Hard Skills

Hard skills are learned through study, training or practice, and you can usually show them with a certificate, a test or a work sample. Examples by field:

• Tech: Python, SQL, cloud platforms, data analysis.
• Business: financial modelling, bookkeeping, Excel, SAP.
• Design: Figma, Adobe Illustrator, typography.
• Healthcare: phlebotomy, patient charting, medication administration.
• Trades: welding, electrical wiring, CNC operation.
• Languages: English at C1, German at B2.

They're the opposite of soft skills, which describe how you work with people and handle situations.

Job postings list hard skills as requirements, and recruiters search their ATS for them by name — so they are the core of keyword optimization. List the ones relevant to the role in a skills section, then prove the important ones inside your experience: “Built monthly sales dashboards in SQL and Power BI” says more than “SQL” alone. Be honest about levels; an interview or a test will find out. When the list gets long, group it — tools, methods, languages — so a reader finds what they need in seconds.

In Twin CV's Skills section each skill has a name and a level — Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced or Expert — and languages have their own section. The assistant never guesses a level you didn't give. In the design Options you can hide levels with Show skill levels. The JD matcher (Premium) lists the hard skills a posting asks for that your CV is missing.