Hard Skills Explained (and the Top 8 for Your Resume)

When you’re seeking a new job, it’s important to make sure you stand out from the competition. But what can you do to get the attention of a hiring manager who has dozens or hundreds of other resumes to review? 

To make the right impression, you need a resume that proves you have the right hard skills for the job. 

What are hard skills? Definition and examples

Hard skills include all those measurable skills abilities you’ve acquired through training, education, and hands-on experience. Sometimes referred to as technical skills, these are the abilities employers expect you to use to complete your assigned duties.

Why are hard skills important?

Every job requires employees to possess hard skills specific to the position and industry. For example, if you want to land an Accountant job, you’ll need to know how to use accounting software and formulas. To work as a licensed Public Accountant, you must pass a CPA exam that indicates you have the minimum necessary knowledge to perform the job. 

By including the right hard skills on your resume, you’ll:

• Demonstrate you’ll be ready to perform your duties if you’re hired

• Give the employer greater confidence that you can add value to the company’s bottom line

• Help the company make a more informed decision about your candidacy

Hard skills: examples for your resume

Even though the job market is constantly changing, some hard skills stand the test of time and usually rank high on employers' lists of desired qualifications. As you come up with your list of hard skills for your resume, be sure to include some of these in-demand abilities:

1. Management hard skills for your resume

Besides having the required soft skills to be an effective manager, you also need hard skills to succeed. Management hard skills include:

• Logistics

• Hiring

• Budgeting

• Human resources knowledge

• Finance

• Accounting

• Office management

2. IT hard skills for your resume

IT skills highlight your ability to use computer hardware and software programs, and they are valuable across numerous industries. These skills include:

• Microsoft 365 (Word, Excel, etc.)

• Email

• QuickBooks

• Database Management

• Social media

• Typing

• Google Drive

• Enterprise Systems

3. Project management hard skills for your resume

Project management skills prove that you can oversee and lead projects and include:

• Strategic planning

• Scrum management

• Forecasting

• Budgeting

• Project scheduling

• Agile methodology

• Project collaboration platforms (Asana, BaseCamp, and so on)

4. Human resource hard skills for your resume

Every organization requires human resources (HR) skills. While many organizations have a dedicated HR department, smaller organizations might have an individual who wears more than one hat – including HR-related responsibilities. These may include:

• Compensation

• Salary administration

• Benefits administration

• Performance reviews

• Employment law and legal compliance

• Payroll

5. Design hard skills for your resume

Design skills are in high demand in this modern age of online content marketing. These skills include:

• Illustrator

• Print design

• Acrobat

• Color theory

• InDesign

• Photoshop

• Typography

6. Marketing hard skills for your resume

Marketing skills represent a wide range of general knowledge, including consumer research, sales, advertising, and online marketing. Virtually every organization requires at least one individual with marketing expertise, a:

• Copywriting

• AdWords

• Funnel management

• Google Analytics

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

• Pay-per-click (PPC)

• Social media marketing

7. Analytical hard skills for your resume

Analytical skills highlight your ability to research, analyze, and present data. Many positions and levels within an organization require analytical hard skills, which include:

• Forecasting

• Reporting

• Data mining

• Research

• Database management

• Metrics

• Data engineering

8. Artificial intelligence hard skills for your resume

The use of AI is on the rise. With that also come positions that require you to be knowledgeable about machine learning. If you're skilled with this new technology, those abilities should be front and center in your well-crafted resume. Examples of artificial intelligence hard skills include:

• Data manipulation

• Cloud storage

• Algorithm development

• Natural language processing

• Machine learning libraries

• API development

• Distributed computing

How do I include hard skills on my resume?

It's vital to highlight hard skills on your resume. To do so, you should:

• Add a hard skill or two to the headline of your resume

• Mention in-demand hard skills in your resume summary

• Create a resume “Skills” section to highlight your hard and soft skills

• Include skill-related keywords throughout your “Work Experience” section

• Include relevant certifications in your “Education & Certifications” section

In your headline

The hard skills on your resume need to mirror the job description of the role you're applying to. The first place to do that is in your resume headline. Since this is the first information an employer will see when they scan your resume, it will help you stand out in their mind.

Now, a lot of people will simply put a job title on their resume. Project Manager, for example. But because you know about the importance of having hard skills on your resume, you're going to write something like Project Manager with Expertise in Budgeting and Risk Management.

Just like that, you have three hard skills on your resume, whereas the person who just included their job title only has one. You're already winning!

In your summary paragraph

The very next thing that should appear on your resume is the profile paragraph (or summary). Of course, this is also a great place to inject hard skills into your resume. Keep it short and sweet, though. You're not trying to dump everything you know into this paragraph.

