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List of Must-Have Computer Skills to Put on Your CV
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Computer skills refer to your ability to efficiently use computers and the programs and equipment related to them. Basic computer skills are an essential addition to your CV in many professions, and they range from productivity and office software to using specialist programs and devices.
Suffice it to say, they’re among the most important skills you need in the modern workplace. This guide will run you through how to describe computer skills for career success.
Let’s see a successful computer skills CV, and then get into computer skills examples to make sure you cover all the bases.
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Computer skills on a CV example
Mason Buckley
Phone: 07777 777777
Email: masonbuckley@madeup.com
linkedin.com/in/masonbuckley
Summary
Efficient network administrator with 6+ years’ experience modernising and maintaining company networks using Microsoft architecture, particularly Windows Server 2019 and Active Directory. Overseeing and resolving short-term and long-term issues of the network and everyday software for 100+ employees with 250+ devices.
Experience
Network Administrator
media.io
2017–present
- Improved the uptime of the internal company network from 89% to 95% by replacing Windows Server 2012 R2 with Windows Server 2019.
- Resolved 17 long-standing issues in Microsoft Active Directory, increasing overall efficiency by 5–10%.
- Increased the efficiency of group policies, cutting losses associated with Windows 10 updates by 40–60%.
- Migrated 100+ users from Gmail to a self-hosted Roundcube email solution, boosting internal confidentiality audit score from 116 to 247 points.
- Configured and tested all new devices worth over $250,000.
Junior Network Administrator
Accenture
2015–2016
- Prioritised effective bandwidth in the departments that require it by at least 15% by limiting unjustified bandwidth allocations.
- Configured and deployed 92 users’ desktop hardware and software after a company-wide upgrade.
- Implemented and tested Asigra disaster recovery solutions, ensuring disaster resilience.
Education
(2.1) B.Sc. Computer Science
Loughborough University
2013–2016
- Pursued a passion for Kernel Development coursework.
Additional Skills
- Active Directory
- Blackboard
- Go
- Kafka
- Linux
- Transact-SQL
- Unix Shell
- Wireshark
Languages
- Spanish—bilingual
- Nepalese—beginner
Computer Skills for Your CV
Gone are the days of putting ‘Microsoft Office’ on your CV and being good to go. The world is moving a bit faster than that. According to the Learning & Work Institute, the UK is experiencing a computer skills gap, mainly in the digital sector, with the amount of students taking IT subjects dropping by 40% in the last 5 years.
Get it right, and you have an advantage.
1. Basic Computer Skills
Basic computer skills are must-haves. They’re necessary for every level of seniority and across all industries. They’re also incredibly useful transferable skills that you can take with you when making job and career changes.
These examples are a great starting point for showcasing your tech prowess.
- MS Office / G-Suite: Be specific about what you achieved in terms of projects, file management and impact on company operations. (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, OneNote, Access, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms)
- Email: That means advanced skills like mail merge, implementing filters, folders, and rules for optimal management.
- Spreadsheets: Listing the exact software shouldn’t be needed, as they all work pretty much the same. Instead, talk about advanced skills like vlookup, pivot tables, macros, merging with databases, etc.
- Presentations/Slideshows: Discuss the type and impact of presentations you gave. (PowerPoint, Google Slides, OpenOffice Impress, Tableau)
2. Productivity Software
These days, every company is interconnected and managed with a range of communication and productivity software. Most of these don’t need elaboration and can be simply listed in a skills section on their own. But if you undertook a big task, like managing the whole company’s operation in ClickUp, then do mention the specifics in your CV.
- Asana
- Basecamp
- Calendly
- ClickUp
- JIRA
- Microsoft Teams
- OneNote / Evernote
- Slack
- Todoist
- Toggl
- Trello
- Zapier
- Zoom
3. Project Management
If you aren’t simply using, but managing and overseeing productivity software to manage projects, you should give some more details. Project management is at the heart of achieving business goals and a worthy addition to your CV.
- Database Management (MS Access, Oracle, Teradata, IBM DB2, MySQL, SQL)
- Project planning software / Task Management (JIRA, Trello, Monday.com, etc.)
- Product roadmap software (ZenHub, Airtable, etc.)
