What Are Core Competencies and How Do I List Them?

Sometimes referred to as core qualifications, core competencies are the skills that make you best suited for a job. These are the skills that you would use daily in that role in order to fulfill and exceed a potential employer’s expectations of you and they vary from job to job. The specific core competencies you list on your resume will depend on the job description you are applying for, the industry you work in, and your own skill set. For example, in customer-facing or people-centered work, core competencies are likely to include soft skills like teamwork, communication skills, and conflict resolution. If you work in a more technical role, like software development for example, then your core competencies will be technical skills, such as programming languages (e.g. Java, CSS, or HTML).

 

It is important that you tailor your core competencies section for each new job application, even if the job titles are similar. A tailored core competencies list will help your resume fare well during ATS scans, which will look for job-specific skills and qualifications and will show hiring managers that you were paying attention to the job posting.

First and foremost, the core competencies you list are important because they affect the way ATS ranks your resume. According to Forbes, more qualified candidates than ever are being rejected because of applicant tracking systems. So, a resume that is ATS-friendly is more likely to be seen by a hiring manager in the first place. Once a recruiter receives your resume they will scan it for eye-catching details. If a hiring manager doesn’t see anything that catches their attention, they are likely to put your resume to the side. Well-chosen core competencies can prevent this.

 

Your core competencies section will make it easy for a recruiter to see that you are qualified for the role. It’s key to keep in mind that core competencies are crucial because a hiring manager is looking for core competencies before skills and qualifications. So, if you hit the right notes in this section you will increase your chance of getting a new job. If you want to increase your chance of success further, take the time to ensure that you haven’t made any common resume mistakes.

The core competencies section of a resume should be concise. This means that you should include between 8 and 12 core competencies on average, depending on your skill set and the seniority of the roles you are applying for. If you are applying for particularly specialized or senior roles you could increase the number of bullet points, but brevity is often best in resumes.

 

You can create your core competencies section by writing a list of your key skills and comparing it to the job description in question. Underline all of the skills that are applicable to the role and highlight those which are mentioned in the job posting. Any highlighted skills are your core competencies, the underlined skills can be mentioned in your broader skills or qualifications section. For example, if you were to apply for a project management job in the construction industry, your core competencies might be:

• Leadership 
• Strategy development
• Team management
• Problem-solving
• Critical thinking
• Creative thinking
• Decision making
• Time management
• Communication skills

While you may have other useful hard skills, business administration, for example, these would not be counted as core competencies. If there are skills mentioned in the job description that you don’t have, these are gaps that you may need to address in your cover letter or job interview. It is good practice to consider how you will mitigate these gaps before you attend an interview. Consider common job interview questions and sample answers for inspiration.