sample resume for skills

100 Good Skills to Put on a Resume [Complete Guide]

Jeff Gillis 0 Comments

By Jeff Gillis

Updated 6/4/2022.

When you’re adding skills to a resume, you don’t just want to focus on what you’re good at. Instead, relevancy has to be part of the equation. After all, every job you’re trying to land requires a very specific skill set, one that you need to show that you have.

Choosing the skills to put on a resume when you’re applying to a role isn’t something you should do haphazardly. Instead, you want to use the job description, company mission, and company values as a guide, creating a sense of alignment.

Additionally, it never hurts to have a handy list of skills by your side, making it easier to explore your options. So, if you’re on the hunt for good skills to put on a resume, here’s what you need to know.

Hard Skills vs. Soft Skills

There are two basic types of skillsets that a job seeker can have and include on their resume: hard skills or soft skills.

Hard skills are the skills or abilities for a resume that are easily quantifiable…that can be learned through classroom work, apprenticeships, or other forms of learning. These include things like operating tools, computer programming, speaking foreign languages, or different kinds of technical prowess.

Soft skills are more subjective and harder to quantify and are often grouped together by what we know as “people skills.” Some examples of soft skills include communication, relationship building, self-awareness, and patience.

Which Skills Are More Important?

The debate rages on about which of these two types of skills is more important.

According to executive consultant and Forbes contributor Naz Beheshti , “…There is an ongoing debate about the relative importance of soft and hard skills that imply a competition between the two. However, they are both necessary and complementary to one another.”

On the one hand, job seekers with proficiency in a specific hard skill may get hired more quickly. Many employers want to hire people that can deliver value with fewer resources (ex., the need for training, etc.), making hard skills their priority.

However, we are also seeing that many hiring managers are choosing to hire candidates with highly developed soft skills.

In the end, as Indeed puts it, “soft skills are necessary to create a positive and functional work environment.” Plus, hiring managers feel that they can always train the candidate in the hard skill that is required to complete the job, but soft skills are often skills that cannot necessarily be taught.

So, what does this mean for you? Mainly that you can’t simply just pick one or the other and cross your fingers. Instead, the best strategy is to take a balanced approach and make sure that your resume contains both hard and soft skills.

How Do You Choose the Skills to List on a Resume?

Here’s the deal; there’s a good chance you know what you’re good at in a professional sense. Often, you can use your experience, duties, training, and education as a guide, giving you a strong foundation. Then, it’s about diving a bit deeper, looking at traits that could help you stand out, and comparing it all to the job description.

By using a simple process, you can make progress faster. Here’s a quick way to get started.

1. Make a List of the Skills You Know You Have

As mentioned above, the easiest way to get a grip on your current skills is to reflect on your academic and professional experiences. Consider the tasks you’ve taken on, the training you’ve completed, and the courses you had in school. In most cases, that’ll give you some solid ideas about your hard skills.

After that, it’s time for soft skills. Here, you want to think of traits or capabilities that help you engage with others and navigate professional relationships. Often, these are reflections of your personality, so use that as a jumping-off point.

2. “Mine” the Job Descriptions for Must-Have Skills

The next step is to take a look at the job description for the position you are applying for and make a list of the required skills it includes. Then, compare it to your capabilities. Are any of the skills on both of the lists you just created? If so, these are must-haves for your resume.

Now, notice if there are any skills on the job description that you don’t have. If there aren’t any, great!

But if there are…don’t panic. There are things you can do, which we’ll dig into shortly.

If you’re dealing with a vague job description, you aren’t stuck either. Here is a link to a ton of job descriptions that can give you an idea of the skills needed.

3. Tailor Your Skills to the Company/Position

As you may have read in our other blog articles, it is always very important to “tailor” your resume to the company and position you want to land. For an in-depth look into how to make that happen, check out our Tailoring Method article. 

If you want a quick overview, the idea is to focus on capabilities the company wants to find. Every job requires a unique skill set, and you want to show you have it. As a result, it is absolutely essential that skills from the job description make an appearance on your resume.

However, you also want to dig deeper. Spend some more time researching the company, including going through all of their various web properties, such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube pages.

Why? Because they will leave clues about the types of people they hire. That gives you more ideas about the best skills to put on a resume to land a job there, particularly when it comes to soft skills you may not find in a job description.

100 Resume Skills Examples

If you’re struggling with coming up with a list of skills based on your past experience, it can be easier if you have existing resume skills lists to work with. You don’t have to think up every possible skill; you can simply review the list and find the matches.

Here is a list of resume skills examples, divided into hard skills and soft skills, that you can use when applying for a job.

Hard Skills for a Resume

• Advanced Bookkeeping
• Appointment Setting
• Automotive Repair
• Cold Calling
• Computer Programming
• Conversion Testing
• Copywriting
• Customer Engagement
• Customer Service
• Data Analysis
• Digital Marketing
• Electrical Engineering
• Environmental Cleanup
• Forklift Operating
• Graphic Design
• Heavy Machinery Operation
• Installation
• Landscaping
• Mathematics
• Medical Coding
• Paid Online Traffic
• Patient Care
• Photo Editing
• Picking and Packing
• Project Management
• Schedule Management
• Search Engine Optimization
• Server Maintenance
• Social Media
• Spanish Fluency
• Statistical Analysis
• Systems Analysis
• Technical Support
• Telecommunications Systems
• Travel Booking
• Video Editing
• Website Design
• Word Processing

Soft Skills for a Resume

• Accountability
• Active Listening
• Adaptability
• Brainstorming
• Business Etiquette
• Collaboration
• Communication
• Conflict Resolution
• Contextualizing
• Critical Thinking
• Decision Making
• Emotional Intelligence
• Flexibility
• Goal-Setting
• Handling Pressure
• Influencing
• Insightfulness
• Interpreting
• Negotiation
• Open-Mindedness
• Organization
• Prioritization
• Problem Solving
• Relationship Building
• Reliability
• Resource Management
• Responsibility
• Self-Confidence
• Strategical Thinking
• Strong Work Ethic
• Time Management

What If I Don’t Have the Required Skill?

Whether you need to possess a specific skill depends on the job and the skill in question. Usually, here’s where you have to be honest with yourself. If the skills required are part of the core competencies of doing the job, you may want to reconsider your application.

For example, if a golf course posts a job posting for a golf pro, you probably shouldn’t apply if you’ve never swung a golf club.

However, you will come across situations where what you bring to the table is close. In this case, moving forward might be okay.

You need to be able to demonstrate, using examples from your past, that you are capable of doing the required skill, even if you haven’t specially done it. So, go over your work history with a fine-tooth comb and try to come up with a few examples of you doing something in the right ballpark.

They are going to ask about it in your interview, so don’t think you can just wing it, and everything will be fine.

Also, many job descriptions have “nice-to-have” skills on the list. If you happen to possess them, great. But if not, don’t assume you shouldn’t apply if you have the must-have skills. In the end, those capabilities aren’t outright requirements, so don’t screen yourself out based on them.

How To List Skills on a Resume

There are a few different schools of thought when it comes to deciding where to put (or how to list) the skills on your resume.

