Top 12 Editor Skills to Put on Your Resume

The editing world is crowded and quick to judge. A resume that blends technical finesse with editorial judgment stands out fast. Show the skills that shape clean copy, sound structure, and readable design, and you signal reliability, range, and that hawk-eyed attention managers crave.

Editor Skills

1. Proofreading
2. Copyediting
3. Adobe InDesign
4. SEO Optimization
5. CMS (Content Management Systems)
6. AP Style
7. MLA Guidelines
8. Fact-Checking
9. HTML/CSS
10. Microsoft Word
11. Google Docs
12. Project Management

1. Proofreading

Proofreading is the final quality sweep. You scan text for grammar slips, typos, punctuation misfires, spacing hiccups, and formatting drift before anything goes live.

Why It's Important

It protects clarity and credibility. One missed digit or stray comma can warp meaning, undercut trust, and distract readers when you most need them focused.

How to Improve Proofreading Skills

1. Read aloud to surface awkward phrasing and missing words.
2. Take breaks; fresh eyes find fresh mistakes.
3. Work in passes (spelling pass, punctuation pass, formatting pass) instead of chasing everything at once.
4. Create a checklist of your common misses—numbers, capitalization, hyphenation, headings—then use it ruthlessly.
5. Change the view: print it, zoom in, switch fonts, or read on a different device.
6. Read backward for spelling and spacing; it forces attention to each word.
7. Use style guides (Chicago, AP, house style) to settle edge cases fast.
8. Build custom dictionaries for names, jargon, and product terms.

Consistent habits beat rushed heroics. Slow down to speed up.

How to Display Proofreading Skills on Your Resume

2. Copyediting

Copyediting shapes raw text into clear, consistent, readable prose. It tightens sentences, aligns style, checks facts at a glance, and preserves voice while fixing the seams.

Why It's Important

It keeps readers moving. Clean flow, consistent terms, and sensible structure reduce confusion and boost trust in both the writer and the brand.

How to Improve Copyediting Skills

1. Master style (AP, Chicago, APA, or house) and keep a personal style sheet for recurring calls.
2. Edit in layers: clarity and structure first, then grammar and mechanics, then micro-polish.
3. Track consistency for capitalization, numerals, hyphenation, and terms.
4. Respect voice; amplify it instead of flattening it.
5. Use version control with tracked changes and clear comments.
6. Measure readability and adjust without dumbing down.
7. Seek feedback from other editors; pattern-spot your blind spots.
8. Read widely across beats to sharpen judgment on tone and clarity.

How to Display Copyediting Skills on Your Resume

3. Adobe InDesign

Adobe InDesign is the industry staple for page layout. Editors use it to shape complex documents—magazines, reports, ebooks—where typography, images, and grid systems have to play nicely together.

Why It's Important

Good layout sells the read. InDesign lets you control hierarchy, rhythm, and consistency so content looks sharp and behaves predictably across pages and formats.

How to Improve Adobe InDesign Skills

1. Styles everywhere: paragraph, character, object, and table styles; nest and chain them.
2. Parent pages (formerly master pages) for recurring elements and ironclad consistency.
3. Preflight profiles to catch overset text, missing links, and color-space gotchas before export.
4. GREP and Find/Change to automate repetitive formatting and pattern fixes.
5. Typography fundamentals: tracking vs. kerning, leading, optical margins, ligatures, baseline grids.
6. Data Merge and Tables for catalogs, directories, and other structured content.
7. Export presets (PDF/X, interactive PDFs, EPUB) tailored to the destination.
8. Package files with fonts and links so handoffs never break.
9. Share for Review to gather feedback without email chaos.

How to Display Adobe InDesign Skills on Your Resume

4. SEO Optimization

SEO optimization is the craft of making content discoverable. It aligns audience intent, keyword strategy, and on-page structure so search engines understand—and surface—your work.

Why It's Important

If it can’t be found, it won’t be read. Smart SEO lifts visibility, draws qualified traffic, and compounds over time.

