Hard skills employers value (+ examples)

Want to know more about hard skills or looking for hard skills examples? Here's a complete rundown of what hard skills are, as well as ways to build on them. It's important to know what your hard and soft skills are when looking for a job, as they are all different things that you bring to a company. It's also vital to know how to present them on your CV, cover letter or job application.

• What are hard skills?
• Top hard skills employers value
• How to improve hard skills
• How to include hard skills in a CV
• To sum up

What are hard skills?

Hard skills are the technical skills needed for a job. Unlike soft skills, these skills can be quantified. For example, you might be proficient with a certain programming language or have a qualification in civil engineering.

Hard skills are job-specific, though there are many crossovers. For example, managerial roles will require some of the same hard skills no matter what field you are in. At the same time, most jobs within one specific field will need some of the same hard skills.

Having the right hard skills is very important when you are job hunting. Employers will often look for a specific set when they are hiring for a role. This means that you need to make sure you have the right skills and display them well on your CV or application.

Having hard skills does not always translate to being suitable for a job, though. Employers also need people to have a range of soft skills as well as relevant experience. Soft skills include things such as working well with a team or having good interpersonal skills.

Top hard skills that employers value

Different hard skills will be valued in different fields. Remember that some skills are useful in different fields, so you should never rule out mentioning hard skills on your CV or cover letter, even if they aren't ones that the employer is looking for specifically. 

First, think about how your skills might apply to any other role. Here are some of the top hard skills in different types of job roles.

IT skills

Tech skills are some of the most commonly talked about with the widespread uptake of computers in almost every field. This means that there are plenty of roles that require IT skills in a wide range of different industries. If you're looking to work in the tech field, you'll need to have more advanced knowledge and abilities.

• Cybersecurity: Security is a big concern in almost every field, and it's important for companies to make sure that their computer systems and websites are safe. Cybersecurity skills include a lot of knowledge about websites, networks and some programming languages, but if you have cybersecurity skills it is absolutely worth mentioning these.
• Networking and wireless technology: Any organisation large enough will need a networking expert. This can range from helping set up on-site networks and wireless systems, to helping with networking for different offices throughout the world. This can also include cloud computing and hosting knowledge. It's usually possible to get certification in networking and wireless technology.
• Programming languages: There are dozens of programming languages, from C++ to Laravel to Java. Different programming languages are often preferred for different applications and if you are looking at boosting your programming skills it can be worth looking up what the industry standard is in your chosen field. There are also a lot of rare programming languages which can be harder to learn but can put you ahead in a lot of fields since there is less competition. While it is possible to get qualifications in individual programming languages, a lot of employers are more interested in technical tests where you can show your proficiency.
• User Interface design: Almost everything that gets made on a computer has to be suitable for an end user. This is a skillset where technical skills overlap with design skills and for jobs in smaller companies, it can be beneficial to have skills in both the tech and creative sides of UI design.

Accounting and Finance skills

Money makes the world go round, so accounting and finance skills are vital in almost every field. In smaller companies, these skills are useful for general administration roles, while larger companies might only require these skills if you are looking to work within the finance department:

• Financial report skills: Being able to read and write financial reports is important for most finance jobs, especially in larger companies or companies that have to show reports to stakeholders. This is also a useful skill when your company wants to be able to compare progress to the financial reports of previous years, so it plays directly into helping the company grow.
• Mathematics skills: While it might seem obvious, it can be easy to forget to include this on your CV. Mathematics skills are vital in any role where you are handling finances or accounting. Being quick and accurate with mathematics or being able to estimate results quickly when presented with figures are both important. These skills can be shown with qualifications.
• Accounting software competency: Many companies have switched to computer accounting, but these programs can be confusing at first glance. If you're looking for employment within accounting or finance it is worth learning to use one or more of these programs.
• Knowledge of financial regulations: There are plenty of qualifications you can get that show you have studied financial regulations and financial practice. This is particularly important if you are looking for higher roles in finance where you could be responsible for filing reports or accounting.

Data analysis skills

With market research, user feedback, user data and so much information used to guide the future of companies, there's always a need for data analysis skills. These skills are useful in almost every field, though high-tech companies, logistics companies and government bodies tend to accumulate the most data that needs analysing.

• Database management: Databases are increasingly common in all fields and there are many different types that people can train in. Database management is important for data analysts, scientists, and more.
• Data processing: From data entry to turning databases into charts, data processing is a vital skill in fields such as the sciences, government work and when analysing the company's success.
• Research: Knowing how to research properly and record your results well is vital in many roles, including science to marketing. Any time a company needs to capture knowledge, research skills are needed.
• Mathematical skills: Mathematical skills are useful for any data analysis job as this helps ensure that you process data and see trends properly.

Project management skills

Project management is important in every field. Any role where you could end up working to guide a team towards a goal can benefit from project management skills. This covers roles in every sector, from government work to creative enterprises and more:

• Process management: Whether you're the top manager in a company or just managing a simple project, it's important to know how to lay out a process and get proper checks done. There are almost no managerial jobs where this isn't an asset.
• Project planning: Project planning is important in roles where you will be overseeing an entire project. There are plenty of project management qualifications you can train for to get help developing this skill.
• Risk assessments: Managing risk in a project is vital for the smooth operation of a project. While different companies have different risk management processing systems, there's plenty that you can learn. This is also needed in almost any role where you'll be overseeing others, even down to care and teaching roles.
• Budgeting: While many financial matters are usually handled in other roles, it's vital for project managers to have a good idea of budgeting as it influences the scope of a project.