According to our friends over at online resume-builder Zety.com , “…skills are so very, very important that they should show up all over your resume. Not just in the resume skills section.” In other words, it is imperative that there are elements of your skills throughout your resume, including your resume objective/summary and experience sections.

In addition, there isn’t one right answer for where to include your skill section because that depends on the industry, company, and position you’re trying to land. For example, for a job where technical competencies are of the utmost importance, it is often beneficial to list the skills closer to the top of the resume, right underneath the resume objective or resume summary statement.

However, if through your research you determine that the hiring manager will put more weight into your experience, you may want to lead with your experience. Then, put the skills section further down your resume.

At the end of the day, the selection of the skills themselves is the most important thing. After all, most hiring managers will easily find your skill section regardless of where it is on your resume.

What About Skills for My Job Application?

When you’re looking for skills to put on a job application, you do have to treat it a little differently than skills for a resume. Usually, you’re working with a finite amount of space on an application, not just in an overall sense but in each applicable section.

Since that’s the case, you need to lean heavily on the job description. Look for any capabilities that are listed as must-haves or that are repeated through the job ad. Then, make sure those skills are featured prominently in several areas, including in work history descriptions and skills areas.

If you have to answer essay questions, discuss those skills there, too, whenever possible. Use any other relevant capability as a supplement, treating it as supporting information instead of the primary point you’re sharing.

However, if an essay question asks about a skill that’s not in the job description, feel free to dig in a bit. It’s a capability that’s clearly on the hiring manager’s mind, so touch on it occasionally to show you shine in that area.

Putting It All Together

If you were wondering, “What are some good skills to put on a resume?” you should now have a solid answer. The most important thing to remember is to select skills that are relevant to the position you are interviewing for and, more important than that, skills that your company puts a tremendous amount of value in.

Once you get your skills straightened out, you should make sure that the rest of your resume is congruent with the skills you just selected, namely, that your experience shows that you both used those skills in a work environment and developed the skill with on-the-job tasks.

Co-founder and CTO of TheInterviewGuys.com. Jeff is a featured contributor delivering advice on job search, job interviews and career advancement, having published more than 50 pieces of unique content on the site , with his work being featured in top publications such as INC , ZDnet , MSN and more.

Learn more about The Interview Guys on our About Us page .

About The Author

Jeff gillis.

Co-founder and CTO of TheInterviewGuys.com. Jeff is a featured contributor delivering advice on job search, job interviews and career advancement, having published more than 50 pieces of unique content on the site , with his work being featured in top publications such as INC , ZDnet , MSN and more. Learn more about The Interview Guys on our About Us page .

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The Right Way to Add Skills to Your Resume in 2023 (With 250+ Example Skills)

Stripped down to the core, the most important thing to show employers in any job search is your skills.

Everything in your application and candidacy comes down to your skills: Your past experience shows how you’ve used your skills to help other employers, your interview shows you understand what skills an employer is looking for and proves you have both the hard and soft skills needed to work well as part of their company, and your skills test…well it’s right in the name. Even checking your references—that’s just asking other people to vouch for how you’ve used your skills in the past.

If you’ve heard that employers care about all your interactions throughout the hiring process—like how you’ve greeted receptionists, how you’ve answered emails, and whether or not you sent that thank you note —that’s true, and it’s because these things show off your communication , interpersonal , and other professional skills.

Skills matter. And your first encounter with most employers is going to be via your resume. So how you put skills on your resume can make or break your job search.

Here’s everything you need to know.

Hard vs. soft skills

There are two major categories of skills:

• Hard skills are the abilities or knowledge you need to complete specific work tasks. For example writing software code, driving a specific kind of vehicle, and scheduling social media posts are all hard skills.
• Soft skills are the traits and qualities that categorize how you work and relate to the people you work with. For example, managing your time well, motivating others, and being curious are all soft skills.

For any job, you’ll need a mix of soft and hard skills—and you’ll want to show them both on your resume. Hard skills are fairly clear cut: You either have them or you don’t. They’re also easier than soft skills to prove that you possess—and to add to a resume. Meanwhile, soft skills are a bit more open to interpretation—for example, everyone’s definition of a good leader is different. But you can still show them on your resume if you use the right techniques.

Read More:   Hard Skills vs. Soft Skills: What the Heck Is the Difference?

Top skills for your resume

Every resume will need skills that are specific to the job you want. For example, to be a software engineer you’ll need coding skills. But here are some of the types of skills that can be valuable for any job or industry:

1. Communication skills

Whether you’re a teacher interacting with students all day, a copywriter making sure you understand the needs of a given project, or an employee working in any other role, you’re going to need to give and receive information. Employers are always looking for those who can communicate clearly and effectively—in writing , in person, or over the phone, email, or any other platform.

Read More: Your Communication Skills Matter for Every Job—Here’s How to Use, Improve, and Show Off Yours

2. Time management skills

Time is a social construct, but unfortunately it’s one we’ve all more or less agreed on. Every job will require you to get tasks done on time, show up for scheduled meetings and events, and organize your schedule effectively. If you’re applying to a role with many different responsibilities or one where you’ll be managing or collaborating with a team, time management skills are even more vital to ensure that you’re hitting goals.

Read More: These Time Management Skills Can Make You a Better Employee—and Improve Your Work-Life Balance

3. Organizational skills

Organization is more than just making sure a physical area is well arranged and clean—though it is that too! Organization skills also encapsulate ensuring digital files are accessible, teams are well coordinated, events and projects are efficient, your work is on schedule, and a lot more. Though the type of organization you’ll be doing will vary from job to job, the need to logically arrange and plan is universal.

Read More: Your Guide to Organizational Skills on the Job—and During the Job Hunt

4. Technical skills

Technical skills are the knowledge you need to use a certain piece of technology, equipment, or technique. They’re a subset of hard skills and most jobs will require specific technical know-how to complete core tasks. However, there are also broader technical skills that are useful for all or many jobs such as the ability to use email, office suite software, and common communication programs like Zoom.

Read More: What Are Technical Skills and How Should You Include Them On Your Resume? (Plus a List of Examples)

5. Computer skills and literacy

Technology is constantly changing, and of course you can’t know how to use any new feature or piece of software immediately after it comes out. But if you can show employers that you have digital literacy, they’ll be confident in your ability to quickly adapt to new technology and troubleshoot basic computer issues.

Read More: Computer Skills You’ll Need in the Workplace—and How to Show Them Off on a Job Search

6. Management and leadership skills

You don’t need to be an executive or anyone’s boss to need management and leadership skills. These are the skills that help you plan, coordinate, motivate (both yourself and others), and complete any project or initiative. They also help you hit long-term goals and allocate resources well.

Read More: How to Improve Your Management Skills (and Show Them Off in a Job Search)

7. Analytical skills

Lots of jobs have the word “analyst” right in the title, but these skills aren’t just for them. Analytical skills cover any of the skills you need to take in or gather information, organize and synthesize it, and use it to make decisions or predictions.

