10 Digital Skills Examples for Students
Students often look for digital skills examples to add to their resume or job application. You may have many of these skills already, or you could intentionally develop them at school to boost your job prospects.
Based on careful analysis of employer demand for skills held by college graduates, here is a list of the top 10 digital skills examples for students.
1. Microsoft Excel
Graduate recruiters generally expect new hires to be able to use spreadsheet software such as Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets. Workbooks are still a common way for businesses to organize, analyze, and share digital information.
For a resume or job application, list any Excel courses completed and describe the skill in terms of what you can actually do with a workbook.
Skilled in Microsoft Excel, including formulas, filters, and charts. Able to organize spreadsheet data, find patterns, and prepare simple reports from raw information.
Used Microsoft Excel to clean survey data, organize responses, create pivot tables, and prepare summary charts for a student research project.
2. AI Prompt Writing
AI prompting skills are essential in an office environment to speed up your work or improve the quality. Job advertisements increasingly include requirements such as generative AI, AI literacy, prompt engineering, ChatGPT, and Microsoft Copilot. According to NACE, more than one-third of entry-level jobs now require AI skills.
As a student wanting to demonstrate AI skills, you need to make the mental shift from perhaps covering up your use of AI for schoolwork to explaining your proficiency. Good AI use means writing clear prompts, checking the output, improving weak responses, and knowing when human judgment is needed.
Proficient in AI prompt writing for research support, document drafting, summarization, and workflow planning. Able to refine AI outputs and check generated responses for accuracy.
Used ChatGPT to summarize research notes, compare source material, build an assignment outline, and improve draft sections before final editing.
3. Video Conferencing
Video conferencing is important because remote meetings are now part of study and office life. A new recruit should be able to join smoothly, use the main controls, share a screen, and participate without technical disruption.
You can demonstrate video conferencing ability by showing that you know how to present yourself professionally in a live online setting. A strong example shows that you can prepare before a meeting, contribute at the right time, and follow up afterward.
Proficient in video conferencing using Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet. Able to join meetings, share screens, manage basic controls, and participate professionally in online discussions.
Used Microsoft Teams for a college group project, including video meetings, screen sharing, project updates, and follow-up messages after each discussion.
4. Calendar Management
Calendar management is a useful digital skill because office work often depends on meetings being scheduled cleanly. A Microsoft Work Trend Index report found that the average employee spends 57 percent of work time on communication activity.
You can show scheduling ability by creating meeting invites that are clear, complete, and easy to act on. A good calendar entry includes the right attendees, time zone, video link, agenda, and supporting documents.
Proficient in calendar management using Outlook and Google Calendar. Able to schedule meetings, manage invites, add video links, and share supporting documents.
Organized weekly project meetings for a college team using Google Calendar, agenda notes, shared files, and follow-up reminders.
5. Professional Email Skills
Professional email skills are vital because much of office work still happens through written messages. AI can speed up drafting, but a good email still needs judgment, personalization, and restraint.
You can show foundational skills for email on a resume by explaining the kind of communication you can handle.
Proficient in professional email communication using Gmail, Outlook, and AI writing tools. Able to draft concise messages, personalize responses, manage threads, and prepare follow-up emails.
Used professional email skills for a college group project by sending project updates, confirming deadlines, and editing AI-drafted messages before sending.
6. Data Analysis
Data analysis is valued because employers need people who can turn raw information into useful findings. As I wrote in this guide to data analysis careers, “The power of information means businesses are recruiting graduates with skills to generate insights from data.”
You can demonstrate data analysis by showing how you reached a useful conclusion from quantitative evidence. A strong example of beginner skills explains the question you investigated and the pattern you found.
Proficient in data analysis using Excel and dashboard tools. Able to interpret raw data and summarize findings for reports.
Analyzed survey responses for a college project and identified the main factors influencing student satisfaction.
7. Cloud Collaboration
Cloud collaboration is a valued skill because office work now happens inside shared workspaces rather than files passed around by email. An Adobe report found that 48 percent of employees had difficulty finding documents quickly, demonstrating why shared files need to be well managed.
You can demonstrate cloud collaboration skill by showing that you know how to keep shared work usable for a team.
Proficient in cloud collaboration using Google Workspace and Microsoft 365. Able to manage shared files, access, comments, and document versions.
Managed the shared Google Drive folder for a college project, keeping draft files separate from final documents and giving team members the right access.
8. AI-Assisted Writing
Writing remains a core office skill, but the process has changed to increasingly become AI assisted. Many workers use AI to draft reports, summaries, and proposals.
You can demonstrate AI-assisted writing skill by showing that you do more than ask for a generic draft. A good example shows that you can prompt for the right audience, check the facts, cut filler, and make the final version sound human.
Proficient in AI-assisted writing using tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Microsoft Copilot. Able to draft, edit, fact-check, and personalize written content for professional use.
Used AI-assisted writing to draft a report introduction, improve section structure, and refine wording before completing the final edit manually.
9. Presentation Software
Presentation software skills are always in demand because many office tasks end with a slide deck. A manager may ask you to turn research, figures, or project updates into a short presentation for a meeting.
Microsoft PowerPoint, Google Slides, and Canva are commonly used to create visual presentations.
Proficient in presentation software, including Microsoft PowerPoint and Google Slides. Able to turn research findings, data, and project updates into professional slide decks.
Created a PowerPoint presentation for a research project, using summary slides, charts, and speaker notes to explain the main findings.
10. Digital Form Creation
Being able to create digital forms is useful in the workplace. Businesses often need a simple way to collect information without starting long email chains.
Google Forms and Microsoft Forms are commonly used for surveys, registrations, feedback, applications, and internal requests. You can demonstrate digital form creation by showing that you can design a form that produces usable responses.
Proficient in digital form creation using Google Forms and Microsoft Forms. Able to design forms, collect responses, export results, and prepare response data for review.
Created a Google Forms survey for a college project and exported the results to a spreadsheet for analysis.
How We Produced the List of Examples
The list of digital skills examples was developed by comparing a wide range of digital skills against the kinds of tasks students are likely to do in early-career jobs. The team at Lerna Courses:
- started with a long list of digital beginner skills from education, employment, and workplace technology sources.
- added core office skills with a digital dimension, such as spreadsheets, calendar tools, cloud files, and email.
- prioritized foundational skills that employers are likely to value in common graduate tasks.
- favored specific skills that can be described plainly on a resume or job application.
- modernized the list by excluding fading skills and giving more weight to growing areas linked to technology change, especially AI.
