Skills Matching Explained: Required vs. Desired Skills

One of the most valuable insights from CV analysis is understanding which skills you match and which you're missing. But not all missing skills are equally important. Your analysis distinguishes between "required" and "desired" skills, and understanding this difference could significantly impact your job search strategy.

Understanding Skills Categories

Your CV analysis breaks skills into two main categories:

Required Skills

These are skills the job description explicitly marks as "Required," "Essential," or "Must Have."

Characteristics:

• Explicitly mentioned as required in job posting
• Typically non-negotiable
• Often appear early in the requirements section
• Missing them often means automatic rejection

Examples:

• "5+ years of Python experience required"
• "Bachelor's degree in Computer Science required"
• "AWS certification required"

What to do if you're missing them:

• Only apply if you truly have the skill
• Don't fake qualifications
• Consider this a major gap
• If you have similar but different skill: reframe it
• If you're missing entirely: reconsider this job

Desired/Preferred Skills

These are skills marked as "Preferred," "Nice-to-have," "a Plus," or "Desired."

Characteristics:

• Nice to have but not deal-breakers
• Usually appear after required section
• Interviewer might ask about them
• Missing them is not disqualifying

Examples:

• "Experience with Docker preferred"
• "Familiarity with Agile methodologies a plus"
• "Master's degree preferred"

What to do if you're missing them:

• Missing is okay; don't force it
• If you have related experience: mention it
• You can still be a strong candidate
• Focus on required skills first

How to Identify Each Type in Your Analysis

In your RankMyCv analysis, you'll see:

Matched Keywords (Skills You Have) These appear under "Matched Keywords" and can be:

• Required or preferred (both count as matched)
• Both are assets that strengthen your candidacy
• Highlight these prominently

Missing Keywords (Skills You Don't Have) These appear under "Missing Keywords" and include:

• Missing required skills (critical gaps)
• Missing preferred skills (minor gaps)

Your analysis clearly marks which category each missing skill falls into.

The Red Flag: Missing Required Skills

If you're missing multiple required skills, this is a red flag.

Single Missing Required Skill

• Score impact: Significant (10-20 point reduction)
• Interview impact: Will likely come up
• Action: Assess honestly if you have related skills that could transfer
• Decision: Only apply if you can reframe existing experience

Multiple Missing Required Skills (2+)

• Score impact: Major (20-40 point reduction)
• Interview impact: Will be obvious you're not qualified
• Action: Serious reconsideration needed
• Decision: Skip this job unless willing to major CV overhaul

Example: Job requires: Python, SQL, PostgreSQL You have: Python only Missing: SQL, PostgreSQL (both required)

Score: Probably 55-65% - not worth applying unless you can add more.

The Opportunity: Missing Preferred Skills

Missing preferred skills is much less serious.

One Missing Preferred Skill

• Score impact: Minimal (5-10 point reduction)
• Interview impact: Might be asked about it
• Action: If relevant, mention related experience
• Decision: Apply with confidence

Multiple Missing Preferred Skills (3+)

• Score impact: Moderate (10-20 point reduction)
• Interview impact: Shows you have 80%+ of ideal profile
• Action: This is normal and acceptable
• Decision: Apply confidently

Example: Job prefers: Docker, Kubernetes, CI/CD pipeline experience You don't have any of these But you have all required skills

Result: You're still competitive. You're 100% qualified for core needs, just missing "nice-to-haves."

Hard Skills vs. Soft Skills

Your missing skills might fall into two categories:

Hard Skills

Technical, measurable abilities

• Examples: Python, SQL, AWS, Photoshop, MATLAB
• More critical in most technical roles
• Easier to verify (test, portfolio, etc.)
• Harder to fake (people will know immediately)
• Importance: Usually required or preferred in job posting

If missing hard skills:

• Required: Very serious gap
• Preferred: Still acceptable if you have core hard skills

Soft Skills

Personal qualities and abilities

• Examples: Leadership, communication, time management, problem-solving
• Important but harder to measure
• Easier to learn than hard skills
• Easier to demonstrate in interview
• Can be reframed using different terminology

If missing soft skills:

• Required: Show evidence from past experience
• Preferred: Don't worry much; these are expected
• Action: Mention examples from your background

The Skill Gap Spectrum

Tier 1: Perfect Match (All Skills Present)

• All required: ✓
• Most preferred: ✓
• Your score: 85-100%
• Action: Apply immediately
• Confidence: Very high

Tier 2: Strong Match (Missing Only Minor Skills)

• All required: ✓
• Some preferred: ✗
• Your score: 75-85%
• Action: Apply confidently
• Confidence: High

Tier 3: Good Match (Missing Minor Required Skill)

• Most required: ✓
• One or two required: ✗ (but reframeable)
• Your score: 65-75%
• Action: Apply if you can address the gap
• Confidence: Moderate

Tier 4: Weak Match (Missing Major Required Skills)

• Some required: ✓
• Multiple required: ✗
• Your score: Below 65%
• Action: Reconsider unless major CV improvement possible
• Confidence: Low

How to Address Missing Skills

Approach 1: You Have the Skill But Didn't List It

This is your biggest opportunity.

