Job-specific skills are more than just buzzwords on a job description—they demonstrate your ability to handle day-to-day responsibilities. Employers expect you to have these skills (or be ready to learn them) to thrive in the role. But how can you ensure they stand out during your job search?
In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about job-specific skills, including how to acquire them and highlight them in your resume.
What are job-specific skills? Definition
Job-specific skills are abilities, knowledge, or training needed to perform core tasks of a certain role. These often overlap with hard skills and technical skills and are very particular, making professionals who have them specialists in their field.
“They’re the hands-on skills that you’ll learn through education, training, or direct experience in your field,” says Max Williams, founder and HR outsourcing specialist at Herobot. “For example, a software engineer needs proficiency in coding languages like Python or Java, while a graphic designer might need expertise in Adobe Creative Suite.”
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Are job-specific skills transferable skills?
Typically, job-specific skills and transferable skills are not the same. Transferable skills are skills necessary for most jobs, regardless of field. Some examples include communication, time management, and presentation. Transferable skills help you fulfill your daily duties better and grow as a professional, while job-specific skills make you qualified for a specific position and “get you in the door,” Williams says.
“In hiring, we look for a balance between both,” he says. “For example, someone might have strong project management skills—transferable—but also need knowledge of specific SaaS tools—job-specific—to excel in a technical project manager role.”
However, job-specific skills could be transferable to a different role in the same field. For example, a teacher becoming a private tutor would use the exact same job-specific skills, but in a different setting. The same for a nurse that becomes an ER doctor—they would still be caring for patients and using some of their nursing skills regularly.
Job-specific skills: Examples
Here are some examples of job-specific skills in different fields and lines of work:
- Job-specific skills for teachers: Lesson planning, teaching academically, Google Workspace proficiency (Google Docs, Spreadsheets, Slides, and Google Classroom) are typical specific skills for teachers. In some schools, teachers are also required to have a CPR and First Aid certification.
- Job-specific skills for nursing: Measuring vital signs, giving injections, knowing how to use and maintain healthcare equipment and software are some examples of job-specific skills for nurses. If you want to specialize in a particular area of care (e.g. cardiac care, neonatal care), you'll also need those respective skills.
- Job-specific mathematics skills: Depending on which role you're looking for, the mathematics knowledge required will vary. For example, accountants need auditing skills and a financial analyst needs data interpretation, logical reasoning, and financial analysis skills.
Where to find the job-specific skills for a role
One way to put yourself ahead of the competition is to identify and learn crucial job-specific skills for the role you want. Here’s where—and how—to find them:
1. Job descriptions
Job postings often have a detailed list of requirements, responsibilities, and qualifications necessary for the role—including the job-specific skills you need. “Words like ‘proficiency in,’ ‘knowledge of,’ or ‘experience with’ usually point to job-specific skills,” Williams says.
“For example, in a listing for a data analyst position, you might see requirements like ‘proficient in SQL’ or ‘experience with Tableau’—these are clear indicators of the skills you’ll need to have to be considered for the role,” he says.
Once you identify these skills you can highlight the ones you possess on your resume. To make your resume ATS-friendly, use the exact same terminology as the job description.
2. Similar roles in the industry
If you can't get a clear understanding of the job-specific skills you need in the role you specifically want, look for similar roles in the same industry. You can easily find dozens of open positions on job boards like The Muse (hi!) and LinkedIn, for example, just by searching by a title, like “Data Analyst,” “Customer Service Representative,” or “English Teacher.”
3. Industry professionals on LinkedIn
Another place to find and identify job-specific skills is in the LinkedIn profiles of professionals in your industry. Look for people with the same or similar role as yours (or the role you want to have) and read their experiences and qualifications. This exercise is likely to give you great insight into the skill level companies are looking for.
How to gain job-specific skills
Did your research and realized you're lacking core skills for the job you want? Here's how to expand your skill set:
- Formal education: In certain fields, like healthcare, economics, and education, one of the best ways to acquire essential job-specific skills is with formal education. This could be a bachelor's degree, a masters degree, a MBA, or a doctoral degree.
- Certifications: Industries like marketing and technology often need skills that you can learn through a certification. “For example, if you’re looking to develop skills in digital marketing, you can take online courses on platforms like HubSpot or Google Ads to master the tools and tactics you’ll need on the job,” Williams says.
- Training: Some skills like first aid, CPR, and even coding can be learned with training. Depending on which one you need, you might be able to do online workshops and bootcamps, while others will require in-person training.
- Hands-on experience: Practice is one of the best ways to gain new skills. “Internships, apprenticeships, and volunteering in your desired industry are also great ways to pick up job-specific skills while getting real-world experience,” Williams says.
Read this next: 12 Free Online Courses With Certificates to Boost Your Resume
How to highlight job-specific skills in your resume
When it comes to resume writing, leverage the resume summary, skills, and certifications sections to highlight your job-specific skills.
Resume summary
The resume summary gives the recruiter a quick overview of your experience, qualifications, and who you are as a professional. This is a short and descriptive part of your resume. To highlight any job-specific skills you have, go straight to the point with two to three sentences.
For example:
Software engineering manager with eight years of industry experience and a proven track record of successfully leading cross-functional teams. Expert-level proficiency in database management as well as Python, Java, SQL, and C#.
Skills section
“Create a dedicated skills section where you list these abilities,” Williams says. For example, let's say you're looking for a SEO analyst job. Based on the common core abilities necessary for this position, a skills section could look like this:
SKILLS
- HTML
- Google Search Console
- SEMrush
- Conductor
Experience section
To optimize your experience section, avoid simply listing responsibilities and highlight how you used specific skills to solve real problems in a past job. For example, Williams says, you could write something along the lines of:
Data analyst, Finances and Co.
September 2021 – Present
- Analyzed complex datasets with SQL, providing insights that led to a 10% increase in customer retention
“This approach ties your job-specific skills to real results, making it easier for hiring managers to see your value,” he says. “In our hiring process at Herobot, candidates who can effectively showcase how their job-specific skills have made an impact in previous roles stand out.”
Bottom line
Job-specific skills are abilities or knowledge unique to a particular role or industry. Sometimes, even similar roles might require a different skills set. For example, front-end development and back-end development are complementary, but different. That’s why you shouldn't look for a general list of job-specific skills and stuff your resume with all of them.
Instead, deeply research your industry and what companies are looking for in candidates for a specific role. Every time you see an open position that interests you, review your resume and tailor it for that specific opportunity.