What are hard skills? Improving hard skills is not as difficult as you think!

Hard skills are the foundation for you to successfully apply for your dream job and develop your career path.

Employers in all fields always require candidates to have hard skills. What are the hard skills that are given top priority? Do you understand what hard skills are and what hard skills include? Navigos Search will provide you with accurate information on this issue through the following sharing.

1. What are hard skills?

Hard skills are the professional knowledge and skills of employees to complete the role in the position they are undertaking. Each profession and job will require different hard skills.

Hard skills are often learned through school, short-term training courses, self-study via the internet, or practice. The effectiveness of hard skills will be measured, verified, or confirmed through qualifications and certificates.

Hard skills are professional knowledge and skills

2. Distinguish hard skills from soft skills

You can visualize the difference between hard skills and soft skills through the table below:

3. The importance of developing hard skills

Hard skills are considered the prime factor creating success in each person's career path. Without hard skills, it will be difficult to successfully apply for a job and perform tasks well.

Specifically, the importance of developing hard skills is creating a solid professional foundation, helping to increase productivity and work efficiency, polishing CVs and attracting employers, and providing promotion opportunities worthy of professional capacity.

During the process of reviewing candidate applications, employers often place top priority on testing candidates' hard skills. A CV with appropriate hard skills will help candidates shine and attract more employers’ attention.

The necessity for hard skills

4. Top most critical hard skills

As mentioned above, each profession and job will require different hard skills. However, no matter what field you work in, you cannot ignore the following most important hard skills:

Computer skills and software proficiency

Computer skills help process data and exploit information more quickly and conveniently. Specifically, when you master office computer skills, you will be proficient in using Office Word to professionally draft documents, contracts, and administrative documents, take advantage of Excel to create calculation tables based on available formulas to help shorten the workflow effectively; use Powerpoint to design creative and outstanding presentation with all necessary information.

There are many applications and software that bring convenience to everyone in all fields. Each specialized field will have different software. For example, the design profession has Photoshop, Illustrator, Dimension, and InDesign; the accounting profession has Misa, Fast, Effect, and Smart Pro.

To become an outstanding candidate, you must master the most popular specialized software. Thus, try to update and experience a lot.

View now: Soft skills are as important as the candidate's qualifications!

Foreign language skills

Vietnam's labor market is now growing thanks to collaboration with numerous foreign businesses and organizations. Thus, candidates with foreign language skills, especially English, are appreciated.

Therefore, having proficiency in a foreign language will give you a significant advantage over the hundreds of applicants and enhance your chances of building relationships and advancing your career more successfully.

Marketing skills

Hard skills in Marketing include the general understanding of advertising, sales, customer research, SEO, and content. In the current era, the ability to work on digital platforms is an essential factor for success in online marketing. These skills will bring you great advantages in communications, advertising, social network management, and e-commerce.

Skills in operating machinery

In the modern era, machines have replaced many traditional human tasks. Understanding techniques and how to operate basic machinery is an advantage when applying for any job. The most common types of machinery include printers, fax machines, cameras, and studio lighting systems.

Each position and level of work will require skills in operating different machinery and equipment. Thus, you must have a solid foundation of technical knowledge about the job you are undertaking.

Analytical and computational skills

Analysis and calculation are the ability to collect, read, understand, classify information, and make accurate assessments based on that information. These abilities will enable you to stay up to date with emerging trends in a market undergoing sudden changes and continuous fluctuation. They are crucial in almost every field, especially for jobs related to marketing, business, technology, and management.

Design skills

Graphic design skills require a combination of different factors such as proficiency in using popular design software and requirements for creative talent and personal sketching. In the era of popular internet platforms, any brand, product, or service needs a perfect design image. Those with design skills will be appreciated and have the opportunity to get a job with an attractive salary.

Writing skills

In today's modern work environment, in addition to verbal communication, communication by text and email has become essential and indispensable. Writing skills help you convey your messages and ideas specifically. These skills are especially necessary in many types of work such as writing reports, planning, drafting contracts, press releases, writing recruitment news and content, and sending emails to customers.

The most vital hard skills in every field

5. Tips to practice hard skills at work effectively 

There are many ways for you to practice and improve your hard skills effectively. Below are some suggestions you can apply:

Determine career goals specifically

If you do not have a specific plan and have not determined your career goals, improving your hard skills will become vague. To effectively develop skills for your job goals, you first need to set specific goals that are consistent with the job requirements you are pursuing.

Focus on learning and improving hard skills

Developing hard skills requires a process and you cannot become good overnight. How long it takes to practice your hard skills to achieve the expected results depends on your concentration and effort. You can study at school, training center, or through face-to-face or online courses.

Review knowledge related to hard skills regularly

Regularly studying and re-evaluating the previous knowledge you have acquired will help you maintain and strengthen your knowledge and upgrade your working skills. As a result, you will achieve significant achievements.

Continuously practice hard skills

Regularly practicing hard skills will help you maintain the skills you have learned to read and ensure smooth development at work and your career advancement path.

How to improve hard skills effectively

6. How to include hard skills on your CV to find a job

CV plays a critical role in helping candidates create a competitive advantage over other candidates. How to add hard skills to your CV? Here are some great tips that you can refer to:

Research the job description

In the job description of vacancies, there will often be a list of hard skills requirements related to the job being recruited. Understanding and carefully studying the job description will help you list and present skills that match the job requirements, thereby increasing your chances of being hired.

Place hard skills above CV content

When employers evaluate CVs, they start reading from the top of the page and work their way down. To make your CV stand out and attract employers, you should place your hard skills section at the top of your CV page. This helps employers grasp and evaluate your capabilities easily.

Provide certificates and qualifications 

Degrees and certificates are considered a "ticket" to help you go further in your career. Having appropriate degrees and credentials will make you more marketable to companies in any field or profession. If you have these certificates, present them in your CV to stand out from other candidates.

Add references

Information  on references is an important part of a CV and is often used by employers as a criterion to evaluate candidates. References act as guarantors of your abilities and work experience. Thus, consider it when writing them on your CV.

Include hard skills that attract employers

Hard skills are indispensable on the path to conquering a top career. If you are confident in your professional background, quickly create the perfect CV and send it to Navigos Search - Vietnam's leading middle and senior-level personnel recruitment company for opportunities to become a potential candidate in our data source.

Based on a methodical working process, our consultants will proactively contact and advise candidates on recruitment requirements and negotiate attractive salaries and bonuses. They are all experienced recruitment experts who deeply understand the value of human resources, the labor market situation, and each core industry.

We call our HR professionals “Dream Creators”. After the candidate is accepted, our specialists continue to closely follow and support when necessary towards "Success after joining".

With over 20 years of experience in recruiting middle and high-level personnel, Navigos Search is proud to bring millions of quality job opportunities at large enterprises and multinational corporations across Vietnam to job seekers.

Find your dream job at Navigos Search

Don't hesitate to contact us if you are confident in your hard skills to successfully apply for your dream job position. We always strive to help candidates reach their dreams through Vietnam's No. 1 professional recruitment service.

Navigos Search - Vietnam's leading middle and high-level talent hunting company