In today’s fast-paced digital environment, nearly every employer requires computer skills. With the increasing reliance on digital platforms, we’ll show you how to demonstrate your computer literacy effectively to potential employers! In this article, find top computer skills and examples and resources like our professional resume templates to perfect your application.

What Are Computer Skills?

Computer skills are a type of hard skill that refer to any specific ability that makes you particularly good at using computers, software, systems, apps or social media.

Almost every job in every industry involves using a computer interface to perform a function. Identifying and honing in on the kinds of computer skills or interaction a job requires will give you an edge over other candidates.

Computer skills also help you advance your career because they create the opportunity for a higher earning potential. With the ability to use digital programs, you can stand out from the competition and increase your chances for advancement.

Top Computer Skills Examples

Here are examples of the top computer skills to put on your resume.

management

MS Office Suite skills

Showing your familiarity with general word processing, spreadsheet, messaging, organizing, or slideshow programs will help increase your chances of landing the role.

Examples of MS Office Suite skills include:

  • MS Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, OneNote, Access )
  • Google Suite (Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms)
presentation

Email

Email skills are highly valued for customer service, digital advertising, HR roles, technical support, outreach, and client relations.

Email skills include:

  • Mail merge
  • Filters
  • folders
  • MailChimp
  • Aweber
megaphone

Computer presentation skills

Companies rely on digital presentations to disseminate important information to their employees. Selling your digital presentation skills can open doors!

Computer presentation skills include:

  • PowerPoint
  • Google Slides
  • OpenOffice
  • Impress
  • Tableau
desktop

Database management skills

Large companies need administrators and database professionals to keep their internal systems running.

Database management skills include:

  • MS Access
  • Oracle
  • Teradata
  • IBM DB2
  • MySQL
  • SQL pays off
chart-bar

QuickBooks skills

There’s a lot of demand for expertise in QuickBooks or similar financial software for many accounting roles or office jobs.

QuickBooks skills include:

  • Expense tracking
  • Accounts payable
  • Cash flow management invoicing
  • Labor hours
  • Payroll
  • Reports
keyboard

Social media skills

To survive in today’s marketplace, many companies must keep an active presence on social media to engage with their customers.

Social media skills include:

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • TikTok accounts
  • LinkedIn
  • Engagement metrics
  • Customer interaction
management

Web languages skills

For jobs that involve publishing web pages or online business, coding and creating websites are vital. So, it pays to be specific and mention your knowledge of languages and platforms.

Web languages skills include:

  • HTML
  • CSS
  • JavaScript
  • WordPress
  • Joomla
  • Content management systems (CMS)
  • Code libraries
presentation

Graphic design skills

These skills will be expected in most creative fields. However, they may be a sweet bonus if you’re working in a small office environment.

Graphic design skills include:

  • Photoshop
  • Illustrator
  • InDesign
  • Acrobat
  • Corel Draw
megaphone

Basic programming skills

Programming knowledge is constantly changing. You can learn new technologies based on your knowledge of previously known languages.

  • Read computer code
  • Write simple programs and algorithms
  • Python
  • Java
desktop

Enterprise systems skills

These are large-scale computer packages that can track and control many of the complex functions of businesses.

Enterprise systems skills include:

  • Business intelligence
  • Business continuity planning
  • Customer relationship management (e.g., Salesforce, Oracle NetSuite)
  • Payment processing
chart-bar

Computer hardware skills

If you have specialized skills using any specific computer hardware that might be important to a role, it’s worth noting.

Computer hardware skills include:

  • System administration
  • Network configuration
  • Software installation
  • Tech support
  • TCP/IP
  • DNS
  • DHCP
  • Windows
  • Ubuntu
  • Virtualized networks
  • Network automation
  • Cloud management
  • AI/machine learning

List of Additional Computer Skills

The demand for computer skills has grown significantly. Listing basic computer skills on a resume is essential to increase your chances of landing an interview. Check out this list of computer skills examples that you can use.

