What are the best skills to put on a cover letter?
The best skills to put on a cover letter are a combination of hard skills and soft skills that speak directly to the role you are applying for.
According to a Resume.io study, 72% of candidates believe skills matter more than education when it comes to hiring (Resume.io Resume Statistics, 2024).
Your cover letter is where those skills come to life with evidence behind them.
| Skill type | Examples | How to demonstrate in a cover letter |
|---|---|---|
| Hard skills | Data analysis, project management, SQL, CRM software, graphic design | Name the tool or method, then state the outcome it produced |
| Soft skills | Communication, adaptability, conflict resolution, teamwork | Describe a situation where the skill changed the result |
| Transferable skills | Leadership, time management, research, client relations | Connect the skill to how it will apply in the new role |
Hard skills are role-specific competencies: data analysis, project management tools, programming languages, or industry certifications.
Soft skills are the interpersonal and behavioral abilities that shape how you work: communication, adaptability, problem-solving, and teamwork.
Both matter, and a letter that only addresses one type presents an incomplete picture of you as a candidate.
The most reliable way to decide which skills to include is to treat the job description as a checklist.
Underline every competency the employer has named, then cross-reference against your own experience.
From that shortlist, select two to four abilities you can back with a result.
If you are uncertain where to begin, reviewing examples in your field can help you see how other candidates frame their skills effectively.
How do you write about skills in a cover letter?
Writing about skills in a cover letter means weaving each ability into a short, evidence-backed story rather than declaring it outright.
A recruiter reading "I have excellent communication skills" gains nothing.
A recruiter reading about a situation where your communication resolved a problem and delivered a measurable result gains everything they need to picture you in the role.
Follow these steps:
- Identify the target skills: Read the job description carefully and highlight the abilities the employer has explicitly named.
- Match to your experience: For each target skill, identify one moment in your work history where you used it to good effect.
- Use the CAR structure: State the Challenge you faced, the Action you took, and the Result you achieved. Keep each example to two to three sentences.
- Quantify where possible: Numbers make claims credible. "Increased efficiency by 18%" carries far more weight than "improved the process."
- Limit to two to four skills: Selecting fewer skills and developing each one fully is significantly more convincing than listing every competency you have.
One decision many applicants face is whether to group skills together or address them separately.
The answer depends on word count and the weight each skill carries in the posting.
If a skill is listed as a core requirement, it deserves its own sentence and example.
If it is a secondary preference, a brief mention within a broader sentence is enough.
What communication skills should you mention in a cover letter?
Communication is one of the most requested skills in job postings, but it is also one of the most misused in cover letters.
Stating that you are "a strong communicator" tells the reader almost nothing.
The skill only becomes credible when you specify which type of communication the role demands and show that you have delivered it.
The table below covers the main types of communication skills employers look for and how to frame each one.
| Communication skill | What it means in practice | Example framing |
|---|---|---|
| Written communication | Clear reports, emails, proposals, and documentation | "I authored weekly client reports that reduced follow-up queries by 30%" |
| Verbal communication | Presenting, pitching, or facilitating discussions confidently | "I led cross-team briefings for a group of 15, coordinating input from three departments" |
| Active listening | Understanding and responding to others accurately and empathetically | "By staying attuned to client concerns, I resolved escalations before they required management involvement" |
| Client communication | Building and maintaining external relationships professionally | "In three years in client-facing roles, I maintained a 94% satisfaction rating across my account portfolio" |
| Internal communication | Keeping teams aligned and informed during complex projects | "I introduced a weekly update template that reduced missed handovers by half" |
When selecting which type to highlight, match it to the role.
A project manager should focus on internal and verbal communication.
A copywriter should lead with written communication.
A customer success manager should prioritize client-facing examples.
The closer the fit, the more credible the example.
How do you highlight soft skills in a cover letter?
Soft skills are harder to prove than hard skills, which is exactly why the way you write about them matters.
Because every applicant claims to be adaptable or a team player, the candidates who stand out are those who show what that skill looked like in a specific situation.
The most in-demand soft skills for cover letters include:
- Adaptability: Your ability to change direction, learn new systems, or navigate uncertainty without losing effectiveness.
- Interpersonal skills: How you build working relationships, manage conflict, and collaborate across different people and functions.
- Work ethic: A consistent record of going beyond the basic requirements of a role.
- Problem-solving: Critical thinking applied to real obstacles, with clear evidence of the outcome.
