Key Skills: Examples Of Job Skills

Your key skills matter when considering a career change or when applying for another job. To be seen as the best candidate, you must be able to identify your strengths and weaknesses and be prepared to address them, because if you don't, you may find you are unprepared when it comes to your job interview.

These examples of key job skills for your CV or resume will help you when you write your CV or resume.

First thing's first; you should start by identifying your skills, because they are your ticket to get that job and you should be able to articulate your abilities and expertise confidently and convincingly.

Many people have a hard time talking about themselves but being able to talk about your skills and abilities is not the same as bragging. Use the skills examples below to get a 'feeling' for how to do it.

On this page you can see these examples of key skills:

1. Finance & Accounting
2. Security Operations
3. Personal Assistant
4. Sales Professional

You should not be shy or afraid to discuss your skills and what makes you the right person for the job. Nor should you expect your track record to 'speak for itself'.

In fact, it is crucial that you convey to your potential employer what your key skills and talents really are; so you must learn to sell your abilities to your employer in person by being willing and able to speak in detail about yourself.

You can almost guarantee that in any interview you will be asked about your strengths or what separates you from the other applicants.

The Main Types Of Skills

Let's consider the two main types of skills: hard skills and soft skills. Hard skills are tangible in the sense that these are things that you do such as operating different kinds of machinery, knowledge of a specialised computer programme, using many types of tools, project management skills, financial accounting systems and so forth.

Soft skills are skills that are abstract in nature like your interpersonal qualities and people skills. This includes being a good team player, being able to use initiative, motivate people, meeting deadlines and being good at decision-making.

If you haven't already done so, start making a list of your previous jobs and the experience you gained doing those jobs as this will start to highlight your key skills.

First thing to do is to make a list of all the companies that you had worked for and the things that you learned from these jobs. There will be a lot of things to list and you should be careful enough not to forget even the smallest things or activities that you were part of or organized.

Be Realistic About Your Best Abilities

You should be realistic about how you analyse your skills and the level of expertise that you have with it. For example, if you indicate that you are a very organized person, then you should be able to show this to the interviewer by being able to organize your thoughts and effectively use the time that was given for your interview.

It is important to know your key skills every time you are job hunting; use these examples to get you started:

Key Skills Examples

Key Skills – Finance & Accounting

• Strategic financial and business planning skills; excellent analytical (quantitative and qualitative) skills; managing departmental budgets and resources; producing annual and monthly accounts.
• Strong leadership and advanced problem-solving skills with the ability to thrive under the pressure of a demanding workload. Able to utilise available resources and manage conflicting priorities.
• Outstanding knowledge of complex financial processes with the ability to advise and influence at all levels and liaise with internal and external partners and stakeholders.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills with a well developed ability to deliver complex information to a wide range of audiences from different backgrounds and cultures.
• Methodical in developing and maintaining financial and accounting systems, financial planning, forecasting and auditing procedures; production of detailed financial records; investigating anomalies; strategic reporting and budget plans; sourcing of finance, financial and credit control.
• Project management and consultancy, operations management, HR management, training and development. Sales, Marketing, Quality assurance, Value for Money Auditing, Systems review, development and implementation; ERP and Change Management.

Key Skills - Security Operations Manager

• Managing security operations alongside preventative electronic surveillance systems in conjunction with police and government agencies to assist in investigations; identifying strengths and weaknesses in systems and procedures; developing effective working relationships up to and including client management board level.
• Strong proactive leadership, empowering staff and providing coaching, training and mentoring to build cohesive teams working together to achieve individual targets and company objectives.
• Financial management with full P & L responsibility for operational budgets and the generation of additional revenue streams through offering electronic surveillance systems to replace manned guarding patrols.
• Supporting business development by assisting all sectors in a multi-disciplined facility management organisation to promote the services through regular meetings with customers/partners with the aim of reviewing and implementing improvements.
• Managing the integration and recognition of risk, conducting assessments and developing strategies; prioritising risks according to greatest threat and highest probability of reoccurrence and allocating appropriate resources to reduce the negative effects of risk.
• Change Management following acquisition and tender award; spearheaded the development of services and value within major client accounts and implemented new efficient processes.
• IT skills include high level proficiency in MS Word, Excel PowerPoint and Outlook.

Key Skills- Personal Assistant

• Organisation Skills: As a Personal Assistant, managed the Chief Operations Officer's responsibilities by coordinating and managing diaries, travel itineraries, and meeting schedules. Managed and coordinated various events from preparation to completion stages.
• Communication Skills: Excellent communication and presentation skills, both written and verbal with a well developed ability to deliver complex information to a wide range of audiences from different backgrounds and cultures.
• Interpersonal Skills: which demonstrates the ability to deal with individuals on any level. As a Personal Assistant, liaised with over 80 leaders including departmental heads and developed relationships with diverse clients, companies and individuals.
• Drafting Skills: Ability to draft documents clearly and concisely. As a Research intern in the United Nations, prepared and drafted documents for presentation in the international court.
• Analytical Skills: As a Personal Assistant, I gathered and analysed feedback correspondence with internal and external stakeholders. Analytical writing and research skills exemplified by achieving a distinction in my postgraduate degree thesis in International Relations.
• IT Skills: Fully proficient in use of Microsoft Suite (Word, Excel, Power Point, Publisher, Access and Outlook).

Key Skills-Sales Professional

• Sales & Business Development: Strategic planning, implementing and spearheading innovative sales and market development initiatives; new routes to market and over-achieving revenue targets.
• Customer Acquisition: High level sales and client handling expertise; employs cutting edge standards in sales execution processes to engage and manage new and existing customers through the sales cycle. Developing marketing strategies to assist operators with brand awareness and loyalty initiatives.
• Relationship Building: Developing excellent client relationships; understanding client needs and pressures to build effective partnerships; maintains a diplomatic and professional approach to Key Account Management with major mobile operators and channels worldwide.
• Market Analysis: Identifying changing market trends, product requirements and imperative market sectors for rapid growth and market share. Enabling effective development of highly successful strategic growth plans to ensure current and future sustainability without compromising customer service or product development. Bid preparation and development skills.
• Interpersonal: High level interpersonal and communication skills; proven team leader; delivers first class customer service; extensive negotiating and advocating skills, research and presentation skills.

How Good Are Your Skills?

Refer to the things you do well and enjoy most; these are likely to be your key skills. The key to finding the most appropriate jobs in the industry is recognizing your own skills and communicating the significance both in writing – your CV and cover letter, and verbally to a potential employer.

The majority of the most viable work skills are those that are used in a variety of work settings. What are these skills? Would matching your skills help you in becoming the leading candidate for the job.

In most cases, people who seek jobs are threatened with job titles. This should not be the case. As long as your key skills and abilities can be shown to meet the requirements of the work and the job function, you have a very good chance of winning the job you want. Take note and use these skills to improve your CV.

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