List of Technical Skills for Resumes, Cover Letters, and Interviews

Preparation for a certain job is of the utmost importance for future employees. Next to the written form of their experiences such as their resume and cover letter, they need to have such qualifications in reality.

Education is in most cases only the academic and very much artificial demonstration of the practical experience and skills a person needs as soon as they graduate and look for a specific job to commence their professional career.

To climb the career ladder, one must acquire a certain amount of experience, i.e. technical skills.

Technical skills represent the practical use of acquired knowledge and experience. They are connected to specialized knowledge, such as science, engineering, IT, finance. Since they are that specified, they require previous training.

However, when putting such expertise on paper, such as a resume or your cover letter, you need to pay attention to some details.

There is no need to enumerate your skills on your resume as no hiring manager desires to see a list they see on almost every resume. They demand that you show them your skills in certain examples.

As you carefully write your resume and cover letter, you will validate your skills in the interview with the recruiter. Naturally, they will not ask you to show your skills on the spot, but they may ask you some questions to affirm your qualifications.

For this reason, it is important that you remain honest in your written and oral appearance and learn how to properly portray your experience and write your resume.

This article will help you prepare by teaching you how to display your technical skills in the right manner in both written and oral forms.

1. THE SKILLS TO INCLUDE IN YOUR RESUME

Writing your resume can be a stressful undertaking if and when you are not experienced enough or experienced but unable to display it accurately.

Recruiters do wish to see simple and organized resumes, but that does not entail copying skills from the Internet and listing them in your resume.

It is advised to put years of experience and level of your skill (novice, intermediate or expert) next to your technical skill.

This is why you need to be aware of your technical skills and know how to present them through previous experiences and personal examples. By doing this, instead of copying someone else’s abilities, you will stand out and increase your chances of getting the job.

These are some of the most required skills that you could add to your resume:

Foreign Languages

The more languages you know the better. It is that simple. But do not be discouraged if you do not have the right qualifications in this field. There are a lot of three-month courses that will equip you with the elementary knowledge of a certain language.

English is one of the most used languages globally which is why it is vital today to have at least intermediate knowledge of it.

Mandarin and Spanish are right behind English, as they encompass a lot of countries, meaning a lot of clients in the business world.  Among other languages are German, Portuguese, Arabic, and others.

For your resume, you should write next to the language what level of proficiency you have in that specific language (e.g. elementary, intermediate, and advanced).

Data Analysis

This is another technical skill that is very much necessary for your resume. It entails gathering different information and then transforming and using it to help certain enterprises evolve and improve.

There are different tools and software you use for this task. It may not be that easy since you need to complete a whole process of gathering data, collecting and cleaning it, then analyzing it and finally interpreting your results, in words or a table, and visualizing those using charts, graphs, etc.

The numbers and figures you can demonstrate to your superior using data analysis will help them with decision making so they can improve their management, profitability, solving issues, targeting audiences and introducing innovations.

Bookkeeping

This skill is a segment of the accounting process in business as it deals with recording financial transactions, including payments, collections, etc.

Having the skill of bookkeeping will help your superior with various aspects of developing their enterprise, like the above-mentioned skill. As the list of all the transactions may be requested by the law or by the investor, managers must hire someone with this ability.

Additionally, it is significant to both owners and lenders, so the skill is very much in-demand.

Not only will it help them with their financial management as numerous transactions are organized and written down, but it will help them monitor and control their company’s revenue and disbursement.

Advanced Internet Research Skills

Advanced research skills encompass searching, choosing, organizing, analyzing, construing and evaluating information that is important to a subject in question. As with data analysis, you need to fulfill this entire process of tasks to accomplish a certain goal.

We do this type of activity every day on the Internet, but in business, you do it more thoroughly. To impress the employer, attach to your resume a certain work you had written in the past.

This skill is of use to employers as they can profit in their overall growth of the company, their relation with the competitors and audience, they can gain more information on what their audience desires, and they can keep up with the latest trends in business.

Project Management

This technical skill encompasses the use of knowledge, strategies, and tools to achieve a specific goal while meeting certain project requirements. The project can be related to any area of expertise, like technology, architecture or finance.

Project managers are people, who can take up a lot of responsibility, organize people and their skills, consider possible risks and know how to communicate with people.

To properly put this skill in your resume, add an achievement from your experience, or certain projects and their successful results. This will surely catch the employer’s attention.

Mathematics

As you have read some of the technical skills, such as data analysis or bookkeeping, it may be clear why this one is listed here as well.

Mathematics comprises various forms of calculation, percentage, statistics, and relevance to finance. It is a complicated and vast field of knowledge. This is why this skill is perceived by employers as a crucial value in employees.