- Conflict resolution: The ability to de-escalate tension and find workable solutions between competing interests.
For each soft skill you include, apply the same standard as any other ability in your letter: one example, one result.
The example does not need to be dramatic.
A candidate who describes calmly resolving a workflow dispute that was slowing down a project team is far more credible than someone who simply claims to be "a natural people person."
Interpersonal skills deserve particular care, as they tend to read as hollow when written generically, but when tied to a specific relationship or team dynamic, they communicate something meaningful about how you operate day to day.
What are transferable skills and how do you include them in a cover letter?
To include transferable skills effectively in a cover letter, you need to build a clear bridge between where the skill came from and where it will be applied.
The skill itself is only half the argument.
The connection to the new role is what makes it convincing.
Transferable skills are abilities developed in one role, industry, or context that apply equally well in another.
They are especially valuable when you are changing careers, moving sectors, or applying for a role where you do not meet every technical requirement.
The most commonly cited transferable skills include:
- Leadership: Guiding a team, taking ownership of outcomes, and motivating others toward a shared goal
- Time management: Prioritizing competing demands and delivering consistently against deadlines
- Research and analysis: Gathering, interpreting, and applying information to solve problems or support decisions
- Project coordination: Keeping work on track across multiple people, timelines, or workstreams
- Client relations: Building trust with external stakeholders and managing their expectations effectively
- Written and verbal communication: Conveying information clearly to different audiences in different formats
- Adaptability: Adjusting quickly when priorities, tools, or conditions change
Consider the difference between these two approaches:
- Weak: "I have strong leadership skills from my previous role."
- Strong: "Managing a team of six in a fast-paced retail environment taught me how to prioritize under pressure and communicate clearly during high-volume periods. I am confident those same abilities will translate directly into the team lead position at your organization."
The second version explains the context, names the mechanism, and connects the skill to the target role.
When you are applying to a field where direct experience is limited, transferable skills are often your strongest argument, and they deserve the same evidence-backed treatment as any hard skill in your letter.
A career change cover letter places even greater weight on transferable skills, and it is worth reading how to structure one if you are making a significant move.
How do you write about project management skills in a cover letter?
Project management skills cover a broad set of abilities that employers want to see evidenced, not listed.
In a cover letter, the most effective approach is to name the specific framework, methodology, or tool you have used and anchor it directly to a project outcome.
Core project management skills worth highlighting include:
- Planning and scheduling: Breaking a project into phases, setting milestones, and keeping deliverables on track.
- Stakeholder communication: Keeping decision-makers, team members, and clients aligned throughout a project.
- Risk management: Identifying potential blockers early and building contingency into your planning.
- Budget management: Delivering work within agreed financial constraints and flagging variances proactively.
- Agile and Scrum methodology: Running sprints, managing backlogs, and facilitating retrospectives in iterative delivery environments.
- Tool proficiency: Practical experience with platforms such as Asana, Jira, Trello, Monday.com, or Microsoft Project.
Employers evaluating project management experience want evidence that you can deliver within constraints: on time, within budget, and with the team aligned.
Your example should reflect at least one of those dimensions.
- A strong project management example might look like this: "As the lead on a product relaunch, I managed a cross-functional team of eight using Agile sprint planning across a 12-week timeline. We delivered the project two weeks ahead of schedule, which allowed the marketing team to bring the launch forward and capture a seasonal sales window."
If you are not in a formal project management role but have coordinated projects as part of a broader position, that experience is still worth including.
Many employers value demonstrated coordination just as highly as a certified specialism, particularly at mid-level and generalist roles.
How do you describe customer service skills in a cover letter?
Customer service skills go well beyond handling complaints.
They span a range of interpersonal and practical competencies that employers across many industries actively look for, not just in service roles but in any position involving clients, patients, students, or stakeholders.
Key customer service skills to consider highlighting include:
- Active listening: Giving full attention to what a customer is saying before responding, and demonstrating that you have understood their concern.
- Empathy: Acknowledging how a customer feels and responding in a way that makes them feel heard rather than processed.
- Problem-solving under pressure: Finding workable solutions quickly when a customer is frustrated or a situation is escalating.
- Product and service knowledge: Understanding what you are representing well enough to answer questions accurately and set realistic expectations.
- Conflict de-escalation: Reducing tension in difficult interactions before they require escalation to a manager.
- Follow-through: Closing the loop with customers after an issue has been resolved, rather than considering it done once an answer is given.
