How To Write a CV: Key Skills and Achievements Overview.

This section should be short and to the point. Pick out your strongest skills and achievements that are most relevant to each specific application and bullet point them clearly on your CV here.

Broadly speaking, skillsets can be easily divided in to two categories: hard skills and soft skills. Hard skills are easily measurable, such as the ability to operate a forklift truck, drive a Class 2 HGV, use a particular piece of software or type 100 words per minute. These might be easily backed up with a qualification, licence or assessment, or can be demonstrated through a level of experience in a previous role that required the same skills.

Soft skills might be a little more difficult to pinpoint and demonstrate, and include things such as leadership, persuasiveness, time-management, adaptability, problem-solving or conflict management. These skills can be listed here, with an example of where you have demonstrated this previously. These should be backed up and referenced throughout your CV and should fit in nicely amongst your career history and extracurricular activities. With soft skills, it is important to give examples.

Achievements at work or elsewhere can be effective ways to demonstrate both hard skills and soft skills across your CV and within the Key Skills and Achievements section of your CV. They also demonstrate the impact you can have within an organisation. Pick out a couple achievements for each of your previous job roles or hobbies and then highlight the most impressive or the most relevant within this section.

Further sections of our comprehensive guide to writing a CV:

1. Intro.
2. The importance of writing your own CV.
3. How should I format my CV?
4. What should I include in my CV?
5. Personal Details.
6. How do I write a Personal Profile for my CV?
7. The Key Skills & Achievements Section of a CV.
8. How to write an Employment History / Career History of a CV
9. How to write the Education Section of your CV.
10. What should I include in the Extracurricular Activities (Hobbies and Interests) section of my CV?
11. What makes you unique? Writing a CV to be remembered.