If your analysis says you're missing a skill, but you actually have it:

• Add it to your "Skills" section
• Mention it in relevant job descriptions
• Add it to your professional summary
• Re-analyze to see score improve

Don't be modest: Make sure your skills are visible.

Approach 2: You Have a Related Skill

Employers often accept related skills as substitutes.

Examples:

• Job wants "C++" but you have "Java" → Transferable
• Job wants "Agile" but you have "Scrum" → Same methodology
• Job wants "PostgreSQL" but you have "MySQL" → Relational database knowledge transfers

How to address:

• Rewrite job descriptions to emphasize transferable skills
• Show how your skills are relevant
• Mention in cover letter if applying
• Be ready to discuss in interview

Approach 3: You Don't Have It and Can't Easily Transfer

This is where you make a strategic decision.

If it's preferred (nice-to-have):

• Acknowledge the gap
• Explain what related skills you have
• Express willingness to learn
• Apply anyway if overall fit is good

If it's required:

• Only apply if you can legitimately learn it quickly
• Or if you're willing to take a risk (long shot)
• Or if job description is unclear about requirement
• Don't lie or exaggerate

Approach 4: Building Missing Skills

For gaps you'll encounter repeatedly:

1. Identify patterns - Which skills appear in most target jobs?
2. Prioritize - Which would have most impact on your candidacy?
3. Learn - Take online courses (Coursera, Udemy, LinkedIn Learning)
4. Practice - Build projects using the new skills
5. Document - Add to your CV with evidence
6. Re-apply - Target those jobs with new skills

Timeline: Most technical skills take 1-6 months to develop basic competency.

Advanced: Skills-Based Job Matching

Use skills analysis to guide your job search strategy:

Step 1: Analyze 5 Similar Target Jobs Analyze your CV against each one.

Step 2: Identify Common Patterns

• Which skills appear in all/most of them?
• Which skills are you consistently missing?
• Which skills are you consistently matching?

Step 3: Prioritize Development

• Skills appearing in 80%+ of jobs: High priority
• Skills appearing in 50% of jobs: Medium priority
• Skills appearing in <50% of jobs: Lower priority

Step 4: Update Your CV Emphasize the high-priority skills more prominently.

Example Analysis: Analyzed 5 software engineer jobs:

• Python: 100% required (you have)
• AWS: 80% required (you're missing)
• Docker: 60% required (you're missing)
• Leadership: 40% required (you don't have)

Conclusion: Learning AWS would help for 4 of 5 jobs. This should be your learning priority.

Addressing Skills in Your Interview

When you're missing a required or preferred skill:

In the Interview

Don't:

• Pretend you have skills you don't
• Exaggerate your competency level
• Hope they don't ask about it

Do:

• Be honest about what you can and can't do
• Mention related skills that transfer
• Express genuine willingness to learn
• Show you can learn quickly (examples from past)
• Ask what's most critical about this skill for the role

Why Being Honest Matters

• They'll likely test your knowledge
• Exaggeration becomes obvious in conversation
• Honesty + willingness to learn is better than fake expertise
• Shows integrity

Skills Development Resources

For common required skills:

Programming Languages:

• Courses: Coursera, Udemy, Codecademy
• Practice: LeetCode, HackerRank
• Projects: GitHub portfolio

Cloud Platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP):

• Courses: Official certification courses
• Practice: Free tier accounts
• Projects: Build sample projects

Data Tools (SQL, Tableau, Power BI):

• Courses: DataCamp, Udacity
• Practice: Kaggle datasets
• Projects: Portfolio projects

Soft Skills (Leadership, Communication):

• Courses: Coursera, edX
• Practice: Toastmasters, networking groups
• Evidence: Volunteer leadership roles

The Bottom Line

• Required skills: Critical. Focus on these first.
• Preferred skills: Nice to have. Don't stress if missing.
• Related skills: Can often substitute. Highlight the connection.
• Completely missing: Be honest and willing to learn.

Don't apply for jobs where you're missing multiple core required skills. Do apply when you have required skills but are missing some preferred ones.

Ready to understand your skill gaps? Analyze your CV → - See exactly which skills match and which are missing for your target role.