Resume Skills: What to Include and How to Show Them
The skills section helps recruiters and applicant tracking systems see quickly whether you match the job. Here is how to choose the right skills and make them believable.
A strong skills section is short, specific and relevant to the job. It is not a list of every tool you have ever used. The best skills sections repeat the most important requirements from the job posting, but only those you can genuinely demonstrate.
Hard skills and soft skills
Hard skills
Teachable, measurable abilities specific to a job: software, tools, methods, languages, certifications and technical knowledge.
- SQL
- QuickBooks
- Phlebotomy
- Forklift operation
- Adobe InDesign
- Spanish (fluent)
Soft skills
Interpersonal and work-style abilities that apply across roles. They matter, but they are more convincing when shown in your experience than when listed.
- Communication
- Problem-solving
- Leadership
- Adaptability
- Time management
- Teamwork
In the skills section, lead with hard skills. Use your experience bullets to prove soft skills: "Trained 6 new hires" shows leadership better than the word "leadership".
How to choose the right skills
Read the job posting
Highlight every skill, tool and qualification mentioned. Note which ones appear more than once or in the "required" list.
Match them to your experience
Keep only those you have actually used and could discuss in an interview.
Use the employer's wording
If the posting says "Microsoft Excel" and you wrote "spreadsheets", use their term. This helps both recruiters and keyword searches.
Group and trim
Keep 6 to 15 skills. If you have more, group them under short labels such as Technical, Tools and Languages.
The job description matcher can help with step 1 and 2. It compares a posting with your resume in your browser and shows which keywords appear.
Stay truthful
Only add a skill or qualification if it accurately reflects your experience. Interviewers often ask about the skills you list.
Skills examples by job type
| Job type | Hard skill examples | Soft skill examples |
|---|---|---|
| Software engineering | Python, JavaScript, SQL, REST APIs, Git, AWS, automated testing | Code review, cross-team collaboration, mentoring |
| Healthcare | Patient assessment, EHR (Epic, Cerner), medication administration, BLS/ACLS | Compassion, calm under pressure, patient education |
| Customer service | CRM software (Zendesk, Salesforce), ticketing, billing systems, typing speed | Active listening, de-escalation, patience |
| Sales | Salesforce, pipeline management, cold outreach, contract negotiation | Relationship building, persuasion, resilience |
| Marketing | SEO, Google Analytics, email platforms, content strategy, paid social | Creativity, storytelling, stakeholder management |
| Finance and accounting | GAAP, reconciliations, Excel (pivot tables, XLOOKUP), ERP systems, forecasting | Attention to detail, integrity, deadline management |
| Administration | Microsoft 365, calendar management, travel booking, minute taking | Discretion, organization, multitasking |
| Education | Lesson planning, classroom technology, differentiated instruction, assessment | Classroom management, parent communication, empathy |
| Warehouse and logistics | Forklift certification, RF scanners, WMS software, inventory control | Reliability, safety awareness, teamwork |
| Design | Adobe Creative Cloud, Figma, typography, brand systems, prototyping | Visual communication, feedback handling, collaboration |
For complete examples in context, browse the resume examples. Each one includes a skills list for that role.
How to format your skills section
- Use a clear heading: Skills, Technical Skills or Core Competencies
- List skills as short phrases, not sentences
- Group related skills under labels when you have more than 8 to 10
- Avoid skill bars, stars or percentages. They are hard to interpret and applicant tracking systems cannot read them
- Add a proficiency level for languages, such as native, fluent or conversational
Show your skills in your experience
A skill listed with no evidence is a claim. A skill used in an achievement is proof. Try to connect your top three skills to at least one bullet each:
- SQLWrote SQL queries to combine sales and inventory data, cutting weekly reporting time from 6 hours to 1.
- De-escalationResolved escalated billing complaints, keeping customer satisfaction above 92% on difficult calls.
- LeadershipLed a team of 8 warehouse associates on the night shift, meeting daily shipping targets for 12 straight months.
Skills to leave off
- Basic skills expected of everyone, such as "email" or "internet browsing", unless the job specifically asks for them
- Outdated software nobody uses any more
- Skills unrelated to the job that take space from relevant ones
- Anything you would not be comfortable being tested on
Ready to add your skills? The resume builder lets you group skills, reorder them and preview how they look on your chosen template.
Put this into practice: build your resume free with ATS-friendly templates. No signup required.
Build My Resume — FreeFrequently asked questions
How many skills should I put on my resume?
Usually between 6 and 15. Enough to cover the main requirements of the job without burying the important ones.
Where should the skills section go?
For most resumes, after work experience and education. For technical roles, career changers and hybrid resumes, it can go near the top, just under the summary.
Should I list soft skills?
You can list a few that the job posting emphasizes, but prove them in your experience bullets. A list of soft skills on its own carries little weight.
Do skills help with applicant tracking systems?
Many systems let recruiters search for keywords, so including relevant skills in the employer's wording can help your resume appear in searches. Never add keywords you do not actually have.
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