Every job requires applicants to have a clearly defined set of hard skills. Why? Because hard skills can predict how suitable a candidate is for a job.
To excel in your job, you need a set of skills relevant to your profession. And that’s why recruiters pay attention to the skills section on your CV. But what type of skills do they look out for? Your hard skills and soft skills.
What do hard and soft skills mean? Are hard skills “hard to get” and soft skills a little bit…well, soft? No, not at all. Hard skills show how good you are at a specific job, while soft skills show that you’re a great fit anywhere. More on that later.
In this article, I will show you 125 hard skills that can make your CV great! No, it’s not a long list of skills that will bore you. And yes, they are sorted by job functions! So, let’s dive right in!
What are Hard and Soft Skills
Hard skills are measurable work-related skills needed to tackle job-specific duties. These skills are clearly defined and predict (on paper) how well you can perform at a job. Hard skills focus on using tools, software, or equipment. Examples of hard skills are college degrees, web design, Photoshop, etc.
Nobody is born with hard skills. For example, you were not born with the ability to code. However, hard skills are learnable. You can learn them on the job or through training, curricula, online courses, books, and so on. And you can perfect these skills through education, practice, and repetition.
In contrast, soft skills are a part of one’s traits or personality. And these traits are not necessarily unique to any job. For example, while every company needs a leader with good leadership skills (a soft skill), they don’t necessarily need a leader who knows how to program a computer (a hard skill).
Soft skills differ from hard skills in that they are not easy to measure or quantify. Examples of soft skills include time management, leadership, teamwork, etiquette, etc. As you might have fathomed, both hard and soft skills are important to landing jobs. Let’s look at 125 hard skills that should be on your CV (depending on your job function, of course).
Looking for a job, but unsure how to list your hard skills in the resume? Don’t Worry, Create your winning CV today with the No.1 Resume Builder in Nigeria at Reventify.
125 Examples of Hard Skills on Resume
Here are 125 hard skills that appear great on your CV! Check out the list of hard skills needed for your specialization and job function!
- Hard Skills for Project Management
Project management is becoming increasingly important in information technology, construction, and health care. Here is a list of project management hard skills to have when applying for a project management role.
- Account Management
- Agile Methodology
- Budget Control
- Risk Reporting
- Budget Management
- Project Budget Development
- Risk Management and Control
- Cost Management
- Financial Analysis for Project Decisions
- Human Resource Management
- Hard Skills for Creative and Design
Are you applying to a web design, graphics design, or illustrator position? Some creative design hard skills will help you get the job done. Check out this list of hard skills for creative and design-related jobs.
- Adobe Creative Suite
- Canva
- Instructional Design
- Video Editing
- Technical Drawings
- Hard Skills for Information Technology
Usually, most recruiters want employees to have at least some basic information technology hard skills. Some hard skills for information technology will prove useful on the job! Here’s the list of hard skills for information technology.
- Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
- Configuration Management
- Algorithm Development
- AWS
- Bioinformatics
- Cloud Computing
- Apache Spark
- CAD
- Gitlab
- Cryptography
- Hard Skills for Education
Are you applying to an education position? Some education hard skills can help you get the job done! Check out this list of hard skills for education-related jobs.
- Written Communication
- Writing Lesson Plans
- Classroom Management Software & Systems
- Microsoft Office
- Documentation
- Chemistry
- Technology
- Biology
- Program Development
- Statistics
- Hard Skills for Sales and Business Development
Every business seeks to make sales and grow! Some sales and business development hard skills can help you get the job done. Check out this list of hard skills for sales and development!
- Cash Management
- Business Strategy
- CRM Tools
- Microsoft Dynamics
- Business Systems Analysis
- Product Design
- Product Management
- Product Marketing
- Sales Management
- Zendesk
- Hard Skills for Nursing and Health Care
Would you like to work in the nursing and health care niche? Some nursing and health care hard skills can help you get the job done. Check out this list of hard skills for nursing and health care!
- Clinical Research
- Record Keeping
- Emergency Care
- Phlebotomy
- Clinical Study
- Clinical Trials
- Drug development
- Oncology
- Pharmacology
- Scientific Writing
- Hard Skills for Management
Are you applying to a management position? Some management hard skills can help you get the job done. Check out this list of hard skills for management-related jobs.
