Technical skills are crucial to all job industries because the majority of jobs rely on different tools, programs or processes to functional efficiently.
Hiring managers and recruiters look for the ideal candidates who can add value to their company. This means they are looking for someone with the right skills to get the job done.
Technical skills are an individual’s competency and knowledge required to perform a specific task. Although these skills are usually important in practical fields, the majority of employers prefer candidates with at least some type of technical skill.
1. What are technical skills
2. Are technical skills important
3. Six common marketable technical skills
4. Examples of industry-specific skills
5. How to properly highlight technical skills on your resume or cover letter
While you may have a roster of relevant technical skills, understanding which ones to write in your resume or cover letter, where to write them and how to write them is just as important. Read on for more information on these to ensure your skills do the talking for you in your job applications.
Typically, technical skills are hard skills. Skills which are taught in a class set-up and can be defined, evaluated, and measured, and are usually related to mathematics, science, or computer and technology. Therefore, technical skills are the abilities to carry out a task in professional roles such as IT, science, engineering, mechanics, or finance. These skills are ordinarily practical and sometimes mechanical. They include capabilities such as, but not limited to, programming languages, software proficiency, data analysis, project management, technical writing, and operating common systems.
Performing any task requires using specific skills, and as competitiveness in the job market continues to rise, technical skills have become vital to job seekers as they provide a competitive edge. Acquiring most technical skills requires training, on-the-job experience or education to grasp, while technical skills are fundamental given the growth of technology within the economy, there is an increasing need to have them. However, when listing them be sure to be specific and relevant to the job you are applying for.
Yes! Technical skills provide a candidate with a competitive advantage over other candidates in the job search. Generally, these skills enable a candidate to complete tasks efficiently and make the candidates valuable to employers. Correctly highlighting the relevant skills, depending on the job you are applying for, enables you to illustrate your worth and how you are the ideal candidate for the position.
To properly do this, consider the job description and determine which of your technical skills are the most appealing to employers. Generally, candidates who possess technical skills are usually more confident when applying to specific industries as compared to those who don’t. Also, the probability of increased employee efficiency doubles up for people with hard skills which makes them more valuable to the job industry.
If you are straight out of college, making a career change, or taking up a new position, you may need to consider improving or learning new skills. There are numerous ways of doing this:
With the ever booming technology industry and advancement into the digital era, technical skills enable candidates to remain relevant in the job market.
A list of relevant technical skills may come in handy when writing resumes, cover letters, job applications, and during interviews. However, it’s important to know where to list them, how to order them and the details to include. While a simple list may be enough to indicate your technical skills, this is not always the case. Offering extensive information about your abilities and experiences may be helpful. Below is a list of a few technical skills that are commonly marketable: Depending on the industry and the job you are applying for, technical skills tend to differ.
1.Project management
The ability to coordinate people, budget, and resources is a vital skill in the job market, considering project managers are crucial to every job niche. As a project manager, you are expected to define the goals, resources, and the schedule of each project. An experienced project manager will be able to deliver the demands of the project productively, use the available resources, budget cost-effectively, and use the right staff to get the job done. Ultimately, this will result in saving of resources, problem resolution, the expectation of future problem,s and a general improvement of the work environment. Generally being a project manager means that you are able to delegate tasks, measure the success of the project and being an effective leader.
Experience and knowledge in project management provide a framework and strategies for successfully achieving an expected goal. Marketable skills in project management include:
While these are not all the technical skills in project management, they are some of the basic ones recruiters may be interested in.
2. Big data analysis and business intelligence
Big data analysis is essential in many organizations because it provides crucial information, that allows the company to retain market share or distinguish their competitive edge. Having data analysis skills means possessing the ability to collect, organize, and then interpret the data. The evaluation of large data sets is an intricate activity. However, the results are essential for the company when it comes to identifying correlations, highlighting the company’s primary customers, and assessing returns on investments, to determine the critical areas of the business that require improvements. The most marketable data analysis skills include:
Big data analysis and business intelligence skills enable companies to deduce analysis that can be used by the company to take profitable actions using various tools and systems.
