How To List Microsoft Office Skills on a Resume With Examples, Tips, and Guide

If you’ve ever worked on a computer, you’ve probably had some experience using Microsoft Office. Is that something you should include on your resume? Depending on the type of job you’re seeking and the level of your knowledge and expertise, it can be a good idea. Learn more about listing Microsoft Office on your resume and the best Microsoft Office skills for job applications, along with some examples.

Why Microsoft Office Skills Are Important on a Resume

To most people, performing essential functions like typing a letter in a Word document or adding up a column of numbers in Microsoft Excel is common knowledge. However, there are times when it’s essential to know how to showcase Microsoft Office skills on your resume.

The ubiquity of Microsoft Office in the workplace

Microsoft Office tools are used across various industries and job roles. There are many use cases, from Excel for accounting and finance to PowerPoint for sales presentations to Microsoft Outlook and Teams to stay connected and Access for database management.

If you are vying for any roles in which proficiency with this widely used tool is essential, it’s worth listing it on your resume.

Enhancing your professional profile

Having advanced Microsoft Office skills can contribute to your efficiency and productivity. If you can quickly access the various tools and tricks within your applications and avoid getting tripped up or leaning on tech support, you can complete tasks more effectively.

Meeting employer expectations

Employers often list Microsoft Office proficiency as a requirement because it is commonplace. These programs support day-to-day business operations, so demonstrating that you can get to work on day one without needing a full tutorial on how to use these applications is essential.

Key Microsoft Office Skills To Include on Your Resume

The Microsoft Office Suite is more than just writing in Word documents. Here are the top programs and skills you can share on your resume.

Microsoft Word skills

Beyond simply typing in and saving a document, having a solid knowledge of Word can be essential for specific roles. Understanding formatting, template creation, and tracking and reviewing tools can be helpful for marketing, editorial, and design roles.

Another advanced skill is mail merge, which lets you automatically insert contact information from a database into a letter when sending it to an extensive mailing list.

Microsoft Excel skills

With so many intricate aspects of Excel, having true expertise can be a big deal for specific roles. Analytics, statistics, and finance roles use functions like pivot tables while understanding how to use VLOOKUP commands or create macros, which can help with reporting tasks or be more efficient.

Microsoft PowerPoint

Knowing how to create a slideshow presentation is essential for salespeople, educators, speakers, content creators, and others. Skilled in slide design, presentation creation, animations, and transitions, they are valuable capabilities to include on your resume.

Microsoft Outlook

Knowing how to send and receive email is expected in today’s working world. However, understanding the other features of Outlook can make you an effective communicator and help with organization and time management. Top skills include knowledge of calendar scheduling, how to manage email lists, and organizing messages into folders.

Microsoft Access

Data is king for most organizations, and one of the most widely used database management programs is Access. People don’t routinely use this application, so if you have expertise in query creation, form design, and other Access skills, amplify that on your resume.

Microsoft Teams

Knowing your way around Teams is essential with more people working remotely or hybrid schedules and more virtual meetings. Share that you can navigate virtual meetings, use collaboration tools, and understand chat management.

How To Identify Your Microsoft Office Skills

So, are your Microsoft Office skills strong enough to be mentioned on your resume? Here are a few ways to help you decide.

Self-assessment and experience review

To evaluate your proficiency with Microsoft Office tools, consider how you use the various applications and be honest about your skill level. Do you use Microsoft Office for its core functions, or are you using advanced features? Do you need to consult others when you need to do something in Microsoft Office, or are you self-sufficient?

Using online skill assessment tools

To determine your skill level, you can take online assessments that test and validate your Microsoft Office skills. Yale offers a free one that lists the skills you should know for each Microsoft program at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels.

Leveraging feedback from colleagues and supervisors

Have you always been the Excel or Outlook whiz coworkers went to for help in past jobs? Understanding how your skills are perceived in the workplace can help you determine which skills you should add to your resume.

How To List Microsoft Office Skills on Your Resume

Once you determine which Microsoft Office Skills belong on your resume, you must figure out how and where to list them.

Creating a dedicated skills section

The simplest way to list your Microsoft Office skills is to create a bulleted skills section. You can also make a subsection focusing on computer or technical skills. Here’s how it might look:

Skills

• Microsoft Word: Document formatting, template creation, mail merge
• Microsoft Excel: Data analysis, pivot tables, VLOOKUP, macros
• Microsoft PowerPoint: Slide design, presentation creation, animations, transitions

Integrating skills into the work experience section

You can highlight Microsoft Office skills within the bullet points of your job descriptions.

Examples:

• Created templates in Microsoft Word for necessary company documentation, ensuring all files are up-to-date and easily accessible
• Managed financial records using basic accounting skills, demonstrating proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite for record-keeping

Including certifications to validate skills

If you’ve earned one or more Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) certifications, list them under the education section of your resume in a “Certifications” subheading. Earning certifications enhances your credibility, so it’s important to consider whether Microsoft Office plays a significant role in your field.

Example:

Certifications

• Project Management Professional (PMP), Project Management Institute, 2018
• Microsoft Office Specialist (M.O.S.), Microsoft, 2017

Examples of How To List Microsoft Office Skills on Your Resume

Tips for Highlighting Microsoft Office Skills Effectively

Use specific terminology and action verbs

Use precise language to describe Microsoft Office skills, including solid action verbs.

• Examples: Analyzed, created, calculated, designed, documented, formulated

Quantify experience with Microsoft Office tools

Provide measurable outcomes to demonstrate proficiency with Microsoft Office.

• Example: Developed reporting on search engine optimization (SEO) keyword campaigns using Excel to enhance website content, resulting in a 16% increase in traffic in one quarter.

Tailor skills to the job description

Customize the listing of Microsoft Office skills based on job requirements. If a company is looking for a data analyst who can train others and requires Excel as a skill, your resume could say something like: 

• Trained more than 25 team members on how to leverage Excel and Smartview to optimize data manipulation.

Common Mistakes To Avoid When Listing Microsoft Office Skills

Being too generic

Avoid using broad terms like “proficient in Microsoft Office” since that doesn’t add context to how you’ve used those tools to do your job well. 

Instead, be specific about the tools and features you are skilled with and how they have helped you perform in your role.

Overloading the resume with too many skills

You don’t have to get super granular about all of the Microsoft Office features that you know how to use. Incorporate two or three most relevant to the job. For example, suppose you’re in human resources and do remote onboarding. In that case, you might focus on your Teams and Outlook skills since they directly impact how you communicate with new hires.

Failing to keep skills updated

Stay current with new features and updates in Microsoft Office, and make sure your resume is updated to reflect that. As Microsoft rolls out new features, take online courses or tutorials the company offers to stay current.

Additional Resources

Microsoft Office training and certification programs

• Microsoft Learn
• Microsoft Office 365 Training

Online tools for skills assessment and resume writing

• CareerOneStop Skills Matcher
• SkillScan

Career advice articles and job application tips

• How To List Skills in Your Resume Skills Section
• How To Make a Resume
• Professional Resume Templates and Examples for 2024

Andrew Stoner

Executive Resume Writer and Career Coach

Andrew Stoner is an executive career coach and resume writer with 17 years of experience as a hiring manager and operations leader at two Fortune 500 Financial Services companies, and as the career services director at two major university business schools.