Unlike the above-mentioned skills, this is a rather general one, so try to formulate it in the right manner. In addition to your calculation skills, you can supplement that you are experienced in deductive and inductive reasoning, as well as in using quick and practical mathematical methods to solve financial matters.

Social Media Management

Using social media nowadays is surely not enough for you to put on the resume. However, if you had experience with using such platforms for digital marketing, you will have a skill worthy of a resume.

Instead of indicating your former uses of platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, specify your skills in managing various accounts, using and analyzing the data from the platforms, increasing marketing trends and cooperating with your team.

Employers need experienced staff in this area since this aspect improves their relationship with the audience, saves a lot of time and enables them to control their marketing easily.

Human Resources

If you put strong communication or great at decision making and ethics in your resume, you may be a perfect fit for a company that requires workers in the human resource department.

Active listening, negotiation, teamwork, and leadership are just some of the soft skills employers might remark as treasured skills for an employee in human resources.

But the technical skills you need for this area of expertise involves training people, engaging employees and managing certain projects.

In case you have a lot of experience in HR, you could add a company where you previously worked or include a case where you solved a problem properly so that the recruiters can see your skills in practical cases, rather than just in lists.

Business Intelligence

Using specific software and choosing certain processes to transform historical data to resolve business issues and enhance its general performance is what business intelligence requires.

It is essential for large enterprises as well as for small and medium enterprises because, without this type of assistance, any company can easily go into liquidation.

To endorse your BI skills to the employer, write a few activities your former employment entailed, such as enumerating BI systems you are proficient, applying positive changes to improve the company’s productivity and finance reports, etc.

Programming

This is one of the most popular and in-demand technical skills. However, if you have an educational background that does not correspond to this skill or those similar to this one, you should look above to see what does your education qualifies you for.

This skill encompasses many smaller skills within it like knowledge of programming language/s, abstract thinking, coding, attention to detail, and many others.

Employers are in search of employees with this expertise, as not that many people can configure computer issues and elements and think abstractly. The training is partly included in their education, but every company has its demand which is why training can be provided there as well.

In your resume, write down the programming aspects you are skilled at, applications you might have created, or some of the achievements you had in your former job.

2. THE SKILLS TO INCLUDE IN YOUR COVER LETTER

In addition to knowing how to properly open and close paragraphs in your cover letter, as well as how to greet recruiters and sign the letter in the end, you must know how to include your skills appropriately.

Your cover letter is an addition to your resume, so they should not include exactly the same characteristics and abilities. Since your resume is the original copy of your previous experience and professional expertise, the cover letter is just a supplement that will affirm that in the form of an essay.

This does not mean that you will describe yourself as a person in your cover letter, but that you should briefly throw light upon your familiarity with the new company, experienced in your area of expertise and performance at a former company while accentuating some of your soft skills.

These are some of the skills that could be mentioned in your cover letter:

Inventory Management

If you previously worked in this sector, regulating the transfer of goods from manufacturers to warehouse and point of sale eventually, you have dealt with inventory management.

You could put in your cover letter that you used certain software for controlling the cost of goods, or explain the methods and techniques you used in your former position, like stock review when it comes to this particular skill.

Video Creation

This skill is related to the general familiarity with social media, but especially the one that is most used nowadays, YouTube. Keeping up with all the innovations regarding editing, filming, and online platforms entail constant research, effort, and social media presence.

In addition to creating your own channel on this platform, you can include in your cover letter the latest achievements you had in a company, or industry, depending on your previous positions.

Information Security

Whether the physical or electrical security is in question, this type of skill requires a person that favors confidentiality, integrity, and availability. A tremendously responsible person is required for such a job, thus your experience is of great value.

The employers will want to observe from your cover letter what your previous position entailed and how long you worked in that position, whether that is a security software developer, security analyst, security consultant, etc.

Information Management

For this skill, you need to briefly comment on your previous experience with information technology, information systems, and business processes to improve the company’s strategies. Explain how your methods for using, managing and developing information stand out from other people.

This skill is valued by the employers as they seek for staff that can assess the company’s current performance, goals for the future, and plans for their achievement.

Telecommunications

Having this skill equals experience in planning, sales, marketing, customer service, and many others.

Consequently, you want to highlight in which area you are most qualified for, as well as your former position as a field manager, network designer, telecom researcher, or any other.

Do not explain in detail your former position, but connect your former liabilities and achievements to the position you are applying for.

3. HOW TO DISPLAY TECHNICAL SKILLS IN A JOB INTERVIEW

“Why are you a good match for this position?” This is what you hear before starting to talk about your virtues in a job interview. Try to be honest and fair, as you do not want to waste anyone’s time if you do not have the right qualifications for that job.