- SCRUM methodology
4. Sales Systems
Companies go to great lengths to automate and streamline their sales processes. Relevant experience with them can be a huge boon in the recruitment process, so if you worked on one, and it’s similar to what the new company uses, list it.
- Automated Billing Systems
- Customer Relationship Management (Salesforce, Zoho, HubSpot, Freshworks, etc)
- Payment Processing
5. Enterprise Systems
Similarly, the essential ops and planning of each company take place on some kind of ERP system. If you have used them, it’s a huge advantage.
- Business Continuity Planning
- Business Intelligence (PowerBI, SQL Reporting Services, Qlik, Sisense, Looker, GoodData, Domo, Tableau, etc)
- Enterprise Resource Planning (SAP, Oracle NetSuite, Sage X3, Microsoft Dynamics, etc)
5. Content Creation
If you are adept at creating content, do not forget to list the tools and skills you use to create your masterpieces. Of course, you will have to prove it with some kind of portfolio, but these computer skills should be listed on your CV to help highlight your abilities for the recruiter.
- Blackmagic Resolve
- Corel Draw
- Free Hand
- Ghostwriting
- Illustrator
- Prototyping
- Responsive Design
- Photoshop
- Sketch
- UX Design
- UX Research
- Video Creation
- Wireframing
- InDesign
6. Social Media
For each tool or type of social media, make sure to provide an exact example of the approach and impact you made, and don’t forget to prioritise the ones that the job posting asks for. You could even use a skills-based CV to provide examples of your successful campaigns using each tool or medium.
- A/B Testing
- Automation
- Email Marketing
- Google Analytics
- Hootsuite
- Marketing Analytics Tools
- User Modelling
7. Marketing Outreach
There are a million tools to try to reach those millions of possible customers. Make sure to prioritise those that the job ad you’re targeting talks about.
- WordPress
- Yoast
- Mailchimp
- PPC Ads
- SEO
- A/B Testing
- Automation
- Email Marketing
8. Programming
This industry is based pretty much wholly on hard, computer skills. Make sure to list your strongest ones, but also include any programming skills you have that match the requirements in the job advert.
- AJAX
- ASP.NET
- C/C++
- C#
- CSS
- Go
- HTML
- Java
- JavaScript
- Objective-C
- Perl
- PHP
- Python
- R
- Ruby
- SQL
- Swift
- XML
So which are the most popular? According to data collated by Stack Overflow, the top 5 are JavaScript, HTML/CSS, SQL, Python and Java.
9. Other Software Development & QA Skills
Programmers are notoriously (and perhaps erroneously) known for being stunted in other areas. So if you master other abilities, it’s an advantage. It’s not just the languages, there are important supporting skills that make you a whole package.
- Algorithms
- Applications
- Coding
- Configuration
- Debugging
- Design
- Documentation
- Implementation
- IOS/Android
- Languages
- Modelling
- Security
- Testing
A strong CV summary will convince the recruiter you’re the perfect candidate. Save time and choose a ready-made personal statement written by career experts and adjust it to your needs in the LiveCareer CV builder.
How to show computer skills examples on your CV
1. Start with your CV profile
Starting a CV, most people try to give a general summary of their persona. However, it can be more beneficial to describe your computer skills right away, if they’re crucial in your target position.
The CV summary, or CV profile, will be the only thing some recruiters will read of your CV. Make it known right away that you have proficient computer skills, just in case that’s the only thing they read.
Examples of computer skills in the CV summary
Summary
Efficient network administrator with 6+ years’ experience modernizing and maintaining company networks using Microsoft architecture, particularly Windows Server 2019 and Active Directory. Overseeing and resolving short-term and long-term issues of the network and everyday software for 100+ employees with 250+ devices.
2. Write a thorough work experience section
Here comes the magnum opus, your work experience section. On most CVs, they look like a carbon copy of the job posting these people applied to 5 years ago. ‘I was responsible for’, and so on. Here are some CV tips to not be so boring.
- Each bullet point ought to start with a powerful CV action verb. Avoid ‘I’, and avoid impersonal tropes like the one we just quoted above.
- When listing a skill or software, explain the impact of your actions—preferably with numbers.