- Business Planning
- Change Management
- Employee Evaluation
- Organizational Development
- Staff Development
- Managing Quality
- Business Reengineering
- Strategic Planning
- Risk Management
- Managing Change
- Hard Skills for Finance and Accounting
Are you applying for a finance and accounting position? Some finance and accounting hard skills will help you get the job done. Check out this list of hard skills for finance and accounting jobs.
- Budget Control
- Business Administration
- Data Management
- Financial Analysis
- Financial Management
- Tax Accounting
- Visual Basic
- Trend Analysis
- Statistical Analysis
- Financial Modeling
- Hard Skills for Hospitality
Are you applying to a hospitality-related niche? Some hospitality hard skills can help you get the job done. Check out this list of hard skills for hospitality jobs.
- Competitive Analysis
- Back Office Operations
- Club Management
- Facility Management
- Front Desk Operations
- Inventory Planning
- Kitchen Operations
- Vendor Management
- Travel and Tourism
- Program Management
- Hard Skills for Legal
There are certain hard skills you need to have when applying for legal jobs? With legal hard skills, you can get so much done. Check out this list of hard skills for legal jobs.
- Acquisition
- Administrative Law
- Will Preparation
- Intellectual Property
- Trial Law
- Patent Law
- Corporate Law
- Probate law
- Crisis Management
- Stock Administration
- Hard Skills for Architecture and Construction
Would you like to apply for an architecture and construction position? Some architecture and construction hard skills are indispensable in getting the job done. Check out this list of hard skills for architecture and construction.
- Architectural Rendering
- AutoCAD
- Interface Design
- Visual Design
- LEED
- Industrial Design
- Design Development
- Construction Administration
- Civil 3D
- CAITA
- Hard Skills for Human Resources
Would you like to apply for an HR position? Some HR hard skills can aid in getting the job done. Check out this list of hard skills for HR jobs!
- Employee Empowerment
- Employee Retention
- Benefits Administration
- Career Pathing
- Diversity Management
- Employment Laws
- Industry Trends
- Leadership Development
- Manpower Planning
- Labor Arbitration
- Hard Skills for Operations
Would you like to apply for an operations position? Some operations hard skills are indispensable in getting the job done. Check out this list of hard skills for operations!
- Agile Manufacturing
- Asset Management
- Automated Manufacturing
- Call Centre Operations
- Capacity Planning
- Capital Machinery Acquisition
- CNC Machining
- Concurrent Engineering
- Contract Management
- Workflow Optimization
If you possess any of the hard skills mentioned above and are looking for a job, Let’s get started with Revealify and Create a winning CV and get a high-paying job with the No.1 CV Builder in Nigeria.
How to List Hard skills on a Resume
It’s not enough to know what hard skills to list on your CV. What’s also important is how you list them. You want to be able to capture the attention of anyone scanning through your CV. Because only then can you land yourself an interview.
These three steps will help you list your hard skills properly on your CV.
- Find out the skills recruiters are looking out for
It will be a foolhardy move to copy and paste your hard skills across every CV you submit. You should first read through the job description and advert then research the job position. Here, you’ll find all the necessary details you need.
If you have the skills they require, then you put them. However, don’t be tempted to state the skills you don’t have just because it’s in the job advert.
- Ensure you list your skills on the first page of your CV
In jobs where there’s an absolute requirement for a hard skill, you can list your set of hard skills on the first page of the CV, as you can see here. For example, the ability to use specific programming software such as Python.
However, this doesn’t apply to all jobs.
- Mention your hard skills in your work experience
When writing about your work experience, don’t just state the position you held in the company. Instead, explain how your hard skills helped you achieve or fulfill the job’s objectives (or a particular objective).
Use bullet points or asterisks to make this stand out. For example:
- Applied the principles of Lean manufacturing to redesign the Trello system. Decreased inventory costs by 38%.
Conclusion
So here we are! 125 skills for a great CV! If you don’t have the necessary hard skills needed to excel in your job, don’t feel bad. There are a number of affordable courses you can attend online and get the relevant hard skills in no time!
If you possess any of the hard skills mentioned above and are looking for a job, Let’s get started with Revealify and Create a winning CV and get a high-paying job with the No.1 CV Maker in Nigeria.
