What are hard skills examples?

Let us show you how.

Hard skills are job-specific abilities or knowledge learned through education, hands-on experience, or training. In practice, hard skills are either the technical skills needed to perform a certain job, or a general set of expertise (such as project management).

When searching for a new job, emphasizing your hard skills is key to taking the next step in your career because your hard skills prove that you’re qualified and ready to take on the challenges of the position.

In fact, recent survey results show that most hiring managers specifically look for hard skills when scanning applicants’ resumes.

One of the main differences between soft skills and hard skills is that most soft skills can’t be taught in a classroom, whereas hard skills can be.

There are plenty of classes to choose from if you want to learn programming or photography, but you’ll likely struggle to find courses teaching empathy or attention to detail.

Looking to learn new skills in 2023? Here’s a list of some highly-sought after hard skills that will enhance your resume:

When making a resume for a job or preparing for an interview, having a list of your hard skills is essential. If you’re not sure what skills to highlight, here are some of the most valuable hard skills for resumes (and work) in 2023, broken down by category:

Today, job seekers generally possess at least a basic understanding of computer technology. And the number of jobs that require fluency with certain software and programming languages is increasing.

Show your prospective employer that you have the computer skills required for the job by highlighting some of these key computer hard skills:

While communication is often viewed as a soft skill, there are several ways that your strength as a communicator can be demonstrated as a hard skill. Effectively showcasing your hard communication skills can help you stand out from other candidates.

Here are some examples of hard communication skills you can put on your resume:

Data analysis is a hard skill that’s highly valued across a wide variety of industries, especially in finance. Employees who are good at eliminating waste and can save a company money and time are sought after by business owners.

Here are some general data analysis hard skills to highlight on your resume:

While they may not be hard skills themselves, listing certifications and licenses in your resume’s skills section is a great way to demonstrate mastery of certain hard skills.

If you have any certifications that are specific to the job or industry you’re applying to, clearly showcase those certifications on your resume.

Some common types of certifications and licenses include:

The ability to convince people to purchase a company’s products or services will always be an invaluable skill to potential employers. After all, success in marketing directly correlates to an increase in revenue.

The following are some of the top marketing-related hard skills:

Project management is a hard skill applicable to a variety of industries, including information technology, health care, and construction. Because of this, project management skills have become extremely valuable to many employers.

Here are some hard project management skills to include on your resume:

Whether you’re a web designer or an illustrator, there are specific design techniques and software essential to doing your job.

Here are some examples of the hard skills that will help you succeed as a designer:

IT skills are predicted to become some of the most important skills in the future, and skills-based hiring is expected to become increasingly common because of technological advancements. As a result, practicing hard skills like cloud computing can help you get ahead in your career.

More and more businesses have turned to cloud computing as a convenient data storage and management solution, so people who have the skills to build and manage cloud networks are in high demand.

The following are some examples of the kind of cloud computing skills employers look for:

From writing blog articles to putting together presentations for clients, being able to write well is an essential hard skill for a huge number of industries.

Show off your ability to put pen to paper with these writing-related hard skills:

With over 6,000 apps released per day on Android alone, the demand for web and mobile developers will continue to grow.  All of these websites and apps can only be created by people with the necessary mobile and web development hard skills.

Here are some examples of the kind of hard skills you need to become a successful developer:

A company’s data is priceless – if sensitive data is leaked or stolen due to faulty network security, it could cost a company thousands, if not millions, of dollars. IT professionals who have the skills to protect that data are in higher demand than ever before.

Being a company’s data shield is no easy feat, however, and requires a strong set of hard skills such as:

Do you want to acquire new hard skills or upgrade the ones you already have? There are numerous ways to develop hard skills, including:

Signing up for a course – Whether it’s online or in-person, signing up for a course can help you develop your hard skills. Websites like edX, Udemy, and Coursera offer courses on a range of subjects, from coding to grant writing.

Getting a new hobby – If you’re preparing to enter a new field and need to learn some hard skills so you can include them on your career change resume, consider getting a hobby relevant to your field of choice. For example, if you were vying for a position as a social media marketer, you could pick up photography or start learning about video editing in your free time.

Volunteering – Doing volunteer work is another great way to grow your skill set. Look up volunteer opportunities in your area and see if any of them will allow you to develop your hard skills.

Taking on challenges at work – If you want to develop your hard skills in the workplace, make sure to jump on any professional development opportunities offered by your employer. You can also accept assignments that will require you to learn how to use new tools or software.

