Hard skills land more interviews.
Yes, soft skills – such as communication and teamwork – are important. But at the end of the day, hiring managers want to see quantifiable skills, backed by qualifications or experience, that show that you can do the job they offer.
Despite this fact, so few job seekers match their resumes to the hard skills that their potential employers require. According to Sourcematch, resumes only match 59% of the hard skills requested in job ads, which may be why 80% of American employers believe there’s a skill gap.
Perhaps that skill gap doesn’t actually exist.
Instead, candidates may simply be doing a poor job of showcasing the hard skills that can get them hired, which is why many professionals are getting an award-winning and interview-landing resume written.
Skill 1 – Programming Skills – Python
Starting with the tech industry, Python—a programming language—is more important now than ever before. It ranks third on the list of the most in-demand languages among recruiters, with only the more common Java and JavaScript being above it. Over two-thirds (39.66%) of recruiters say Python is desired, and that number will only grow larger over time.
Why?
Python is the backbone of the artificial intelligence (AI) industry. Its versatility, combined with the constantly growing libraries that the Python community develops, means it’s the go-to for building AI models. Add to that its relative simplicity—Python code is similar in construction and syntax to English—and you have a language that is the cornerstone of an industry that’s only going to grow larger. If you need proof of that, consider that the AI sector will enjoy a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 37.3% between 2022 and 2030.
While this entry focuses on a specific language, the reality is that any hard skill related to computers – from coding to data analysis – is going to be desirable as the AI industry grows.
Skill 2 – Marketing Skills
According to research by the Spear marketing group, recruiters find it incredibly difficult to fill marketing roles. A staggering 90% say that it’s tough to find a good marketer, with 83% saying it usually takes them five weeks or more to fill their marketing-related roles.
That’s no surprise given the rise of digital influence in the marketing sector. Long gone are the days when marketing was just a combination of flyers, broadcast adverts, and call centers. While all of those techniques still exist, it’s the digital side that presents the most trouble to today’s hiring manager.
A good market needs to be proficient in search engine optimization (SEO) and must understand the ins and outs of how various social media platforms work. Copywriting is also a good skill – even with the existence of ChatGPT – as is an understanding of how to properly utilize content management systems and customer relationship management software.
In short – marketing is more involved today than it’s ever been.
If you have hard skills in web design, SEO, video creation, photoshop, or any other facet of digital marketing, you’re an attractive candidate to recruiters who are struggling to find good marketers.
Skill 3 – A Second Language
Knowing how to speak and write in another language isn’t just desirable for translation jobs.
It’s desirable everywhere. With the world becoming increasingly connected and the U.S. becoming more diverse, recruiters are always looking for people who are fluent in languages other than English.
This is demonstrated by a Preply poll, reported on in Forbes, which found that 86% of job listings mention a preference for Spanish language skills. The same poll also showed employers in California, New Jersey, and Nevada tended to reward people with second language skills with higher pay – another key reason why this hard skill is growing increasingly essential.
It’s not just recruiters who want to see this skill, either. The same Forbes article reports that 40% of multilingual employees believe their ability to speak another language helped them to land their jobs. And of those people, most earn 19% more than colleagues in equivalent roles who only speak one language.
The message is simple – employers pay more if you know another language.
Skill 4 – Analytical Skills
In its 2022 survey of 200 employers, Zety discovered that over half (53%) say that analytical skills are the most important hard skills that a candidate can bring to the table. That’s above IT skills (49%) and marketing (37%).
The term “analytical skills” encompasses a wide range of subskills. Critical thinking is one of those subskills, as is the ability to conduct appropriate research and analyze data. So, what employers are really saying is that they need people who do more than report numbers to them. They want candidates who can tell them what the numbers their companies generate mean.
When writing your resume, think about what analysis you’ve conducted. Have you spent time poring through research papers in a previous role, or compiling figures into reports to help a company forecast upcoming sales periods? If so, then congratulations – you have evidence of the analytical skills that over 50% of employers want to see.
Go Hard and Get a Job
Your hard skills are what will land you a new role.
Employers want to see that you bring specific talents to the table – talents that help them to achieve set goals – which is why any hard skill you have should be front and center in your resume. Back that skill up with appropriate qualifications and examples of how you’ve used it and you have the foundation of a resume that will land you a job.
Four of the most important hard skills are covered here. However, there are many more and, with Expert Resume Pros by your side, you’ll discover how they would create the perfect resume for any job.
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