Read More: No, Analytical Skills Aren’t Just for Analysts—Here’s How to Show Yours Off in a Job Search

8. Interpersonal skills

These are the skills that help you work, communicate, and build relationships with others. Employers are always looking for people with strong interpersonal skills like empathy, persuasion, and conflict resolution because it allows them to work well as part of a team. Employees with good interpersonal skills are better at resolving and avoiding issues with others, which helps keep companies working efficiently. For jobs where you’d be working with clients or customers, interpersonal skills are especially important to help drive business and uphold a company’s reputation.

Read More: How Strong Interpersonal Skills Can Help You at Work—and in Your Job Search

9. Problem-solving skills

Most roles are created to solve a problem the company is facing—whether it’s broad like “we need more business” or specific like “we need an expert in Javascript who has experience boosting page-load speed to make our web pages more appealing to the Google algorithm.” Even if a job feels like it’ll follow a set daily routine, issues are still going to pop up, and employers are more likely to hire people who can spot and identify potential or ongoing problems, communicate those problems, look for causes, brainstorm solutions, and/or implement them. 

Read More: How to Improve Your Problem-Solving Skills (and Show Them Off in Your Job Hunt)

10. Decision-making skills

Many jobs require you to make choices all the time. For example, picking a new vendor for office supplies, making cuts to a budget, deciding to bring other people in to solve an issue, or prioritizing work tasks on your to-do list all require decision-making skills. Employers want to know you can identify options, weigh the pros and cons, and choose a path in a logical way.

Read More: You’ll Need Decision-Making Skills in Any Job—Here’s How to Get Them, Use Them, and Show Them Off

11. Other transferable skills

Broadly speaking, your transferable skills are any abilities you gained or used in one context that are also helpful in another. Some transferable skills, like the ability to communicate in a second language, pay attention to detail , or manage a project can be useful in almost any job or workplace. But others might be transferable in only certain situations.

For example, maybe you managed the budget for a club in college and now you’re applying to a position where you’d be managing a budget for freelancers. Or maybe you’ve used Excel to do data analysis in the past, but the company you’re applying to uses Excel to track project progress.

As you’re making your resume, don’t discount any of your skills just because you haven’t used them in exactly the same way and context this job opening calls for.

Read More: Transferable Skills: The Key to Landing Your Dream Job

How to list skills on a resume

Here are some tips for making sure anyone who reads your resume comes away with the right impression of what you can do for them if they hire you.

1. Identify which skills belong on your resume.

Recruiters and hiring managers don’t necessarily have a lot of time to devote to looking at your resume for the first time—about 7.4 seconds, according to the most recent data . So your resume has to make it very clear very quickly that you’re qualified for any job you apply to. The best way to do this is to tailor your resume —or change your resume for every application to match the specific requirements and language of the job description . Take a good look at any posting you’re applying to and note any mentions of skills you have. Also, think about any experience or skills you have that might be transferable to the role. These are the skills that belong on your resume.

For soft skills, you might need to read between the lines a bit. Some postings might mention that they’re looking for a skilled multitasker, but you’re not necessarily going to get an explicit list of all the qualities the employer is looking for in a hire. So think about which of your soft skills can help you accomplish the duties of the job. If there’s a lot of mentions of other teams you’ll be working with, for example, you’ll want to emphasize your collaboration abilities in your resume. Or if you’ll be giving a lot of presentations, you might want to highlight your public speaking chops.

And don’t feel like you need to include every skill you have. Scuba diving is a hard skill, but only relevant to very specific jobs. Remember, hiring managers are reviewing your resume with the job you applied for in mind, so keep your skills at least tangentially relevant to avoid a “Wait, why did they apply for this?” reaction.

2. Don’t oversell or undersell your skills.

Before you add skills to your resume, be honest with yourself (and companies you’re applying to) about your ability level. A hiring manager in the finance industry once told Muse writer Lily Zhang that he hated it when people listed skills in their resume and then added the word “basic” in parenthesis next to it. If you only have a basic understanding of something, it may not belong in your skills section. But if you’re saying your skill level is basic just to be modest, maybe don’t do that. Your future employer can’t pick up how humble you are from this document—you’ll just look less qualified than you are.

Hiring managers might also use your skills section to judge how truthful a candidate has been in their application. If a candidate lists a string of 20 programming languages, but only has done projects in one, it’s not a good look. In general, a good rule of thumb is to only include skills you’re comfortable talking about in an interview.

3. Create a skills section.

A skills section is one of the most important parts of your resume. Remember that 7.4-second initial look that you get from recruiters? That’s why the skills section exists. If you’re applying for a role where a certain skill or skill set is absolutely required for consideration, it’s not unusual for the reader to take a little shortcut and scan the skills section of all the resumes submitted to see if they’re there—and only look at those more intently.

Generally, your skills section is a list of the skills you have without any additional context. If you have a lot of skills to list, consider grouping your skills to make the section even easier to scan. For example, a web developer may have a “design skills” and a “coding skills” subheading within their skills section.

Note that your skills section is usually reserved for hard skills over soft skills.

4. Put your skills section in the right place.

Most commonly, you’ll place your skills section after your work experience section, toward the bottom of the page. But in certain situations , you may decide to put it elsewhere—most commonly near the top of the page just after your heading or your summary (if you have one). You might do this if:

• You’re using a hybrid resume format. As opposed to the more common chronological resume , a hybrid resume puts your skills at the top of the page along with some additional context around how you’ve used your skills.
• You’re in a career where skills sections commonly go at the top of the page. For example, product management resumes often list skills before experience. Look for example resumes for your field to see if they have any specific quirks
• You’re changing or pivoting careers. If your previous job titles might make someone reading your resume assume you applied to the wrong position, consider putting your skills section first. Career pivots and transitions are often dependent on transferable skills or skills you’ve picked up outside of your main work experience. (For career changes, you should probably also lead with a resume summary to help clear up any confusion.)
• You’re in any other situation where your skills boost your qualifications more than your past work experience. For example, if you’ve recently graduated, you may choose to put your skills ahead of your experience (though often after your education section) rather than have a reader comb through your internships, part-time jobs, and extracurriculars looking for what you can do.

5. Show how you’ve used your skills in your bullet points.

Anyone can list skills in a skills section. To really prove that you have them, you need to show how you’ve used your skills in the past—and that you’ve gotten results. Your skills section should actually be rather redundant. Ideally, a close read of your experience section should get across all your hard and soft skills.

Rather than just listing job duties under your past positions, phrase your bullet points as accomplishments . Then, add in the skills you used to achieve those accomplishments and what the results were. Inserting numbers when possible will also show anyone reading your resume just how much your skills have done for your past employers.

Tuck soft skills into your bullets rather than adding them to your skills section. Making the first word relate to your soft skills is particularly effective. For example, instead of, “Assisted with annual corporate retreat,” you could write, “Collaborated in a group of four to plan and facilitate annual corporate retreat for 200 employees.” While both bullets describe the same task, only the second one shows that you’re a team player. Instead of, “Attended monthly sales meetings,” you could write, “Presented product insights to 12 clients in monthly sales meetings,” to demonstrate strong communication skills.