When it comes to job hunting, simply possessing the hard skills required for your target position isn’t enough. Companies mainly close skills gaps by hiring new employees with the right skills, so to advance your career, you need to show employers that you have the skills they’re looking for.

Here’s how to showcase your hard skills throughout the job application process:

If you really want to highlight your expertise in a certain area, the best way to do it is by providing real-life examples of how your hard skills helped you achieve certain accomplishments.

To do this, include bullet points in your resume’s work experience section that demonstrate how you used your hard skills to accomplish key goals for your previous employers.

Here’s an example of how one candidate effectively used their experience section to demonstrate their hard programming skills:

You should also have a dedicated skills section on your resume that features your top job-relevant skills. Normally it should feature a mix of hard and soft skills, but if you’re applying for a technical role, focus on your hard skills.

In this video, our career expert Eva shows you everything you need to know about writing an impressive resume skills section that emphasizes your hard skills:

Hard skills are job-specific. Nobody’s born with them. Three hard skills examples are coding, budgeting, and mixing drinks. Soft skills prove you’d be a great fit anywhere. They’re part of your personality, but you can also learn them. Three soft skills examples are interpersonal skills, communication, and leadership.

And you’ll need to show the right mix of both to get hired.

This guide will show you:

Want to save time and have your resume ready in 5 minutes? Try our resume builder. It’s fast and easy to use. Plus, you’ll get ready-made content to add with one click. See 20+ resume templates and create your resume here.

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Sample resume made with our builder—See more resume samples here.

Looking for guides about adding different skills on your resume? See:

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What’s the difference between hard vs soft skills?

Employers want both. But which is which, and which ones matter most?

See these quick facts on both types of skills:

Soft skills definition: We define soft skills as abilities not unique to any job. Are you a great communicator? Do you collaborate with others like Steve Rogers? Those are softer skills.

For example:

But—you can’t just say you’ve got them and expect the phone to jangle. Scroll down to find out how to pick the perfect ones for a resume, and how to prove them so employers drool a little.

Give this guide a read if it's the soft skills that you're after: Soft Skills: Definition, List & 50+ Examples for Your Resume

Hard skills are teachable abilities or skill sets that are easily measurable. We define hard skills as the technical abilities that fit the job. Normally, you can acquire hard skills in the classroom, in an online course, through books and other materials, or on the job.

If you’re in retail, that means closing cash drawers or restocking shelves. In tech? Your list of hard skills for resumes might have Java coding or network configuration.

Hard skills examples for accountants are asset management and account analysis. Hard professional skills for nurses are patient education and phlebotomy.

A prime example of hard skills for desk jockeys are computer skills.

You’d think hard skills matter most.

You’d be wrong.

The truth is that demand for soft skills has been growing since at least 1980.

Another study, by LinkedIn, actually suggests that 57% of employers value soft skills more than hard skills.

If you want to learn more about how to put hard skills on a resume for greatest impact, see this guide: Hard Skills for Resumes: Lists of Best Examples

Hard skills are teachable and measurable abilities, such as writing, reading, math or ability to use computer programs. By contrast, soft skills are the traits that make you a good employee, such as etiquette, communication and listening, getting along with other people.

Need more help? See these examples of hard skills and soft skills in the workplace:

Employers look for proof you’ve got the right hard and soft skills. The throng of unwashed applicants says, “I’m hard-working, energetic, and a great communicator.”

That’s like a soft drink can that says, “Tastes Great!” It means nothing. You need to pick the exact resume skills the employer wants, then prove them. I’ll show how in a bit.

Prove your soft skills list, and I’ll believe you can learn almost any hard skill. Prove your list of hard skills for resumes, and I’ll know you can already do the job.

The trick is knowing which skills I value most, then showing achievements on your resume that prove them.

Pro Tip: Do all these skills to list on resumes sound too complex? They’re really not. Let me show you how easy it is to pick the right few next.

The right hard and soft skills on your resume can make employers crave you like bacon-wrapped anything. See our guide: 99 Professional Skills to Include in a Resume (Best List of Examples for All Types of Jobs)

What do employers want?

You could put any of the soft skills below on a resume.

But which ones will get you hired?

The top ten soft skills in bold are the most important. That’s based on studies by LinkedIn and ICIMS.

But—

Don’t pick soft skills for a resume from a generic list.