What was written in your resume and your cover letter should now be presented to the employer. Some may ask you to use certain software if you are a programmer, or they may ask you to simply describe a situation that will reveal to them whether you have the required skills.

As not everyone has developed technical skills, since some are gained by training, many employers test your soft skills, which are aspects related to some of the technical skills, like teamwork and communication are for human resources.

In the beginning, they can inquire about how you acquired your knowledge in a specific area. After discussing your education, you may mention some of the courses, certificates or training you experienced.

Moreover, they can ask you about a certain situation or experience at the former company. This is the moment you can demonstrate your skills to them, as well as some of the additional qualifications you think they might favor for that job.

Discussing some of the tools you use in your profession, whether that is translation software or a program for bookkeeping, can display to the employer your experience and approaches to doing your job.

Not everyone uses the same programs, software, and tools as you do, so details such these reveal important aspects to recruiters.

Categories below are examples of how you can display technical skills in a job interview:

Technical Writing

Depending on the job you are applying for, you will talk about your former job and material you wrote, like manuals, website material, articles, etc.

But despite the specific work you have done, you must know how to identify the audience to research and formulate your content appropriately and clearly. Mention your skills in research, relations with clients, planning, precision, interaction with Subject Matter Experts, and others.

Data Analysis

Every company needs employees who can research, calculate, organize and interpret data relevant to the management of products, relations with clients and overall performance of the company.

For this topic, you will talk about your experience with statistics, quantitative research, and reports, database management, modification, analytics, algorithms… Naturally, you will focus on some, not all, of the mentioned skills.

Focus on the way you express yourself and present your former experience, as the display is also observed by the employers.

Numerous positions are related to these skills, so evaluate which ones might come up in your interview and be prepared to describe to the employer what your former position taught you and equipped you for.

Digital Marketing

In a job interview, regarding digital marketing, the employer can ask you what platforms are preferable in your opinion for business and why, what are your strategies for using data from online platforms, whether you have experience in analytics, marketing, etc.

Depending on a job, you will evaluate possible questions and prepare them in advance. For instance, you can accentuate your experience with marketing software, if the job implies digital marketing and familiarity with certain platforms.

They can also inquire about the ways you develop and work on your technical skills. You can mention some of the courses you enrolled in recently or recent certificates you attained.

Programming and Coding

As mentioned in the first heading, having the skill of coding and knowing a programming language makes you stand out and the employer will unequivocally ask you about it.

Numerous minor skills are part of this one such as the use of applications, hardware, network security, operating systems, and many others.

What you need to focus on in the interview is your specialty, since this skill is a broad one and there are many types of programmers. If you had done a freelance job, mention to the employer that as well. You never know, they might demand someone with your exact expertise.

Since this is a complicated and broad area of expertise, they might ask you to explain your skills in simple terms, as you might need to know in your new position how to communicate to people who are not programmers.

Project Management

Unlike in your resume or your cover letter, you can discuss your former experience in more detail in the interview. This is yet another broad area of expertise, thus it includes various technical and soft skills.

You should pay attention to that you highlight your technical skills to the employer, and if they want to discuss your soft skills, you can turn to them as well.

Undoubtedly, a mix of skills is required in this field. Some of the technical ones are quality control, scheduling, task management, and budget planning, and some of the soft are teamwork, time management, and leadership.

If they inquire about what qualities a project leader should have, you can discuss some of the soft skills, such as delegation, positivity, and organization.

CONCLUSION

To sum up, there are many aspects to take into consideration before sending out a resume and a cover letter. At one point, you will be interviewed and you will be obligated to affirm your written presentation.

Skills are various and can be acquired or be a part of your personality. Technical are the ones you need to focus on if you have attained the right amount of practical knowledge. Soft are the ones you need to use as a supplement to practical skills, but both are of value to the company and employers.

Some employers prefer soft to technical skills, but in either case, try to highlight the ones you possess. Being dishonest in these situations can only have a negative impact.

The lists above will help you combine the right ones that identify you as an employee. When you combine the right technical and soft skills you can write your resume properly, by using examples rather than listing your characteristics.

As you will demonstrate your practical acquaintance with a certain area, you will orally present them to the employer in the interview. Do not focus on the skills you do not possess. Accentuate the area you are educated for and manifest in which ways you could be of advantage to their company.

Research all the skills employers pay the most attention to and prepare for your interview so that you can discuss your qualifications. Moreover, prepare for a possible task on the spot in your area of expertise.

In this way, you cannot be surprised or confused by the questions you are asked in the interview. Instead, you will be aware of your virtues and abilities and ready to show them properly to the recruiters.