Creating a perfect CV can be challenging – you know what the employer wants to see, and you know you can do the job well, but what’s the best way to prove that using your CV?
The answer is that you need to pack your CV with relevant, crucial, and valuable skills to entice a recruiter to hire you.
However, choosing the right soft and hard skills to display throughout your CV can mean the difference between a rejection and a job offer.
The employee recruitment process is usually a lengthy and costly project.
Due to this, the recruiter is typically looking for a low-risk, high-reward employee who will perform well and stay with the company for several years.
Once you understand this, it becomes easier to guess what skills the employer is looking for in your CV!
Finally, your CV is essentially a document with ‘proof’ of your skills and experience; if you can prove you can do the job, the employer is highly likely to interview you.
Keep reading to learn about the five best job skills to put on your CV or resume today!
1. Communication Skills
One of the most critical aspects of a team’s success is teamwork, and effective communication is the cornerstone of any great team.
Proving that you’re an excellent communicator can automatically make you a stronger candidate in the eyes of the recruiter.
For customer-facing roles, team leader roles, or retail roles, strong communication skills can be the vital factor that determines whether an employer recruits you or not.
When you’re writing your CV or resume, make sure that you explain that you’re a great listener, a strong communicator, and a team-oriented individual.
Showing examples of your strong communication skills, such as specific customer interactions or team-based tasks, is an excellent way of proving that you have great interpersonal skills.
2. Digital Skills
The world revolves around computers, phones, and technology, and employers assume that candidates can use basic programs and devices without prior training.
Therefore, providing proof that you’re technologically savvy and understand how to use a range of digital software effectively is a brilliant way of distinguishing yourself from other candidates.
For entry-level roles, simply showing examples of how you’ve used digital programs in your previous jobs or your hobbies is enough to demonstrate your skills.
However, for roles that require knowledge of specific programs or expert digital skills, ensure that you provide detailed examples of how, why, and what you’ve done using your computing skills.
3. Organisational Skills
Employers expect candidates to be able to manage several tasks at once, keep track of weekly meetings, and meet ever-changing deadlines.
Therefore, showing examples of your organisational skills is a surefire way to make you a more attractive candidate.
Write down some situations where you used your strong organisational skills to fix a problem, organise a successful event, or successfully keep track of different projects.
Another great way of proving that you have strong organisational skills is to mention any programs or software that you use to assist you in organising your job or your personal life.
Finally, noting that you use programs such as Notion, Google Calendar, Microsoft Teams, or Trello in your personal and professional life makes you a much more desirable candidate.
This is because the employer won’t need to dedicate as much time and money towards teaching you how to use these programs.
4. Ambition and Motivation
Proving that you’re an ambitious and motivated person is extremely important; however, avoid going overboard.
When adding these soft skills to your CV or resume, you must link your ambition and motivation to the company instead of your personal goals and dreams.
For example, don’t state that you want to be an entrepreneur within the next three years; a recruiter will read this and see you as a candidate who plans to leave within a few years.
An ‘entrepreneurial’ candidate represents a candidate who is a poor investment of time and money, as the employer usually wants an employee to stay with the company long-term, grow into leadership positions, and provide a high return on their investment.
However, there are ways to prove your ambition, motivation, and entrepreneurial qualities will benefit your employer.
Explain that your previous entrepreneurial ventures or side hobbies are projects created to improve your knowledge and practice your skills.
You could also explain that you plan on staying with the company long-term and that your previous entrepreneurial projects have provided you with the skills and knowledge to thrive and succeed in your desired job.
A candidate who comes across as motivated, self-starting, and independent tends to succeed in project management roles, team-leader roles, and jobs with lots of duties.
Remember that an employer would love to hire a motivated and ambitious candidate instead of an unmotivated applicant, especially if you can prove that your focus is on your job and not on any previous or current side projects.
5. A Relevant Hard Skill
Finally, adding a relevant hard skill to your CV or resume is one of the most effective ways of proving that you meet the job requirements.
If you’re applying for a job as a retail cashier, state that you have previous experience working as a cashier, handling money, and operating a till.
This kind of factual, evidence-based statement inspires confidence in the recruiter and they subliminally assume that you’re experienced, professional, and capable.
Supplementing these statements with soft skills, other valuable hard skills, and examples of how you used your skills in specific situations is the best way of creating a diverse, evidence-based CV or resume that’s sure to impress recruiters!
Conclusion
In conclusion, adding these five job skills to your CV or resume will ensure that your application is significantly stronger than those of other candidates.
Your CV or resume should tell an employer that you are a strong communicator, have strong organisational skills, are technologically astute, ambitious, motivated, and have the relevant hard skills to succeed in the job.
Finally, focus on providing evidence, numerical statistics, and specific examples of your skills to impress employers and wow them with your application!
We hope you found this guide about what job skills you should put on your CV or resume useful – make sure to check out Regional Careers to find the perfect job in your local area today!