I’ll show what to do instead below this list of skills.

Will you get the job if you stuff your resume with all 28 skills in the list above? Or even the top 10 soft skills?

Nope.

Anyone can do that.

But you can pick the few the hiring manager needs and snag the interview.

How?

Look at the job ad. Here’s an example job description from LinkedIn, changed slightly:

Eureka! You don’t have to ask me for a list of soft skills to put on resumes.

The employer just told you what to say.

List those qualities and you’re halfway to paycheck land.

To go all the way, offer proof that makes the hiring manager say, “Wow.”

I’ll show how in a bit.

Pro Tip: Don’t just ape the list of skills for resumes in the job ad. If you’ve got a couple extra skills they’ll love, by all means, add ‘em.

Want to write a resume that makes employers stutter when they call you? See our guide: How to Write a Resume that Gets You the Job: Writing Guide

When making a resume in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building a professional resume template here for free.

When you’re done, Zety’s resume builder will score your resume and tell you exactly how to make it better.

Which hard professional skills should you show on your resume?

There are about 30 soft skills—total.

There are thousands of hard skills.

I could list the top 10 hard skills, but they’re all in the tech world because software engineers are in high demand. It’s better to find the top 10 hard skills for your career.

First, find the skills for resumes that match your field.

We’ve got sample resume & guide combos for almost every job. Each guide has a resume hard skills list.

But don’t stop there.

Most applicants list too many resume skills. That’s actually a good thing, because it makes it easier for you to beat them.

Zero in on the short hard skills list the hiring manager wants.

Examples of hard skills?

Our software engineer resume guide lists 18 hard skills for resumes. They’re skills like data structures, security, coding, open source, Java, SQL, and Python.

If you put all 18 on your resume, you’ll get laughed out of the conference room.

But check out this example job description:

Well there’s your list of hard skills for a resume.

The point?

You don’t write a resume with a massive hard skills list, then machine-gun it out to every job offer you see.

You write a resume template, then tailor it to fit each job you apply to. Add just the list of hard skills the employer wants, plus a couple more.

But—

Just like with soft skills, don’t just list your resume skills.

Prove them. I’ll show how next.

Pro Tip: Don’t have the right hard skills for resumes to get the job? Online classes are plentiful and often short. Even a Lynda class can look great on a resume.

Ready to customize your resume to make hiring managers gawk like tennis fans? See our guide: How to Customize Your General Resume to a Specific Job

Lucky you.

You saw above how to pick the right list of hard skills vs soft skills.

Now learn to prove your skills for resumes so recruiters mob you like Black Friday.

Can you really prove resume skills on a sheet of paper?

Yes, you can.

That is, you can prove them enough to get the interview. Enough to make the hiring manager say, “Let’s find out in person.”

How?

With achievements.

Pretend the job ad says, “We want a graphic designer skilled in (1) communication, (2) teamwork, (3) ecommerce, and (4) online layout.

First, add a list of soft skills and hard skills for resumes.

But to get the job, do this with your resume bullet points:

Whap. You just proved your skills for resume use. If the manager doesn’t double-take, his head was poorly designed.

Pro Tip: Notice how each bullet point above shows a benefit with numbers? Use percentages, dollar figures, and other metrics to show the power of your resume skills.

Want your resume to make employers worry you didn’t get their email? See our guide: Achievements & Awards to Put on Your Resume

The secret?

Don’t look for synonyms to any of the words below.

Please don’t say on a resume, “I’m likable,” or, “I’m highly skilled.”

Prove it instead.

“Wrote 1.5 million words of published articles in 2017” works better than a thousand synonyms for hard working.

But if you must, here’s a list of synonyms for common skills:

Again, hunting synonyms for skills for resumes is barking up the wrong decision tree.

Show measurable accomplishments.

Pro Tip: Use one personable synonym or teachable synonym at the beginning of your resume summary. Otherwise, give the fancy adjectives a pass.

Use spicy resume words to keep employers reading like Stephen King dreamed up your resume. See our guide: 240 Resume Action Words & Power Words to Make Your Resume Shine

Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:

See more cover letter templates and start writing.

Here’s a recap of hard skills vs soft skills for resumes:

Recruiters will assume it’s years of professional experience, a solid diploma, and a well-established certificate.