For example, here’s a solid bullet point for your resume with the skills bolded:

• Produced and edited three 10-minute “Day in the Life” videos for different jobs at the company; running initial brainstorming meetings for each over Zoom ; coordinating and communicating with 10+ employees for each video using Airtable, Google Calendar, email and Slack ; arranging shot composition, lighting, and sound and overseeing shoots ; editing using Final Cut Pro and Adobe Creative Suite ; and uploading to YouTube resulting in 200K views and a 10x boost in job applications for focus jobs.

All your bullet points don’t need to be this hefty, of course. But it shows just how many skills can go into one professional accomplishment.

6. Include your skills in other resume sections.

Your work experience isn’t the only place you can drop in those skills. You can also weave them into your:

• Resume summary
• Education section (especially if you’re a recent graduate)
• Volunteer section
• Activities section
• Projects section
• Awards section

7. Add certificates, classes, and certifications that prove your skill set.

If you’ve gotten certifications that prove you’re skilled at something, like project management, don’t forget to put that on your resume. If you’ve taken courses to further your professional development, you can add those too—particularly if you haven’t gotten the chance to use all the skills you learned in your day job yet.

8. Use the same language as the job description.

Most employers use applicant tracking systems (ATSs) to parse and organize candidate’s resumes. Hiring managers and recruiters will search ATSs for the most relevant resumes using skills as their search terms. So whenever possible, use the same language as a job description to describe your skills to increase your chances of landing an interview. For example, if a job listing wants experience with project management software, say “project management software” on your resume, not just “Trello.”

List of skills for different jobs

Below are some examples of specific roles you might be applying for and skills that could be appropriate to list, but remember that a job posting is always the best place to find the skills you need for a specific role. To get a more robust list for your specific industry, you can check out O*NET , a resource developed by the U.S. Department of Labor that breaks down occupations by skills, tasks, and activities.

Accountant resume skills

• Accounting software
• ADP Workforce Now
• Analytical software
• Budget forecasting
• Cash flow analysis
• Cost accounting
• Credit/debt management
• Estate planning
• Financial accounting
• Financial compliance
• Financial reporting
• Forensic accounting
• Google Sheets
• Income tax planning
• Intuit QuickBooks
• Management accounting
• Microsoft Excel
• Payroll management
• Reconciliation
• Revenue forecasting
• SPSS Statistics
• Tax preparation

Administrative assistant resume skills

• Administrative support
• Booking travel
• Calendaring
• Customer service
• Google Workspace
• Meeting coordination
• Meeting minutes recording
• Microsoft Office Suite
• Office support
• Proofreading
• Social media management
• Video conferencing software

Back-end developer resume skills

• Application scaling
• Back-end framework
• Back-end programming languages
• Database administration
• Front-end web technologies
• Hosting environment
• Load changes
• Security compliance
• Version control (e.g. Git)

Customer service resume skills

• Account management
• Chat support
• Language skills (spoken and/or written)
• Phone support
• Resolutions

Data scientist resume skills

• Apache Hadoop and Spark
• AWS software
• Data analysis
• Data cleaning
• Data modeling
• Data sampling
• Data structure
• Git and GitHub
• Key libraries
• Scikit-learn
• The MathWorks MATLAB
• UNIX command line

Executive assistant resume skills

• Corporate communications
• Editing and proofreading
• Preparing agendas
• Report generation
• Reviewing contracts

Financial analyst resume skills

• Microsoft Dynamics
• Montgomery Investment Technology FinTools
• Montgomery Investment Technology Utility XL
• Oracle Business Intelligence
• S&P Capital IQ
• SAP software
• SAS Financial Management

Front-end developer resume skills

• Back-end data display
• Dynamic web page design
• Framework templates
• Search engine optimization (SEO)
• Software workflow
• Styling and color design
• Web page creation
• Website content display
• Website navigation optimization

Full-stack engineer resume skills

Graphic designer resume skills.

• Adobe Creative Cloud
• After Effects
• Autodesk AutoCAD
• Data visualization
• Design principles
• Dreamweaver
• Illustrator
• Product Design

Human resource manager resume skills

• Applicant tracking systems (ATS)
• Benefits administration and management
• Benchmarking
• Candidate screening
• Climate surveys
• Conducting background and reference checks
• Conflict resolution and management
• Contract negotiations
• Human resource information systems (HRIS)
• Interviewing
• Legal and regulatory compliance
• Organizational development
• Orientation
• Payroll administration and management
• Performance improvement and management
• Recruitment
• Vendor negotiation
• Writing and posting job descriptions

Marketer resume skills

• Audience building
• Blog writing
• Brand management
• Content creation
• Content marketing
• Conversion rate optimization
• Customer acquisition
• Copywriting
• Demand generation
• Digital marketing
• Email marketing
• Facebook management
• Google Analytics
• Instagram management
• Lead generation
• LinkedIn management
• Marketing automation and technology
• Market research
• Marketo marketing automation
• Power editor
• Project management
• Search engine marketing (SEM)
• Social media
• TikTok management
• Twitter management

Office manager resume skills

• Billing software
• Document management
• Executive support
• Expense reporting
• Facilities management
• Inventory management
• Office supply management
• Payroll processing
• Reports generation
• Vendor management

Product designer resume skills

• Adobe Creative Cloud (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign)
• ADA compliance
• Crashlytics
• Google Design Sprint Method
• Omnigraffle
• Story mapping
• Style guides/Pattern libraries for React
• Ubertesting

Product manager resume skills

• A/B Testing
• Beta testing
• Customer analysis
• Data analytics
• Financial analysis
• Forecasting
• Quality assurance
• Release management
• Risk management
• Roadmapping
• Scrum management
• SWOT analysis
• Troubleshooting
• User research
• UX/UI design

Project manager resume skills

• Change management
• Client communication
• Deployment management
• Development and testing
• Impact assessment
• Microsoft Project
• Process development
• Process improvement
• Project life cycle
• Project management software
• Quality control
• Resource allocation
• Scheduling and planning
• Scope management
• Stakeholder management

Sales resume skills

• Business analysis
• Business development
• Cold calling
• Consultative selling
• Customer relations
• Executive relationships
• Prospecting
• Relationship management

Teacher resume skills

• Blended learning
• Character education
• Classroom management
• Collaborative environments
• Data-driven instruction
• Inclusive classroom
• Interactive classroom
• MAP Testing
• Mystery Math
• Personalized learning
• Remote instruction
• Social-emotional learning
• Student-guided learning

Web developer resume skills

• Application coding
• Command line tools
• Google Angular
• LAMP development
• Object-oriented design
• Responsive design
• Server-Side scripting
• Writing modules

Lily Zhang  also contributed writing, reporting, and/or advice to this article.

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150 Top Skills for Your Resume + How to List Skills in 2024

• Best General Skills

Hard Skills vs. Soft Skills

• How to Include Skills on Your Resume
• Job-Specific Skills
• Skills FAQs

When it comes to your resume skills, the more specific you can get, the better. That’s why we broke down the  most in-demand job skills by career type .

