10 Best Tips on Covering Hard Skills In Your Resume

In this guide, you’ll learn all about hard skills as markers of experience and how to successfully incorporate them in your resume. Professional resume writers near me will cover such fundamentals as the definition of hard skills, a general list of those, and their importance for any job. You’ll also find the list of the best hard skills to add to your resume and how to back them up with certifications or a diploma.

Definition of Hard Skills

So what are hard skills and how to differentiate them from soft ones when you apply for a job? Hard skills are position-specific competencies that are acquired through formal education, training, courses, or previous work experience. They usually have to do with work responsibilities related to a specific technology, software, tools, systems, etc. They can also show expertise in a particular subject of an applicant, like Blockchain or storytelling.

On the contrary, soft skills do not correlate with job-specific duties and are more based on personal characteristics (leadership).

For employers, hard skills are much easier to evaluate. They are one of the key factors that help to land an interview, where you can showcase your soft skills.

According to Indeed, the most required hard skills among applications in 2021 are:

• computer technology;
• marketing;
• communication (writing);
• data analysis and analytical skills;
• design;
• web development;
• languages.

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List of Hard Skills

There is a multitude of hard skills employers may request from you, especially if you pursue your career as a manager who needs to be a good example of leadership. Still, here are the examples of hard skills that are required more often:

• computer skills (MS Office, Google Drive Suiteб уесю);
• analytical skills (research, data analysis);
• technical skills (engineering, science);
• presentation skills (visual communication, slideshows);
• marketing (SEO, SEM);
• writing (copywriting, journalism, grant writing);
• languages;
• design;
• project management.

How to Put Hard Skills to List on Resume

How to formulate good hard skills for resume to land a job? There are several ways to do it, such as:

• Write a separate section with a list of hard skills for a resume. If a laborer looks for a specific set of those, put the skills section above the experience;
• Illustrate key skills with real-life examples in the experience section. For example “produced 3,500 words blog posts weekly” for content writing.
• Showcase experiences, qualifications, and certifications that prove your expertise.
• Research job description to find the necessary hard skills in the “requirements” part. Use the same keywords to get through an applicant tracking system.

Best Hard Skills for Resume

To showcase your knowledge and suitability to a business or a team, here are some of the best hard skills to put on resume:

• computer proficiency;
• project management;
• languages;
• digital marketing;
• HTML/CSS/ JavaScript;
• data analysis;
• video or photo editing;
• graphic design;
• business writing;
• social media management;
• content creation;
• digital communication and presentation;
• data engineering;
• strategic planning and budgeting;
• network security.

Now, let’s talk in detail about them.

Computer Skills

Even if you are not a computer engineer, there are lots of computer skills for resume you should consider including. A basic level of computer proficiency and knowledge of computer specifics is expected in almost any position. You may include any software you’re familiar with and that is relevant to the job application, such as:

• MS Office;
• Google Drive Suite;
• Blockchain;
• Python, Ruby, JavaScript;
• database management;
• enterprise systems;
• spreadsheets;
• bookkeeping.

Here’s an example of showcasing these skills in the experience section: optimized payroll spreadsheets with Excel formulas and decreased processing time by 32%. Knowledge about hardware is also worth mentioning.

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Analytical Skills

A lot of job seekers do not know what to list as analytical hard skills for resume. Here are some examples for you:

• gathering data;
• diagnostics;
• theorizing;
• research;
• reporting;
• forecasting;
• data interpretation;
• database management.

For example, one might write “gathered and interpreted data on client retention through email marketing and prepared quarterly results with forecasting”.

Technical Skills

Technical skills are essential if you want to get more interviews in science or engineering fields. The hard skills list might include knowledge of specific tools and software as well as STEM skills in general, for instance:

• prototyping;
• automated billing systems;
• web development: HTML/CSS/JavaScript;
• software development (C++, Python, Ruby, Java, etc.);
• CRM platforms;
•  Artificial Intelligence;
• cloud computing;
• CAD.