Remember to refer to the job description to identify the relevant hard skills the employer seeks and then weave those phrases into a three- to five-sentence paragraph that talks about how your career history aligns with those hard skills.

Here's an example:

Dynamic leader at the forefront of product management, offering unmatched experience in discovering, fine-tuning, and launching artificial intelligence (AI) products to solve problems. Known for captivating global markets, guiding cross-functional teams, and elevating product management to improve performance and exceed metrics.

This paragraph has multiple hard skills that can be tweaked and adjusted to fit within the scope of the job – in this case, the Product Manager role.

In your Skills section

As you craft your list of skills for your resume, put them into columns – hard skills on one side and soft skills on the other side. Be sure the hard skills that land on your resume are specifically relevant to the job you're applying for.

In your Work History section

As you write the professional experience section of your resume, the best way to prove your abilities is with examples of things you've accomplished. Since hard skills are measurable, having achievements laced with relevant hard skills in this part of your resume is a must.

Use bullet points that begin with an action verb, an achievement, and at least one or two hard skills. Here's a real-life example from a client who sought an FP&A role:

• Achieved Opex forecast accuracy within 2% through advanced scenario modeling and proactive risk identification

The beauty of this bullet point is that not only does it contain an achievement, but it also has hard skills all wrapped up into a single point.

In your Education and Certifications section

Remember when we said that hard skills are things you may have learned in school? Well, here's the place to provide context for that training. You can add the degree you obtained, the school you received it from, and relevant projects and coursework. Make sure to add relevant certifications too. This will serve as proof that you have what it takes to succeed in the job.

Here's what that could look like:

Bachelor of Science - Finance & Accounting | Big California University

Relevant coursework: Financial Statements, Financial Plans, Accounting, Banking, Investments

Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) | CFA Institute

Hard skills that transfer across industries

There are specific hard skills required for positions based on each industry – but there are also many other resume hard skills that are valuable and transferable across multiple industries and jobs. Examples include the following:

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Cloud platform knowledge

While the use of AI is becoming more and more prominent, cloud computing is nothing new. In fact, so many organizations conduct so much of their business online that technologies like cloud-sharing software are now vital tools for business success. To that end, companies need someone who understands how to manage those platforms.

Language skills

Being fluent in writing and speaking your native language is an essential hard skill; it's also valuable to be fluent in more than one language.

Certifications

Certifications are an excellent way to highlight hard skills, since they require you to take coursework and pass an exam that verifies your skills.

Writing skills

Virtually every position requires some level of writing. This means organizations want to know you have good grammar and can effectively communicate in writing when they hire you.

How can I acquire hard skills?

Interested in acquiring hard skills to up your resume game? Fortunately, there are numerous (and low-cost) ways to develop hard skills.

On-the-job training and volunteering

On-the-job training is one way to acquire hard skills. If you don't have the opportunity to acquire new hard skills at your current job, consider becoming a volunteer in your community.

Online courses

There are numerous free and low-cost online courses available to develop in-demand hard skills. Udemy, Coursera, Khan Academy, MIT OpenCourseWare, and Google Digital Garage are all examples of online platforms that offer various online courses – with many even providing accredited certification programs.

Degree programs

While going back to college isn't the least expensive or time-sensitive option to acquire hard skills, sometimes it's necessary. If you are looking to change career paths, for example, getting a second degree or your master's may be useful for learning new hard skills.

Don't forget about hard skills in your cover letter

It’s also helpful to include a cover letter with your resume submission. That cover letter can be used to further differentiate yourself from rival candidates or to add context to important information in your resume.

A cover letter can also provide you with a great opportunity to add more hard skills to your application. However, you want to avoid simply regurgitating the hard skills on your resume. Instead, use the cover letter to expand on new ideas.

Here's a great example of expanding on the concept of hard skills in your cover letter:

In my current role as the Sales Finance Controller at ABC, Inc., I have been instrumental in steering the sales organization's financial strategies, leading annual planning for a large portfolio with bookings that exceed $900M and Opex over $100M.

In addition, I employ transformational leadership skills to guide over 500 staff. My commitment to process improvement is further evidenced by pioneering a new company process for ABC Inc., streamlining operations, and optimizing financial processes.

The right hard skills win the day

Hard skills are vital for proving that you have the right skills to complete your desired job’s duties and tasks. By highlighting the right hard skills throughout your resume, you can improve your chances of catching a hiring manager’s attention – and securing the interview you need to land your next job.

Not sure how to make your hard skills pop on your resume? Our resume writers are ready to help. If you've already written your resume, make sure you get your free resume review from our team of experts today!

This article was originally written by Ronda Suder and has been updated by Marsha Hebert and Ken Chase.