Do you want to hone your multitasking skills?

Driven by the idea of doing more in less time, the importance of multitasking skills has become pre-eminent in people’s fast-paced lifestyles.

Be it in one’s personal or professional life, people are becoming busier by the day and well, the luxury of having a single task in hand has become almost like a fantasy now.

Thus, to keep up with this prevalent scenario, you need to master your multitasking skills if you want to excel in your career and make the most out of your time.

The good news here is that even if you think that you are not good at juggling two tasks at a time, there are quite a few ways to become an avid multi-tasker.

All you need to do is implement the tips from this blog, and with some practice, you’ll be good at taking over multiple tasks at a time to increase your productivity at work.

Here’s what you will be learning from this guide:

• How to multitask?
• What are the benefits of listing multitasking skills on a resume?
• How to say good at multitasking on a resume?
• What are some multitasking examples?

Source: Pinterest

How to Get Better at Multitasking

Although multitasking skills are valued by employers and multitasking can be crucial in certain situations, it is important to know when you should and shouldn’t multitask.

For instance, when some project or situation at work demands your full attention, when there is absolutely no room for error, it’s better to focus on this task alone.

Meanwhile, when you need to meet deadlines or when you’re learning to adapt to a busy schedule, using your multitasking skills is a great idea.

Here are some tips that will help you develop effective multitasking skills:

Make a List of All the Tasks That You Must Complete

Effective multitasking is achieved when you can save time and perform all the tasks that you were assigned.

Taking mental notes of things that you must complete in a short period will only lead to more chaos, confusion, and anxiety.

You see, when the situation is stressful, you’d rather want to devote your attention to actually getting things done as opposed to struggling to recall the tasks in the first place.

That’s why, when you start off by making a list of all the things that you must do, you don’t miss out on tasks and you streamline the process for yourself.

Set Achievable Targets

When you set out to polish your multitasking skills, it’s important to set goals that are realistic and achievable.

The goal of multitasking is to ensure that you efficiently complete the given tasks.

But, if you take on more than you can actually achieve, you will just waste your time trying to focus in vain and will end up with incomplete tasks that are full of errors.

Thus, to save yourself from the unnecessary hassle, take on the right amount of work.

Prioritize and Map Out a Workflow

To make things less complicated while multitasking, it’s necessary to stay organized and have a plan of action.

In other words, you need to decide how and in which order you are going to approach your work for the day.

If you have similar tasks in your to-do list, group them together and prioritize the order of workflow.

Get decision-making out of the way before you begin multitasking.

Don’t Get Distracted

The key to building great multitasking skills is by paying attention to your work.

Your presence of mind and focus is a prerequisite, and you can’t afford to get distracted whilst trying to juggle two tasks at once.

Keep your phone in silent mode and pay undivided attention to the tasks at hand.

Take breaks in between to freshen up your mind and to ensure you are not constantly tempted to get distracted by your phone or colleagues while working.

Review Your Work

At the end of the day, set aside an hour or so to review your work.

Doing so ensures that your work is up to the mark. Multitasking can leave room for errors, especially when you are just learning to get a hang of it.

Remember, practice makes perfect.

Also read: Soft skills that you need to advance in your career

Source: ProjectManager

Benefits of Listing Multitasking Skills on a Resume

Even with some of its drawbacks, multitasking skills are considered to be an asset by the majority of employers.

One of many other reasons behind this is that hiring a multi-tasker can save company resources.

When a candidate is capable of juggling two responsibilities with ease, the need of hiring two employees is ruled out, saving the company time, money, and other physical resources (desk, computer, working space, etc.).

Following are some of the other benefits of listing multitasking skills on a resume:

• Shows productivity
• Demonstrates competence in time management
• Proves capability to handle complex tasks
• Facilitates professional growth and development
• Shows focus, flexibility, and adaptability
• Validates your propensity to work under pressure

Also read: Skills you need to list in your resume

How to Describe Multitasking on a Resume

Although there are great benefits of describing your multitasking skills on your resume, you must know how to do it correctly.

Rather than listing it directly under your skills, you can demonstrate it through your experiences.

Here are some tips to help you do the same:

Highlight Multitasking Skills in Your Summary/Objective

When you go on to write your resume summary, you can include sentences and phrases that show how you used your multitasking skills to complete a task.

For instance, you can begin your summary by writing:

"Goal-oriented marketing associate with 4+ years of experience in strategizing marketing techniques while overseeing social media campaigns to build brand image."

Include Multitasking Skills Examples Under Professional Experience Section

There may have been multiple instances in your past role wherein you used your multitasking skills to complete a task and achieve a goal.

Include those work examples to demonstrate your multitasking skills as shown in the following example:

"Rendered assistance in closing 20% of qualified leads to market company products whilst scheduling sales meetings to update stakeholders about the progress."

Including descriptions in these lines will help the recruiters see your capability of taking over multiple tasks simultaneously.

Also read: How to write an impressive resume skills section

Examples of Multitasking Skills on Resume

To put it simply, multitasking is the act of performing two different tasks simultaneously.

Multitasking is actually quite common and you may be doing it in your workplace without even realizing it.

To put it in perspective, take a look at these examples of multitasking at work and in our day to day lives:

• Receiving phone calls whilst taking notes
• Working on multiple projects which are at different phases of development
• Taking food orders of multiple customers at a restaurant
• Sharing a conversation with the customer whilst serving their orders
• Managing multiple social media accounts while brainstorming content ideas
• Fine-tuning a press release while reviewing the details for a business event
• Preparing a draft while receiving and implementing inputs from a senior co-worker
• Listening to the customer’s problems whilst trying to find a suitable solution
• Talking to the customer while driving them to their destination
• Checking out the guest of their room while asking them about their stay at the hotel
• Listening to a lecture while taking notes
• Responding to emails while greeting guests in the reception area
• Writing a blog while proofreading another article
• Adjusting the procedure of workflow while addressing employee queries about incentives
• Troubleshooting minor glitches while writing a new code
• Cleaning the kitchen while preparing dinner
• Writing an article while researching facts and data
• Overseeing air traffic patterns while directing flights for take-off and landing

Now, when we have to present these skills on resumes it may be a little tricky but we need to know how to showcase them in a professional manner.

Here are some examples of multitasking skills for resume:

• Received calls and sent bulk emails on a daily basis while entering daily data into the office system
• Documented reports of 20+ patients and accompanied the head doctors during routine checkups
• Accepted orders from 30+ customers and communicated the same to the chefs while ensuring timely delivery of orders
• Collaborated with 5+ writers to compose 10+ articles daily while proofreading them as per the guidelines
• Oversaw the air traffic patterns while directing flights for take-off and landing to ensure safe functioning

Also read: Top employability skills to list in your resume

Key Takeaways

• Multitasking is the act of performing two different tasks simultaneously while shifting focus with ease
• Making a list of things that you must do before starting your work will streamline the process and will ensure that you don’t miss out on tasks while multitasking
• To save yourself from the unnecessary hassle while multitasking, you must take on a realistic amount of work
• If you have similar tasks in your to-do-list, group them together and prioritize the order of workflow
• Avoid getting distracted while multitasking and take out time to review your work
• Employers value multitasking skills as it saves company time and resources whilst increasing productivity
• Showcasing your multitasking skills on your resume boosts your chances of getting shortlisted for an interview
• Rather than directly listing multitasking under the skills section in your resume, you can demonstrate it through your work experiences and summary.

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