How to Improve SEO Optimization Skills

1. Intent first: map topics to user needs—informational, transactional, navigational.
2. Keyword planning: prioritize relevant terms and natural variants; write for humans, not bots.
3. On-page structure: craft precise titles, meta descriptions, headers, and clean URLs.
4. Content quality: satisfy the question, add depth, cite credible sources, and refresh over time.
5. Internal linking: build sensible paths; surface related pieces and cornerstone pages.
6. Media optimization: descriptive file names, meaningful alt text, compressed images.
7. Performance: fast pages, mobile-first layout, stable rendering—Core Web Vitals matter.
8. Structured data: apply schema where relevant to enrich search appearance.
9. E-E-A-T: demonstrate experience, expertise, author transparency, and trust signals.
10. Measure and iterate: monitor rankings, clicks, and engagement; prune or consolidate weak pages.

How to Display SEO Optimization Skills on Your Resume

5. CMS (Content Management Systems)

A CMS lets editors draft, organize, review, and publish content without touching raw code. Think templates, workflows, permissions, and structured content all in one place.

Why It's Important

It speeds up production, reduces errors, and keeps teams in sync—vital when deadlines loom and versions multiply.

How to Improve CMS (Content Management Systems) Skills

1. Learn the model: content types, fields, taxonomies, and how templates pull them together.
2. Use workflows: set clear review states, SLAs, and approval gates to prevent bottlenecks.
3. Versioning and rollback: know how to compare versions and recover safely.
4. Media hygiene: naming conventions, alt text, and folders that scale.
5. Roles and permissions: least-privilege access to protect content and prevent accidents.
6. Reusable components: blocks, snippets, and patterns to keep layout consistent.
7. Scheduling and localization: timed publishes, expirations, and language variants.
8. Built-in SEO and analytics: fill the fields that matter; audit regularly.
9. Accessibility checks: headings, contrast, link text, and ARIA where appropriate.
10. Plugin discipline: add only what you need; keep everything updated and documented.

How to Display CMS (Content Management Systems) Skills on Your Resume

6. AP Style

AP Style is the newsroom rulebook—usage, punctuation, capitalization, numerals, and naming conventions designed for clean, consistent reporting.

Why It's Important

Consistency is credibility. Shared rules keep large teams aligned and make copy easier to read at speed.

How to Improve AP Style Skills

1. Study the current Stylebook and note annual updates that tweak usage and sensitivity guidance.
2. Build a house addendum for exceptions and recurring decisions specific to your beat.
3. Drill the big ones: titles, dates and times, numerals, percentages, datelines, quotes and attribution.
4. Stay current on language around race, gender, disability, and geography; apply with care.
5. Practice under time pressure to make fast, accurate calls in real workflows.
6. Follow community conversations (e.g., #APStyleChat on X) to see how edge cases get resolved.

How to Display AP Style Skills on Your Resume

7. MLA Guidelines

MLA guidelines govern formatting and citation in the humanities. They standardize in-text citations, Works Cited entries, and document layout for scholarly clarity.

Why It's Important

Accurate citation protects scholarly integrity, helps readers trace sources, and keeps academic work consistent across institutions.

How to Improve MLA Guidelines Skills

1. Work from the latest edition of the MLA Handbook and note any errata or updates.
2. Master core elements: author, title, container, contributors, version, number, publisher, date, location.
3. Handle containers correctly for journals, edited collections, and streaming platforms.
4. Perfect in-text citations and the dance between signal phrases and parentheticals.
5. Format documents cleanly: margins, headers, line spacing, italics, and block quotes.
6. Document unusual sources (social posts, podcasts, datasets) with clear rationales.
7. Use a reference manager and maintain a personal style sheet for tricky repeats.

How to Display MLA Guidelines Skills on Your Resume

8. Fact-Checking

Fact-checking verifies every claim that could bend or break. Names, dates, numbers, quotes, studies—trust is in the details.

Why It's Important

It stops errors at the source and shields your publication from reputational damage, corrections, and legal headaches.

How to Improve Fact-Checking Skills

1. Triangulate with independent, credible sources; favor primary documents when possible.
2. Verify proper nouns: spellings, titles, affiliations, and timelines.
3. Check numbers and units; reproduce calculations and confirm methodology.
4. Quote integrity: match recordings or transcripts; confirm context.
5. Trace origin of viral claims; reverse-image search when visuals are involved.
6. Assess bias and reliability of sources; note limitations in your fact log.
7. Maintain a paper trail: screenshots, archived pages, and citations for every verification.
8. Escalate sensitive or uncertain points; never guess.

