Deciding what skills to acquire other than the commonly accepted ones in a position can be a challenge. After all, how can you make sure that the skills you’re training for will remain relevant in the next few years?

When you’re looking at career development in the tech field, the smartest way to accelerate your path is to work with a mentor. At MentorCruise, these mentors can help you locate resources, courses, or other information which can make you stand out in the hiring process. At the same time, they help you define your areas of expertise and what kind of career path could be right for you based on your interests.

What is the meaning of professional expertise?

In today’s highly competitive workplace as an employee, being a jack of all trades and a master of none is not the right path to success. So, the sooner you niche down by specializing in a specific industry whilst having a strategic mindset, the faster you’ll be on demand by attracting the right customers.

Finding your area of expertise means cultivating the right skills that’ll put you on demand. For example, if you aspire to be a copywriter, you might as well develop hard skills like keyword research and grammar or soft skills like good communication and creative thinking.

Knowing which areas of expertise are in demand can help you define those choices as well.

How to acquire expertise

There are many ways to acquire expertise but you can sort these methods into two categories; functional expertise and accorded expertise. You can gain knowledge in any field and become an expert on the subject. Both types of methods are effective in their own way, so whichever one you choose really depends on your intentions.

• Functional Expertise: This refers to acquiring expertise through personal study, practice, or work experience. This is a hands-on approach and allows you to master a certain area or skill. For example, you can master Unity through years of designing games with the program.
• Accorded Expertise: This refers to methods that involve an academic body or organization granting you a degree, certificate, or license. These qualifications prove you have some level of expertise in a certain area.

Some occupations give more value to accorded expertise since it involves a notable organization recognizing your abilities. However, functional expertise proves you have personal, hands-on experience in the industry which can’t be replaced with accorded expertise.

Ultimately, depending on what job role you’re aiming for, it’s helpful to use both methods to expand your expertise.

Types of expertise

There are different types of expertise that can can be acquired through the above methods:

• Soft skills: Soft skills aren’t usually industry-specific but they are required in many different fields. Examples of soft skills include critical analysis, problem-solving, and time management. These are hard to quantify or prove, but you can give examples of where you showcased these skills in your work experience or personal life.
• Hard skills: Hard skills are job-specific abilities which are more technical than soft skills. Examples include proficiency in a coding language or software program, or even spoken languages. It may be wise to specify your skill level in your resume (e.g. beginner, intermediate, expert).
• Transferable skills: These types of expertise are specific soft skills which are applicable to a range of different occupations. It’s helpful to emphasize transferable skills on your resume when you’re looking for a career change. For instance, working in retail helps build communication skills, which can be applied to marketing jobs too.
• Job-related skills: These are specific hard skills listed in job descriptions. For example, a ‘game developer’ job description could list ‘familiarity with Unity’ as a required skill. Preferred candidates often have years of experience developing those skills since they don’t require extensive training.
• Certifications and licenses: These can be obtained through passing certain exams or projects. Organizations often provide studying material beforehand or optional training courses. 

Certifications and licenses are not technically types of expertise. They are instead proof of your technical skills which allow employers to trust in your expertise. There are certifications (both online and in-person) for a number of things such as coding, business, or medical-related fields.

Which areas of expertise are currently in demand?

In tech, there are certain industries and areas that are always in demand. You might want to center your areas of expertise around these topics in the next few years:

• Artificial intelligence
• Cloud computing
• Cybersecurity
• Machine learning
• Automation
• Development (applications and software)
• Data science
• Coding

Just as programming languages can change or different skills become more vital over time, staying up to date on current trends is just as critical. This can be as simple as reading Forbes or TechCrunch or as more involved as interacting on LinkedIn and Twitter as you develop your areas of expertise while staying in touch with the tech community.

The way to learn more about a specific subject can be through classes and practice, but there are other things to keep in mind. Using a mentor or career coach can really help you define specific areas to zero in on. MentorCruise offers you the ability to work one-on-one with a mentor in your specific field.

When creating your resume, another thing to consider is that most companies use a form of AI to sort through them and look for important keys. Your resume may not even be looked at if it doesn’t have keywords that are deemed important. A mentor can help you with terminology or language that is used in the industry.

Hard skills vs. soft skills

When writing your resume, you’ll want to focus on both hard skills and soft skills. The differences between the two are important to understand.

Hard skills are the ones that are for the job you’re applying to that are both directly relevant to the position and are teachable. That means you’ll have learned them from a mentor or from taking a class or experience through previous work. Hard skills can be measured through:

• Proficiency in various coding languages
• Projects involved in
• Years of work experience
• Degrees and other qualifications

Soft skills, on the other hand, are skills that are transferable but are more related to how you relate to people and specific situations. It’s more about who you are vs. what you’ve been taught hands-on. Soft skills can be developed, but they are not natural to everybody.

