70+ Computer Skills for Your Resume in 2023

Most employees these days are computer literate to some degree, and employers expect you to at the very least be familiar with Word and Excel.

Knowing how to showcase basic and advanced computer skills on your resume will help you prove to employers that you’ve got the tech-savviness necessary for the modern workplace.

What are computer skills?

Computer skills are abilities related to using, building, and maintaining computers. Computer skills can range from being able to use email to assembling motherboards.

Computer skills can be categorized into two groups: software skills and hardware skills.

Software skills involve using computer programs like Microsoft Office, whereas hardware skills relate to building and fixing computers and their various parts.

Having great computer skills is one of the top strengths to include on your resume that can set you apart from other candidates. If you have any of these technical skills and they’re relevant to the job you want, list them in the skills section of your resume or mention them in your work experience section.

Should you list computer skills on your resume?

Recent survey results show that computer skills are the most desirable hard skills according to hiring managers. Even if you’re not pursuing a career in IT, listing computer skills when you write a resume can improve your chances of receiving a callback.

In most professions, you’ll be using computers on a regular basis. Administrative assistants, teachers, photographers, and even hair stylists all rely on computers to some extent.

By demonstrating familiarity with tools and programs relevant to your target role, you show hiring managers that you’ll require less on-the-job training than less tech-savvy candidates. If you’re up against an applicant with a similar skill set and educational background as yourself, this could give you the edge you need.

List of computer skills for your resume

The following software skills are used across many industries and can be included on resumes for jobs that involve computer work:

Software skills

Here are some top software-related computer skills for your resume:

Google Workspace

Businesses of all sizes now use Google’s products, from Gmail for sending emails to Google Docs for collaborating on projects. Google Workspace has become so popular that many offices have replaced Microsoft Office with Google’s tools.

You can start refining your Google skills at home for free. Once you’re familiar with Google Workplace, you can then list these tools on your resume:

Web tools

One of the most in-demand resume computer skills in 2023 is the ability to use certain web tools. As companies spend more time growing their online presence, you can become indispensable to employers by demonstrating knowledge of:

Social media

Knowing how to engage and grow an online following is a key hard skill that companies want. To showcase your skills using social media, add details on the platforms you can use to your resume.

These are the key social media platforms to mention throughout your job application:

And although LinkedIn isn’t a traditional social media platform for connecting with friends, it can help you find work. So learn how to add your resume to LinkedIn to make the job-hunt process easier.

Collaboration tools

Many companies, especially those in the tech sector, have transitioned to remote or hybrid schedules in the past few years. As companies expect you to be able to work remotely, teams need to collaborate and communicate online.

Show that you can effectively perform remote work by mentioning your fluency in the following workflow programs and video conferencing tools on your resume:

Email

Most people know how to send and receive emails. However, if you understand advanced functions such as encryption and mail merges, mention them on your resume. Advanced skills show employers you can exceed expectations in the workplace.

Operating systems

Many candidates forget to note that they’re comfortable using both Microsoft Windows and MacOS. If you can jump between the two operating systems with ease, mention it on your resume.

Demonstrating proficiency with these two standard operating systems could give you a head start if you need to take a basic computer skills test during the interview.

Microsoft Office and iWork

Any office-based role will require some familiarity with basic word processing software and spreadsheet programs such as Microsoft Word and Excel, as well as other common productivity software like PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote.

Write that you’re comfortable using the latest version of Office 365 and collaborating with SharePoint and OneDrive. Listing Microsoft Office skills on your resume lets employers know that you’re up to date with the latest software used in the workplace.

Likewise, if the job advertisement mentions it, include the Apple equivalents: Pages, Numbers, Keynote, and iCloud.

Accounting and enterprise systems

Quickbooks is a popular software package used by small and medium-sized businesses for tracking expenses, calculating payroll, and invoicing. If you’re a seasoned professional with similar software, put that package on your resume.

Candidates with knowledge of enterprise applications can include the following computer skills examples:

Design and creative computer skills

Companies are always on the lookout for talented candidates who can bring their brands to life and give them the visual edge in the marketplace.

From designing magazine pages to retouching photos, proficiency with software like Adobe Creative Suite is one of the hottest computer software skills in 2023 because branding is more important than ever.

Here are some of the most common software skills to list on a graphic design resume or a resume in another creative industry:

Data science and analysis

Businesses use data to understand their customers and gain a market advantage, making these highly valuable skills. Data mining, modeling, and management, plus machine learning and examples of statistical software are all solid computer skills to hone for professionals today.

