You’re putting together your CV and want to show off all of the fantastic skills you have. Your skills are what employers want to hear about and they need to convince recruiters that you are a great fit for the job. This is why your CV skills section is so important to get right.
There are a couple of ways that you can show off your skills on your CV. Here are some options:
1. Create a dedicated skills section on your CV
StandOut CV suggest that this is a great way to format your CV:
As you can see, the format that they suggest includes a dedicated section for your skills.
This is a great way to clearly highlight what you have to offer to employers. However, do be aware that simply listing skills does not carry much weight if you can not back them up with evidence. When bullet pointing your skills, give some indication of what level you are at where possible.
For example, you could state the length of your experience:
- HTML Coding – 5 years experience
Mention any qualifications or training that you have:
- Windows certified
Specify the scale of key tasks:
- Event Management – Led a team of 6 in the management of a £40K event.
The benefit of having a dedicated skills section near the top of your CV is that employers can quickly see whether you tick all of the right boxes. Seeing some relevant keywords in this section should persuade them to read further into your CV and then to hopefully pick up the phone.
The best place to find out what skills the hiring manager will be looking for is the job advert. While you shouldn’t include any skills that you don’t have, you can certainly pick out the ones you do and put them in right at the top of your CV.
2. Incorporate your skills in relevant sections throughout your CV
When putting your CV together you may find that it makes more sense for you to incorporate your key skills throughout your CV. For example, in your work experience section, you may choose to list your key responsibilities and this is the perfect place to show off the skills you have developed such as customer service, problem solving and comuter skills. Here’s a good example:
Highlighting your key skills in bold is also a great way to draw the eye of the person reviewing your CV. If you can ensure that these highlighted skills match up with the desirable skills in the job description then you are onto a winner!
Don’t forget, the work experience section isn’t the only place you can show off your skills. You can also use your qualifications and hobbies and interests sections to talk about what skills you have gained and give examples of how you have used them. For example, if you play football every week for your local team this demonstrates that you are competitive and have good teamwork skills. If you were on the executive committee for a society you were involved in at university, this would demonstrate your leadership skills.
Keep the skills on your CV concise
Always remember that your CV shouldn’t be longer than two pages long. While you may want to tell the employer about all your skills and how you’ve used/developed them, it doesn’t all need to go on your CV.
You could use your cover letter to expand a little further on the essential skills that are required for the role. Plus, once you’re invited to an interview you’ll have an opportunity to explain further and convince the employer that you are the right person for the job.
If you present your CV skills section in the right way, then you will have plenty of employers on the phone inviting you to interview. Good luck!
What’s next?
Once you’ve perfected your CV, be sure to upload it to CV-Library so that employers can get in touch with you about relevant jobs!