Still, it can be helpful to start by looking at the skills employers generally might be wanting right now.

We analyzed countless job descriptions across all careers and identified 150 of the most sought-after and widely applicable skills you can put on your resume (like this one) in 2024.

Software Engineer Resume

or download as PDF

20 Good Skills to Put on a Resume

While we’re going to give you plenty of job-specific resume skills you can add to your AI cover letter and resume, there are some that work across just about any field. These can add value for candidates who either lack work history or are creating an  entry-level resume .

• Data Analysis
• Problem-solving
• Collaborative
• Detail-oriented
• Written Communication
• Public Speaking
• Critical Thinking
• Multi-tasking
• Interpersonal Skills
• Time Management
• Accountable
• Results-oriented
• Project Management
• Compassionate/ Empathetic

Before we jump into which skills to put on your resume, we need to get some definitions out of the way:

• Hard skills  are the tools and software you use to get your job done. Excel and QuickBooks are examples of hard skills.
• Soft skills  are those that are hard to measure or prove expertise in. “Communication” is a textbook example of a soft skill.

Quickly distinguish between hard and soft skills by asking, “Is there a specific tool or software associated with the skill?” If “yes,” you’re likely dealing with a hard skill. If not, you’re talking about a soft skill.

As we explained earlier, companies often use an ATS to filter out job applicants based on whether they include the right skills on their resumes.

The ATS filters are looking primarily for hard skills; they want to be sure the people they end up hiring know the right tools and software needed to succeed.

This doesn’t necessarily mean you should exclude soft skills from your resume. Why? After the ATS approves your resume, it’s passed on to the human hiring manager. They’ll likely want to see soft skills depending on the kind of industry and role you’re applying to.

Try out this quick guide to determine whether to put soft skills on your resume:

Should I include soft skills on my resume?

If you answer “yes” to any of these questions, you should likely include soft skills on your resume (we’ll detail how in the next section). 

• Technical roles are those primarily dominated by hard skills (software engineering, data science, accounting, etc.)
• Just listing soft skills on your resume isn’t as impactful as  showing how you used them to do your job .
• For example, if you’re in sales or customer service, you need the ability to communicate persuasively with customers!

Examples of hard skills according to industry

• Predictive Modeling (Finance)
• eQUEST (Energy)
• Crop Rotation (Agriculture)
• eZee Frontdesk (Hospitality)
• Google Classroom (Education)
• X-ray Diagnostics (Healthcare)
• Mailchimp (Marketing)
• AutoCAD (Engineering)

Examples of soft skills

• Self-starter
• Conflict Resolution
• Attentive to Details

How to List Skills on Your Resume

Now that you know whether you should put hard skills, soft skills, or a combination on your resume, how do you actually include them?

• When it comes to your resume skills, the presentation can matter just as much as the content! 
• Before we get to structure,  a word of warning :

Don’t list too many skills  in your skills section! While it’s all right to dump all sorts of skills into your  resume outline , it’s a big red flag to the hiring manager if they see a resume where an applicant lists 15+ skills.

First, it might mean the applicant is exaggerating their skillset (a big no-no). Second, a hiring manager would rather hire someone who’s a master of a few skills than a novice in many.

Different  resume formats  may display your skills in various ways, but regardless of the layout you choose,  there are three places you should mention your most important skills : 

• In your resume objective or resume summary (if you include this section)
• In a dedicated “skills” section on your resume
• In your work experience or projects ( show how you used your skills to do your job)

Your resume objective should only be two to three sentences , so you should include your top one to two skills most relevant to the job you’re applying for here. In addition to our objective sample below, we’ve got plenty more great examples of how to mention your best skills in your  resume objective  or  resume summary .

Organized, considerate administrative assistant with a history of remaining cool under high-pressure situations where multiple priorities are managed. Genoa Telepsychiatry is doing invaluable work for underserved housing populations, and I would be an asset in enabling Ms. Garcia to focus on that mission by alleviating her organizational burden.

How to organize skills on your resume

When it comes to skills for a resume, there are a couple of ways you can structure them:

• By skill category (technology type, soft skills vs. hard skills)
• Experience level

These kinds of breakdowns aren’t mandatory. You can just list all of your skills in your skills section, provided you keep the number to under 10.

First,  you can break up your skills by category . This is most appropriate if you’re applying for a technical role since you can group different technologies you use by type.

For example, as a data analyst, you might want to divide your skills by the different facets of your job (programming, modeling, and data visualization).

This breakdown of your skills can also work well if soft skills are your biggest strength. For example, you can chunk your soft skills into categories like leadership, customer service, communication, etc.

Another way to classify your skills on your resume is by your experience level . Convey your expertise either in terms of years of expertise with that skill or by a rating you choose (beginner, intermediate, expert, for instance).

Here’s an example of this skills breakdown in action:

And again, you can also just list all of your skills without categories like the example below if there are fewer than 10:

Let your work experience vouch for your job skills

Now that you’ve got your top one to two skills in your resume objective and a dedicated skills section, it’s time to talk about how you’ve used your skills in your previous roles and projects.

This is especially important for soft skills.  Put yourself in the shoes of the hiring manager .

Does seeing that someone described themselves as “attentive to detail” in their skills section mean much without seeing that skill in action?

It’s much more valuable if you highlight a time you were attentive to detail in a previous job. So, if you’re an administrative assistant, you might say you “re-organized thousands of customer contacts in HubSpot without losing any customer data.”

Remember, it’s one thing to say you have a skill, but  showing your knowledge of that skill in a work or personal project carries far more weight  in the eyes of the hiring manager.

Let’s make this practical with an example: This software engineer lists NodeJS and Django in her resume skills list.

This won’t be the last we see of these skills, though. Take a look at this job seeker’s work experience at MarketSmart. For instance, see how she weaves NodeJS into improving CTR? And even her intern experience shows how Django played a role in increasing reporting speed.

Pro tip: Try starting with specific work experience and then work backward to determine which skills you used instead of the other way around.

Regarding technical skills, try to be specific about what you did with the tool/ software you’re describing. Microsoft Excel is a program that can be used for many different applications, for example. Discuss specifically which functionality you used to accomplish your task (pivot tables, vlookups, etc.).

Match your resume skills to the job description

How can you identify the most common skills for the industry or role you’re applying for? The best way is to look at job ads for positions that grab your attention.

Try this two-step process to list skills on your resume:

• Look across 5-10 different job descriptions for roles you’re interested in and identify the 10-15 most common skills in those job listings.
• For each specific role you apply to, choose the 5-7 skills from your list that are most relevant to that job .

Yup, this means you’ll have to  customize your resume  for each role. Customizing your skills section, however, will vault you into the top five percent of applicants and is the quickest way to increase the number of interviews you get!

Let’s walk through an example of how to customize your skills for a specific job.

