With the advancement of technology, the number of occupations requiring computer literacy has increased substantially. In fact, more than 92% of employment opportunities are available only to those with computer skills.
Evidently, it is crucial not only to be technologically literate but also to list your computer skills on your resume as a teacher, writer, or any other working professional. This is the only way for employers to immediately determine if you are qualified for the position.
If you do not know how to add computer skills to your resume, read this article, as we will discuss the essential computer skills and how to incorporate them into your resume.
So, without further ado, let’s begin!
Key Takeaways
- Knowledge of digital technologies is referred to as computer skills.
- Microsoft Office, graphic design, enterprise systems, operations systems, spreadsheets, presentations, Google Drive, email, social media, web, and software skills are all good to have on a resume.
- Include your computer skills in your resume’s experience, skills, and personal statement sections.
- Make sure your resume highlights the key skills you have to offer, lists those skills in detail, and includes instances of how you’ve used them.
- Do some reading, practice, and take some classes if you want to become more proficient with a computer.
What Are Computer Skills & Why They’re Important?
Computer skills refer to a person’s ability to work with a variety of computer programs quickly and efficiently.
Depending on the position, you will need to possess a diverse set of computer skills. For example, the majority of entry-level positions require proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, among others.
However, more advanced positions may require proficiency with complex software such as AutoCAD and Adobe Illustrator.
Computer skills also pertain to a person’s capacity to use computers for various forms of employee communication. Effective and prompt communication is essential to the success of any company or employee, and that communication is facilitated through proper computer skills.
Computer skills can contribute to your success not only through improved communication but also because the more digitally literate you are, the more responsibilities you will likely be entrusted with and the more complex duties you will be assigned.
This essentially means that you will be able to climb the corporate ladder more easily, and your salary will increase as a result.
12 Computer Skills to Put on Your Resume
Now that you understand what computer skills are and why they are important, let’s review the most important computer literacy skills one must possess to increase their chances of being hired.
#1. Microsoft Office
Microsoft Office, originally released in 1990, is a suite of software and related services developed and marketed by Microsoft. Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Access are the components that make up Microsoft Office, or Office for short.
Any position involving regular use of a computer requires familiarity with these programs. If those are the types of jobs you are applying for, then you need to possess the ability to work with Office programs.
You can simply put these skills in the “Skills” section of your resume. The applicant is presumed to already possess these skills, so they shouldn’t take up valuable space in the personal statement or the experience section.
Adding your proficiency rating next to the skill will also put emphasis on your level of expertise in that area. Examples are “Excel—Advanced Proficiency,” “Word—Intermediate Proficiency,” and so on.
#2. Graphic Design
Different levels of expertise with applications that enable you to create digital graphics constitute the spectrum of graphic design skills.
Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Acrobat, Corel Draw, and countless others fall within this category. With these, you can make everything from posters to game and website designs.
Jobs that demand creativity and knowledge in marketing, advertising, or a related sector are the ones most likely to necessitate these abilities. As a result, it’s likely that you’ll need these abilities if you wish to conduct creative work in any of these disciplines.
Your knowledge of graphic design can help you land a job, so don’t be shy about mentioning it in your resume. Utilize your personal statement and write something along the lines of, “A creative visionary with a passion for design and intermediate-level proficiency in Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, among other programs.”
#3. Enterprise Systems
Software packages known as enterprise systems give workers control over a company’s many intricate activities. Such applications include ERP, CRM, and other business management suites, as well as automated billing and payment processing systems.
These applications are beneficial to the company since they centralize processes, simplify the gathering of data for analysis, and speed up the resolution of problems.
Include your experience with enterprise systems if you are applying for a technical position that requires such expertise. One of the most effective ways to achieve this is to highlight how you’ve applied these abilities in past jobs.
Include something like “Enterprise System Specialist at [Company Name]” under “Work Experience,” and then state, in bullet points, how you put your enterprise talents to use in your previous roles, such as “Usage of automated billing systems for accounting purposes at [the company].”
#4. Operating Systems
The primary function of operating systems is to oversee and control the execution of all other software installed on a computer. Microsoft Windows, Apple Mac OS and iOS, Android OS, and many others are all examples of operating systems.
You need more than familiarity with OS software to do any kind of work with operating systems. The vast majority of job postings nowadays seek applicants with intermediate- to advanced-level skill sets.
Put these skills on your resume if you want to be considered for jobs that require them. You can highlight them in your work experience or personal statement to help you stand out from the competition.
