Including technical skills on a resume is an absolute necessity. These types of skills show employers your quantifiable qualifications. In this guide, we will cover exactly what a technical skill is and some of the best examples to include on a resume.
Skills on your resume can be broken down into two main categories:
Technical skills are hard skills because they are quantifiable in some way.
Usually, a hard skill can be either learned or taught.
Writing skills on your resume is a good way to highlight your personal and professional strengths to employers.
The key to including skills is to list both hard and soft skills.
By doing so, you show employers that you are both talented and a team player.
Certain industries require more technical skills than others.
These industries include:
However, all industries have specific technical skills they look for.
All businesses have industry-specific technical skills they look for.
To determine the best technical skills to add to your resume, you must examine the requirements of the industry you are entering.
For instance, if you are seeking a job as a software developer, emphasizing that you are skilled in using programming languages will be key.
Of course, all industries have certain technical skills they seek in applicants.
There are thousands of technical skills that you can learn and develop – far more than we can cover here.
The key is to read the job description thoroughly to identify the employer’s desired skills.
Below we have defined 10 different categories of technical skills.
These tend to be the hard skills most commonly searched for by employers.
If your professional abilities do not fall into them, these categories can still be a good starting point for brainstorming technical skills within your industry.
For instance, someone working in the restaurant industry may have hard skills such as using Point of Sales systems or making reservations.
Without further ado, here are our top 10 categories for technical skills:
Programming involves many different skills and is used in a variety of industries.
From Information Technology to Web Development, programming is a widely beneficial skill.
Examples of technical skills for programming include:
As the world becomes more digitally oriented, the field of digital design is rapidly growing.
Any business or industry that deals with digital products, platforms, and applications need talented designers.
Here are five great examples of technical skills for digital design:
Businesses these days can’t survive without strong marketing teams.
As such, the need for marketing skills has only continued to increase.
Technical marketing skills employers look for include:
Writing is a vital part of any business.
Everything from sales funnels and websites to advertisements and press releases requires strong writing.
Here are five more technical skills in the field of copywriting:
At almost any job you can find, you will be required to use some form of software.
Having the ability to use the software before being hired is a great advantage in employers’ eyes.
Here five types of software commonly used in businesses you should familiarize yourself with:
Social media has become a driving factor for online engagement.
As a result, employers have begun to seek out job applicants with backgrounds and skills in using social media.
The following technical skills are great for those of you looking for work in social media:
Accounting is a foundational component of businesses.
Without it, there would be no financial organization or analysis.
Thus, accounting professionals have highly sought-after skills by employers.
These examples are excellent technical skills for anyone applying to an accounting position:
Data analysts help customers and businesses to make important decisions by scrutinizing data and information.
This field of work involves almost entirely technical skills and is highly necessary for keeping up with changing trends.
Examples of technical skills within data analysis include:
All jobs within the health and medicine industries involve a multitude of technical skills.
Healthcare is a vast field with many different sorts of career paths.
Here are five technical skill examples for healthcare:
Becoming a manager is no small feat – the job requires a tremendous amount of technical talent!
From planning and organizing to ensuring the satisfaction of the staff, managers do it all.
Here are five final technical skills for management:
Nowadays, a fair amount of business happens online.
As a result, remote work environments have become more and more common.
This has required many professionals to learn how to use productivity software to connect and collaborate with their teams.
Understanding how to use a specific productivity software is a key technical skill in an increasingly digital world.
Here are 5 key productivity software to familiarize yourself with:
For even more ideas on skills to include on your resume, check out our guide on 100+ Key Skills for a Resume (with Examples for Any Job).
Generally, you should include your technical skills in a separate skills section of your resume.
Certain skills can be included within the work experience.
However, it is best to prioritize soft skills in the work experience section, as this allows you to provide greater context and detail.
Here is an example of how to format a technical skills section:
In this example, imagine the job applicant is applying for a position as an administrative assistant.
Incorrect:
Technical Skills
• CPR and First Aid Certified
• Fast Typing Speed
• Computer Skills
Why It’s Wrong: When listing your technical skills, you want them to be both relevant and clear.
The employer shouldn’t have to wonder why you are including certain skills.
While it may come in handy for you to have a CPR certification, it is not the most relevant to the job.
Additionally, “fast typing speed” and “computer skills” lack quantifiable details to make them valuable to the employer.
Correct:
Technical Skills
• Microsoft Office Suite Certified
• Typing Speed of 75 Words per Minute
• Spreadsheets and Data Visualization
In this corrected example, the skills are much more specific and quantifiable.
This is what you want from technical skills – to provide employers with exact details about your abilities.
Are you feeling lost on where to start with formatting your resume?
Read our guide on How to Choose the Correct Resume Format (with Examples).
If you lack many good or relevant technical skills, it is important to take the time to develop some.
Luckily, there are many resources and courses available today to help professionals develop their skillsets.
This can include going back to school or learning from home!
Here are 3 great ways to start improving your technical skills:
Your technical skills on your resume inform an employer of your abilities.
By including the correct ones, you can significantly improve the impression you leave with your resume.
Here are our top 5 takeaways for including technical skills on a resume:
Easy Resume offers a wide collection of free resume guides and career advice articles. Check them out today to learn more about creating the perfect resume for you!
Ed is a co-founder of Easy Resume. His background in scaling teams at tech startups over the last decade has given him extensive experience and knowledge around how to hire top talent and build successful teams. He enjoys mentoring, coaching, and helping others reach their career goals. When he's not writing about career-related advice, he's playing with his dog, Lilo, or going on long hikes in upstate New York.
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