Skills for Cover Letter to Impress Hiring Managers
Your cover letter provides a perfect opportunity to make a positive first impression on employers. It acts as a formal introduction to your application, and gives you space to emphasize key skills and career achievements. The skills you mention in your cover letter can play a key role in helping hiring managers form an opinion on you. In this article, we look at the key skills for cover letters, with tips for how to include them for maximum impact.
Why Skills Matter in a Cover Letter
While you might see your cover letter as a necessary formality, the reality is it can be far more than that. A well-written, professional cover letter can actually support the information in your CV and showcase key skills that make you stand out from the crowd.
The cover letter itself is an opportunity to show your professionalism and understanding of workplace conventions. However, more than that, the content of the letter itself is a space for you to draw particular attention to your experience and the achievements you’re most proud of. Your skills play a key role in providing evidence of your competency beyond your specific job history and titles, so it’s important that your cover letter includes references to your skills, in addition to those mentioned in your resume.
The skills you might choose to mention on your cover letter will depend heavily on the job you’re applying for, as well as other factors, such as your location. Cultural differences between the UK and US, for example, might mean prioritizing some types of skills in your cover letters for each country. While UK employers tend to favor collaborative and problem-solving skills, US employers may prioritize adaptability, self-motivation and the ability to take the initiative. Make sure you consider what skills are most in-demand and desired by employers in your industry sector and location before you write your cover letter.
While you may mention skills throughout your cover letter, the standard structure of a cover letter includes a paragraph dedicated to highlighting your skills and achievements. This is the place to focus on one or two key skills that you believe give you the edge over other candidates.
Top Soft Skills for Cover Letters
Here are some of the most in-demand soft skills that you could mention in your cover letter:
Communication: an essential skill for most work situations, communication skills include written and verbal communication, as well as listening skills. Your ability to communicate determines the relationships you build in the workplace, your productivity levels and your success in building and maintaining ties with clients.
You could mention communication skills in your cover letter as follows:
‘I’m a confident communicator with a track record of building strong working relationships. In my role as project manager I chaired weekly project progress meetings, assigned work using project management software and maintained regular email and phone communication with clients to provide progress reports.’
Teamwork: collaboration is an important part of many roles, so showcasing your teamwork skills is likely to make a positive impression on most employers. Teamwork is the ability to work closely with others towards collective goals. It requires compromise, understanding, communication and the ability to form strong relationships.
Below is an example of teamwork skills that you could include in a cover letter:
‘I worked closely with a team of five web developers, collaborating to produce web applications for a range of clients. My role involved daily team huddles to assess progress and assign work, collaborating with colleagues to check new code and setting ambitious team sprint targets to ensure client satisfaction.’
Adaptability: with the changing nature of modern work, adaptability is growing in importance as a workplace skill. Being adaptable means being able to flex and adjust to changing conditions or circumstances, such as adopting new technology, embracing new ways of working and being open to flexible working arrangements.
You might mention adaptability in your cover letter in the following way:
‘In my role as team leader I supervised a transition to remote working, adapting to new methods of communication and ways to manage workload and project delivery. I helped the company shift to a remote-first working environment while increasing productivity by 12%.’
Problem-solving: problem-solving is a core skill for success in most workplaces. It involves the ability to analyze a situation from all angles, make the best decision for the organization and take action to ensure you deliver for your employer.
Highlighting problem-solving skills in your cover letter might look like this:
‘My natural problem-solving skills have served me well in my career to date, including helping clients to find tax-efficient solutions to their accounting practices. My working methods include thorough research and analysis before making practical recommendations that make a difference to clients’ business outcomes.’
Leadership: the ability to show leadership is invaluable to many roles. Good leadership incorporates various other skills, including communication, teamwork, empathy, emotional intelligence and decision-making. Good leaders inspire others to reach their full potential, which is one of the reasons why leadership skills are so highly valued by employers.
The example below showcases leadership skills in a cover letter:
‘I provided leadership support during the organization’s merger, taking the initiative on integrating the teams and developing a new team strategy with buy-in from colleagues and management.’