3. Social media expertise
Positions in PR, marketing, web development, or other roles that use social platforms input, require more than just the phrase ‘well-versed in social media platforms’ but somewhat quantifiable experience. The following skills are highly marketable in the roles mentioned above:
Social media expertise enables companies to effectively market and promote their brands. Having skills pertaining to social media means having the ability to connect with people, get them to listen, the specific time or time of day to communicate, and what message will be relayed to which audience to get the desired results.
4. Coding and programming
Other than software engineering, several different jobs require coding and programming languages. Different Information technology roles, such as customer support service teams or project managers, should possess basic comprehension of programming and coding skills, to support clients and manage projects effectively. The most marketable skills include:
Although computer programming skills may seem intimidating, given the wide variety of skills recruiters are interested in, but don’t be discouraged. As with any hard skills you can easily learn or polish your skills to fit the job market.
5. Technical writing
Numerous jobs require writing skills for written communication, which need technical writers to explain complicated information in a manner that is easily understandable by the target audience. This usually involves tasks such as sending messages or emails to customers or manufacturers, or writing press releases, web content, or even manuals for customers. Marketable skills include:
Technical writing is more than just the ability write and simplify technical information but also the task of converting information into undertables content for a specific audience. As such, industries such as consulting, engineering, financial services, telecommunications, publishing, government are interested in experienced technical writers.
6. Productivity software application
The majority of industries employ common and specialized software referred to as productivity software. These applications are specifically designed to get work done faster and efficiently. They include software skills such as:
Although, having these skills is common to among many people, getting formal training to prove your qualification is just as important.
Technical skills differ by industry, so it’s essential to research the industry you are interested in. You can easily do this by going through job descriptions in specific sectors and noting down the common technical skills listed. Below is a list of some industry-specific technical skills
when considering the skills to put on your resume or cover letter, remember relevance is paramount, choose the skills that relate to the job you are applying for. Also, organize them in a manner that evokes the most appeal from recruiters
The industry-specific nature of technical skills means that they play a vital role in your resume or cover letter, and are the one thing that stands between you and your dream job. Ensure the skills that are most relevant to the position are appropriately highlighted. Keep in mind that emphasizing your technical skills can land you the job, so make them scan-able. Use bullets or numbering to provide a distinctions especially if you possess several sets of skills in different fields.
1. Create a specific technical skills section
If your technical skills strongly match the job description, then they should appear at the top of your resume just below the introduction or personal statement and above your professional experience section. Bulleting your skills makes them scan-able and easily noticeable. Also, if you have an array of skills about your competences, you can start by noting the category followed by the specific skills.
For instance:
Creating skill section allows recruiters to quickly determine whether you are the perfect fit for the role or company.
2. Quantify your skills
After listing your skills in the section above your professional experience, quantify your qualifications by using your experiences, education or training parts of your resume. Ensure you indicate how your skills enabled you to achieve specific goals or benefitted previous employers. If you recently graduated from college use your education, training or any internship experience that may have helped you acquire the relevant skills to the job you are interested in.If you had a previous job that related to the job you are interested in, in the experience section, highlight how these skills enabled you to benefit your previous employer and so on.
3. Create a strong personal statement
Frame your introduction or personal statement to include all the skills or rather as a qualification summary. This will highlight all your qualifications and professional experience, making you stand out as a candidate. Also, since the introduction is usually the first thing on a resume, ensure that you highlight the relevant skills which target the position you are applying for. Effectively highlighting your skills using a qualification summary puts you a step closer to landing your dream job.
Unlike soft skills, hard skills are constantly changing. Whether you’ve landed your job or not, it is vital to continually refresh your hard skills, and keep up with the ever-changing and demanding information technology, scientific and mathematical related industries. Use your hard skills as often as possible and enroll in continuing education to keep up with the relevant skills, programs or tools in the industry. Featuring your skills at the beginning of your resume makes it easy for the hiring manager or other potential employers to quickly discern whether you’re the perfect fit for the job or not. Also, regularly update your resume when you gain a new skill or improve on the ones you already possess, and if you haven’t revamped your resume recently, now is the time to write a killer resume to land you your dream job.
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This is very informative, thanks for sharing. I appreciate your hard work.
By Shobi Imran (Mar, 2019) |