What special skills are on a resume
In a Philippine resume or application form, “special skills” means abilities beyond the basic requirements of the job that you can actually do: operating a machine or software, speaking a language, holding a licence, or having a trade or creative skill. It is where an employer sees what you can offer that another applicant with the same degree cannot. Some forms ask for it under the same heading as hobbies, and the government's Personal Data Sheet has a field with that name too, but on a resume you are free to write it as a normal skills line with specific wording.
The test is the same as for any skill: could someone check it? “Hardworking” and “quick learner” are traits, and they belong in how you describe your work. “Can type 45 words per minute” and “holds a TESDA national certificate in welding” count, because a reader can confirm them. For the wider picture of skills on a resume, see resume skills by job.
Special skills examples by job family
Choose from the family nearest your target job and keep two to six lines. The right-hand column says how to make each one believable. These are illustrative, so use only what is true for you.
| Job family | Examples | How to prove it |
|---|---|---|
| BPO and customer service | Fluent English and Filipino, chat and email support, call handling, CRM tools, typing 40 to 60 wpm, de-escalating calls, basic Spanish | Typing score, language level, tools named, account or queue handled |
| Healthcare and nursing | Taking vital signs, IV insertion, patient charting, basic life support, phlebotomy, wound care, elderly and bedside care | Licence number, training certificate, ward or unit, patients per shift |
| Teaching | Lesson planning, classroom management, learning-material design, tutoring, special-needs support, spoken Filipino and English | Licence, grade levels taught, class size, school type |
| Trades and overseas work | Welding (SMAW), electrical wiring, plumbing, pipefitting, heavy-equipment operation, driving with a professional licence, carpentry, tile setting | National certificate, years, equipment or site types |
| Admin and office | MS Word, Excel formulas, filing and records, bookkeeping, scheduling, minute-taking, mail merge | Software versions, volume handled, tasks done weekly |
| Hospitality and food | Barista, bartending, food safety, table service, room setup, menu costing, cashiering | Training, years, covers served, venue type |
| IT and creative | HTML and CSS, WordPress, graphic design, photo and video editing, social media scheduling, basic networking | Portfolio link, project, software named |
| Sales and retail | POS operation, inventory counts, product demonstration, merchandising, upselling, route sales | Targets met, items handled, store type |
Two cautions apply to all of them. Match the wording to the job post, so write “Microsoft Excel (formulas, pivot tables)” if the ad asks for Excel and not “computer literate”. And do not list a skill that you could not demonstrate in a short test at the interview, because employers do test.
If you are applying abroad through an agency, the same list needs a small change: put the skills the overseas employer will use first (a trade, a language, a licence that is recognised there), mention the years of experience beside each one, and keep the wording plain enough for a recruiter who has never heard of your school or your local certificate. A line such as “Welding, 6 years, structural steel” travels better than a long title. Where a certificate is issued by a national body, write its name in full once so that it can be checked.
Special skills and hobbies: keep them apart
Many Philippine forms print the two together, but they do different work. A special skill is something the employer can use; a hobby is something you do for yourself, which can show character and give the interviewer something to talk about. Put your skills in a skills section near the top, and your hobbies in a short line at the bottom, such as “Hobbies: basketball, sketching, volunteering at weekend feeding programs”. Where a hobby has become a skill, such as editing videos or playing in a band, move it up and describe what you can do. The hobbies and interests guide has examples of how to write the line.
Special skills examples for a job application with no experience
If you are a fresh graduate or a school leaver, your skills come from school, family business, training and part-time work. A student can honestly list the software used in the course, a language, a typing speed, a certificate from a short course, and activities such as leading a club or organising an event. A line such as “Edited the campus paper's photos using Lightroom; 2 years” is stronger than “good in photography”. Lead with the two or three that match the job, and add a result where you have one. The guide to a resume for your first job shows where the section sits when there is no work history.
Proving a special skill in the documents and at the interview
Employers in the Philippines often check what you list, so prepare the proof before you send the resume. For a trade or technical skill, keep the original and a photocopy of the national certificate, licence or training record, and write its title and year on the resume. For an office skill such as typing or Excel, expect a short test on the day, and practise the tasks you named. For a language, be ready to speak or write a few lines in it. For a creative skill, bring or link a small portfolio of three pieces rather than a folder of everything.
At the interview, answer a question about a special skill with a single example: what the task was, what you did, and what came of it. “I handled the cash and the inventory for my aunt's store on weekends for two years, and I kept a notebook count that matched the stock every month” shows reliability better than any adjective. If you listed a skill that is only basic, say so plainly and add that you are building it; honest limits are easier for an interviewer to accept than a skill that falls apart in the first question.
How to write the special skills section
Give it a clear heading, such as “Special skills” or “Skills”, and put it after experience or education. Write one skill per line or group them in a short sentence, and keep each to the tool, level or licence. Six well-chosen lines read better than twenty. A simple sample for a fictional applicant, Joanna Reyes of Quezon City, would read: MS Excel: formulas and pivot tables, Typing: 52 wpm, Languages: Filipino (native), English (fluent), Cebuano (conversational) and Holds a professional driver's licence. If you are building a resume from scratch, the Philippine resume format shows how all the sections fit on one page.
Sources
Checked on 12 October 2026.