Expert tip
Use your cover letter as an opportunity to mention skills that make you stand out as a unique candidate. While it’s important to make sure the skills in your cover letter reflect the job description, you’ll also want employers to get an impression of your specific personality and qualities. Pick skills that give a unique insight into the value you can add to the organization.
Top Cover Letter Hard Skills by Industry
The most desirable hard skills for your cover letter will depend heavily on the industry you’re applying to work in. Here are some of the most relevant hard skills for jobs in different sectors:
Technology
- Coding/programming languages
- Data analysis
- Cybersecurity
- AI/machine learning
- Cloud computing
- Network management
- Software design/development
Here’s an example of showcasing your hard skills in a cover letter for technology roles:
‘In my role as a network administrator I’ve developed a detailed knowledge of configuring, monitoring, and troubleshooting complex network infrastructures. As part of a high-performing network administration team, I’ve successfully deployed advanced security protocols to safeguard data and optimize network performance for seamless connectivity.’
Finance
- Financial reporting
- Financial modelling/forecasting
- Data analysis
- Accounting
- Risk management
- Financial regulations
You could reference your hard skills for finance roles as follows:
‘Working as a management accountant, I’ve gained extensive experience of financial analysis, budgeting, and cost management. I’ve provided strategic insights to FTSE 100 companies, optimizing company expenditures and supporting data-driven decision-making.’
Healthcare
- Patient care
- Administering medications
- Clinical skills
- Surgical skills
- Regulatory compliance
- Patient diagnosis
- Interpreting medical charts
A healthcare cover letter could include the following example of hard skills:
‘Working as a critical care nurse, I’ve developed strong skills in patient care, reading medical charts and administering medication, helping the ICU ward to receive a Patient Care Award in 2023.’
Sales and marketing
- Project management
- Search engine optimization (SEO)
- Content management systems (CMS)
- CRM skills
- Social media skills
- Design skills
- Presentation skills
- Data analysis
See below for an example of hard skills in a cover letter for a marketing role:
‘Working for the past seven years as a digital marketing manager, I’ve successfully project managed more than 30 digital campaigns, up to a value of £1.2million. I have a strong track record of delivering sector-leading SEO metrics and developing engaging social media campaigns that significantly outperform industry engagement rates.’
Retail
- Point of sale systems
- Cash handling
- Consumer rights legislation
- Commercial awareness
- Product knowledge
- Customer service skills
- Inventory management
Here’s an example of how to mention hard skills for a retail cover letter:
‘For the past three years I’ve worked as an assistant manager for a major sports and leisure retailer. My responsibilities involve supervising the store’s point of sale area, resolving customer complaints and queries and managing the stockroom. Achievements include reducing stockroom waste by 20% and increasing customer satisfaction scores from 3.8 to 4.2 out of 5.’
Hospitality
- Food and drink preparation
- Health and safety regulations
- Revenue management
- Customer service skills
- Budgeting
- Hospitality management software
The following paragraph includes examples of hard skills for a hospitality cover letter:
‘In my role as a venue manager for Hamilton Place I’ve organized and delivered more than 150 weddings, conferences and hospitality events for up to 200 guests. My responsibilities have involved designing menus and drinks offerings, overseeing compliance with food safety regulations, achieving a five-star hygiene rating, and supervising event delivery, with up to 25 event staff.’
"A well-written, professional cover letter can actually support the information in your CV and showcase key skills that make you stand out from the crowd."
How to Effectively Integrate Skills in Your Cover Letter
Integrating your skills into your cover letter is the trick to creating a professional cover letter that’s easy to read yet gently persuades the reader of your credentials. There’s a fine balance to mentioning your key skills and achievements without appearing boastful or arrogant. You’ll also want your skills to fit into the letter in a natural and organic way, alongside the other cover letter formalities. These include explaining why you want the role and writing a call to action to encourage the employer to contact you.