Say you’re looking for a position as a digital marketer, and after looking at some job descriptions, you notice the most common skills employers are looking for are the following:

• CRM: HubSpot, Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, Pipedrive
• Web Analytics: Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics, Mixpanel, Heap
• General Tools: Microsoft Excel/ Word/ PowerPoint, Google Sheets/ Docs/ Slides
• Optimization: A/B testing, customer segmentation, attribution modeling
• Paid Ads: Facebook, AdWords, LinkedIn, Google Display Network, retargeting
• Social Media: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn
• Email Marketing: Mailchimp, ConvertKit, Drip
• SEO: Content creation, keyword research, backlink building

Now, you’re specifically interested in a digital marketing role at Barnes and Noble with the following job description:

Digital marketing manager

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

• Develop and execute data-driven marketing strategies and campaigns with a strong focus on driving acquisition, engagement, and retention across multiple channels (e.g., SMS, mobile, email, social media, etc.) on time and on budget.
• Aim to generate revenue and deliver on key business objectives, ROI, and KPI targets.
• Own, measure, deliver, and optimize key metrics and reporting on marketing activities across channels and platforms.
• Identify trends and insights, optimize segments, spend, and performance based on data.
• Utilize strong analytical ability to evaluate end-to-end customer experience across multiple channels and customer touchpoints and work cross-functionally to drive qualified traffic, improve conversion, and identify new opportunities to boost user engagement and retention through A/B and multivariate testing.

REQUIREMENTS:

• Minimum 5-7 years of digital marketing experience with a minimum of 3 years demonstrated success in mobile, email, social media, PPC, and SEM marketing from concept to completion with a proven track record of success.
• Results-driven mentality with exceptional detail orientation and knowledge of metrics, A/B testing, and ROI analysis.
• Experience with testing and optimization platforms.
• Strong track record of distilling actionable insights from data to improve multi-channel marketing strategies.
• In-depth familiarity with email service providers and knowledge of marketing automation platforms.
• Solid understanding of website analytics tools (Google Analytics, Amplitude, Appsflyer), email systems (Sailthru, Salesforce Marketing Cloud), and ad-serving tools (Adroll, Facebook.)

Finally, we cross-reference our list of 10-15 skills with the skills this specific job is looking for (underlined above). This leaves us with the remaining five key skills:

• Optimization: A/B Testing, Segmentation
• CRM: Salesforce
• Web Analytics: Google Analytics
• Paid Ads: Facebook
• Social Media: Email Marketing

There you have it! These skills are what will make up your skills list for this specific role. Don’t forget to include the seemingly most essential skills in your resume objective (for this position, we’d say those are optimization and A/B testing) and mention relevant work experience where you used some of these skills.

Remember, it’s important to be truthful about which skills you know and which you don’t. A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself whether you’d be comfortable being interviewed about a skill. If the answer is “yes,” then include it. Otherwise, it’s best to leave it off your resume. 

And for the grand finale to this digital marketing example: Check out how this resume integrates key skills into the career objective, skills section, and work experience.

Digital Marketing Manager Resume

Why this resume works

• Starting with the most obvious section—the skills section—Giselle lists skills important to Barnes & Noble, grouping them in easy-to-read categories.
• Don’t be deterred, even if you lack experience in an area or two! Demonstrating a willingness to learn is highly valuable.
• The work experience section is a prime opportunity to showcase skills in action. Like Giselle, start with active verbs to show how you used skills, software, and tools to impact the company positively. 

Job-Specific Resume Skills

We promised an extensive list of resume skills, organized by profession, and we’re not ones to break our promises!

Below, you’ll find countless role-related skills you can put on your resume, along with informational tidbits for each profession.

Remember that honesty is critical when you  build a resume , so we stand behind a shorter list of genuine skills rather than a slew of half-truths you’ll blush over later in an interview.

Web developer skills for your resume

Web developers build the web apps we interact with in our everyday lives. From banking to transportation to Netflix, it’s hard to find a facet of life that isn’t touched by web development.

We did an  extensive analysis of the top web developer skills  employers are looking for in 2024, and below are the results in order of those most in demand.

Top web developer skills

• JavaScript (React, Angular, Vue)
• SQL (MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQL Server, Oracle)
• Cloud Storage (GCP, AWS, Azure)

Data analyst skills for resume

Companies are currently swimming in large pools of data. Marketing, product, engineering, and executive teams all rely on data to make the most effective decisions in the face of uncertainty.

That’s where data analysts come in. To be a successful data analyst, you need the right skills to clean, organize, visualize, and make actionable recommendations from data.

We analyzed over 100 job openings and determined the  most in-demand data analyst skills  needed to get a data analyst position in 2024. Below are the results in order of the most popular skills.

Top data analyst skills

• Business Intelligence Tools (Tableau, PowerBI, Qlik, Looker)
• Excel/ Google Sheets
• Python (Pandas, Matplotlib, Scikit-learn, Numpy)
• R (Dplyr, ggplot2)

Marketing skills for resume

No matter how great a product or website—unless a successful marketing campaign drives customers to that product, it won’t succeed.

Marketers must strike a balance between creativity and science to reach the right people at the right time to make them customers.

To do this successfully, marketers need a wide range of skills.

Top marketing skills

• CRM: Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, Pipedrive, HubSpot
• Web Analytics: Adobe Analytics, Mixpanel, Heap, Google Analytics
• General Tools: Google Sheets/ Docs/ Slides, Microsoft Excel/ Word/ PowerPoint
• Optimization: Customer Segmentation, Attribution Modeling, A/B Testing
• Paid Ads: AdWords, LinkedIn, Google Display Network, Retargeting, Facebook
• Social Media: Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter
• Email Marketing: ConvertKit, Drip, Mailchimp
• SEO: Keyword Research, Backlink Building, Content Creation
• Direct Mail

Customer service skills for resume

When a customer has a problem or a question, they need to get a prompt and accurate answer to ensure they remain a customer.

More than that, a strong customer service representative will build relationships with customers to help identify potential new features or directions to take a product.

To do this successfully, you need a potent blend of people skills while also knowing the tools of the trade.

Top customer service skills

• Strong Communication & Interpersonal Skills
• Curious, Empathetic, and Professional
• Willing to Learn
• Goal-oriented
• Enterprise Software
• Experience with Business Processes
• Microsoft Excel
• Zendesk, HubSpot, Helpscout

Management skills for resume

No matter how effective a person is as an individual contributor, management is an entirely different job that requires an altogether different skill set.

To be an effective manager, you must first understand and relate to your employees while ensuring company initiatives are hit on time. To get this done, you need a mix of different skills.

Top management skills

• Financial Analysis
• Self-motivation
• Conflict Resolution & Management
• Managing Career Growth
• Performance Reviews
• Ability to Motivate
• Foster Team Environment
• Ability to Work Under Pressure
• Result-driven

Accounting skills for resume

Accountants are the unsung heroes of any well-oiled company. A company is only as successful as it can demonstrate through its financial reports.

Accountants need to be wizards with reporting and data while maintaining a culture of rigorous organization. Accounting is a field that requires knowledge of particular hard skills.

Top accounting skills

• Financial Reporting
• General Ledger Accounting
• Quarterly Close Processes
• Quarterly Financial Statements
• Tax Accounting
• GAAP Accounting Principles
• Expense Reporting
• Accounts Payable & Receivable
• Account Reconciliation

Project manager skills for resume

Project managers keep the trains on the rails. To be a successful project manager, you must know how to ensure deadlines are met on time and on budget.