Here’s a short list of software skills related to data science:

Web development and programming

More people are learning to code — not only for work, but also as a hobby. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the future is bright for web developers and software engineers.

Add key computer programmer skills such as these skills to future-proof your computer resume:

Artificial intelligence

Machines are going to be doing more jobs than humans by 2025, according to research done by the World Economic Forum. As a result, employers need workers versed in:

Hardware skills

Adding computer skills to your resume isn’t all about software: remember to include your expertise with physical devices if relevant to the job.

Depending on the role you’re applying for, these hardware skills could be the most important computer skills to list on your resume:

How to list computer skills on your resume

There are three ways to highlight your computer skills on your resume so that employers quickly see you’re qualified:

1. Include them in your resume summary
2. Create a dedicated skills section
3. Showcase them through examples in your experience section
4. Add a dedicated certifications section

Here’s how to present your own computer skills in each section of your resume:

1. Add computer skills to your resume summary

A professional resume summary is the most effective way to start a resume because it immediately draws attention to your greatest professional achievements.

You can use either a paragraph format or concise bullet points to highlight core competencies on your resume.

For example:

• Design: Create e-commerce websites using 8 programming languages.
• Optimization: Increased user clicks and customer purchases by over 25%.
• Leadership: Trained over 50 staff members to use internal functions.
• Awards: Winner of the CREATE+ ‘Developer of the Year’ award 2018.

A bullet point resume summary is simple to write by following this formula:

Competency: example of computer skills and duty + result achieved

2. List computer skills in your skills section

Use your resume skills section to list all the other computer skills you’ve picked up over the course of your career.

If you have a long list of programming skills or hardware skills, you can organize them in different categories, such as “Operating systems,” “Programming languages,” etc.

If your technical skills are particularly important for the job you want, place your skills section at the top of the page for extra emphasis, like this:

This way, hiring managers can immediately tell that you have the technical know-how required for the job.

3. Provide proof of your computer skills in your work experience section

Once you’ve chosen which computer skills to put on your resume, prove you can use these abilities to contribute to your company’s bottom line.

Write about what your computer skills helped you achieve by stating your accomplishments and using hard numbers, such as timeframes, percentages, and dollars, to support your claims.

This is called quantification and is key to writing an achievement-oriented resume that impresses hiring managers. Not only does quantifying your resume skills prove you can drive results, but it’s also an invitation to being asked more questions about your accomplishments during your interview.

Here’s an example from an IT resume where the candidate effectively quantifies their computer skills:

Many candidates don’t know how to quantify a resume, so you’ll be ahead of the competition if you add hard numbers throughout your application.

4. Include computer-related certifications on your resume

The final thing to do is to list certifications on your resume.

If you only have one or two relevant computer certifications, list them in your skills section or your resume education section. If you have three or more, add them to a separate section labeled “Certifications”, like in this example:

Including certifications on your resume is especially important if you’re applying for a job in IT or tech, where employers need to know you’re actually qualified to do the job.

Examples of computer skills on a resume

To see what computer skills listed on a resume should look like, click on one of these computer resume examples to see a full-size version:

How to learn new computer skills for your resume and career

If you’re eager to learn new computer skills for career development, whether you’re aiming for a new job or just want to impress your current boss, here’s where you can learn more:

Operating systems

Curious about getting familiar with a new operating system? Microsoft and Apple both offer training programs for their OSs, Microsoft Certification and Apple Certification, respectively.

Coding

If you’re interested in picking up or improving on coding skills, Codecademy provides online courses for a wide variety of programming languages.

You can also join online forums and communities such as Stack Overflow and GitHub to discuss projects you’re working on and receive input from other programmers.

Google

Need to get up to date with the latest remote work and collaboration tools? Google Workspace Learning Center shows you how to use many of the company’s tools, including Docs, Drive, and Sheets.

Certifications

There are countless computer certifications out there, bust some of the most popular are:

• CompTIA A+ – Entry-level certification for IT professionals covering hardware and software topics
• Cisco CCNA – Certification for networking professionals, covering network fundamentals, routing, switching, and more
• Certified Ethical Hacker – Focuses on ethical hacking and penetration testing skills
• AWS Certified Solutions Architect – For designing and deploying scalable systems on AWS
• Adobe Certification – For graphic designers wanting to showcase their graphic design skills
• Intuit Quickbooks Certification – For accountants and other professionals in the finance sector

Additional resources

If you’re looking for more opportunities to upskill, check out Skillshare, Lynda.com, Study.com, and Udemy. These websites offer various courses on different computer-related topics.