Building the skills employers ask for
How to find out which skills employers want, and practical ways to build and show them.
Find out what's in demand
Kaziplat's job market page shows the skills, fields and education that open jobs ask for, worked out from the jobs on Kaziplat and updated as they change. Look at the jobs you want and note the skills that keep coming up.
Skills many jobs ask for
Some skills appear across many kinds of jobs: - Communication: writing clearly and speaking confidently, in English and Swahili. - Computer skills: especially Microsoft Excel, Word and email. - Teamwork and problem solving. - Customer service. - Report writing.
Ways to build them
- Free online courses, many with certificates, for computer and business skills.
- Short courses at colleges and training institutes.
- Volunteering, which builds experience you can put on your CV.
- Practice: a spreadsheet for your own budget or a small business teaches Excel quickly.
What employers mean by Excel
When an advert asks for "good Excel skills", it usually means you can:
- enter and format data neatly, and sort and filter it;
- use formulas such as SUM, AVERAGE, IF and VLOOKUP or XLOOKUP;
- build a simple table or pivot table to summarise data;
- make a clear chart;
- protect and share a file.
Practise each with your own data, such as a monthly budget, and you will be able to describe what you can do with confidence.
Show them
List your skills in the words employers use, add certificates for courses you finish, and give an example on your CV of when you used each important skill.
Writing well at work
Many jobs involve writing emails, short reports and minutes. Good work writing is clear and short: say the main point first, use short paragraphs, and end with what you need from the reader. Practise by summarising a news article in five sentences, or writing minutes after a meeting of a group you belong to. Ask someone to read them and tell you what was unclear.
Digital skills beyond Office
Workplaces increasingly expect you to manage email and calendars, join online meetings, share files in cloud storage, and fill in online systems. Some roles add specific software, such as accounting packages, point-of-sale systems or data tools. Free tutorials exist for most of these. If an advert names a system you haven't used, learn its basics before the interview and say so honestly.
Skills that are harder to show
Teamwork, problem solving and reliability appear in almost every advert, but writing "good team player" on a CV proves little. Show them with examples instead: "Coordinated a team of five volunteers for a health awareness campaign" shows teamwork and organisation. Prepare one example for each such skill the job asks for, ready for your CV and your interview.
Make a simple plan
Choose one or two skills that come up most often in the jobs you want. Set a goal for the next three months, such as finishing a course or completing a practice project, and set aside a few hours each week. When you finish, add the skill and any certificate to your CV, and choose the next one.
More guides
- How to write a CV employers read
- How to write an application letter
- How to prepare for a job interview
- How to apply for a job by email
- How to spot fake job adverts
- Documents to have ready before you apply
- Finding your first job after college
- Applying for government jobs in Tanzania
- What to do after you apply
- How to read a job advert before you apply
- How to find an internship or field attachment
- How to search and apply for jobs using only your phone
- How to choose and prepare your referees
- How to prepare for written tests and aptitude tests
- What to check before you accept a job offer
- How to explain gaps in your CV
- How to find jobs through the people you know
- How to move into a new field
- How to do well in your first weeks at a new job