85+ Key Skills for Your CV [Examples & How to List]

The point of a CV is to summarise your hard and soft skills, as this video explains:

Here are some of the top hard and soft abilities to list on your CV for a UK job in 2023:

If the list above hasn’t helped you decide what skills to put on your CV, keep scrolling to find:

• Good hard skills to put on your CV
• The best soft skills for your CV
• Job-specific CV skills examples
• Expert tips on how to add skills to your CV
• Advice about how to find more CV skills

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Good hard skills to put on your CV

Hard skills are skills you learn (coding languages, for example) so they often relate to technical expertise and are job-specific. The employer you’re targeting will be looking for certain hard skills, which means you need to clearly show all your job-relevant hard abilities on your CV.

Below are 50 common hard skills to help you decide what to put in your CV depending on the field you work in:

IT & computer science

Writing an IT CV? These are technical skills employers in your industry will look for:

• AI
• Technical support
• Cloud computing
• Programming languages (for example, Python, JavaScript, C, Ruby)
• Operating systems (like Windows, MacOS, Linux, Unix)

Analytics

The UK parliament’s latest Data science skills in the UK workforce report indicates that there aren’t enough data analysts to meet demand. So if you can highlight analytics skills like the following on your CV, you’ll be an attractive candidate for data analyst roles:

• Data visualisation
• Research
• Analytics tools (for instance, Tableau and Microsoft Power BI)
• Data structure (for example, SQL)
• Statistics

Finance

When you write your CV for a finance role, these are good hard skills to highlight:

• Financial modelling
• Accounting skills
• Auditing
• Budget management
• Tax software (like Accountsability)

Engineering

These are good examples of hard skills for an engineering CV:

• Manufacturing processes
• Quality control
• Structural analysis
• Computer aided design (CAD)
• Documentation procedures

Design

As AI takes more and more jobs, creative skills become more important. Here are hard skills that recruiting managers look for on designers’ CVs in the UK:

• Sketching
• Photoshop
• Colour theory
• UI/UX design
• Branding

Project management

Companies get ahead by streamlining their processes and getting products to market faster than their competitors. They need talented project managers to improve their efficiency. So if you have any of the skills below, emphasise them in your CV for project management work:

• Agile methodologies
• Productivity software (for example, Trello)
• Remote communication
• Negotiation techniques
• Knowledge of development processes

Foreign languages

Every day the world shrinks a little more as communication technology brings us closer together. So being able to communicate in multiple languages clearly is a skill employers need in 2023. These are examples of hard skills connected to your foreign language skills:

• Interpretation
• Text translation
• Language proficiency proof (the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, for example)
• Business writing
• Editing

Marketing

If you’re looking for hard skills that’ll make your marketing CV stand out, here are some good options:

• Copywriting
• Social media platforms
• SEO tools (for example, SEMRush, Accuranker, and Ahrefs)
• Content management tools (for instance, WordPress)
• Creativity

Administration & office support

Applying for an administrative role? Here are some hard skills for an administrator CV to give you ideas for what to put on your own:

• Scheduling
• Data protection/GDPR compliance
• General IT skills
• Human resources practices
• Making travel arrangements

Research

No matter what industry you work in, showing good research skills on your CV will set you apart from other job applicants. Here are some of the key research skills recruiting managers will be impressed by:

• Data mining
• Search engine manipulation
• Database queries
• Interview techniques
• Speed reading

The 10 best soft skills for your CV

Soft skills are commonly known as personal skills. Everyone has soft skills to some degree because you naturally pick them up as you get older.

These skills are vital in every industry. They’re also transferable skills because they can be used in all kinds of jobs.

Here are 10 soft skills employers are seeking in 2023, along with examples of how to show them on a CV:

1. Communication skills

To explain concepts to people and handle requests, you need good communication skills. Employers want to check that you’ve got good communication skills because they’ll help you interact with your colleagues and customers if hired.

2. Flexibility

In our constantly changing world (thanks, AI), flexibility allows you to adapt to changing circumstances and work effectively in a dynamic environment.

3. Critical thinking skills

Critical thinking skills allow you to analyse information, make informed decisions, and solve complex problems. If you want to show an employer you’re a critical thinker, list skills like this on your CV:

4. Leadership skills

Want to show recruiters that you have good leadership skills? Give examples from your studies or work history that show you can inspire and motivate others towards a common goal, like this applicant does:

5. Interpersonal skills

Interpersonal skills enable you to communicate effectively, build relationships, and work collaboratively with colleagues and clients. The example below shows you how to emphasise your interpersonal skill to employers:

6. Management skills

Employers prefer to hire applicants with management skills, which refer to your ability to plan, delegate, and organise tasks, ensuring efficient and effective use of company resources.

7. Customer service skills

Customer service skills help you provide excellent service to customers by addressing their needs and concerns promptly and professionally and helping retain them.

8. Creativity

Thinking outside the box and generating innovative solutions to problems are examples of creative soft skills. UK companies value creativity in 2023 because it helps them develop new products or services that build a customer base.

9. Organisational skills

Can you manage multiple tasks and deadlines, ensuring that projects are completed on time and within budget? You’ve got great organisational skills — something employers will love to see on your CV.

10. Time management skills

Time management skills let you prioritise tasks, manage your workload, and meet deadlines, resulting in increased productivity and efficiency for the company you work for.

