> Seeing "Proficient with Microsoft Office" on a CV for me is a bit of a red flag; highlighting another job skill is probably a better use of space, at the very

> Seeing "Proficient with Microsoft Office" on a CV for me is a bit of a red flag; highlighting another job skill is probably a better use of space, at the very least. Well, it shouldn't. The candidate does not know what kind of checkbox exercise their CV ends up on, so they should not be penalized for trying to cover weird edge-cases. True story: I once applied for a 'ranked' job which needed me to "prove" IT skills. By that point I had a masters in advanced computer science (with specialization in machine learning). The scoring for the job went as follows: - Demonstrates IT skills proficiency via European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL): 2 points - Demonstrates IT skills proficiency via other means: 1 point. - No IT skills demonstrated: 0 points. I scored 1 point. Given the competitive nature of this process, apparently that single point cost me about 1000 places down in the rankings, so I got none of the positions that interested me the most. According to the infinite wisdom of the recruitment checklist, being able to program your own word suite was pittance compared to being able to type in one. I literally had to drag my ass to the nearest public library, subscribe to, and actually ATTEND (due to mandatory attendance) an ECDL course for the next 6 months, just so I could score more highly in the next round of job applications.