Marketing skills

Marketing skills are needed for promoting products and services as well as improving the public opinion of companies. These skills will be particularly important in jobs in the media and e-commerce fields, but they are usually needed in most businesses. Even government or charity offices will need some marketing experts.

• Social media: Almost all companies have a social media presence, so social media skills are needed for marketing and advertising roles in a lot of different customer-facing businesses.
• Search Engine Optimisation: SEO is vital in roles such as content writing and marketing planning for companies that deal with both consumers and businesses.
• Market research: If you're looking for roles where you will be planning marketing campaigns, market research is a vital skill. This is usually most common in roles in larger companies and marketing agencies.
• Content creation: From graphic design to video creation, marketing has many facets. In larger companies, roles normally focus on just one of these, but for smaller companies, you might need to focus on building a wider range of skills.

Design skills

Design skills have gone far beyond just knowing how to make adverts for people. Almost everything on the internet, in magazines and stores, is designed. Within the design, traditional and digital skills are both beneficial. Consider learning both to strengthen your position as a candidate:

• Typography: This is important for print design and digital design, as typefaces are important in anything that people will read. This is unlikely to be the entirety of a design job but it's still an important skill to train.
• Photography: If you are looking for roles in website or marketing design, photography skills can be useful. This can include product photography, fashion photography, and more.
• Photoshop, InDesign, etc: There is a wide range of different digital graphic design programs that you can gain skills in, but you should make sure to look up what the standard tools are in your chosen field.
• Print design: For anything such as magazine, marketing and business card design, you will need the skills to design items for print.

Sales skills

While many sales abilities are soft skills, such as getting on well with people and being good at public speaking, there are also plenty of hard skills that you can focus on to help yourself get ahead in the field of sales:

• Technical knowledge: If you're looking at sales roles in a technical field, you will need to have the technical knowledge to answer questions about the product or service you're offering.
• Client research: Knowing how to market to different clients means researching ahead of time, making this invaluable in most sales roles.
• Time management: With a lot of client interactions to handle on a daily basis, time management skills are vital for any sales worker who interacts with customers.
• Contract knowledge: Knowledge of the legal side of contracts can be useful in fields where sales are for long-running services or ongoing project work.

Hard communication skills: copywriting and foreign languages

With it being easier than ever to communicate with people throughout the world, there's a need for hard communication skills. Any company that hopes to operate in multiple countries will need language skills and can benefit from communication skills such as copywriting to help them build their brand:

• Foreign languages: For any company that works internationally, additional languages are good for sales teams, managers, and communications teams.
• Sign language: As an extension of speaking multiple languages, sign language is also a useful hard skill for sales or client-facing roles.
• Copywriting: Content writing skills are useful for any company that needs content created such as blogs or web pages and it is also useful for marketing and content agencies.
• Editing: Editing and proofreading documents is an important part of any document creation. This is a particularly good skill for PAs to have.

How to improve hard skills

If you want to improve your hard skills to increase your chances of getting a job, there are plenty of ways to approach this. The most common ways of working on your hard skills are:

• Certifications: Take courses and certificates — available for almost any skill. These can be found through local colleges, training providers or through distance learning. The benefit of getting certified in a skill is that you have the qualification as proof that you have the skills needed. It's always advisable to research how the industry views certain certifications though, as some qualifications are more highly thought of than others.
• Tutoring: There are plenty of people who offer tutoring in all kinds of fields. This can be a great way to boost your skills, and tutors can often help you prefer to take exams for qualifications.
• Online courses: It's often easy to find a lot of free and paid online courses for most fields. These are good as they let you learn at your own pace. It's important to look at what you can expect to get out of the course, as some are less valuable than others.
• Practice: Of course, you don't always need a qualification to prove you have a certain hard skill. You can also dedicate a bit of time each week to practising the skill until you feel comfortable with your competency. This is especially good for languages.

How to include hard skills in a CV

If you're wondering how to write a CV and how to include your hard skills, there are plenty of easy ways to highlight what you're good at. The simplest way is to include a section where you can list out your relevant skills. 

Try to make sure that you list skills that are relevant to the job you are applying for, but don't only list the skills that the ad says they are looking for. For example, if a tech job lists specific skills such as cybersecurity and cloud computing you should make sure to include these, but you should also include relevant skills like networking and interpersonal skills.

You can also include your skills in your qualifications and work history sections. This puts your skills in a real-world context for the employer. This can be especially helpful for skills which might not be obviously useful for the role.

It's also a good idea to include your main hard skills in your cover letter or the About Me section of an application. These should be the main skills that are most relevant to the job role you are applying for.

To sum up

Hard skills are all the quantifiable technical skills that are needed for a job. These are job specific, so focus on the key career skills in the field that you're applying for. Building on your hard skills can be done through practice, courses and certifications.

Alongside hard skills, consider soft skills, too. While harder to measure, they are just as important. Part of any strong CV is including your skills to showcase your abilities to a potential employer and land that interview.