  • Google Analytics
  • Search engine optimization (SEO)
  • Photoshop and Illustrator
  • Email marketing services
  • Hubspot
  • WordPress
  • Google Workspace
  • MS Office
  • Google Drive
  • Blogging
  • Web development
  • Open-source data structures
  • Coding
  • Cybersecurity
  • Machine learning
  • Debugging
  • Algorithm development
  • AI programming
  • A/B Testing
  • Virus monitoring
  • Data compression
  • Systems diagnostics
Technical skills

Let Our Resume Builder Help You

Use the latest technology to generate a top-notch resume with our Resume Builder. With pre-written industry-specific content, you can confidently showcase your experience.

That’s because our builder is preloaded with computer skills tailored to the job title you’re applying for.

We also feature a variety of resume examples to showcase how other professionals market their abilities. To make your job application easier, check out our resume templates which are fully customizable and designed for every industry and job.

Building your resume is fast and easy!

Computer Skills FAQ

What are computer skills?

Computer skills refer to any specific ability that makes you particularly good at using computers, software, systems, apps or social media.

The fact that it’s a hard skill means it’s an ability that is easy to measure, demonstrate or quantify. This is in contrast to soft skills — which include abilities like teamwork, communication, and leadership — that are harder to show or prove.

Computer skills also empower your research abilities and polish your presentation skills, marketing skills and analytical skills.

Computers can streamline the work of documenting your sources skills and help improve your writing skills.

Why are computer skills important for specific jobs?

Almost every job in every industry involves using a computer interface to perform a function. Some level of computer skills is necessary for every job!

Identifying and honing in on the kinds of computer skills or interaction a job requires will give you an edge over other candidates.

Industries including digital engineering, online marketing, programming and editing will require extensive computer skills and proficiency with the right computer languages.

Other jobs might be less tech-focused but still rely on computers to execute business.

For example, most restaurants use computerized ticketing and point-of-sale (POS) systems. While your ability to serve doesn’t wholly depend on the POS system, it’ll be much more likely that you get the job if you have some familiarity with specific systems and mention it in your hiring application.

What are the top 10 computer skills of 2023?

If you’re looking to advance your career by acquiring new technology skills in 2023, here are ten of the most in-demand computer skills:

  1. Information technology (IT)

    IT is the knowledge and use of any computers, storage, networking, infrastructure and processes to create, process, store, secure and exchange all forms of electronic data.

  2. Cloud computing

    Businesses rely on more efficient and effective ways to manage decentralized data and systems.

  3. Artificial intelligence

    A.I. allows you to use computer programs to perform tasks similar to human cognition and has the potential to accelerate aspects of how we live and work.

  4. Cybersecurity

    This job is growing fast. As a specialist in security analysis, you will be required to investigate and apply security for apps, clouds and networks.

  5. Data science

    Data scientists analyze data from various sources, including customer transactions, click streams and social media. These professionals unlock valuable and predictive insights to impact business decisions and for a competitive advantage.

  6. Data analysis

    Learn how to mine, clean, sort and process data to extract relevant and valuable information. This will create opportunities as a data analyst, consultant, business analyst, marketing analyst, and project manager.

  7. Product management

    A product manager is a person who identifies the customer need and the larger business objectives that a product or feature will fulfill. Seasoned candidates can earn up to $133,212 per year.

  8. Software development

    Software engineers with a robust skill set for software developers in 2023 include JavaScript, Python, Go, Java, Kotlin, PHP, C#, Swift, R, Ruby, C and C++.

  9. Systems and networks

    Make a career of constant emerging trends in computer systems and network technologies. You will also benefit from technical skills in cloud computing, containers and database management. Other technical skills include software-defined networking (SDN) and software-defined wide area network (SD-WAN) management.

  10. Programming

    Being able to program is essential. The most in-demand programming courses include Python, C++, JavaScript, Ruby and PowerShell.

How can I develop computer skills?

In 2023, having basic computer hardware and software skills is more important than ever.

To grow your computer skills, focus on courses specific to information and communications technology. Harvard offers free online courses or Coursera, which delivers programs that reach over 100 million learners worldwide.

Apply the knowledge and get hands-on practice. Develop basic IT concepts such as using spreadsheets, creating presentations and email marketing blasts.

You can improve your computer skills even from home! Consider goals like learning to design or create your site or blog or using social media to network.