2

    Eliminate procrastinating

    Procrastinating in the workplace is more common than you think. It’s really just an issue with focusing on work whether being distracted by coworkers, more fun assignments, frustration due to the lack of necessary project information or your mind wandering elsewhere. To avoid procrastinating, organize your tasks on a list and while being mindful of due dates, focus on one task at a time. Once a task is completed, you will feel accomplished and motivated to get additional work done.

  • 3

    Block off time in your calendar

    Depending on your chosen occupation, you may have time management issues due to constant distractions and meetings. At the start of each work week, block out your most productive time of the day so you can set aside quiet time to get your work done. Also, consider whether you need to attend every single meeting that you’re invited to. Delegating your meetings to other team members or simply declining meetings that you will get emailed meeting notes later on, may offer you ample time to complete your assignments in a timely manner.

  • 4

    Set reachable goals

    When your workload is overwhelming and that’s affecting your time management and productivity, it’s time to set some practical goals. This helps your project management by prioritizing projects and maximizing your time. Smaller milestones typically lead to achieving bigger goals. Be specific in your planning such as noting what tasks need to be accomplished within an allotted time frame. Then, hold yourself accountable to all measurable goals.

  • 5

    Learn to say “no” to extra work

    If you’re on your way to reaching a goal with an approaching deadline, stay focused on the task at hand. Should new, unacceptable and unrealistic requests be sent your way, just say “no” in the most politically correct way possible. Management and team members should understand why you’re unable to pitch into an additional simultaneous assignment. Perhaps say, “I am unable to help this week but I’ll be happy to help out sometime next week when this current assignment is completed.” Or you can offer an alternative in which others can help you share the workload and responsibility. Saying “no” is a good stress management technique to have in your arsenal of time management abilities, whether in the workplace or in your personal life.

More resume skills and writing tips

In addition to learning how to highlight time management skills on your resume, here are many other resources for including skills on your resume during a job search:

Top 20 Resume Skills Employers Look for on Your Resume: Learn how to list your best skills on your resume to get noticed by prospective employers.

30 Hard Skills You Must Feature on Your Resume: Effectively listing your hard skills on a resume will show you can perform the required tasks of a specific job.

What Are Soft Skills? Top 20 Soft Skills for Your Resume: Discover how to feature soft skills on a resume to demonstrate your approach to work and completing certain tasks.

How Interpersonal Skills Help Your Job Search in 2024: Get expert tips to develop the top interpersonal skills that employers look for in resumes.

Top 10 Communication Skills for Your Resume in 2024: To show you have communication skills, learn to “communicate” your top skills on a resume to land the job you want.

How To List Microsoft Office Skills on a Resume | ResumeHelp: Everything you need to know about learning office skills and highlighting them on your resume.

Top 50 Technical Skills for a Resume in 2024: Expertly written guide to resume technical skills.

Top 5 Organizational Skills for 2024 | ResumeHelp: Learn to efficiently feature your proven track record of strong organizational skills.

Putting Detail-oriented Skills On Your Resume | ResumeHelp: Your resume needs to show you pay close attention to the little details to produce high-quality work.

How To Highlight Analytical Skills on a Resume | ResumeHelp: Learn how to include analytical skills on your resume to show you’re an analytical thinker.

How to Add Administrative Skills to Your Resume: Discover everything you need to know about featuring your administrative skill set on a resume.

How To Showcase Your Customer Service Skills: Here’s what you need to know about improving and listing customer service skills on job application documents.

How To List Writing Skills on a Creative Resume: Learn how to back up your writing skills on a resume through your best accomplishments and experience.

Top 50 Computer Skills for a Resume, Plus Examples and Tips: See how to convince a hiring manager that you can efficiently demonstrate computer skills to get the job done.

How To List Collaboration Skills in Your Resume: Collaboration skills are important skills to feature on a resume to show hiring managers you can work on a team.

How to List Leadership Skills on Your Resume: Gain valuable information on key leadership skills, and how to use and develop them.

Stress Management Skills and Tips: Learn important steps to improve stress management skills and develop coping strategies.

4 Multitasking Skills You Should Have: Discover the multitasking skills employers look for to improve your multitasking skills.

Decision-Making Skills You Need on a Resume: Learn how to efficiently incorporate decision-making skills in your resume.

FAQ: Time management skills

Have questions? We’re here to help.

What are the 5 principles of time management?

Follow these five principles to successfully manage your time in the workplace and at home:

  1. Prioritize: Focus on urgent, time-sensitive tasks and do lower-priority items later.
  2. Plan: Schedule your time effectively so you can set and meet goals.
  3. Delegate: Distribute your tasks among the team for better efficiency.
  4. Focus: Eliminating distractions so you remain focused on the task at hand.
  5. Practice self-discipline: Time management can be as easy as developing good habits.

Look at the examples of time management skills on this page for more details.

How do you develop time management?

Developing time management or improving your skills can be done by organizing your workspace for ease of use. This will help you avoid distractions and focus better on your responsibilities. Prioritize the tasks by due dates and level of effort so you can create a schedule to follow. If you work more diligently in the morning hours, start your most difficult task early when you consider yourself at the highest productivity level. Learn to say “no” to others so you can achieve your goals with the least amount of stress and distractions. Highlighting time management skills can make the difference in landing you job interviews.

How do good time management skills benefit me?

Good time management skills make it easier for you to work. If you just incorporate some time management tips into your daily workflow, you’ll likely benefit because it lets you do both the things you like to do and the things you need to do. Plus, because hiring managers value people with great time management skills for resume, it may be one of the traits that can end up getting you the job. Look at the great examples on this page to write a powerful time management skill resume.

How can I get better at time management?

The first thing you need to do is learn how to prioritize. A tool called the Eisenhower Matrix can help with this. The Eisenhower Matrix, which you may hear called the Urgent-Important matrix, allows you to prioritize tasks by both urgency and importance. Divide your tasks by urgent and non-urgent, then by important and unimportant. Urgent, important tasks are the most important ones to focus on right now. Important, not-so-urgent tasks should be scheduled for a future date. Urgent but less important tasks are typically best to delegate to other people. Tasks that are neither urgent nor important should take the least important prominence — while they can be important for stress management, you should avoid doing them on the clock.

You can also consider downloading time management apps that can help you create a more effective workspace. Whether they’re apps that block internet access for a period of time, make it difficult to use your phone or help you wake up at the right time of day, time management apps can help you with work and similar tasks that you need to do in the short-term. Be sure to use the tips on this page to create a strong time management skills resume that demonstrates your abilities to potential employers.

What can I do to make my time management skills look better?

Make sure you use the tips from this page, as well as the ResumeHelp Resume Builder and its job-specific suggestions, to feature time management skills for a resume. By sprinkling these skills throughout your resume, such as explaining how you use them in your work history section, you’ll be able to showcase your skills, not just state them.

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Donna Wright Profile
WRITTEN BY Donna Wright

Donna is a career expert with extensive experience in the fields of Marketing, Publishing, Direct Mail and Communications. She’s witnessed firsthand the importance of a powerful resume and cover letter to a job search, so she takes great pride in helping change the lives of job seekers by sharing expert career advice and tips to help land the perfect job.

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