Examples of soft skills:

• Leadership
• Problem-solving
• Strong communication skills
• Good with teamwork
• Good time management
• Adaptability to both work and environment

Having both hard and soft skills within your resume is a great way to stand out against the competition. You need to highlight things like being a creative problem solver because it’s something that can be beneficial for the role.

Of course, these descriptors are rather vague, so make sure to elaborate on these soft skills and other unclear areas of expertise in your interview and cover letter through anecdotes on how these traits helped your team succeed. Consider using interview coaching services to get professional advice on how to best discuss your expertise in interviews.

Narrowing down specific areas of expertise

When it comes to technology, it’s important to narrow your scope. To say you want to work in technology is like saying you want to be involved in music.

There are so many variables, categories, types, you name it, that when you dig into it, you realize without narrowing down to something specific or a niche area, the field is way too wide and open.

Zoning in on a specific area in the tech industry will help you effectively niche down and become known in your areas of expertise.

For example, here are five areas you might consider:

• User Experience
• Math and Data
• Design
• Entrepreneurship
• Realization

Are you focused on algorithms and circuits or more excited to work with visual concepts? By asking where you can see yourself fitting into an industry, you’ll be able to fine-tune your knowledge and build experience in those areas.

When it comes to career development, there are a lot of options in tech, and it can be downright confusing if you don’t have a clear idea of what you want.

You can learn about what different positions are responsible for, along with hearing about unique perspectives via a mentor. They offer an inside look at an industry you’re just getting started in.

Be more solution-based

Another thing worth pointing out is that the standard resume has changed over the years.

While in years past, it was common to see a list of responsibilities you handled, today’s resume is more about being solutions-based. Being able to provide examples is beneficial, such as stories on how you’ve surmounted a certain obstacle or something similar within the context of a team. You really need to position yourself within your areas of expertise and how you’ve helped the team through this specialization.

Speak with a career coach and have them go over your resume with you, so you can fine-tune it to best fit the industry of your career choice. If you’re unsure about how to approach this mentorship, here’s a list of questions to ask your career coach to get you started.

Identify your own areas of expertise

If you’re unsure of identifying your own specific areas of expertise, reflect on your previous experiences. What did your peers admire about your work? In what field did you excel? Here are a few ways to determine your field of expertise:

• Ask former coworkers. Sometimes the opinions of others help us recognize the strengths we didn’t see in ourselves. Reach out to your former boss or coworkers and ask them to share their point of view on what they think you excel at. If you don’t have a working background, reach out to former colleagues or teachers and ask their advice.
• Think about all your work experience. Consider your official work history, volunteer work, and  any internships you did. Determine which tasks you excelled at in those roles to find your areas of expertise.

For example, you may have found some tasks much easier than others. Or, certain duties especially piqued your interest — it could be worth pursuing these areas further to deepen your expertise.

• Consider your awards, feedback, and achievements. Actions speak louder than words. Have you had any recognitions for work excellence in a specific area? Did your former employers share positive feedback on your achievements? Then, those are milestones you should consider in your field of expertise.
• Consider your education. Think about your academic background and which subjects you got the best grades in. You can also consider any degrees or certifications you currently have as examples of your expertise. If you feel you have considerable knowledge in a particular area, look up relevant certifications that could help validate this knowledge.
• Think of your skills. What attributes contributed to your work, volunteer, or educational achievements? Those abilities are directly related to the job position you’re applying to and should be highlighted in your resume.
• Think about your extracurricular activities or hobbies. Consider your hobbies or extracurricular activities such as writing or sports clubs. This can also include organizing school events, child-rearing, and side-projects you’re working on that are unrelated to your job.

Determine which activities you were most passionate about or wish to pursue further. Hobbies help you develop and improve a lot of skills, so think about how your extracurricular activities translate into valuable skills in the workplace.

• Talk to a mentor. Identifying your area of expertise takes a lot of reflecting on yourself and your passions. Without the proper guidance, it can be tricky and confusing. That’s why a mentor is your best ally towards discovering what you excel at and how to present it in your CV.

Why include a list of areas of expertise on your resume?

There are many reasons why you should include a list of areas of expertise on your resume:

• Stand out among other applicants to increase your chances of getting a job interview.
• Validate your work experience with specific qualifications or certifications. Certain roles, such as those in the healthcare industry, require employees to be certified by official organizations to ensure they meet a certain professional standard.
• Demonstrate your skills with examples and showcase your level of expertise.

Should you highlight areas of expertise elsewhere?

Aside from your resume, you can also illustrate areas of expertise in your cover letter. Here, you’re able to go into a bit more detail with work-related examples that demonstrate your abilities.

Additionally, your portfolio is a great place to show off your areas of expertise. Simply compose a list of areas of expertise, skills, and abilities on a web page (on your portfolio website). These skills should be relevant to your portfolio work. For example, if you’re a programmer, list skills related to coding, software, computer engineering, and so on.

