Grasp what technical skills are, which technical skills employers are looking for, how to improve your technical skills, and how to list them on a CV.
Technical skills are the specialised knowledge and expertise required to perform specific tasks and use specific tools in real-world situations. Diverse technical skills are required in almost every field and industry, from IT and business administration to healthcare and education.
Many entry-level positions across industries require basic technical skills, such as cloud computing in Google Drive and navigating social media platforms. Examples of more advanced technical skills that a job might require include programming languages, technical writing, or data analysis.聽
Unlike workplace skills, also called soft skills, such as communication and time management, technical skills often require specific education and training to acquire.聽
Technical skills, sometimes called hard skills, involve the practical knowledge you use to complete tasks. Some examples of technical skills are:
Data analysis
Web development
Computer programming languages
Financial management
Bookkeeping
UX design
Graphic design
Writing
Cooking
As a term, 鈥渢echnical skills鈥 often appear in the context of job searching or career advancement. Some of your current skills can transfer to other jobs, and others you may need to achieve your career goals. It鈥檚 important to monitor how your field or industry evolves and which new skills will help you enter the workforce, perform better at your current job, find new career opportunities, or explore a new field.聽
Consider these examples of in-demand industries and their related technical skills:
To get hired as a cybersecurity analyst, you may need skills in:
Incident response
Operating systems
Data security
Endpoint protection聽
With these and other cybersecurity technical skills, you could help protect a company鈥檚 networks from cyber attacks and investigate security breaches.
To get a job as a data scientist, some organisations may require you to be skilled in:
Machine learning
Statistics
Programming languages like Python
With these and other data science technical skills, you could build machine learning models, analyse data patterns and trends, and recommend courses of action that help companies achieve their goals.聽聽
It鈥檚 important to note that data skills are valuable in various careers, from marketing and sales to human resources and finance.聽聽聽
To work as a financial analyst, some organisations may require you to have skills in:
Financial modelling
Modern portfolio theory聽
With these and other financial, and technical skills, you could help a company track its financial performance and stay abreast of investment regulations and policies.聽
To get a job as a social media marketer, some organisations may require that you know how to:
Create advertising campaigns on Facebook and other platforms
Develop paid ad assets
Design content聽
With these and other marketing technical skills, you could help a company build a social media presence and brand recognition and increase the effectiveness of paid ads.
To get a job as a UX designer, some organisations may require that you be able to:
Navigate Adobe Creative Suite
Conduct UX research
Create wireframes聽
With these and other UX design technical skills, you could help companies improve their users鈥 experiences when navigating websites, mobile apps, and other platforms.聽聽
To get a job as a medical assistant, some hospitals or doctor鈥檚 offices may require that you be able to:
Operate medical equipment
Administer injections
Take vital signs
Record patients鈥 health history聽
With these and other healthcare technical skills, you could help medical facilities operate smoothly and deliver excellent patient care.聽
To obtain a job as an early years teacher through to a secondary school teacher, some schools may require you to have skills like:
CPR and first aid
Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL)聽
Video conferencing
Online education platforms, like Seneca
With these educational technical skills, you could help students bridge language gaps, advise parents and teach classes from anywhere in the world, and manage class assignments online.
To improve your technical skills, plan your next steps so that you prioritise the skills you most need and find the right training programmes. Follow these steps to streamline the process:
Write down what you鈥檇 like to experience in your career. Whilst the job market can be unpredictable and there are no guarantees, gaining clarity can help you achieve your goals faster. Start with these career goal examples and add your own details:
Enhance performance in my current job.
Get a promotion within the organisation I work for.
Pursue a career in a new field with better pay.
Pursue a career that supports the lifestyle I want.
Once you know your goals, you鈥檒l need to find out which technical skills can help you achieve them. Search career-building sites like Glassdoor, LinkedIn, and Indeed for job postings in your desired field. Pay close attention to each job description:
Which tasks, projects, and responsibilities would you love to take on in your current job or a new one?
What kind of lifestyle would these jobs support?聽
What are the required skills, education, and other qualifications that show up in job listings?聽
You might find it useful to create a spreadsheet to track the technical skills employers require and gauge which ones you should prioritise.聽聽
For this step, get into a reflective and exploratory state of mind and ask yourself:聽
Which of these skills matches the requirements of the jobs I want?聽
Which required skills do I need to get?
How can I rank them in order of importance?
You can build career-specific technical skills in various ways, from taking a course or training programme to getting certified in a particular skill or pursuing an undergraduate or graduate degree. Find the programme that best fits your goals and lifestyle by investigating each programme鈥檚 details:
Course syllabus: What are the required readings? Will you get to complete any career-focused, hands-on projects, gain experience in real-world situations, and explore what it would be like to work in your desired field?聽
Expected outcomes: What specific skills does this programme teach?聽
Career potential: How do the programme鈥檚 expected outcomes relate to the skills and qualifications employers in your field require? Does this programme offer certifications or credentials that employers ask for?
As you build new technical skills and improve existing ones, update your CV with your latest information. This section goes over how to describe your technical skills so that you feel confident you are presenting your technical strengths most advantageously.
Adopt these standard CV best practices:聽
Tailor your CV to each job you鈥檙e applying for by lining up your technical skills and experience with job requirements.聽
Use action words, such as 鈥渕anaged,鈥 鈥渋mplemented,鈥 or 鈥渄eveloped,鈥 to describe the tasks you performed or projects you completed in previous roles.
Emphasise quantifiable outcomes.
List the names of specific training, courses, and certifications you鈥檝e completed, along with the topics and skills each one covered.
For listing your technical skills, consider these three career-focused examples:
Implemented a backup system to add a layer of security company data
Reduced data loss from cyber attacks by 20 percent
Increased Facebook conversion by 30 percent聽
Designed visual content to increase brand awareness
Increased user satisfaction by 23 percent
Created intuitive user interfaces聽
Technical skills are vital for various careers. From cybersecurity to education, possessing the right ones makes you a competitive candidate. By defining your career goals, researching sought-after skills, and pursuing targeted learning or training, you can bridge skill gaps and position yourself for success. Remember to showcase your technical strengths strategically on your CV. Use action verbs and quantifiable achievements to impress potential employers. You can develop the technical skills needed to flourish in today's job market with focus and dedication.
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This content has been made available for informational purposes only. Learners are advised to conduct additional research to ensure that courses and other credentials pursued meet their personal, professional, and financial goals.