Skills and Competencies Section

Hard Skills

Hard skills represent the technical knowledge and tangible skills necessary to perform the specific tasks of a job.

These should be listed clearly, prioritizing those that are indispensable requirements for the vacancy for which you are applying.

It is essential to include the mastery of software, programming languages, operation of specific machinery or technical methodologies, always specifying the level of competence or years of practical experience with each tool.

For example, a graphic designer should not simply list "Image editing", but should detail mastery of the Adobe suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign) and indicate his or her level of expertise, either by means of a graphic scale or by specifying "5 years of professional use".

Similarly, a data analyst should specify whether he or she is proficient in SQL, Tableau or Power BI.

It is crucial to avoid including obsolete or overly basic skills that are taken for granted in a professional profile, such as basic word processing skills, unless the position explicitly requires it, as this could dilute the impact of truly differentiating competencies.

Soft Skills

Soft skills refer to the personal and social attributes that determine how we interact with the work environment.

Unlike technical skills, these should not be presented as a simple list of empty adjectives (e.g. "good communicator", "leader"), but should be supported by observable behaviors or contexts that demonstrate their actual application.

Instead of simply writing "Conflict resolution", it would be more effective to contextualize it in the profile or interview as: "Effective mediation of inter-departmental disputes to ensure continuity of critical projects".

If you want to highlight the ability to adapt, you can mention the successful transition to telecommuting modalities managing remote teams without losing productivity.

The key lies in associating competence with a tangible action or result, avoiding falling into clichés that any candidate could claim without evidence.

Adaptation by offer

The skills section should be dynamic and revised for each application. The objective is to align the skills highlighted in the resume with the keywords detected in the previous analysis of the job offer.

If a job description repeatedly emphasizes the term "Agile Management," the candidate should ensure that this term is highlighted in their skills section, rather than using less common synonyms.

If a professional possesses a range of 20 technical skills, but the offer only requires five specific ones, those five should be prominent and visible in the document.

This makes it easier for both the human recruiter and the automated systems (ATS) to quickly identify the candidate as suitable.

It is not a matter of lying about skills you do not have, but of prioritizing truthful information so that it resonates with the employer's immediate needs, omitting those skills that, while possessed, do not add value for that particular position.

Summary

Hard skills encompass the tangible technical knowledge necessary to execute the position. It is crucial to list tools and software with their actual level of expertise, always prioritizing the indispensable requirements of the vacancy in order to stand out effectively.

Soft skills should not be presented as mere lists of empty adjectives. To be effective, they must be supported with real contexts that demonstrate their practical application, avoiding clichés that any candidate could claim without evidence.

This section should be reviewed dynamically for each application, aligning the competencies with the keywords of the offer. Hierarchizing the information makes it easier for both recruiters and systems to quickly identify the candidate as suitable.