But these all represent something much more important:

Your skills. The ones that get the job done—

This guide will show you:

Want to save time and have your resume ready in 5 minutes? Try our resume builder. It’s fast and easy to use. Plus, you’ll get ready-made content to add with one click. See 20+ resume templates and create your resume here.

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Sample resume made with our builder—See more resume examples here.

It’s not about how difficult they are, it’s all about how process-oriented such abilities might be.

Hard skills are abilities that let you tackle job-specific duties and responsibilities. Hard skills can be learned through courses, vocational training, and on the job. These skills are usually focused on specific tasks and processes such as the use of tools, equipment, or software.

In contrast, soft skills are your traits and abilities not unique to any job—think collaboration, time management, empathy, or leadership.

Which kind of skill set is more important? A LinkedIn study suggests that a slight majority (57% vs 43%) of employers value soft skills over hard skills.

But is this really an either/or situation?

Not really. The best way to think about it that hard skills get interviews, soft skills get jobs.

(Not to mention the thin line between definitions—how soft a skill is time management?)

If the hard-vs-soft-skills contrast isn’t quite clear to you, see our guide: The Difference Between Hard and Soft Skills Explained

(And here's a few tips regarding Top Skills Employers Look for in 2023)

A successful resume displays a targeted set of hard skills. Before you jump to particular examples, see how and where to include them:

For more strategies of highlighting your job skills, see: Crucial Skills to Put on Your Resume 2023

Technical skills include specialized knowledge and expertise in fields such as IT, engineering, or science. Typical technical skills are abilities to use specialized software or equipment.

Here are some examples of technical hard skills:

Now, here’s a few samples extracted from resumes:

For a dedicated guide to putting technical hard skills on a resume, see: The Best Technical Skills for Resumes

Computer skills are your abilities to use software and hardware: from basic and general, to highly specialized.

On today’s job market, computer skills are a must in any industry. Be sure to include list them on your resume especially if you’re applying for office jobs and if the job ad requires specifics.

Here’s a list of some basic computer skills:

And here you’ll see some typical programming skills:

This is how you can make them work on your resume:

Need more information? Here’s a must-read for you: Key Computer Skills to Put on a Resume in 2023

If you want to laser-in on MS Office skills, see: Microsoft Office Suite Skills for the Workforce

Analytical skills are the skills of gathering data, analyzing it, deciphering the meaning, and presenting it.

No matter what job you’re pursuing, if you’re able to show that you’re good with data analysis, the recruiter will score you some bonus points.

Here are some analytical skills to put on a resume:

Analytical skills proven on your resume:

Learn more: Analytical Skills/Data Analysis Skills to Boost Your Resume

Marketing skills include the general knowledge of sales, advertising, and consumer research, as well as a plethora of highly technical, digital skills required for success in modern-day online marketing.

Marketing hard skills are of greatest value to candidates in media, advertising, social media, e-commerce, and product management.

Some examples include:

The list could go on, and on, and on. But what marketing skills are most relevant today?According to The Pipeline, those are the top marketing skills for your resume:

Not sure how to make your resume show your marketing expertise? Get inspired by these samples of hard marketing skills on resumes:

Marketing ability highlights:

Hungry for more? Check this out: Top-Level Marketing Skills for Your Resume & How to List Them

Wait, what? Aren’t presentation skills a soft skill?

Not exactly. Sure, you need certain soft, transferable skills to deliver a good presentation: confidence, adaptability, self-awareness, or stress management. But—

To facilitate your presentation or report, you’ll need at least a few of these hard skills:

And here’s how to prove you’re a savvy presenter on a resume:

See more: How to List Presentation Skills on Resumes

Again, you might feel like people skills are in the core of good management and leadership. Again…

That’s just half-right.

To be a good manager, you also need some job-specific skills such as these:

And here’s how to convey your management expertise on an exec resume:

For more examples and step-by-step tutorials see: Managerial Skills List (Not Only For Managers!)

When making a resume in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building a professional resume template here for free.

When you’re done, Zety’s resume builder will score your resume and tell you exactly how to make it better.

In short, project management skills guarantee that things get done.

More than that, actually: done in time and within budget. If you’re skilled in project management, it will be a plus for any sort of job where you need to coordinate processes or people’s work.

Project management skills include general managerial expertise as well as proficiency in certain frameworks and software. Here are some examples of PM hard skills:

And these samples will show you how to present your PM expertise on a resume:

For more tips on showcasing your PM hard skills, head over to Project Management Skills Crucial for Your Career (And Resume!)

