- Skills for a cover letter
- How to write about skills in a cover letter
- 1. Review the job description
- 2. Conduct research
- 3. Use the STAR method
- 4. Include metrics
- 5. Show your personality
- Examples of cover letters with skills
- Hard skills in a cover letter
- Soft skills in a cover letter
- Key takeaways
Put your cover letter to work! Highlighting your skills in a cover letter can convince hiring managers to take a closer look at your application—if you do it right. Learn how to write about skills in a cover letter and set yourself apart from the competition.
Your resume lists the skills you’ve gained throughout your career. Your cover letter explains how you can use them to be successful in a new role. By highlighting your relevant skills, you can show an employer why you’ll be an asset to their team or organization. With a little practice, you can easily create a customized, professional cover letter to showcase the skills you can bring to a new job.
In this article, we’ll show you how to write about skills in a cover letter, including:
Some hard and soft skills you can highlight in your letter
How to choose which skills to mention
Tips for including examples and metrics
Example letters you can use for guidance
Skills for a cover letter
The first step in considering how to write about skills in your cover letter is to make a list of the skills you wish to highlight. This should include both your hard and soft skills. Discussing your hard skills, such as knowledge of specific software, tells an employer you’ll require minimal training for the position. It shows them you’ll be ready to hit the ground running on your first day.
Depending on the position and industry, some hard skills for a cover letter include:
Network administration
Artificial intelligence
Coding and programming
Database management
Web analytics
Search engine optimization (SEO)
Email marketing
Graphic design
Data visualization
Soft skills, like communication and organization, are also valuable traits to mention in a cover letter. These skills are harder to teach, so employers are often looking for candidates who already have them. It’s also a good idea to highlight your soft skills if you have minimal experience in the position or industry.
Some essential soft skills to mention in a cover letter are:
Leadership
Time management
Organization
Communication
Teamwork
Problem-solving
Flexibility
Reliability
Work ethic
How to write about skills in a cover letter
Compared to a resume, a cover letter allows you to explain your skills in more detail, including how you plan to use them in a new job. Follow these steps to learn how to write about skills in a cover letter:
1. Review the job description
How do you make sure your cover letter highlights the skills an employer cares about? Check the job description. Hiring managers usually list the attributes they want candidates to have, including technical skills and interpersonal traits.
Align your cover letter with the job description to show why you’re a great candidate for the role. Make a list of skills that overlap with your experience and abilities. From this list, choose two to three skills you want to discuss in your cover letter.
- Focus on the skills you can bring to a new role. Emphasize how you can use them to add value to a team or company.
- Mention gaps you may have in your skill set. If you don’t have a skill that an employer has listed, just don’t mention it in your cover letter.
2. Conduct research
Another way to customize your letter to the job is by researching the company. Often, companies have mission statements or core values that reflect their priorities. For example, a company may emphasize collaboration and teamwork or pride itself on exceptional customer service.
Do some research to learn about the company’s goals, culture, and values. Browse its website, follow its social media channels, or read customer reviews. Look for ways you can tie your skills to the company in a tangible way.
3. Use the STAR method
In a cover letter, it’s not enough to say you have a certain skill. You need to prove your competencies with specific examples. If you’re not sure how to describe your skills in a cover letter, use the STAR method for some guidance. This acronym stands for:
Situation. Explain the situation where you needed to use a specific skill.
Task. Describe the role you had in this situation or the task you needed to complete.
Action. Elaborate on the action you took, emphasizing how your skill enabled you to complete the task.
Result. Share the successful outcome of the situation.
STAR method in a cover letter
In my previous position at Dell Technologies, I found ways to upgrade the company’s database management system. Using my advanced SQL skills and knowledge of indexing strategies, I cleaned up major inefficiencies within the system. My efforts increased data retrieval speeds significantly, resulting in a 45% reduction in response times.
4. Include metrics
Similar to your resume, your cover letter should highlight the results you’ve had in other jobs using quantifiable data. Numbers, such as statistics or percentages, can show an employer the impact you have on a team or an organization. These figures also lend credibility to your skills, showing hiring managers you’re able to use your abilities to produce measurable outcomes.
5. Show your personality
It’s difficult (though not impossible) to quantify soft skills, like empathy or organization. In this case, you can use your cover letter to showcase your personality. For example, you can discuss how you’ve used leadership skills to inspire team members or how your compassionate demeanor helps you to form relationships with customers.
Examples of cover letters with skills
Once you’ve reviewed the job description and identified the skills you want to discuss, it’s time to write your cover letter. For some help, you can use Career.io’s cover letter builder to create a custom letter with industry-specific keywords. You can also follow these two examples of how to write about skills in a cover letter:
Hard skills in a cover letter
Dear Richard Smith,
I was incredibly excited to see your posting for the senior marketing specialist position at ABC Company. I have an extensive background in digital marketing with experience in social media management. With a deep knowledge of social marketing strategies, I’m confident I would be a great addition to the marketing team at ABC Company.
Throughout my five years in digital marketing, I’ve developed a successful record of increasing audience growth and engagement across social media channels. In my previous position as a social media marketer at XYZ Corporation, I honed my social listening skills to collect feedback from the company’s followers.
By analyzing this data, I strategically revamped the company’s social media strategy to include more graphics and videos. Within three months, I had increased followers by over 300,000 and improved engagement by 64%.
I believe my skills, background, and experience would be an asset to your team at ABC Company. I would love to have the opportunity to speak with you further about the value I would bring as a senior marketing specialist.
Sincerely, Rebecca Jones
Soft skills in a cover letter
Dear Erin Lexmore,
I’m thrilled to apply for the customer service agent position at ABC Company. My exceptional communication skills and commitment to relationship building make me a perfect candidate to join your team.
I have numerous skills to offer in a customer service role:
An avid ability to develop and strengthen relationships with customers. As a cashier at XYZ Company, I routinely interacted with guests, answering their questions and delivering friendly service. I got to know many of the regulars and learned their preferences so I could recommend items I knew they’d enjoy.
A dedication to exceptional customer service. In one instance, I interacted with a customer who was attempting to return an item outside the 30-day return window. I remained calm and professional as I explained the situation, ultimately offering her the option to receive store credit instead. The customer later filled out a satisfaction survey, giving me a 10/10 for customer service.
My retail experience, relationship-building skills, and commitment to customer service would allow me to bring value to your team at ABC Company. I look forward to speaking with you further about my qualifications.
Sincerely, Adam Moorhead
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Key takeaways
Your cover letter can focus on hard or soft skills, depending on your industry and level of experience.
Read the job description and research the company to make sure you’re mentioning skills that are important to the employer.
Include specific examples and quantifiable metrics to demonstrate how you’ve used your skills successfully in past jobs.
