Key skills for you to include on your CV (with examples)

Your CV is one of the most important tools for landing a job. It's your chance to make a good first impression, sell yourself to potential employers and show off your skills. But what exactly are the skills that you should put on your CV? It’ll depend on the role, but key skills include customer service, sales, marketing, teamwork and leadership.

To figure out which skills are most important for your CV, take some time to assess the job description, the industry and the requirements. Once you know what skills an employer is looking for, tailor your CV to match their needs.

To help you along the way, we’ll cover some of the top skills to include on your CV and how you do this.

We’ll run through:

• Key skills to put on your CV to get a job
• Hard skills vs soft skills
• Best skills to include on a CV by industry
  • Consulting
  • Retail
  • Engineering
  • Finance
  • Banking
  • Law
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • Public sector
  • Sales
  • Science
  • IT
• How to identify your most relevant skills
• How to include your best skills in a CV

When writing a CV, it's important to include the right skills. Hiring managers don't spend a lot of time reviewing CVs, so the most important information needs to stand out.

Some of the most common skills employers say they’re looking for include:

• Communication
• Teamwork
• Problem-solving
• Organisation
• Time management
• Critical thinking
• Interpersonal skills
• Computer literacy
• Analytical skills
• Customer service

If you see a skill mentioned in the advert for the graduate job you’re applying for, make sure it’s on your CV. And even if it’s not mentioned in an advert, highlight any skill an employer will expect you to have. For example, if you know you’ll be collaborating with colleagues, call out your teamwork.

Highlight your hard and soft skills to give yourself the best chance of getting an interview.

So, what’s the difference between hard and soft skills?

Hard skills are specific abilities that prepare you for a particular job. Hard skills are teachable. You’ll usually learn these skills through formal education or training programmes. This type of skill is also measurable.

Examples of hard skills include:

• Computer technology
• Data analysis
• Marketing hard skills
• Management skills
• Multilingualism

Soft skills are personal attributes that help you interact with others. Soft skills are harder to quantify than hard skills, but they’re just as important.

Examples of soft skills include:

• Communication
• Teamwork
• Problem-solving
• Leadership
• Time management

Soft skills are more difficult to learn than hard skills, but they’re more transferable as you can apply them in a wide range of situations and industries.

Whether you're starting your career or looking to make a change, you need to show employers that you’ve got both kinds of skills. Being excellent at data analysis won’t impress recruiters if you’re always late.

While many skills are transferable across industries, every sector still has specific needs. Knowing the skills needed per industry will make all the difference when job hunting.

Here’s a guide to the most important skills for the following industries:

• Consulting
• Retail
• Engineering
• Finance
• Banking
• Law
• Management
• Marketing
• Public sector
• Sales
• Science
• IT

Can’t see the sector you’re interested in? Skip ahead to our advice on how to identify your most relevant skills or take our Career Path Test.

Consultants provide advice to businesses and organisations. So, they need to understand complex problems and find solutions. Consultants also have to be good at building relationships and communicating with clients.

You need the following consulting skills to succeed in the industry:

• Analytical skills
• Problem-solving
• Communication
• Relationship-building
• Critical thinking

The number one skill for retail? Customer service.

To succeed in retail, you need to deal with challenging situations and drive sales while providing a positive experience for customers. To do this, you need excellent communication and people skills.

Retail employers also value candidates with good time management and organisation skills. Employers must trust that you’ll turn up according to the rota.

If you’re applying for a retail job, make sure you shout about the following retail skills on your CV:

• Customer service
• Communication
• Teamwork
• Time management
• Organisation

Engineers design, develop and maintain systems, products and structures. They use scientific and mathematical principles to solve problems. Engineers also think creatively and have strong problem-solving skills.

So, to secure an interview, highlight the following engineering skills on your CV:

• Analytical skills
• Problem-solving
• Creativity
• Critical thinking
• Mathematical skills

Employers in the finance industry are looking for people with strong analytical and mathematical skills. Candidates need to understand financial data and make sound decisions based on this information. Wannabe financiers also need to manage risk and solve problems.

The following are key skills for finance jobs:

• Analytical skills
• Problem-solving
• Mathematical skills
• Risk management
• Decision-making

The banking industry also values candidates with strong analytical and mathematical skills. The difference between the skills required in finance and banking is that bankers need to understand the banking industry and the products and services that it offers (eg. loans and savings accounts).

The skills needed for an investment banker also include the ability to manage risk and deal with customers in a professional and friendly manner.

Recruiters in the banking sector look for the following skills:

• Analytical skills
• Mathematical skills
• Banking industry knowledge
• Risk management
• Customer service

Lawyers need to understand and interpret the law. They also must be able to research legal issues, write clearly and persuasively and argue their cases in court. Lawyers also need to be good at building relationships with clients and communicating effectively with them to understand their needs.

The skills needed for commercial law and other legal specialities include:

• Analytical skills
• Research
• Argumentation
• Communication
• Relationship-building

Managers lead and coordinate teams. Because of this, they need to motivate others to achieve common goals. Managers also delegate tasks, manage projects and solve problems.

