Technical skills for a resume are the skills you have that are relevant to the specialized career field you have chosen.
They can include computer software knowledge, work-related equipment and engineering tools, and machinery in your specific industry. These skills are included in your resume to increase the odds of getting the job you’re after.
In this article, I have provided 30 technical skills for a resume to help you determine what technical skills are important to your specific career goals – from the most common forms of industry software applications to the top trending concepts in programming, social media management and more.
What are Technical Skills? Definition & Meaning
Technical skill is your expertise in a certain type of technology, software, or equipment that’s usually associated with specific types of industries. These skills might be determined by the kind of career you seek (or even vice versa).
For example, if your goal is to pursue work as an SEO for an eCommerce company, having the right kinds of technical skills means you must understand SEO best practices and know-how to perform keyword research, as well as Google Analytics queries.
On the other hand, if you want to become a graphic designer for an advertising firm, technical skills such as Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator proficiency are a must.
When it comes to technical skills for resumes, it is best practice to list them by order of importance, aka “the most relevant first for the job you’re applying for.”
This means that you should have a very clear understanding of which technical skill or software application will be the determining factor in separating you from the competition when applying for specific positions.
Keep in mind that some companies may require more than one type of skill, so don’t feel limited to selecting only one.
List of 30 Technical Skills Examples for Your Resume
Programming as a Technical Skill
Programming skills are used in almost every industry to develop software applications and websites.
These concepts are usually taught on the job, or in a classroom setting at a technical school or university. This is why it is important to display your knowledge of a specific programming language on your resume.
Here are some examples of programming technical skills for a resume:
1. JAVA
2. C++
3. C#
4. BASIC
5. PHP
Productivity Software Applications as a Technical Skills
Productivity software applications are often used to perform routine tasks that are related to a specific job role.
While simple office suites such as Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word, and PowerPoint may be included in this category, they are the most basic requirements when it comes to this type of category in this day and age. With that said, they are still very useful to be technically skilled in.
This is because these types of programs are common across almost all industries and listed on many resumes for various reasons, depending on the job you’re interested in.
Examples of productivity software applications include:
6. Microsoft Office
7. LibreOffice
8. iWork
9. Dropbox
10. Adobe Creative Cloud
Technical Industry-specific Skills
Industry-specific skills are often a requirement for many positions. If you have prior experience with these types of tools, it is always a good idea to list them on your resume if they pertain to the position you are applying for.
Examples include:
11. AutoCAD
12. SAP
13. Oracle databases
14. Amazon Web Services
15. WebEx
Big Data Analysis as a Technical Skills
Many industries today use big data to analyze large sets of information and gain insights that may be useful for planning future strategies.
Examples include:
16. Hadoop
17. Apache Spark
18. HBase
19. SparkSQL
20. Apache ZooKeeper
Social Media Management & Digital Marketing as a Technical Skills
These days, many companies want to hire candidates with social media or digital marketing experience. Resumes that list these types of skills are usually sought after so listing the skills you have in this area on your resume can help you get an interview faster.
Moreover, you can learn more about these types of skills from online courses such as free Udemy courses on social media marketing.
Examples include:
21. Twitter social media management
22. Facebook social media management
23. Digital marketing
24. Blog management
25. Email marketing
Technical Writing as a Technical Skills
This skill is essential in various industries where products must be documented to ensure their proper use; examples include electronics manufacturing, health care products/services, medical software documentation, etc.
Some examples of how your resume could showcase this skill include:
26. User guides or manuals
27. Technical reports
28. Technical articles
29. Industry reports
30. Contract writing services
How to Learn and Improve Technical Skills
These are the steps to follow if you want to show off more technical skills on a resume for someone with little or no experience in any of the areas mentioned.
Find online resources
Search Google and other search engines to find all the various courses, tutorials, FAQs, help guides, and manuals available for what you want to learn. Many times these will be very detailed and lengthy articles so you can highlight your favorite sections that you think would best describe your skill level.
Practice using them
Using some of the technology may require purchasing an actual product but if they offer trial versions or allow test driving certain features first then you should try out the product to get a good idea of how it works.
Take notes
As you are going through these resources or using the products, take some notes on what you think would be relevant to your resume. In addition to technical skills and expertise, this will also show that you spent time learning about them even if it is just for future employment purposes.
Create an outline
Once you have all of your notes make an outline for yourself of what all your major points might be. You may want to do further research as well but this will at least give you a good start point that can always be changed later based on more information discovered/learned from testing the particular technology.