Make sure to format this list in a way that’s easy to read and don’t let it distract viewers from the main content of your portfolio. It’s best to list your skills on an ‘about you’ page away from your projects.

Include your areas of expertise on your resume

Expertise in resumes is showcased by skills and success stories. As mentioned before, being solution-oriented gives the impression of an expert. When crafting your skills section in your resume, you are presented with 2 options:

1. Listing your skills at the top of your resume

If you’re struggling with how to write expertise in resumes, start with a list of skills. When switching between industries or just entering the professional world, you might want to list your skills on the top of your resume. You’ll need to create a separate section where you’ll write down your key skills that correspond to the job description. Any professional or volunteer experience you might have should go in the description of each skill to enhance it. This type of resume is called functional.

2. Mentioning your skills briefly at the end of your resume

When you have extensive professional experience to cite in your resume, you might want to list additional skills in a separate section at the bottom. This will help limit the length of your CV, given the fact that employers only devote 6 minutes on average to each resume. A small dedicated skill section could also work to your benefit to highlight relevant keywords that could rank you higher in Applicant Tracking Systems.

No matter what you decide to go with, we highly recommend always weaving your skills into your professional experience. Boost your chances of standing out of the competition by mentioning real-time examples or case studies where you showcased your expertise.

Best practices to ace your resume

Okay! Now you know what area of expertise means in CVs and how to list your skills along with expertise examples. It’s time to share our valuable best practices on acing your resume and getting those interview calls:

• Do your research. Search online for in-demand strengths for your position or industry. If the company you’re applying to doesn’t have a job listing, visit their website and identify what candidates they are hiring and what skills do their employees hold.
• Review the job description. The job description is like a recipe book to a chef; It will provide you with all the ingredients and instructions for success. What keywords are they using to describe the job position? What skills are they looking for in their ideal candidates? Use this information to your advantage when crafting your resume.
• Identify your strengths. Write down a list of your strengths and highlight the ones you think are most relevant to your desired job role. When creating this list, try asking your friends or coworkers about your areas of expertise in case you miss any.
• Add a skills section. Always include a section in your resume dedicated to your skills. List around 5-10 skills in bullet points to make them easy to read.
• Use keywords. Keywords should be used throughout your CV, from your description and headlines to your listed duties from previous positions. For example, if you’re applying for a customer support role where listening skills are requested, including them in your CV can help you stand out.
• Be specific. When describing your technical skills, remember to back them up with relevant certifications if possible. Be specific about which certifications you hold to provide the employer with as much information about your skill level as possible.
• Use words of proficiency. Another secret to ranking in HR managers’ Applicant Tracking Systems is using levels of expertise in your resume. Use words like “intern”, “intermediate”, “expert”, “specialist”, or “advanced”, depending on your experience, to aid their work and get found more easily.
• Mention former success with clients. Former client success speaks louder than words because it proves that you’re true to your skills and field of expertise. Be bold when presenting your results and how you offered solutions to your client’s problems contributing to their overall success.
• Add a mixture of hard and soft skills. Don’t fall into the trap of listing only your hard skills, as you’ll be fighting in the pit of competition for a while. Soft skills are equally valued and are even trickier to acquire since they can’t be taught. They will be your fast lane to securing the job deal.
• Publish and get published. Getting published means that your name is connected to established expertise, and your opinion is important to the industry. So, if you have relevant links from blogs, magazines, scientific websites where your name has been displayed alongside your work, you should include them in your resume. In addition, if you have your own courses, social media channels, or blogs to reach out to your community, they are excellent sources of proof of your areas of expertise.
• Link to your portfolio. Last but not least, one image equals a thousand words. So if you have an updated portfolio portraying your best work, drop a link in your CV for a complete and professional image.

How 1-on-1 mentorship can help you find your areas of expertise and cut out the noise

With 1-on-1 mentorship, you have the opportunity to have your questions answered, your career guided, and your knowledge expanded. This gives you an edge up over the competition.

Imagine talking to a cybersecurity expert when you’re considering moving into this career path. The leg up and chance to cut your learning curve means you are light-years in front of those who haven’t invested in themselves in this manner.

Imagine getting the inside scoop on the best resources you never knew about or being part of a thriving community of like-minded professionals who can help grow your network. You can have important conversations about network security and anti-phishing with mentors who work in that industry.

And cybersecurity is just one example. MentorCruise has 1-on-1 mentors available for multiple technical areas of expertise that can finally give you the chance to make a bigger impact on your career. Invest in yourself with an affordable option that will skyrocket your career faster than you thought possible.

A mentor can help accelerate your career by:

• Knowing the right connections
• Having the right resources
• Expert guidance on your areas of expertise
• What’s expected in certain fields

It’s time to invest in your journey. If you want to get ahead faster, with better information, and with the help and guidance of an expert, MentorCruise is the place to be.