How to Display Fact-Checking Skills on Your Resume

9. HTML/CSS

HTML structures content. CSS makes it look right. Editors who know both can fix broken layouts, ensure accessible markup, and keep pages tidy.

Why It's Important

Content lives on the web. A grasp of semantic tags, headings, and responsive styling means your words are presented cleanly and read by everyone, including assistive tech.

How to Improve HTML/CSS Skills

1. Write semantic HTML: meaningful headings, lists, tables with proper scope, and descriptive link text.
2. Prioritize accessibility: alt text, label forms, logical order, and sufficient contrast.
3. Master layouts with Flexbox and Grid; avoid fragile, nested hacks.
4. Keep CSS lean: cascade with intent, use variables, and remove dead rules.
5. Think responsive: mobile-first, fluid media, and sensible breakpoints.
6. Use dev tools to inspect, test states, and debug in the browser.
7. Know the pitfalls: overspecification, inline styles, and unscoped utility classes.

How to Display HTML/CSS Skills on Your Resume

10. Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word remains a powerhouse for long-form editing and collaboration, especially where tracked revisions and formal formatting matter.

Why It's Important

It centralizes comments, changes, styles, and layout controls—ideal for manuscripts, reports, and policy docs that evolve through many hands.

How to Improve Microsoft Word Skills

1. Track Changes and Comments: set markup views, filter by reviewer, and resolve threads cleanly.
2. Use Styles for headings, lists, and body text; build a consistent template and update in one sweep.
3. Navigation Pane and Headings to reorganize large documents quickly.
4. Advanced Find/Replace with wildcards for pattern fixes and cleanup.
5. Templates and Building Blocks to standardize recurring sections.
6. Compare and Combine documents to reconcile parallel edits.
7. Restrict Editing and protect sections; control who can change what.
8. Custom dictionaries and auto-correct rules tuned to your subject area.
9. Accessibility Checker and clean export to tagged PDFs.

How to Display Microsoft Word Skills on Your Resume

11. Google Docs

Google Docs is a browser-based editor built for real-time collaboration. Edits, comments, and approvals happen in one live place.

Why It's Important

Distributed teams move faster with shared documents, instant feedback, and version timelines that never get lost.

How to Improve Google Docs Skills

1. Suggestion mode for reversible edits; keep the author’s voice intact while proposing changes.
2. Version history to name milestones, compare drafts, and roll back safely.
3. Comments and mentions to assign tasks and keep decisions visible.
4. Outline and headings for navigable long documents.
5. Templates for briefs, reports, and style guides; standardize once, reuse forever.
6. Smart chips (people, files, dates) to add context without clutter.
7. Keyboard shortcuts for speed; personalize preferences for quotes, dashes, and autocorrect.
8. Offline mode so travel or outages don’t stall work.
9. Add-ons selectively for citation, formatting, or approvals—keep the stack lean.

How to Display Google Docs Skills on Your Resume

12. Project Management

Project management is the discipline of guiding work from idea to delivery. In editorial settings, that means briefs, schedules, reviews, and clean handoffs.

Why It's Important

It keeps scope realistic, deadlines honest, and teams rowing in the same direction—quality up, chaos down.

How to Improve Project Management Skills

1. Define scope and success criteria upfront; write a tight brief.
2. Plan with a calendar: milestones, dependencies, and review gates across channels.
3. Choose a workflow (Kanban or Scrum) and stick to it long enough to learn.
4. Clarify ownership with a RACI or single DRI per deliverable.
5. Standups and check-ins to surface blockers early; short, focused, consistent.
6. Use a shared board (Trello, Asana, Jira, Notion—your pick) so status is visible without meetings.
7. Quality gates for copyedit, legal, brand, and accessibility before publish.
8. Risk log and buffers for approvals, translations, and design time.
9. Postmortems with action items; fold learnings back into templates and checklists.

How to Display Project Management Skills on Your Resume