CV Advice and Computer Skills

Hi,
i am not intending in applying for any IT jobs but is it still worth putting any computer skills on your CV ?

I am pretty good with Excel: Formulas / VBA scripting / Sorting / Pivots etc... and as most companies use Excel should i put this on still ?

thanks

Reply 1

Lily048

16

Original post by Jake1103

Hi,
i am not intending in applying for any IT jobs but is it still worth putting any computer skills on your CV ?

I am pretty good with Excel: Formulas / VBA scripting / Sorting / Pivots etc... and as most companies use Excel should i put this on still ?

thanks

Definitely! Most companies will want someone with competency in these areas before employing them rather than having to train them.
Without creating an exhaustive list you can simply write:
- Skills acquired: (insert qualification at GCSE or above in IT), Microsoft Office (including proficient use of Excel), as well as (the other areas you mentioned and to what proficiency).
It should take up more than a line or 2 of your CV/Cover Letter, unless of course the job actively requires it and asks for in depth knowledge.

Reply 2

winterscoming

19

I agree with the above post, most typical indoors/office jobs inevitably involve working on a computer at some point, so there's a reasonable chance that you may end up being given tasks which involve some kind of manipulation of data using Excel, or perhaps your employer may have have some use for those sorts of skills - they're certainly useful for a lot of things..

Even if the job itself isn't office-based, the world of work is becoming increasingly data-centric; employers often like people who might be able to pick up tasks which are outside of their regular job description.

Of course, your CV should, as far as possible, be tailored toward the specific job you're applying for - you can improve your chances at being invited to an interview if you change your CV for each job you apply for before sending it over to them, but it's common to spare a little bit of space near the end of a CV dedicated to 'other skills' which may not be directly relevant to the job, but show that you're able to do other things as well.

Original post by Jake1103

Hi,
i am not intending in applying for any IT jobs but is it still worth putting any computer skills on your CV ?

I am pretty good with Excel: Formulas / VBA scripting / Sorting / Pivots etc... and as most companies use Excel should i put this on still ?

thanks

Only if the job requires it. I often see this for retail/checkout jobs - it's not relevant. But an office job where there is a fair chance of dealing with spreadsheets, then yes, it's useful and relevant.

Reply 4

Jake1103

OP

2

Thanks guys
Every job I've had in the past, they have used Excel in some way. I think maybe 80% of jobs will do

Would love an IT job, just unsure what i should be looking for. Most seem to require Mathematics also which i would hate to re-learn.

I am studying VBA further then gonna try learn python or C#

Reply 5

winterscoming

19

Original post by Jake1103

Thanks guys
Every job I've had in the past, they have used Excel in some way. I think maybe 80% of jobs will do

Would love an IT job, just unsure what i should be looking for. Most seem to require Mathematics also which i would hate to re-learn.

I am studying VBA further then gonna try learn python or C#

What type of IT job functions would you enjoy? Python and C# skills lend themselves to a Software Engineering job (which I would point out is not particularly maths based), but despite that, there's a big leap to go from from dabbling in Excel/VBA upto the kinds of skills that employers are looking for in a job like that.

Some people starting out without any programming skills enter Software Engineering via a job in Software testing/QA, then progress either by working on automated testing/scripting as part of their job, or by teaching themselves the development skills on the side. The attention-to-detail and analytical skills which are essential for QA system testing also happen to be very important when writing code as well (ideally, all programmers should understand software testing).

A lot of people who take on programming and software engineering as a career are largely self-taught (That includes a lot of graduates who studied non-computing degrees at university but eventually found themselves in programming jobs), so this is more than doable if you can put the effort in and assuming you could spend several hours per day learning and practicing. Realistically you're still looking at a minimum of 12 months to build up the skills to a reasonable standard and some kind of project portfolio with enough evidence for a potential employer. The good news is that there are tonnes of resources online for free, so it doesn't need to cost anything,

Since you mentioned Python, here are some good starting points for those:
https://www.codecademy.com/learn/learn-python
https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-computer-science-mitx-6-00-1x-11

(edited 6 years ago)

Reply 6

Jake1103

OP

2

Original post by winterscoming

What type of IT job functions would you enjoy? Python and C# skills lend themselves to a Software Engineering job (which I would point out is not particularly maths based), but despite that, there's a big leap to go from from dabbling in Excel/VBA upto the kinds of skills that employers are looking for in a job like that.

Some people starting out without any programming skills enter Software Engineering via a job in Software testing/QA, then progress either by working on automated testing/scripting as part of their job, or by teaching themselves the development skills on the side. The attention-to-detail and analytical skills which are essential for QA system testing also happen to be very important when writing code as well (ideally, all programmers should understand software testing).

A lot of people who take on programming and software engineering as a career are largely self-taught (That includes a lot of graduates who studied non-computing degrees at university but eventually found themselves in programming jobs), so this is more than doable if you can put the effort in and assuming you could spend several hours per day learning and practicing. Realistically you're still looking at a minimum of 12 months to build up the skills to a reasonable standard and some kind of project portfolio with enough evidence for a potential employer. The good news is that there are tonnes of resources online for free, so it doesn't need to cost anything,

Since you mentioned Python, here are some good starting points for those:
https://www.codecademy.com/learn/learn-python
https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-computer-science-mitx-6-00-1x-11

Thanks for the info.
Ye software engineering sounds like something i would be interested in and im willing to put the hours in.

It would help to have a degree but probably not needed. There's enough online content nowadays to self teach in these subjects.

Thanks for the links, i also have some Udemy courses to work though.

Reply 7

winterscoming

19

Original post by Jake1103

Thanks for the info.
Ye software engineering sounds like something i would be interested in and im willing to put the hours in.

It would help to have a degree but probably not needed. There's enough online content nowadays to self teach in these subjects.

Thanks for the links, i also have some Udemy courses to work though.

Udemy and Coursera are also great, so it sounds like you've got all of that covered :smile:

There are also some good ones (not free but reasonably priced) on https://teamtreehouse.com/tracks

I certainly wouldn't worry too much about not having a degree - while it's a good way to get your foot on the ladder, and gives you a decent broad base of knowledge on a lot of general CompSci topics, it's also a slow, expensive route when you look at it. Computing and Tech jobs are notoriously skills-based and ability-based, so a lot of companies (especially small/medium sized organisations) advertising for 'Graduates' in their job description are usually open to interviewing somebody who can demonstrate equivalent ability and skills that they'd expect from a graduate - the types of people who interview you in those jobs are usually senior tech-geeks working for the company rather than HR managers (which means that the interview itself is likely to be technically challenging, but also that lack of formal academic credentials doesn't determine your success).

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