Can you describe your skills in English? What about your qualifications, or your strengths? This is essential for job interviews, networking, and other professional conversations, yet it can be challenging in English. Often, the difficulty comes from tricky vocabulary and complicated prepositions. However, mastering this area of English is key to communicating your professional value to the right people at the right time. Let’s see how!
1. How to describe your skills in English
Your professional skills are the specific abilities you have learned through training or practice. This is a typical topic to appear in job interviews, performance evaluations, or networking. So how will you describe your skills in English?
A direct, confident phrase is this:
- I’m skilled in [area]
For example: I’m skilled in data analysis.
English Tip: For extra emphasis, you can add in words like “extremely” or “highly”. E.g: I’m extremely skilled in customer relations.
Another way to describe your skills English is to use the word “specialization” (American spelling) or “specialisation” (British spelling). This word highlights your expertise in an area.
- My specialization is in [field/area]. Example: My specialization is in digital marketing.
English Tip: You can also say I am specialized in [area]. This has the same meaning, just a different sentence construction.
2. How to describe your qualifications in English
After you describe your skills in English, a natural topic to follow is your qualifications. These are the official credentials you gain through educational institutions or training.
Depending on your personal background, you can express this in different ways in English.
For example, if you went to university, you can explain your studies like this:
- I have a degree in [subject]. Example: I have a degree in Computer Science.
For qualifications that aren’t from university, you might say:
- I am certified in [subject]. Example: I am certified in Advanced Excel
Or
- I have completed training in [subject]. Example: I have completed training in web development and coding languages.
English Tip: When speaking, it is common to contract “I have” and “I am”, so practise saying “I’ve completed training” and “I’m certified” to sound more fluent.
English Tip: Our favourite preposition, “in” is here again! A degree in, certified in, training in.
3. How to describe your strengths in English
Your strengths are your personal qualities that help you succeed at work, like your creativity, your adaptability or your emotional intelligence. This is an excellent way to round up the topic when you describe your qualifications and skills in English.
A useful phrase is this.
- I’m adept at [ strength]. Example: I’m adept at problem-solving complex technical issues.
To demonstrate your strength with an example, this phrase is ideal:
- I have a track record of [your strength]. Example: I have a track record of delivering exceptional client satisfaction.
English Tip: When explaining your strength, this will be in the form of a noun (e.g. graphic design; event coordination; data analysis) or an activity with -ing (e.g. multitasking, public speaking, leading teams).
More tools
If you can promote your professional value confidently and effectively in English, then you will be ready to succeed in vital career moments such as job interviews in English, performance reviews with your manager, and almost any type of networking conversation in English. So keep preparing for this moment! Check out this video on how to talk about your work experience in English.
For now, be confident next time you need to describe your skills in English.
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