For example: introduced an automated billing system into the team that increased the time of bill processing by 56%.

Presentation Skills

Hard skill examples related to presentation cover all specific competencies that are required to do presentations efficiently, like:

• visual communication;
• data analysis and interpretation;
• research;
• graphic design;
• slideshows;
• formal presentations;
• PowerPoint.

You can illustrate those skills in the work experience section like that: prepared monthly formal presentations on paid advertising ROI with PowerPoint.

Marketing Skills

If you are looking for work in advertising, social media management, or e-commerce, it is vital to list marketing skills properly. Here are the best marketing hard skills resume examples:

• SEO;
• SEM;
• marketing campaign management;
• paid advertising;
• Google Analytics;
• PPC;
• SEMRush or Ahrefs;
• A/B testing;
• email marketing;
• social media content strategy and management;
• data visualization;
• funnel management;
• UX design.

An example for resume: introduced A/B testing for blog posting to increase SEM and conversions.  

Writing Skills

The list of professional skills of a specialist working in an office environment couldn’t be complete without hard writing competencies. Those can be:

• storytelling;
• copywriting;
• SEO writing;
• business writing (report, press releases);
• academic writing (case studies, researches);
• proposal writing;
• grant writing for applications;
• editing;
• social media content writing.

For instance: issued 7 press releases to present fresh research results of the company.

Must Skills in 2022:

Leadership skills

Management and Project Management Skills

One might think that project management is not a hard skill, but if you consider that it suggests additional learning and often involves specific tools, it gets in this professional hard skill list. For instance:

• Agile software;
• hiring experience;
• negotiating;
• PM software like Trello, Zoho, or Jira;
• strategic planning;
• budgeting;
• risk management.

It is also great to have PM certification and illustrate skills like “managed a team of 8, implemented Agile methodology into the project, and conducted daily scrums”.

Design

Design is in the top hard skills list of 2021 because lots of companies are looking for specialists in this field. The hard skills in design include:

• illustrator experience;
• work with visual materials;
• Adobe Creative Suite;
• UI;
• UX;
• photo editing and composition;
• color correction;
• logo design;
• typography;
• print design.

For example “in previous work environments, collaborated on designing a user interface for 5 mobile gaming apps”.

Language

Languages are extremely important if you want to occupy a position in an international company. Proficiency in one or several foreign languages will set you above the competition from the recruiter’s perspective. It is even better if you have a specific qualification for it – language courses or diploma.

You can list languages as hard skills on resume accordingly:

• C1 level in French and Spanish;
• Daily written business communication in German (B2);
• Client meetings in Korean (B2) and Spanish.

Additional Tips for Hard Skills

Listing hard resume skills can clearly help you land a job. It makes one stand out and shows their suitability for the position. Here are some tips on doing it right:

• Always illustrate the most important hard skills in the work experience section. If possible, add metrics to showcase your work achievements.
• Include a couple of the most essential ones in your resume profile or summary.
• Match your skills with requirements from job postings.
• Put the skills section above others if you possess job-specific ones.

Learn more about on Skillhub:

The Future of Work: Skills you will need soon

List of 5 High-Level Soft Skills in Today's workforce

7 All-Powerful Skills for a Resume you need to include

The Bottom Line

The best hard skills increase your chances of getting hired or getting an interview. Hard skills are acquired through education, training, or experience and are job-specific. They are also much easier to measure or showcase to a potential employer with examples from previous jobs. That’s why they are so important – it is the perfect way to show your expertise for this particular position.

Hopefully, this guide is the answer to what hard skills to include on resume. After all, write my resume for me request done is a specific hard skill as well. In any case, we are happy to help you.

If you are searching for hard skills to find out which are an excellent fit for you, learn more about top career tests to reveal your decision quickly.

Still, have questions about hard skills? Learn more at Career Hub.