A solid grasp of writing techniques will give your career a boost if your job requires any sort of writing (think typing up quarterly reports, onboarding documents, presentations for clients, sales pitches, etc.).

Check out these examples:

Now, an ultimate writing assignment… Conveying your writing skills on a resume. This is how to do it:

We’ve written a super detailed piece on writing skills, give it a read: 150+ Writing Skills for Jobs & How to Boost Them

Another somewhat obvious point on our list. But that doesn’t make it less important.

Knowing more than one language will set you apart from your competition for any job in a company that deals with international customers or stakeholders.

First of all, create a section for languages. List all foreign languages you know and indicate your proficiency level.

But you can also emphasize your multilingual skills in other parts.

Need more information? See: How to Show Off Your Language Skills on a Resume

If you’re a skilled illustrator, modern employers will fight one another for who gets to hire you. No, not only if your niche is graphic design. The ability to create polished visual materials is a great asset in all work environments.

Here are some graphic design skills examples.

Now, here’s a few samples from other resume sections:

Need more inspiration to highlight your creative powers? While we don’t have a dedicated piece on design skills, I’m sure you’ll find this one useful: How to Write a Head-Turning Graphic Design Resume

If you have certifications that back up your skills, list them in a separate resume section. Include the name of the certificate and the year you received it.

Learn more: How to Include Certifications on Resumes

Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:

See more cover letter templates and start writing.

Here’s everything you need to know about putting hard skills on a resume:

Got more questions? Need assistance in picking the right hard skills for your resume? Drop me a line in the comments, I’ll get right back to you.

Hard skills are professional abilities that you must have to perform your job duties, and they refer to specialist knowledge you can learn through education, development courses, or training. Mastery of hard skills can be evaluated using knowledge tests or professional exams.

Hard skills differ from job to job. This means that a resume for a professional chef needs a different set of hard skills than a software engineer’s resume. For a chef, hard skills examples are food preparation, sanitation and hygiene, combining flavors, planning menus, and managing kitchen staff. For a software engineer, examples of hard skills are programming languages, software testing, full-stack development, and so on.

Hard skills refer to the essential knowledge that you need for your profession. Meanwhile, soft skills are personal qualities that influence your approach to problems, creativity, and ability to work with others. They’re sometimes called people skills. While you can learn hard skills at school, during courses, or with training, you can develop soft skills through analysis of your own behavior and with the help of professional coaches.

Some argue which are more important in discussing hard skills vs. soft skills. But the truth is, a good employee needs both. Why? Because professionals without soft skills can be very difficult to work with.

Hard skills on a resume are an essential part of the skill section. They can also be mentioned in other parts of the resume, such as a resume profile or the work experience section.

These job-specific abilities must be consistent with the job requirements. For example, if the job advertisement for a teacher says: “Essential duties include lesson planning for K-12 STEM curriculum, performing student evaluation using appropriate assessment techniques, and accurate maintenance of all required records,” then the hard skills on a resume for a teacher are lesson planning, knowledge of K-12 STEM curriculum, student evaluation, and keeping administrative records.

It’s recommended to select around 5–7 hard skills to put on a resume and to balance them out with 2–3 soft skills relevant to the job.

Hard skills are an important part of any job. They refer to the knowledge and abilities essential for the profession, such as having a driver’s license and understanding road rules for a truck driver. Without those hard skills, employees won’t be able to perform their work duties effectively.

As these skills are essential for work, it’s worth brushing up on your knowledge and abilities from time to time. Even if you’re an expert in your field, new developments might bring methods and solutions that can make your job easier, especially if your job needs computer skills or technical abilities.

While hard skills vary between professions, some of these abilities are transferable. Learning them can be a good step to improving your career.

These are the top 20 hard skills for a resume in 2023:

1. Machine learning

2. Statistical modeling

3. Software testing

4. Analytical skills

5. Product management

6. Management skills

7. Accounting

8. Digital security

9. Search Engine Optimization

10. UX design

11. Graphic design

12. Marketing skills, including social media marketing

13. Account management

14. Project management skills

15. Programming languages

16. Cloud computing

17. Video editing

18. Teaching and knowledge management

19. Creative writing skills

20. Foreign language skills

• Computer software knowledge.
• Graphic design.
• Data analysis.
• Project management.
• Marketing.
• Copywriting.
• Computer programming.
• Foreign languages.