Hard Skills in Practice
As discussed in our previous blog “CV Breakdown Hard Skills and Soft Skills” hard skills are abilities which can easily be taught and measured. They are often job specific and can be obtained through formal education and training courses.
Hard skills are a necessity for any more highly skilled position, as an understanding of more complex matters will be needs to effectively carry out the job.
These skills are the fundamental building blocks which allow you to function in your job, whilst soft skills are the supplementary aspects that enable you to excel.
So…let’s cover 8 hard skills which can prove to be invaluable when applying for various positions:
1: Numeracy Skills.
Every job, even the most creative ones, will require you to engage with numbers and statistics at some point – whether it is adding up data or figuring out how to distribute a budget.
It’s entirely possible that you may be requested to create a report on a projects performance or calculate the revenue generated by a specific venture to determine whether or not it is cost efficient.
Furthermore, even if it is a simple computation, you may be required to employ numbers in a more generalized manner. This will apply to the majority of businesses, making numeracy skills a valuable asset on your resume.
2: IT and Computing Skills.
If you conduct a search for a list of the top hard talents for 2021, it is likely that the results will be dominated by technological skills.
Both the IT industry and the implementation of technology throughout different sectors has grown at a rapid pace, and there is a severe shortage of IT professionals across all industries.
There is a large plethora of IT and computing related skills which can be majorly attractive to employers, including knowledge in cryptocurrency and blockchain, cloud computing, cybersecurity, mobile app development, user experience designers, wireless networking, and telecommunications.
3: Analytical Skills.
Many jobs today involve the breaking down and analysis of data, which is then used to influence future decisions.
This data analysis can involve simple metrics such as social media engagement and company stocks to more complicated issues such as the allocation of government funding.
If you have experience and can demonstrate that you have competency in database administration, data processing, critical thinking, and reporting.
4: Marketing Skills.
With the explosion is popularity of social media and the internet, the emphasise placed on marketing capabilities across a large number of sectors has become more prevalent than ever.
If you have established and practiced marketing skills then it is possible for you to promote any number of products, services, and concepts.
Marketing skills are essential when looking to be employed in the media, advertising, or commerce sector, but can also be transferred to any occupation which requires a product or service to be presented before a target audience.
Marketing skills and certifications can be learnt online or in person and some of the most attractive skills you can learn include Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), content marketing, videography, social media marketing and copywriting.
5: Data Analysis.
Data analysis encapsulated anything from creating graphs to identifying data trends falls under the category of data analysis, and it may be accomplished using programs such as Google Analytics (GA) and Microsoft Excel.
The level of knowledge you will require in this area will vary depending on the industry in which you will be employed.
Considering that many marketers will require data analytical abilities in order to identify trends in client involvement, uncover leads, and attract new customers, among other things – it should come as no surprise that this is a desirable skill to have.
The ability to perform data analysis well can demonstrate that you pay close attention to detail and are adept at problem solving, both of which are qualities that many employers seek for on a CV.
6: Sales Skills.
A hard sales skillset is a set of formal and technical abilities which can be gained through sales training programs, practice on the job, or by attending seminars and training courses.
Sales skills can be used, not just in sales jobs and can demonstrate an ability to communicate and adapt quickly. This skillset can highlight product knowledge, goal setting and achievement, the use of CRM software and administration, business communication, and sales presentation.
When writing in you CV, sales is one of the easier skills to display practical experience as you can show your competency by stating impressive sales targets you hit and potentially even include a sample sales presentation to really ‘sell’ your CV.
7: Proficiency in a Foreign Language.
With the growth of global corporations, bilingual professionals are in greater demand than ever before.
Having an additional language under your belt can be highly attractive to internationally based companies who would instantly see the value in being able to relocate you to external offices and work sites should circumstances permit.
When describing your language abilities, be sure to include your level of proficiency. This can be classified according to the certificates you have earned. Usually this will be broken down into: Beginner / Intermediate / Conversational / Fluent. as beginning, intermediate, conversational, and fluent.
The top 10 most desired languages for a career are:
- Mandarin Chinese
- German
- Portuguese
- Japanese
- Spanish
- Korean
- French
- Arabic
- Hindi
- Russian
8: Writing Skills.
Writing skills are often a lynchpin skillset to achieving workplace successes. Nearly all jobs require a level of writing abilities, and those which are more office based often demand a higher level of writing ability.
Being able to write well is a crucial hard skill for a wide range of sectors, from writing blog entries to putting together presentations for customers.
These writing-related skills will allow you to demonstrate your ability to put pen to paper and include copywriting, copyediting, storytelling, storyboarding, press release creation, journalism, SEO content creation, email, and report creation.
Certifications And Licenses
While certifications and licenses may not be considered hard skills in and of themselves, including them in your CV skills section is an effective method of indicating how you have a more advanced understanding of specific skills and concepts.
If you have any certifications that are unique to the job or industry for which you are applying, make sure to include them prominently on your resume.
If you want to distinguish yourself from the competition, make sure to sprinkle these abilities throughout your CV. Aside from that, you should take care to adapt each CV you write to contain abilities that are relevant to the position for which you are applying.
