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What are Computer Skills?
Computer skills for resumes are a type of hard or technical skill, that allow individuals to effectively use and navigate various technologies and digital tools including computer hardware, software, apps or social media. Most jobs, regardless of industry, involve using a computer or digital interface to complete tasks. However, the types of computer skills you need will vary depending on your job responsibilities and industry needs.
We broke down the most commonly requested computer skills based on their function. Remember — computer skills also help you advance your career because they create the opportunity for a higher earning potential.
Top Computer Skills Examples
Traditionally, computer skills were required for white-collar office jobs. But our increasingly digital world benefits from skilled workers who can manage various forms of related software. Let’s break down 10 common types of computer skills across various career paths and job responsibilities.
Office Suite skills
Show your familiarity with Office Suite software like Microsoft Office, Apache OpenOffice or Google Drive. You can visit our administrative or assistant resumes for real-world computer skill examples.
Examples of Office Suite skills:
- Apache OpenOffice (Write, Calc, Impress, Draw, Base, Math)
- Google Suite (Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms)
- iWork (Pages, Numbers, Keynote)
- MS Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, OneNote, Access)
Email skills
Email skills are highly valued for customer service, digital advertising, HR roles, technical support, outreach, and client relations. Visit our customer service or human resources resumes for practical examples of these basic computer skills.
Sample email skills include:
- Email tracking
- Folders and tagging
- Inbox filters
- MailChimp
- Mail merge
Computer presentation skills
Many employers rely on digital presentations to share important information about profits, products and new business procedures. Highlighting your digital presentation skills can help hiring managers gauge your value.
Presentation platforms to include:
- Apple Keynote
- Google Slides
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Microsoft Sway
- OpenOffice Impress
- Prezi Present
- Visme
Database management skills
Most modern employers require data administrators and professionals to keep their internal systems running. Here’s a sample list of popular database management software you should familiarize yourself with. You can also visit our data system administration and information technology resumes to see them in action.
Popular data software:
- Airtable
- Amazon RDS
- Caspio
- Google Cloud
- Microsoft Access
- Microsoft SQL Server
- MySQL
- Oracle Database
- Quickbase
- Zoho Creator
QuickBooks skills
As we digitize our financial records, there’s a demand for computer skills in QuickBooks or similar financial software for many accounting roles or office jobs, as seen in these accounting and finance resume samples.
Examples of QuickBooks skills:
- Balance reporting
- Budget forecasting
- Customizing financial reports
- Data import and export
- Finance tracking
- Identifying causation
- Payments processing
- Payroll processing
- Profit and loss statements
- Spreadsheet formulas
- Tax filing
- Vendor management
Social media skills
Many companies use social media to engage customers and promote their business or products. You can visit our social media specialist resume samples for practical examples of these digital marketing skills.
Sample social media skills:
- Customer interactions
- Engagement metrics
- Schedule media posts
- TikTok
- Threads
- X (formerly Twitter)
Web language skills
Most businesses benefit from running a professional website. The ability to create and update these pages could make you a valuable candidate. Review our web development resumes to see computer skills on resume examples. You can also review the following list of popular programming languages.
Programming languages and tools include:
- Code libraries
- Content management systems (CMS)
- CSS
- HTML
- JavaScript
- Joomla
- Python
- Read computer code
- WordPress
- Write programs and algorithms
Graphic design skills
Although these skills are typically expected in creative fields related to graphic web design or sales, developing some graphic design skills for one-off projects within your field of work may be helpful.
Graphic design skills include:
- Adobe Fresco
- Adobe Illustrator
- Adobe InDesign
- Adobe Photoshop
- Adobe XD
- Behance
- CorelDRAW
- Figma
- Sketch
Enterprise systems skills
These are large-scale computer packages that can track and control many of the complex functions of businesses. You can visit our data administration or logistics resumes.
Some enterprise system skills include:
- Business continuity planning
- Business intelligence
- Business process improvement
- Customer relationship management (e.g., Salesforce, Oracle NetSuite)
- Enterprise architecture
- Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems
- Project management
Computer hardware skills
If you have specialized skills using any specific computer hardware that might be important to a role, it’s worth noting. Visit our web development or IT resume to see how to describe your computer skills examples.