Create a template
With your outline in place and start writing up all of the major points that would be worth mentioning. You may want to do this on paper or in a word document but always make sure that you know what information should be included and what shouldn’t.
Practice again
Once you have written up all the technical skills information, go through it one more time; highlight any areas that sound awkward, long-winded, or out of place when compared to the rest of the resume
Get feedback
After all of that work it may be tempting just to upload this new resume online and wait, but why not ask other people for their opinions on what could be improved? Not only will this help improve the quality of your resume but also gain more knowledge on the subject as well.
Revise
You may be tempted to rush this stage and not take enough time to make sure everything is correct but if your resume has typos or incorrect information then the whole presentation will look unprofessional.
Why are Technical Skills Important in the Workplace and 10 Benefits
Technical skills are important because they are a reflection of your abilities and knowledge regarding the subject; it shows that you have practiced working with these technologies and can handle yourself in different situations.
They also improve your chances for employment – If you have technical skills listed on your resume then this will help improve your chances of getting the ever-important interview because it shows that you are more than qualified to do the job.
You may have better tools & resources access – Many employers provide their staff with various programs, applications, or equipment (computers, printers, etc.) so if they see these items on your resume, then they may allow you to use them if needed.
10 Benefits of Having Technical Skills
- Increased salary
- You’ll feel more confident during an interview
- Showing dedication & motivation
- Demonstrates skills and abilities to solve problems
- Higher job satisfaction as you show trust in your abilities
- You will feel more confident in your capabilities
- Potential for advancement/promotion in your current position
- You’ll be able to contribute more meaningfully in a team environment
- More time doing the things you enjoy
- Less frustration if you need help with something
Technical skills Vs. Soft Skills
Technical skills are skills that you need to know, but soft skills are more about how you act. For example, if someone asks for a pen and you answer them, then this is a soft skill.
But if they asked for help with the computer and you could do it? That would be a technical skill. Soft skills are important too and employers want the best of both worlds.
This is why many people separate these two in resumes because it’s not necessarily about having a good resume, it’s how you sell yourself.
List of most common soft skills that are desired:
- Teamwork
- Leadership
- Communication
- Adaptability
- Ability to work under pressure
- Problem-solving skills
What Technical Skills are Employers Looking for?
Let’s divide the answer into two parts:
- Required Technical Skills
- Desired Technical Skills
Required Technical Skills
As the name suggests these are the technical skills that you should have studied before so that they can be listed on your resume.
You may also come across as a more well-rounded individual in the eyes of your potential employer because you have at least some knowledge about what they are looking for.
Here is a list of some common required technical skills:
- Operating systems (Windows 7, 8, 10, etc.)
- Web browsers (Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, etc.)
- Email software (Microsoft Outlook)
- E-learning & multimedia tools (PowerPoint, Skype, etc.)
- Spreadsheet software (Excel)
Since they are required skills and were learned at one point, then there is a good chance that you can apply any previous knowledge to different situations as well; this may also come in handy during an interview.
Many employers want dedicated candidates so if you show enthusiasm about some of the required technical skills or tasks then they will likely be interested in hiring you.
Desired Technical Skills
Technical skills are more specific to the job or the industry and are generally desirable in an interview situation.
These demonstrate that you know something relevant and current in today’s society.
List of skills that you might be able to learn on the job:
- Programming languages (C++, Java, assembler, etc.)
- Operating systems (Linux)
- Databases (MySQL)
- Web design languages (HTML, CSS, etc.)
- Computer networking (switches, routers, etc.)
- Graphic design software (Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator)
Again this list is not exhaustive; it just gives a general outline of some common desired technical skills, but with so much changing every year there will be other things popping up on the list.
Technical Skills FAQs
What are technical skills on a resume?
Technical skills are the abilities that come from experience, training, and education. These skills are easier to learn than soft skills, but are equally important to soft skills.
You can feature technical skills on your resume to ensure the interviewer sees you are a well-rounded candidate. Include the following technical skills if you possess them: computer skills, design skills, foreign language speaking, and anything else that relates specifically to that position.
Overall Conclusion Of Technical Skills For a Resume
Having the right technical skills is important for anyone who works in the current society. It can be helpful or even necessary to know how to use specific programs and software at some point during your career.
This will help you stand out from other applicants as well. If you can include this information on your resume, then it might help you get a better connection with any potential employers which could result in them hiring you when a position becomes available.
Just remember that this needs to be done carefully; so don’t go overboard when listing all of the different technical skills that you have to offer.
Also, try not to list any specific knowledge about certain systems if they aren’t widely used anymore – unless there is a specific reason for doing so.