When describing these skills in your cover letter, concentrate on outcomes: resolution rates, satisfaction scores, or specific situations where your approach made a measurable difference.
For a customer service-specific role, your example should reflect direct client interaction.
For a role where customer service is a secondary competency, a shorter mention that connects your experience to the new context is enough.
- A concise example for a broader application: "In my previous role, I managed an average of 80 client queries per week across phone and email. My resolution rate consistently exceeded the team benchmark, and I received three formal commendations from clients in my final year."
If you have customer satisfaction scores, Net Promoter Score data, or specific client feedback you can reference, include it.
Quantified customer service experience is straightforward for both human readers and automated screening systems to evaluate, and it signals that you track your own performance rather than relying on others to assess it.
How can you effectively demonstrate your skills in a cover letter?
The most effective way to demonstrate skills in a cover letter is through results-oriented examples rather than self-described traits.
A recruiter cannot evaluate "strong leadership."
But they can evaluate: "led a team of four through a system migration that came in under budget and reduced processing time by 22%."
Once you have chosen your two to four skills and drafted a CAR example for each, review the letter as a whole and ask: does every claim have evidence behind it, and does every piece of evidence connect to something the employer cares about?
There is an insight here that most generic cover letter advice misses.
The most memorable letters do not only describe what a candidate has done, they make it clear what the candidate will do.
Framing your skill examples with forward projection, "This is how I have delivered results, and here is how I would bring that to your team," turns a retrospective claim into a forward-facing case for hiring you.
That shift in framing is something a recruiter notices, even if they cannot always articulate why one letter felt more compelling than another.
When you have a draft ready, read it back as if you were the employer.
If every skill claim would survive the question "Can you give me an example?", the letter is working.
If any claim would leave you scrambling, revise it before it goes out.
What mistakes should you avoid when writing about skills in a cover letter?
The most common mistakes when writing about skills in a cover letter come from overclaiming and under-demonstrating.
Most are straightforward to fix once you know what to look for.
| Mistake | Why it matters | How to fix it |
|---|---|---|
| Listing skills without examples | Claims without evidence carry no weight with a recruiter | Pair every skill with a one or two-sentence example and a result |
| Repeating your resume verbatim | The cover letter should add depth, not copy bullet points | Use the letter to expand on one or two skills with context and outcome |
| Including irrelevant skills | Off-topic competencies dilute your key message | Check every skill against the job description before including it |
| Claiming skills you cannot back up | Unsupported claims are quickly exposed in interviews | Only include skills you can discuss with a real, concrete example |
| Using vague language | "Great communicator" or "team player" says nothing | Name the context: what kind of communication, with whom, and to what end |
| Mirroring the job description too closely | Copying exact phrasing from a posting reads as hollow | Reflect the requirement in your own words, anchored to your own experience |
Beyond the table, there is a mistake that rarely appears in standard advice: writing about skills with no connection to the specific company or team.
The most effective cover letters tie skills to the employer's known context, a communication example that reflects a similar client base, or a project management example that mirrors the organization's delivery model.
That level of specificity signals research, judgment, and genuine interest that no bullet point can convey.
Key takeaways
- Choose two to four skills that directly match the job description rather than listing every competency you have, depth is far more convincing than volume.
- Pair every skill with a short, solid example using the CAR structure (Challenge, Action, Result) to give recruiters something they can evaluate.
- Include both hard skills and soft skills: hard skills prove technical readiness, and soft skills show how you work alongside others.
- Transferable skills are a strong asset when changing roles or industries, provided you build a clear bridge between where the skill came from and how it applies in the new role.
- Tie your skill examples to the specific company or team where possible, letters that connect your abilities to the employer's actual context are significantly more memorable than generic applications.
Frequently asked questions
A few questions come up often when people are writing about skills in a cover letter.
Should I list my skills in a cover letter?
No. Listing skills without context is one of the most common cover letter mistakes.
A skills list belongs on your resume.
Your cover letter should weave each skill into a short, evidence-backed example that shows how you applied the ability and what result it produced.
How many skills should I include in a cover letter?
Two to four skills is the right range for most cover letters.
Fewer skills, each developed with a concrete example and a clear result, is significantly more convincing than a longer list with no supporting evidence.
Can I include soft skills in a cover letter?
Yes. Soft skills often differentiate two candidates with similar technical backgrounds.
Avoid vague claims like "strong communicator" or "great team player" and instead describe a specific situation where the soft skill produced a measurable outcome.
A relatable example makes any soft skill credible.
