The Skills You Use Every Day but Forget to Put on Your CV

Your experience is worth more than your job title.

If you've spent years working as a diesel mechanic, electrician, millwright, fitter, boilermaker or another skilled trade, you probably have more to offer a potential employer than you realise. The problem? You do these things every day, so they become second nature. When it's time to update your CV, you list your job title, employer and years of experience, but leave out the practical skills that demonstrate what you can actually do.

Here are some of the skills you shouldn't overlook.

Can you identify the cause of a recurring breakdown? Can you work through a problem systematically instead of replacing components and hoping for the best?

These are valuable practical skills. Employers want people who can diagnose faults, identify possible causes and help get equipment back into operation efficiently.

Don't just write “maintenance and repairs” on your CV. Where applicable, explain the types of faults you've diagnosed and the equipment you've worked on.

There's a big difference between saying you have mechanical experience and explaining that you've worked on heavy-duty diesel engines, hydraulic systems, conveyor belts, pumps, gearboxes or specific types of earthmoving equipment. The same applies to electricians and instrumentation technicians who have worked with PLCs, control systems, electrical fault-finding or particular instrumentation.

Be specific. List the machinery, systems, tools and equipment you have genuinely worked with. This helps employers assess whether your experience matches the requirements of a position.

If you've carried out routine inspections, identified worn components before they failed, completed scheduled servicing or helped prevent repeat breakdowns, those are important competencies. Don't assume these tasks are too ordinary to mention. Preventative maintenance plays an important role in equipment reliability, safety and productivity. Where possible, explain the type of maintenance you performed, the equipment involved and the responsibilities you held.

Mining and engineering environments can be demanding. Working to deadlines while following safety procedures, identifying hazards and using the correct personal protective equipment requires discipline and sound judgement.

If you have relevant experience with lockout procedures, risk assessments, permit-to-work systems or site-specific safety requirements, include it where appropriate.

Never claim certifications or authorisations you don't hold. Instead, accurately describe the safety procedures you have been trained in and the responsibilities you've carried out.

Have you helped apprentices develop their skills? Shown a new employee how to operate equipment safely? Guided junior artisans through a maintenance task? Taken responsibility for a job from diagnosis to completion?

If so, don't leave that experience off your CV simply because you weren't officially a supervisor.

Mentoring, knowledge-sharing and taking responsibility for assigned work can demonstrate readiness for positions with greater responsibility.

You may not think of communication as a technical skill, but consider what your job requires.

Do you explain faults to supervisors? Complete job cards? Record maintenance activities? Hand over outstanding work to the next shift? Work alongside other trades to resolve a complicated problem?

These are practical workplace competencies that help teams operate effectively.

Include them when they form a meaningful part of your role, particularly if you can give a real example.

There are other competencies that are easy to forget when writing a CV:

• Reading technical drawings, wiring diagrams or hydraulic schematics.
• Using diagnostic equipment, measuring instruments and specialised tools.
• Completing job cards, inspection reports and maintenance records.
• Identifying parts, sourcing components and working with technical specifications.
• Coordinating with other trades during shutdowns or major maintenance projects.
• Working independently while knowing when to escalate a problem.

Only include the skills relevant to your actual experience. A strong CV is an accurate picture of your capabilities, not a list of every technical term you can think of.

Take a few minutes to think about the work you do every shift. What equipment can you operate, inspect, maintain or repair? What problems can you diagnose? Which tools and systems do you know? What responsibilities have you taken on beyond your basic job description? Write those answers down. You may discover that you have valuable experience you've never properly communicated on paper.

Your CV should do more than tell an employer where you've worked. It should show them what you know, what you can do and the value you could bring to their team.

At Bilnor Staffing Solutions, we understand the importance of matching the right skills and experience to the right opportunity. Give your CV the attention it deserves, keep your information accurate and make your practical experience count.