In this role, you’ll need the ability to communicate with diverse teams and technical knowledge to help engineers remove roadblocks they encounter that will prevent them from getting their job done.

Top project manager skills

• Project Management Software (Jira, Trello)
• Microsoft Office/Google Suite (Excel/Google Sheets, PowerPoint/Slides)
• Project Management Frameworks and Methodologies (Agile, Scrum, Waterfall, Kanban)
• Programming Languages and Frameworks (JavaScript, Node.js, Python, Django)
• CRM Experience (HubSpot, Salesforce)
• Digital Marketing

Sales skills for resume

An effective salesperson can form meaningful relationships with new sales prospects very quickly.

To be able to sell a new customer on your product or tool, you first need to intimately understand their pain points and what they’re trying to solve.

In addition to solid soft skills, you need to know the technical tools to track and manage prospects through the sales pipeline.

Top sales skills

• Strong Communication
• Negotiation
• CRM (HubSpot, Salesforce)
• Presentation Skills
• Lead Generation (LinkedIn, Email)
• Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)

Administrative assistant skills for resume

When it comes to a career as an administrative assistant, there’s no skill more valuable than organization. How can you help others be at their best without ensuring all ducks are in a row?

Of course, other skills are needed to succeed as an administrative assistant, and we’ve analyzed numerous administrative assistant job openings to determine the most in-demand skills for this career.

Top administrative assistant skills

• Microsoft Excel/Google Sheets
• Microsoft Word/Google Docs
• Microsoft PowerPoint/Google Slides
• Scheduling (Microsoft Outlook/Google Calendar)
• Words per Minute you Type
• Languages you Speak
• Database Management
• CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot)
• Personable and Welcoming

Nursing skills for resume

The value of nurses in our society has never been more apparent than during the COVID-19 crisis.

A good nurse must have a rigorous understanding of the medical procedures and documentation they need to complete while also maintaining the soft skills necessary to build trust and understanding with patients.

It’s a very tricky balance to strike. To help you pursue a new job in nursing, we compiled the most popular skills employers are looking for across a wide range of nursing disciplines.

Top nursing skills

• EMR Systems
• Ambulatory Care
• Emergency Care
• CPR Certified
• Best Practices
• Long-term Patient Care
• Compassionate
• Organized & Reliable
• Infant & Child Care
• Medical Documentation

Teacher skills for resume

With the shift to remote learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the skills required to be an effective teacher from afar are also changing.

Teachers now need to be more in tune with the technologies used for remote learning to reach students.

Still, there are some skills required to be a great teacher that haven’t changed. Based on our analysis, here are the top skills schools want when they hire teachers.

Top teacher skills

• Lesson Planning
• Blackboard/Moodle
• Google Apps (Gmail, Sheets, Slides)
• SMART Boards
• Remote Teaching (Zoom)
• Safe, Supportive Classrooms
• Accountability
• Communication with Parents and Students
• Organization
• Focused on Student Performance

Software engineer skills for resume

Software engineer is a broad, all-encompassing term. There are hundreds of specific disciplines within this umbrella that require different skills.

Still, there are fundamental and common skills that all developers must have. First and foremost, you need to be able to program! 

We collected the most in-demand skills for software developers to help you make the best resume possible.

Top software engineer skills

• Python (Django)
• Java (Spring)
• Ruby (Ruby on Rails)
• PHP (Laravel)
• JavaScript (Node, React, Vue, jQuery)
• SQL (MySQL, PostgreSQL, NoSQL)
• AWS, GCS, Azure

Business analyst (BA) skills for resume

Business analysts combine skills from many areas to help drive outcomes that materially improve a customer’s core metrics.

A BA is a great communicator, a robust data analyst, and an effective project manager. After a project is complete, the BA then has to be able to communicate the outcomes to the executive team.

Top business analyst skills

• SQL (MySQL, PostgreSQL, SQLite, SQL Server)
• Excel, Google Sheets
• PowerPoint, Google Slides
• Tableau, Looker, Chartio
• Salesforce, NetSuite, HubSpot, Pipedrive
• A/B testing, Linear Regression, Logistic Regression
• Project Management (JIRA, Trello)

Student skills for resume

When you’re a student, it can be challenging to know which of your skills you should highlight when applying for your first job or internship.

It varies depending on the position, but at this point in your career, hiring managers don’t expect you to be an expert in all the tools you’ll need for the job.

The key is to mention which skills you have some familiarity with and express an openness to learning on the job.

Top student skills

• Microsoft Outlook/Gmail
• Hard-working
• Social Media
• Collaboration

Data scientist skills for resume

Data scientists are hybrid programmers and statisticians. It can be tough to figure out which of your technical skill sets should be the focus of your resume.

Touch on your primary programming language and put context around the modeling techniques you use regularly.

After studying over 100 data scientist job openings, here are the top skills employers are looking for in these roles.

Top data scientist skills

• Python (Numpy, Pandas, Scikit-learn, Keras, Flask)
• R (Dplyr, Shiny)
• SQL (MySQL, PostgreSQL, Oracle)
• AWS (Redshift)
• Supervised Learning (Linear and Logistic Regression, Decision Trees, Support Vector Machines, Recommendation Engines)
• Unsupervised Learning (K-Means Clustering, Principal Component Analysis)
• Customer Segmentation, Price Optimization

Human resources (HR) skills for resume

When it comes to the skills you need to get your next job as a human resources manager, it’s important to demonstrate a combination of people skills (it’s in the job title, after all), but you also have to show command of the tools needed to get the job done.

You should demonstrate which phases of HR you have experience in. Whether that’s recruiting, benefits, compensation, or a combination thereof, these should be clear.

Top human resources skills

• ATS (Workday, Jobvite, Greenhouse)
• Compensation & Benefits
• Performance Management
• Recruiting (Sourcing & Interviewing)
• Employee Onboarding
• Benefits Planning & Administration
• Employee Coaching
• LOA, FMLA, PLOA, Disability
• Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint
• Recruiting Coordination
• Compliance (OFFCP, FLSA, Unemployment)
• Employee Retention
• Organizational Strategy
• Labor Relations
• Succession Planning
• HR Analytics

Product manager skills for resume

Product managers help steer the direction of a company by working to understand new features and products customers are looking for.

A successful PM should have the technical skills to communicate fluently with engineers. They also need strong data analysis skills to determine whether new feature launches are working.

Top product manager skills

• Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics, Mixpanel
• Google Tag Manager
• A/B Testing
• Optimizely, Google Optimize
• Basic Python scripting, APIs
• Agile, Scrum, Waterfall, Kaban
• Jira, Github, Confluence
• Google Analytics, Microsoft Excel

Recruiter skills for resume

Since recruiters are the first people prospective employees interact with in a company, they must have strong people skills.

Outside of that, a recruiter needs to be familiar with using an ATS to keep track of candidates as they go through the application funnel.

