Identifying Your Key Skills

Your CV is your personal marketing document and the reason why you are writing it is to persuade your next prospective employer that you have the necessary skills to meet the needs of their vacancy. With this in mind your CV should focus on your Key Skills rather than just your job duties.

Types of Skills

These are skills that you have acquired through your work experiences, education or other activities. They are not related to a particular job, they are skills that could be utilised across a number of industries. Transferrable skills could be characteristic led or a particular experience that could compliment another position, even if not directly related. These are skills that are directly related to your position or industry. Skills and knowledge here will have been obtained as a result of your work history and are unlikely to be relevant to any other industry or position. These give the recruiter an idea of your proficiency at using particular programmes. It is useful as companies may like to see specific expertise with packages that could have been used in your previous role. It is now standard to provide this information, given that computer skills are such an important part of most vacancies today.

Soft Skills

Time Management is a skill that has been a result of work experience and/or training. This skill is the ability to plan, manage and utilise your time as effectively as possible. It is also character driven as some applicants may produce their best work under extreme time pressure whilst for others meeting tight deadlines may affect their ability to complete the task correctly. Negotiation is a transferrable skill as it can be translated into a number of different roles and industries. It means that you have the ability to achieve desired outcomes through listening, identifying a common goal and coming to a mutual agreement. This is the ability to communicate ideas to others and is a common skill that employers look for in applicants. Communication is not just about presenting your ideas but also listening to others and responding accordingly. Now that you have identified which skills you are wishing to include in your CV, you need to prove to the recruiter that you have those skills by providing evidence of the skill- it is not enough to say that you have great communication skills if you haven't any supporting examples. Where possible give examples of what you have achieved in the past, quantify the achievement and how your company benefitted from the outcome.