Skills for your CV: applying for a job

When putting together an application for a new role, it is crucial that you consider the key skills for your CV carefully and methodically. This includes both hard skills and soft skills that a potential employer might be looking for. The skills that you have acquired through years of experience, or your personal skills and personality can be the difference between getting invited to an interview and having your CV overlooked upon application.  

This article will help you to decipher what key skills for a CV will ensure you stand out. 

Soft skills to highlight

People often find themselves asking ‘what are soft skills?’ Soft skills, or transferable skills, are personal attributes that will allow you to work well in a team and general skills that enable you to work effectively and productively in the workplace on a day-to-day basis. Here is a list of skills for your CV, to help you to stand out to an employer.

• Multitasking skills
• Strong work ethic
• A great team player
• Strong communication skills
• Enthusiastic 
• Problem-solving capabilities
• Adaptable to change
• Organisational skills
• Management skills
• Self-motivated

Soft skills are attributes that you can award to yourself, but it is important to be honest when highlighting your soft skills, as these will come through when you eventually start a role. If you are considering improving your soft skills, find out more about why sharpening your soft skills could spell success. 

Hard skills to include

Hard skills are skills that you have learned over a period of study or time in a job role. These abilities can be directly applied to a job role that you are applying for, or can be transferred into different areas where you can adapt your skills and use them in an alternative way. Putting your hard skills in your CV is crucial when going for a role that required particular abilities in a candidate. Hard skills depend on the job and sector that you are working in or applying for. Here are some examples of hard skills to include in your CV.

• Ability to use certain software on a computer. For example, being able to code, use excel comprehensively, or Photoshop.
• Analytical skills can be used for a variety of things at work, it is good to include your experience with analytics tools such as Google Analytics.
• If you are learned in another language, this is considered as a hard skill and can be useful if you are regularly liaising with foreign stakeholders.
• Include your qualifications and the details of these on your CV, such as a degree or NHD.
• Presentation skills are very sought after in most roles, as it shows your ability to communicate and present yourself effectively in a professional setting. If you have experience in presenting, put this on your CV, as they may pick up on this and ask your further questions around it in your interview.

When writing your list of skills for your CV, it is crucial to tailor your CV for every job role that you are applying for. This will ensure that you are considering exactly what each role entails, and including the skills that are most important or useful in that role. This will, in turn, make you more likely to be invited to interview.

If you have secured an interview and are preparing to showcase your skills, why not read our article on competency-based interview questions. We can help you to prepare for your interview and give you the best chance of securing a role. Alternatively, if you are currently looking for new opportunities, please get in touch with your local Michael Page office today.