Don’t we all want to land a perfect job? A job which will entail and fulfil all our performed hard work, throughout the years. But, the distance between that dream job and you are that one-paged writeup-known as “Resume” or Curriculum Vitae. A list or a group of accomplishments, tasks, degrees, skills and what not you have done and achieved in the years of your existence.
Sadly, not all the skills listed on your resume are coherent to the job you are applying for. Skills employers want are far too different from what you might own. Having good communication skills are vital, but it is not the entirety of what an employer is after.
We have often used the word skills, across our conversations and lives. But, skills are divided into two main aspects, based on their very nature. Soft Skills, as the name suggests, contains all the qualities or skills which are common across individuals. For example, your social and communication skills, or even how you deal with your emotions in a broader context, would come under soft skills or interpersonal skills. Hard Skills or Technical skills for a resume is what differentiates you from a lot of applicants. Technical skills for a resume are those hard-earned skills that you have acquired by working in a specific domain or mastering a particular coding language or even software.
Let’s be honest, all the applicants would portray themselves as Martin Luther King when it comes to expressing or communicating, but an employer will base his selection decisions on your technical knowledge and skills. Hence it is of utmost importance that you learn those technical skills for a resume if necessary, and also briefly explain what all characteristics you have command over.
How to list such technical skills?
To start with, be honest in whatever you are going to write in your resume. It is by far the easiest task for the employer to expose your skills. One question related to that skill, and boom, you are done goodbye. Thereby, be honest about what you own- master that skill- and win your interviewer over.
Coming back to the point, let’s focus on how you can portray those technical skills for a resume right!
It all starts with understanding the job requirements!
Now that you have set your eyes on that job, scroll down to the technical skills for a resume– and understand them.
Let’s take a scenario to understand what we just said-
“To fulfil the said role, you have to have these skills
C) Search Engine Optimisation”
Now that you have understood the minimum requirements, and additionally are well versed in these fields. You should list these technical skills for a resume as followed-
1) Used MS-Excel across the business functions, have experience of using advanced skills for the last 3 years.
2) Managed the company’s social media accounts on Twitter, Pinterest, Linkedin, Facebook and Instagram. Helped to establish the brand name across the web.
3) Worked across different software, to cater for the requirements of search engine optimization needs for my company.
If you think, this listing method of technical skills for a resume are just right, then I am sorry you are mistaken. And if you felt that, “No, this is not how it is supposed to be”, then good- you are on the right path.
But, my question to you is to identify the error in listing the technical skills for a resume.
Okay, I’ll end the suspense- point three is generic in nature. “Worked across different software”- a person needs to be specific if they are listing that they’ve worked across the software. “Tailored the demands for my company’, is again a very universal assertion to list on your resume.
The right way forward is to write something like this- Used Python Script to add hreflang in the XML sitemap, to increase the rendering speed for search engines.
Wait, does this look right? I’ll give a balanced opinion- it is both infomercials, and also redundant. A person might not need such specific information as well, the mindset is right- but the technical skills for a resume can be presented in a superior manner. I’ll tell you how-
“Toiled on React, Angular, along with Word-Press and adopted various machine languages to offer an easier experience. Recently got certified in adobe and google analytics.”
Well, the above-listed way is just the right way to present your technical skill for your resume. Let us understand how it is better and more expressive than the one listed earlier.
Nor too specific, nor too generic- maintain an optimal balance-
Well, this is the sweet spot you should aim for while writing any technical skill for a resume. “Worked across different software” is generic, while “used python scripts to add hreflang” is too specific. The right way to put across your skill is by listing the software you have worked across, and briefly mention the use of machine language in the statement. Additionally, writing a certification makes the technical skills for a resume stand out.
Let us now see some categories of technical skills which you can plan on expressing in the said resume.
Broadly technical skills for a resume can be segregated into ten groups, we’ll briefly touch on all such skills.
Programming, a wide range of skills can be concluded in the following segment of hard skills. It can contain programming languages such as HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python or any other relevant language.
Cloud Computing, a quintessential technical skill for a resume everyone should own, and mastery in this can place you in a good position.
Front End Development, a technical skill that entails the developer taking care of the face of the said website. Whatever we see, and interact with on the webpage, is the work of front-end developers.
Back End Development, again a hard skill that consists of all the coding activities behind the web page. To say it easily, a back-end developer works on the “spine” of the said webpage.
Marketing Strategy, a skill every commerce graduate should have known a decade back, is now something which all individuals and businesses should use. Creating marketing funnels and leads is one of the prime skills a person can enlist in their technical skill for a resume. Email Campaign is another running project you could mention in your resume, as cold mails are often preferred as a skill by various digital marketing companies.
Accounting, a fundamental concept of any business, with few tweaks in and around, can create a highly-skilled resume. Bookkeeping is a valued function for any MSME or any other business. Listing this can be beneficial. Interpreting financial information, a company hires various strategists across the business domains to analyze and report their competitor’s financial position. Hence, a hold of ratios, cash flow management and other heads will lead you a long way.
Healthcare and Medicines, the technicalities will vary in the medical field, as the requirements can be very diverse. But to make matters simple, if you are applying for a healthcare professional job, then listing technical skills for a resume such as a cloud management of patients would be a great point to add. The reason for this is a high dependency on cloud-based software to manage patients efficiently. For applying as a doctor, you can list down the various modalities you might have had hands-on experience or any other method of operation in which you are proficient.
Management, to become a manager of a firm is no longer an easy task, employees take years of experience to land a job in management. The tactical error made by the applicants is they focus on listing their technical skills for a resume, but fail to manage the “management” side to such technicalities. For example, Budgeting, although a small word, with a limited meaning, can have many different implications and methods one can list down under this head. Negotiation, a technical skill, to be honest, although it sounds qualitative – surely weighs the quantitative and technical side. Contract negotiations are a hard-earned skill, gained with experience. Apart from the following, plans on hiring and onboarding, planning projects can be mentioned under the technical skill. One pro-tip, for a role as a manager, you must point out to what and how you have managed people and resources, and not just the daily business operations. So, while writing your technical skills for a resume, be mindful of the following.
Let’s address some commonly asked questions for technical skills for a resume.
Q.1) Are soft skills unimportant compared to technical skills?
A) Well, the answer is both yes and no. It falls under the former category, as a person with great technical skills might not have the right communication skills, thereby backfiring his candidature.
Q.2) What are some of the technical skills for a resume we should learn before applying for any job?
A) Google Suite, Zoom, Trello, Slack are some of the profound applications you should have a certification on, any other form of technical skill is most welcomed.
Q.3) How can one improve their technical skills for a resume?
- enrolling in a course
- learning from a professional
- by taking a self study programme
Q.4) What are some of the business analysis technical skills for a resume?
Some of the business analysis skills are;
- Oracle JDBC
- Eclipse- IDE
- Apache Groovy
Q.5) What are some of the accounting, technical skills for a resume?
Some of the accounting technical skills are;
- Intuit QuickBooks
- SAP
- Auditing
Thank You for reading till here, hope you learn and earn!
More Resources : Key Skills in Resume for Freshers and Experienced | Top Skills IT Engineers can Include in their Resume | Top Skills You Can Include in Your Resume | How to List Technical Skills on a Resume