If you have more than a couple, you can include them in the skills section. You can also include a percentage next to each skill to indicate how well-versed you are in that area.
#5. Spreadsheets
Spreadsheets are computer programs that can be used to create and manage tabular data for analysis and storage. Spreadsheet applications like Google Sheets, Microsoft Excel, OpenOffice, and iWork’s Numbers are among the most widely used in the world.
Consider careers in accounting, business analytics, sales management, and similar areas if you are highly analytical, well-organized, and proficient with spreadsheet software.
Include the types of spreadsheets you are familiar with in your resume’s skills section to catch the attention of hiring managers for these and related positions. A wheel chart is a useful way to organize your knowledge and experience when it comes to working with spreadsheets.
#6. Presentations
Preparing presentations is a common need for any administrative or assistant role. This is especially true for jobs in sales, advertising, and marketing since they require developing ideas and presenting them to executives and potential clients.
So, it’s not just entry-level jobs where you could find it useful to know how to give a presentation. However, you’ll need familiarity with presentation software like PowerPoint, Google Slides, OpenOffice Impress, Tableau, and others if you want to create effective presentations.
The easiest way to showcase them on your resume is to create a distinct category for them in the skills section. You can begin with the ones with which you are most comfortable and work your way down to the ones you are least proficient in.
#7. Google Drive
Google Drive is a system created by Google in 2012. It enables users to store and synchronize files across devices.
Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Forms are just a few of the applications available in Google Drive. Word processing is handled by Docs, spreadsheets, and presentations by Sheets and Slides, and forms for distribution by Forms.
Just like Microsoft Office, these programs are also some of the more basic ones, so knowing how to use them is mandatory in most of the jobs where you will be using digital resources.
Since Google Drive skills are more entry-level, you can include them in the skills section using skill bars to demonstrate your proficiency with each.
#8. Email
In today’s employment market, being able to communicate effectively via email is a must. No matter what you do for a living, you’ll need to be able to talk to people. Email is ideal for such business correspondence.
You’ll need to know how to merge emails, make folders, apply filters, and so on, regardless of the email client you use. Learning these skills will help you in your position and make your job easier.
Given that email proficiency is generally viewed as lower on the list of employment criteria, it’s best to save the relevant sections of your resume for more advanced skills. Therefore, email proficiency may be included in the skills section.
#9. Social Media
Virtually every business today has a noticeable online presence. They may be on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or all three.
Gathering insights, using data analytics tools, developing content, posting it across platforms, and creating audience engagement through interaction with them are all considered social media skills.
Include your proficiency with social media on your resume, and you can even highlight these qualities in your personal statement.
For instance, you may state, “In my two years as a social media analyst, I have mastered the art of moderating promotional and audience engagement-focused Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn accounts.”
#10. Writing Skills
Being proficient in word processors like Microsoft Word and Google Docs is not what we mean when we talk about writing skills. Beyond only knowing how to use a computer, being able to write well encompasses a plethora of other abilities.
The capacity to express oneself clearly, convey information concisely, and captivate an audience requires a firm grasp of the mechanics of a language. The ability to modify one’s tone, style, and formality in writing such that it is appropriate for the readership and function of the piece is also an indication of a writer’s prowess.
If you are seeking a job in this field, you should highlight any relevant writing skills you may have in your resume’s “work experience” section.
Think back on any job you’ve held in the past where you used your writing skills and explain how they helped you do a great job.
#11. Web Skills
Web skills include website maintenance and upkeep, which require knowledge of programming languages and/or content management systems.
For most web development jobs, you’ll need to be proficient in a variety of languages and frameworks, including HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, various content management systems (CMS), such as WordPress and Joomla, as well as code libraries.
Having a degree in information technology (IT) or computer science (COS) and/or relevant job experience is highly desirable.
Ensure that you effectively showcase your skills throughout your resume, spanning from your personal statement to your job history and concluding with a comprehensive list of skills. This approach guarantees that recruiters do not overlook any of your valuable abilities.
#12. Software Skills
Programming languages like Java, PHP, MySQL, SQL, C#, JavaScript, C++, Python, iOS/Swift, Ruby on Rails, and others are part of the software skill set.
Software developers need fluency in one or more of these languages so that they can be proficient in data analysis, machine learning, cloud computing, and network security across a variety of systems and networks.
The software industry is competitive because more and more people are entering it every year. Make sure you back up your claims with credentials like degrees, work experience, and pertinent skills.