Role-specific CV skills examples

Below are great skills for CVs written for particular jobs, followed by a list of industry-specific CV examples you can look at for skills ideas:

Retail

Writing your CV for a retail job? Here are some skills that retailers look for when they review job applications:

• Inventory management
• Merchandising techniques
• Customer service
• Point-of-sale (POS) system proficiency
• Adaptability

Cleaner

If you’re looking to get hired as a cleaner, you’ll need to show skills like these on your cleaner CV:

• Time management
• Attention to detail
• Stamina
• Self-motivation
• Relevant certifications (for example, your Level 5 Certificate in Cleaning)

Healthcare

In the UK, demand for healthcare skills is rapidly increasing. So skills like these are extremely valuable on your CV:

• Bedside manner
• NHS Constitution knowledge
• Charting and familiarity with Electronic Medical Records (EMR)
• Medical confidentiality and data protection
• Safeguarding

Teaching

A good teacher CV emphasises skills like the following:

• National Curriculum
• Blackboard
• Disciplinary skills
• PSHE
• Lesson planning

Waiter/barista

Need skills for your wait staff or barista CV? Here are some examples of the skills you’ll see requested in job adverts for these positions:

• Point of sale (POS) system operation
• Latte art
• Foreign language skills
• Hygiene/HACCP
• Wine pairing

How to add skills to your CV

Here are five tips for adding your skills to your CV in a way that makes employers want to hire you right away:

1. Find out which skills the employer needs the most

The most important skills for your CV are the ones the employer seeks. Finding those skills is easier than you think. Just look closely at the job advert and note any skills mentioned there.

Here’s an example job advert with some of the skills the employer is looking for underlined:

Once you’ve identified the skills that will make your CV stand out to the employer, create a CV (and build a cover letter) that features them prominently. Keep scrolling to find out how to put skills in each section of your CV:

2. List them in a skills section

You should list the most important skills you see in the job advert in your CV’s skills section — if you have them.

If you were writing a CV to apply for the Software Engineer role above, here’s what your skills list might look like:

As you can see, all the skills mentioned in the job advert appear in the candidate’s CV skills list.

Adding them in this section exactly as they appear in the job advert helps the recruiting manager:

• see you’re a perfect fit for the job
• notice you’ve targeted your CV to their specific job advert, making it clear you want to work for that company specifically

3. Give examples of your skills in a work history section

You should also back up the skills you’ve listed in your skills section with examples in your work history section. Doing so gives the recruiting manager a chance to measure your skill levels by seeing a CV achievement in a work context.

For example, say you’ve listed ‘Medicine administration’ as a skill on your nursing CV. Give employers an insight into your ability by writing a CV bullet point like this:

From this example, a recruiting manager can see you:

• use your skill in a clinical setting
• apply this skill on a daily basis
• provide care to 11 patients using this skill

All of this information provides insight into how often and how well you use this skill at work.

4. Summarise your top skills in a personal statement

Highlight your most important skills in your CV’s personal statement.

For example, if a receptionist job advert is looking for someone friendly, approachable, and welcoming, write a personal statement (also called a CV personal profile) that emphasises your people skills while integrating hard numbers. Something like this works:

5. Show your skills in a hobbies and interests section

It’s standard in the UK to also add hobbies associated with various skills to your CV in a hobbies and interests section.

Here’s an example: you’re applying for a graphic design job and you want to emphasise your creativity. Adding hobbies like these to your CV will make you come off as more creative:

• dance
• playing a musical instrument
• arranging flowers
• creating new recipes

Even though these hobbies don’t explicitly involve graphic design, they show recruiters you’re a creative person, so they’re worth putting on your CV.

How to find more skills for your CV

Still unsure what skills you can put on your own CV? Follow these tips to identify relevant hard and soft skills:

Frequently asked questions about skills

Here are answers to four of the most common questions asked about adding skills to your CV:

1. What skills should I put on my student CV?
2. What skills do I put on a resume?
3. How many skills do I put on my CV?
4. How do I talk about my skills in an interview?

1. What skills should I put on my student CV?

While completing your studies, you can develop many skills that transfer well to the workplace. So when you write your student CV, include skills like these (if applicable):

• Research
• Time management
• Networking
• Public speaking
• Communication

2. What skills do I put on a resume?

A resume is another name for a one-page CV, which means it doesn’t have as much room for skills as your standard two-page CV. So put only your most job-essential skills on your resume, cutting less-relevant skills — such as the ones listed in your hobbies and interests section.

You can always expand on the skills summarised on your CV when you write your cover letter.

3. How many skills do I put on my CV?

Generally, you should put 3–10 skills on your CV, depending on your CV’s layout and the role you’re applying for.

Putting less than 3 skills on your CV makes the list of your key skills look empty while adding more than 10 wastes space you should be using to describe your achievements.

4. How do I talk about my skills in an interview?

When talking about your skills in an interview, showcase how your skills and experience align with the job requirements and demonstrate how you can add value to the organisation.

Here are some tips to help you talk about your skills effectively in an interview:

• Research the company and the job description to understand the skills required for the role. This will help you to highlight your relevant skills during the interview.
• Provide specific examples of how you’ve used your skills in past jobs or experiences. Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to structure your responses and provide concrete examples.
• Focus on the skills that are most relevant to the job and the company culture. Highlight how your skills can help the company achieve its goals.
• Use language that is positive and confident. Avoid using negative language or underselling your skills.
• Be prepared to answer questions about your strengths and weaknesses. Use your skills to frame your weaknesses as areas for growth and development.