Here are a few tips to integrating skills into your cover letter in the most effective ways:
- Focus on two or three key skills: your cover letter gives you a little more space than your CV to expand upon your skills. Rather than listing numerous skills, it’s better to focus on two or three key skills and explain them in more detail than your resume might allow. Review the job description and select the skills that are most relevant to the role, and the most closely matched to your skill set.
- Show examples of each skill: use achievements from your career, or responsibilities in different roles, to provide evidence of each skill in action. There’s little value to mentioning a skill in your cover letter if you’re unable to show how you’ve put it to use in your career.
- Quantify the value of your skill: when adding examples of your skills, use metrics that show the impact it had in different scenarios. Hiring managers will want to see the value you’ve added to previous employers through the use of your skills.
- Let your personality shine: while it’s important to showcase skills that reflect the job description, make sure the skills you mention are also a reflection of your personality and your unique qualities. You can do this either through the skills you choose to showcase, or the examples of how you’ve used them in your career to date.
- Be sensitive to cultural differences: consider the prevailing working culture in the place you’re applying for jobs, and make sure the way you highlight your skills in your cover letter reflects this. For example, in the UK it might be considered rude or arrogant to self-promote to excess, while in the US, employers will likely want to see how your skills have led to results in previous roles.
Tips & Mistakes to Avoid when Highlighting Skills in Your Cover Letter
Follow these cover letter tips to make sure you make the best possible impact with the skills you mention in your cover letter:
Do:
- Focus on your best skills: pick the two or three skills that you feel best show your qualities and personality. These are more likely to help you stand out from the crowd.
- Tailor your skills to the job description: review the job description and make sure the skills you list match the requirements for the role.
- Identify the most relevant skills for the role: do some research on different job descriptions and examples of resumes and cover letters articles, to understand the best skills to mention.
- Use examples and evidence to show the impact of your skills: back-up your skills with evidence of their impact in different roles.
- Take care with every section of your cover letter: consider how to start your cover letter in a way that lays the foundations for you to mention your key skills and achievements. Also, think about how to end your cover letter in a way that re-emphasizes your qualities and skills, and leaves a positive impression on the hiring manager.
Don’t:
- List too many skills: trying to cram in too many skills will water down the impact of your cover letter. Focus on a few key skills that can make the difference for your application.
- Use vague phrases that fail to showcase useful skills: be direct and decisive about your skills, using cover letter keywords that match the job description. Vague, indirect words and phrases will reduce the effectiveness of your cover letter.
- Exaggerate or lie about your skills: exaggerating, lying or being too effusive about your skills can tarnish the impact your cover letter makes on employers.
FAQ on Cover Letter Skills
These FAQs can help you to understand how and where to mention your skills in your cover letter for maximum impact with employers:
Different cover letter templates provide different places to mention your skills. However, the standard cover letter format includes an opening paragraph where you introduce yourself, mention the role and your reasons for applying. The second or middle paragraph is typically a summary of your relevant your skills and experience. The third and final paragraph tends to include a final summary and a call to action. As such, the second paragraph of your cover letter is usually the most suitable place to mention your skills.
When mentioning communication skills in your cover letter, think about different types of communication and how you’ve used them in your career. This could include verbal communication with colleagues or clients, writing skills, chairing meetings, delivering presentations or other types of communication. Think about how your communication skills have led to positive outcomes for your employers.
When writing your cover letter, consult the job description to get an idea of the key skills and abilities the employer is looking for. Research CV examples that match the job title and review your CV to pick out several key skills that you want to elaborate on in your cover letter. Choose skills that match the keywords in the job description, but that also reflect your personal strengths and qualities. Review cover letter articles for more tips on how to structure your cover letter.
Key Takeaways for Adding Skills to Your Cover Letter
Adding skills to your cover letter can make a big difference to your job applications. Choose a mix of skills that reflect the job description and ensure you provide evidence to show the impact they’ve made at different stages of your career. Jobseeker’s CV templates and cover letter tools and resources can help you to craft the perfect job application. Sign up today to access CV articles and easy-to-use templates for creating a professional resume and cover letter.