The management skills that employers look for include:

• Leadership
• Communication
• Delegation
• Problem-solving
• Project management

Marketers create and deliver marketing campaigns that promote products or services. They have to understand their target audience and create content that resonates with them. Marketers also have to be effective communicators with strong analytical skills.

The top skills needed for marketing jobs include:

• Copywriting
• Creativity
• Teamwork
• Marketing research
• Communication

The public sector consists of organisations responsible for providing services to the public, including government agencies, schools and hospitals.

Public sector employers need strong communication skills, as they’ll often deal with difficult situations. They also need to be able to handle a large workload, which requires being organised.

Desirable civil service skills vary depending on the organisation, but some key skills are:

• Communication
• Patience
• Stress management
• Time management
• Teaching skills

Salespeople generate revenue for their employers by selling products and services. Sales professionals identify potential customers, build relationships and close deals. To succeed, sales agents must be self-driven, motivated to meet targets and organised.

Employers look for the following sales skills when reviewing CVs:

• Customer service
• Communication
• Self-drive
• Relationship-building
• Negotiation

Jobs in science require employees to have a deep understanding of their chosen field. Scientists also need to apply this knowledge in practical ways.

Scientists must have strong analytical and research skills. They also need to communicate their findings clearly, both in writing and verbally.

The skills needed for a job in science will depend on the specialism, but some of the top skills needed in the pharmaceutical industry and other scientific fields include:

• Research
• Analytical skills
• Scientific knowledge
• Mathematical skills
• Problem-solving

IT jobs require employees to understand computer systems and networks. IT professionals also need to use their technical skills to solve and troubleshoot complex problems.

Additionally, IT staff need to be good communicators because they’ll have to explain tricky things to non-technical colleagues and customers.

The key skills to showcase on your CV for the IT industry include:

• Computer networking
• Troubleshooting
• Communication
• Problem-solving
• Technical skills

Here are a few effective ways to identify your most relevant skills for a specific job:

Every job requires certain skills. Employers will often list these skills in the job description.

For example, imagine you’re applying for a job as a Marketing Assistant. The job ad mentions that the ideal candidate has “strong copywriting skills” and is “creative”. You’d need to adjust your CV and cover letter to showcase those specific skills. By making tweaks like these, you’ll put yourself ahead of other candidates and show you've understood the role requirements.

If you’ve worked in a similar role before, think about the skills that you used and had success with. Even if your previous experience isn’t related to the job you’re applying for, the skills are still transferable – and therefore good to put on your CV.

For example, if you’ve worked as a member of waitstaff in a restaurant, you’ll have gained customer service skills that will be useful for a job in retail.

To identify your transferable skills, think about the duties and responsibilities you had in your previous roles and match them to the skills required for the job you’re applying for. Emphasise those skills that you’ll need in the new role when updating your CV.

Struggling to identify relevant skills? Make a list of your strengths and interests. Once you’ve done this, go through the list and pick out the ones that would be relevant for the new role. It’ll probably be more than you expect!

Remember that you’ll have learned skills in more places than employment. Think about hobbies, education and life. Your CV represents everything you’ll bring to a workplace, and this includes skills you’ve learned outside of work.

Once you’ve identified your good skills, you need employers to notice these abilities on your CV.

Here are some tips for capturing the attention of hiring managers:

Some employers use software that scans for keywords when they review CVs. To make sure that these systems pick up your application, include keyword phrases from the job description in your CV. For example, if you’re applying for a job as an Accountant, use phrases like “financial analysis”, “budgeting” and “statistical reports”. Don’t miss out on your chance to impress by getting filtered out by a robot!

Your CV profile is the brief section that sits at the top of your CV and gives employers an overview of your abilities. It’s a great place to showcase your skills, so use it wisely.

For example, if you’re applying for a job as a Marketing Manager, introduce yourself with something like “I'm a Business and Marketing graduate with experience supporting with seasonal campaigns. I have developed skills in copywriting, social media and lead generation through a summer internship at [company]."

Strong profiles tell employers what you’ve done and what you’re good at in a short paragraph.

Emphasise your skills with a simple bullet-pointed list of your most relevant attributes. Make sure you include both hard and soft skills.

A short list like this is great for recruiters who are in a rush. They only need to skim your CV to see if you’ve got the skills they’re looking for.

Anyone can say they’ve got a certain skill. But can you prove that you’ve used it?

For each role listed on your CV, include a sentence or two about the skills you used in that job. For example, “Dealt with customer queries and complaints professionally and efficiently” shows that you’ve got customer service skills. Explaining how you’ve used a skill tells employers you’ve got practical experience. The theory of a skill is one thing; being able to use it is another.

Many skills will be relevant to your career. The key is to identify the career skills that are most important to your industry. Consider hard and soft skills so that CV readers see a well-rounded individual.

It's always a good idea to keep on top of what skills are desirable in your industry and keep working on improving your skill set. As you develop, you’ll add new skills to your CV, so you’ll keep standing out from the competition.