Listing Microsoft Office Skills on Your CV

If you’re trying to expand your skill set, then it’s important that you improve skills that you’ll actually use on a regular basis. One of the skills that can be extremely beneficial is MS Office, which stands for Microsoft Office. If you know how to use these tools, then you can become very valuable to a hiring manager. However, too frequently, people think of basic skills when they think of Microsoft Office. Here’s what you need to know about learning these skills well enough to put them on your CV.

Microsoft office skills are skills that you learn surrounding the different facets of the Microsoft Office Suite. This suite actually encompasses a variety of Microsoft Office programs. The most commonly-known Microsoft Office app is Microsoft Word, a word processing app. Here are a few of the Microsoft Word skills that you might know if you understand MS Word:

• Macros
• Track changes
• Changing fonts
• Page setup
• Specialist formatting

Another commonly-known Microsoft Office app is Microsoft Excel. This program handles spreadsheets. Here are some Excel skills you might be able to learn if you want to put this program on your CV:

• Creating graphs
• Pivot tables
• Adding hyperlinks to graphs
• Coding interactive tables

Microsoft PowerPoint is another app that allows you to create presentations and slideshows. If you’re well-versed in PowerPoint, you should be able to demonstrate these PowerPoint skills:

• Unique transitions
• Applying text boxes
• Making templates your own

The Microsoft Office suite also includes OneNote, which is a note-taking app, and Microsoft Outlook, which is a mail app. If you want to list Microsoft Office skills on a CV, then it’s important that you have more than just a basic understanding of these apps. You should have advanced skills if you want to call yourself a Microsoft Office specialist.

When you’re trying to fill out your skills section, you might need to include computer skills because they’re such a crucial part of working in today’s world. Here are a few day-to-day job requirements that you might use the Microsoft Office Suite for:

• Checking your team’s email accounts (Microsoft Outlook)
• Presenting information to higher-ups and shareholders (Microsoft PowerPoint)
• Keeping track of project management information (Microsoft Excel)
• Understanding profit and loss (Microsoft Excel)
• Writing documents about the company (Microsoft Word)
• Screening job seekers as a hiring manager (Microsoft Outlook)
• Staying on top of important deadlines (Microsoft Outlook)

Additionally, if you choose to go into a career that’s heavy on computer skills, like computer science, you’ll probably need to use all of these skills, and might have to learn other Microsoft-based skills like VBA. The more your job description talks about computers, the more you should know about Microsoft Office.

How can you stand out as having extremely good Microsoft Office skills, especially since so many people use this as a “padder” skill?

First of all, you can discuss achievements that you have used Microsoft Office to complete. For example, if you used Microsoft Excel to create a system that cuts down on data entry time, you can mention this as an achievement in the job that it applies to. This proves that not only do you understand how to use the program in a vacuum, but you also understand how to use it effectively in a job.

You can also get certifications with many Microsoft Office skills. If you’re applying to a job that really desires a high skill level with one of the Microsoft Office Suite apps, then you can get a certification in that specific app. Check the job description to see whether the job itself mentions a specific MS Office app that you should be handy with.

Lastly, mention your Microsoft knowledge in both your work experience section and your cover letter. The more frequently you reference your knowledge, the more likely it will be that the hiring manager believes that you really have those skills.