Put your best software skill examples front and center on your resume. You can describe yourself as “a senior software engineer with 5+ years of professional experience in machine learning and advanced knowledge of C#, JavaScript, and C++.”
How to Add Computer Skills to Your Resume
It may be tempting to list all of your skills in one section of your resume, but this is not the ideal approach. Instead, you should incorporate your computer skills throughout your entire resume, specifically in the personal statement, skills section, and experience section.
Let’s consider personal statements first. They follow the contact information on the resume. They should be no longer than four sentences and highlight your most relevant skills and qualifications for the position.
Therefore, utilize this opportunity to list the relevant computer skills that will distinguish you from the competition.
Regarding the skills section, you can organize your computer skills into groups and create separate categories. For instance, under the heading “technical skills,” you could list MS Excel, Power BI, and Tableau.
Lastly, in the experience section, you will list all of your previous work experiences, and where applicable, you can use bullet points to describe the computer skills and how they were utilized on the job.
3 Tips to Consider When Adding Computer Skills to Your Resume
Here are some things to consider when including computer skills on your resume:
- Add relevant skills. On your resume, you should only include those computer skills that are highly relevant to the position for which you are applying. Employers rarely have the time to sift through the dozens of skills you have listed on your resume in order to find the relevant ones.
- Don’t be generic. Given that computer skills are frequently technical in nature, be sure to specify the software you are proficient in, as well as your level of expertise. There are a variety of jobs available that seek candidates with specialized computer skills in addition to general ones. Therefore, rather than stating that you have graphic design skills, you should state that you are proficient in Adobe Photoshop and other software, if that’s the case.
- Provide examples. Whenever you mention a computer skill you possess, be sure to provide a concrete example of how you’ve utilized it. This will demonstrate to potential employers that you possess the skills you claim to have. So, if you are discussing your knowledge of Adobe software, include a project you have completed using this software.
How to Improve Computer Skills
If you are searching for ways to enhance your computer skills, then consider the following:
- Do online research. If you are ever confused about how to use a program or have a question about any of the software tools you are working with, you can always conduct a search online. There are numerous guides, articles, and videos that explain how to navigate the things that may be confusing you.
- Practice your skills. Continuous practice is the most effective method for enhancing existing skills. The more you utilize these skills, the simpler it will be for you to use them effectively and quickly. Consistent practice can help you feel more confident with your existing skills, giving you more time to acquire new ones.
- Register for courses. If you cannot learn certain skills on your own or find answers to your questions online, you can enroll in in-person or online educational courses. In this manner, you can acquire knowledge and practice, as well as an instructor who can function as your mentor and guide you through the process of developing computer skills.
Final Thoughts
This concludes the 12 computer skills examples and how to add them to your resume to improve your employment prospects!
In this day and age, computer literacy is essential for almost all of the available jobs. Be it basic or intermediate computer skills, employers are seeking candidates who can fulfill digital tasks with efficiency and in a timely manner.
Having computer skills will only guarantee that you are effective at your job and possibly enable you to secure higher positions and better pay. So, be sure to consider all the suggestions in this article, and we wish you good luck finding your dream job!
Computer Skills FAQ
#1. What are basic computer skills?
Basic computer skill lists tend to include Microsoft Office, Google Drive, email clients, and tools for presentations and spreadsheets. These skills allow you to create slideshows and lists, take notes during meetings, write different pieces of content, send and receive emails, schedule meetings, and so on.
#2. How do you list computer skills on a resume?
The best way to incorporate computer skills into your resume is to include them in three different sections. First, you can mention some of the most outstanding computer skills you have in your personal statement. Then you can list some more of your abilities in groups under the skills section. Finally, you can clarify how you utilized these skills in real life through your previous jobs in the work experience section.
#3. What are some computer skills to put on a resume?
Employers value several different kinds of computer skills. Basic ones like Microsoft Office, email, and Google Drive are just as important as more specialized ones like graphic design, software skills, social media, and so on when applying for a job.
#4. What are the most in-demand computer skills?
Expertise with software is widely regarded as being among the most sought-after of all computer skills. Skills in areas such as security, programming, data analysis, the cloud, machine learning, and so on are in high demand. Experience with social media, content production, marketing, advertising, and even project management all fall into this category as well.
#5. Are computer skills hard skills?
The ability to operate digital technologies, such as personal computers, servers, networks, operating systems, applications, and social networking websites, is a hard skill. Since they can be easily measured, counted, or demonstrated, computer skills are considered hard skills.