- Tailor each of your CV computer skills to each job posting, but don’t just copy content from the job advert.
- Use at 5-7 bullet points for your most recent job. Three will do for the previous ones.
Job description with computer skills examples
Experience
Network Administrator
media.io
2017–present
- Improved the uptime of the internal company network from 89% to 95% by replacing Windows Server 2012 R2 with Windows Server 2019.
- Resolved 17 long-standing issues in Microsoft Active Directory, increasing overall efficiency by 5–10%.
- Increased the efficiency of group policies, cutting losses associated with Windows 10 updates by 40–60%.
- Migrated 100+ users from Gmail to a self-hosted Roundcube email solution, boosting internal confidentiality audit score from 116 to 247 points.
- Configured and tested all new devices worth over $250,000.
3. Make use of your education section
Luckily, you really needn’t work a day in your life to have proficient computer skills. Some people gain most of them at school or in their own time. You’d be surprised at what can translate to relevant job experience.
Your CV education section is very relevant if you have less than 3 years of work experience, so it should take up more space on a student CV (likely your first CV) than one written by an experienced candidate. List courses that gave you particular skills, or any extracurricular activities that helped.
Computer skills to put on your CV in the education section
Education
(2.1) B.Sc. Computer Science
Loughborough University
2013–2016
Pursued a passion for Kernel Development using Linux.
Extracurricular Courses Taken: SCRUM, Introduction to Machine Learning
Software Learned: G-Suite, JIRA, Roadmap Planner, Excel, Salesforce and Quickbooks
4. How to approach your skills section
If you have a highly digital or computerised job, you’ve had ample opportunity to talk about your computer literacy in your work experience section. Here, in the CV skills section, you ought to list around five supplementary skills or software proficiencies that you have, but don’t need a long elaboration.
That said, if you’ve completed any exciting side projects, add a couple of lines of description—it shows passion and initiative.
And don’t neglect soft skills. They’re just as important as hard skills and IT skills and employers highly value those skills.
Computer skills in the skills section
Additional Skills
- Active Directory
- Blackboard
- Go
- Kafka
- Linux Kernel Dev
- Transact-SQL
- Unix Shell
- Wireshark
5. Include additional sections
The CV hobbies and interests section, or ‘Additional Info’ as it appears on many CVs, is not about you. It’s about you being useful to the employer. If you’re listing something, make sure it’s relevant. Doing it right will make you stand out.
List languages, certificates, and awards clearly under separate headings. They’re a great way of showing you have good computer skills and take you one step closer to writing the perfect CV.
Extra sections
Languages
- Spanish–bilingual
- Nepalese–beginner
Certificates
- EXIN Cloud Computing—CPD & IAP Accredited
- Virtualization and Cloud Computing—EDUCBA
How to go about learning computer skills?
Practice, practice, practice.
The National Careers Service Skills Toolkit has a computer skills section that lists several courses, from the most basic, to advanced courses that foster your ongoing growth.
There are also multitudes of free guides and resources only for any possible software or skill. Check out the Open University, Coursera and EdX for a start. Even Google now offers a range of courses to improve your knowledge of its products.
All that you need is a desire to improve.
And of course, write a cover letter. There, you have approximately 400 words to explain how you apply your computer literacy skills. Combine them, and you will present a complete package.
You don’t have to be a CV writing expert. In the LiveCareer CV builder you’ll find ready-made content for every industry and position, which you can then add with a single click.
If you have more questions on how to describe computer skills on your CV, or need specific examples of computer skills in your CV, let us know in the comments section. We’re here for you.
How we review the content at LiveCareer
Our editorial team has reviewed this article for compliance with Livecareer’s editorial guidelines. It’s to ensure that our expert advice and recommendations are consistent across all our career guides and align with current CV and cover letter writing standards and trends. We’re trusted by over 10 million job seekers, supporting them on their way to finding their dream job. Each article is preceded by research and scrutiny to ensure our content responds to current market trends and demand.
About the author
Since 2013, the LiveCareer UK team has shared the best advice to help you advance your career. Experts from our UK editorial team have written more than one hundred guides on how to write the perfect CV or cover letter.
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