Examples of hardware skills:
- AI/machine learning
- Cloud management
- DHCP
- DNS
- Network automation
- Network configuration
- Software installation
- System administration
- Tech support
- TCP/IP
- Ubuntu
- Virtualized networks
- Windows
Additional Computer Skills
If you’re not pursuing a specific career that requires the previously suggested computer skills, consider adding some of these basic computer skills for beginners to your resume if they are related to the open job requirements.
- Algorithm development
- AI programming
- A/B Testing
- Blogging
- Coding
- Cybersecurity
- Data compression
- Debugging
- Email marketing services
- Google Analytics
- Google Drive
- Google Workspace
- Hubspot
- Machine learning
- Open-source data structures
- Photoshop and Illustrator
- Search engine optimization (SEO)
- Systems diagnostics
- Web development
- WordPress
- Virus monitoring
Computer Skills FAQ
What are computer skills?
Computer skills are specialized technical skills that make you good at using computers, software, systems, apps or social media. These skills also empower your research abilities and polish your presentation skills, marketing skills and analytical skills.
Why are computer skills important for specific jobs?
As technologies develop to simplify and accelerate workflows, almost every job uses a computer interface to complete a function — therefore, you’ll need at least some knowledge of computer skills.
Learn to carefully read and scan job advertisements for required computer skills to list on your resume. You can find these valuable skills or helpful resume keywords to bypass applicant tracking systems (ATS) by looking for any information with specialized font treatments, like:
- Special formatting like numbered or bulleted lists.
- Highlighted fonts like bolded, italicized, underlined or colored text.
- Repeated responsibilities.
Remember, not all computer skills are treated equally. You may have existing knowledge of accounting software, but an open project manager or marketing position will prioritize content management, task management or Scrumban knowledge over your existing accounting knowledge.
What are the top 10 computer skills of 2023?
- Computer programming: The most in-demand courses include Python, C++, JavaScript, Ruby and PowerShell.
- Web development: Engineers with a robust skill set for software developers in 2023 include JavaScript, Python, Go, Java, Kotlin, PHP, C#, Swift, R, Ruby, C and C++.
- Artificial intelligence: AI allows you to use computer programs to perform tasks similar to human cognition and has the potential to accelerate aspects of how we live and work.
- Machine learning: Machine learning is a subset of AI to develop self-healing algorithms. The goal is to enable programs and codes to repair or resolve issues without human input.
- Data science: Data scientists analyze data from various sources, including customer transactions, click streams and social media. These professionals unlock valuable and predictive insights to impact business decisions and for a competitive advantage.
- Cybersecurity: As AI, machine learning and automation develop, new programs and codes develop faster. Cybersecurity will be essential to protect personal and professional data against new, potentially hostile software.
- User experience design: UX design relates the customer or client experience to an interface. Employers rely on user-friendly and intuitive design to help move customers through a product funnel.
- Automation: This wide-ranging field aims to boost efficiency by reducing human intervention for routine steps or procedures, enabling them to work on other, more complex company needs.
- Social media: Social media is an interactive tool that helps you promote a company, tool or service while connecting with potential customers and defining your company culture.
- Information technology: IT is the general knowledge and use of computers, digital storage, networking, infrastructure and processes to create, process, store, secure and exchange electronic data.
How can I develop computer skills?
You can develop computer skills by:
- Signing up for digital courses through recognized universities like Harvard or UC Berkeley.
- Signing up for digital learning platforms like Coursera, MasterClass or Udemy.
How can I add computer skills to my cover letter?
An ideal cover letter uses the main body of the to letter to delve into job-relevant skills. We recommend you prioritize other job-relevant skills unless these computer skills examples relate to the industry. In the introduction, you can briefly describe your computer skills, then cover a detailed explanation with quantifiable metrics in the second or third paragraph.
How do you mention computer skills during an interview?
If you get an interview, you’ll need to back up your computer skill claims by sharing specific examples or accomplishments that illustrate your knowledge. Here’s a “describe your computer skills” example for the common interview question: “What makes you the best candidate for this role?”
“As a back-end engineer, my programming language fluency is only exceeded by my passion for problem-solving and using my critical thinking abilities. I thrive on working on a team and listening to those around me. As evidence, at my last job, I was put in charge of a group of four other designers and tasked with programming the physics processor for a client’s video game production.”
Visit our helpful interview articles to help yourself prepare.
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