In addition, they need to know various tools to effectively source prospective candidates for a job opening.

Top recruiter skills

• Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, Word
• HR Information Systems (Workday, Oracle HCM, Zoho, SAP)
• ATS (Greenhouse, Lever, Workable, Breezy HR, BambooHR)
• Sourcing Tools (LinkedIn Recruiter, TalentNest, Connectifier)
• Full Cycle Recruiting, Intakes, Sourcing, Screening, Evaluating Talent
• CRM (HubSpot, Marketo, Hootsuite)

Scrum Master skills for resume

As a Scrum Master, it’s vital you demonstrate which project management frameworks you have experience in on your resume.

Scrum Masters help ensure project deadlines are hit by establishing and monitoring incremental goals along the way.

Communication and management skills are must-haves, in addition to a few technical tools.

Top Scrum Master skills

• Agile Development & Best Practices
• Agile Frameworks—Scrum, Kanban, XP
• JIRA & JIRA Portfolio
• Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, Project, Visio
• User Stories, ATDD, TDD, Continuous Integration, Automated Testing
• Project Planning & Scoping

Social media manager skills for resume

As the name implies, a social media manager must show prospective employers they can use social media to drive customers toward a business.

It’s not enough, however, to demonstrate experience with various social media platforms. You must also clearly understand data and analytics to prove that your campaigns can and will work for a business.

Top social media manager skills

• Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, TikTok
• Sprout Social, Hootsuite
• Google Analytics
• Google Docs/Microsoft Word
• Google Sheets/Microsoft Excel
• Paid Social Media Advertising
• Data Analytics

IT manager skills for resume

IT managers need to possess razor-sharp technical skills while demonstrating the ability to mentor and guide employees under their leadership.

Since the number of potential technical skills an IT manager can have is vast, you must demonstrate a firm command of at least a few skills.

On your resume, it’s much better to demonstrate expertise in a few skills than a weak command of a large number of tools.

Top IT manager skills

• Software Development Life Cycle (SDLC)
• Agile/Lean Methodologies
• Network Infrastructure (DNS, DHCP, SSL)
• Linux/ Unix

Design skills for resume

As you might imagine, designers need to convince the hiring manager reviewing their resume of their creative ability. This is usually done via a portfolio.

Outside of your creativity, you also need to quickly and effectively communicate which tools you use to complete your design work. One of the first things a prospective employer will check is whether you have the technical skills they’re looking for in a designer.

Top design skills

• Design Principles
• Color Theory
• Adobe Creative Cloud (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign)
• Storytelling
• Canva, Vectr
• Print Design
• Photography

Your skills should directly correlate with the job you’re applying for so recruiters can tell what makes you special at a glance. Refer to the job description for keywords or mission statements that show what the organization values and what the job role emphasizes. Prioritize skills that relate directly to your profession over those that could enhance your qualifications for other fields.

Try to limit your array of abilities to just 6 to 10 skills per resume. If you have more to choose from, choose to meet the optimal resume skill range with abilities that specifically answer the call of the job description. You don’t want a skills list that looks too “hodgepodge,” so hone your skills to a trade-specific edge that demonstrates your expertise.

Soft skills are the tools you use to socially function with grace and efficiency. They refer to your interpersonal abilities like negotiation, communication, and team delegation (just to name a few!). Keep in mind that you don’t want to overdo your skills list and appear disorganized, so select only the most relevant soft skills to list. You can use them as context for your professional experiences.

Technical skills, or hard skills, can refer to anything from software proficiency to specialized actions or tasks you can perform that relate to your job. Physical technology or machinery, digital meeting programs, and the ability to interpret industry-specific data all count! These important skills show off your specialties and highlight your unique candidacy for the job role.

Every skills list should be technical, but yours especially so: This is your opportunity to demonstrate your expertise instantly. By naming precisely which software programs you use (think: Adobe Photoshop, AutoCAD, or Salesforce to name a few) instead of generalizing, you effectively spotlight your skills ahead of time. Recruiters often skim the skills list first since they move fast, so seize the chance to align yourself with the job!

Honestly, that depends on you! Which of your resume sections is the strongest: skills, experience, internships, or stuff like your degree and academic achievements? Resume layouts with a side column can put your skills list in a highly visible space. If your experiences are super strong, you can also list your skills at the bottom of the page. Just make sure your best qualities are the most eye-catching!

100+ Key Skills for a Resume in 2024 (Examples for any Job)

Learn how to professionally and efficiently list your skills on a resume.

How to List Skills on a Resume 

Your skills are just as important as your work experiences. Skills show a recruiter what you can do for the company -- without taking up too much space in your resume. 

Skills can be anything from “creativity” (a soft skill) to “JavaScript” (a hard skill). It’s important to include a mix of both on your resume.

Don’t know what skills you have? Read on to learn the difference between “soft” and “hard” skills, or skim our 250+ skills for each industry to jump right into the resume writing process. 

Beautiful resume templates to land your dream job

Soft Skills vs Hard Skills

“Soft” skills are those that are not quantifiable, such as leadership. These skills also cannot be learned, but  are rather a facet of your personality. Nevertheless, soft skills are still critical to have, for they demonstrate that you are personable and competent.

‍ Tip: Use some of the soft skills as adjectives when writing your profile summary . For example, try “enthusiastic entrepreneur,” “empathic childcare worker,” “organized nurses’ aid,” “supportive administration assistant” or “detail-oriented sales associate.”

The resume below is for a Childcare Worker and includes many soft skills that companies look for, including Creativity and Organizational skills.

In contrast, “Hard” skills are those that are learned -- either in school or through a certification program. These skills are quantifiable and can be continuously expanded upon through further education. Today, most hard skills have to do with computer technology, such as SEO, CSS/HTML, or Microsoft Suite. Even if you aren’t tech-savvy, chances are you still have a few hard skills.

Tip: Be specific about your hard skills. Instead of listing “Programming Languages,” specify which ones you know -- Python, Java, C, etc. Same with photo editing software and any other platforms you are familiar with.

The resume below is for a Content Marketing Associate, and includes manyhard skills that companies in the marketing industry look for, including experience with Social Media tools. Remember, it's important to be specific in terms of defining and listing what softwares you know.

How to List Your Skills

Whether you’re a jack of all trades or a master of one, you absolutely must list some skills on your resume. Skills offer additional insight into what you can offer the company as an employee, and may just push your resume over the edge and into the interview pile. 

• Only list relevant skills . If you’re applying for a position as an engineer, don’t brag about your marketing abilities. Instead, save the space to list the software and programming languages that you know. 
• List around 5 Skills . Writing too many skills on your resume can be an overwhelming experience for the recruiter. He or she may not fully register your skills, and instead just blankly skim the long list. Conversely, listing too few skills is only selling yourself short. You definitely have more than two skills -- no matter your experience level! So shoot for around 5 skills, with a little wriggle room. 
• Include both hard and soft skills . Even if your profession seems to rely on soft skills more than hard skills -- or vice versa -- including both makes your resume stronger. For example, if you’re applying to work as a laboratory assistant, list soft skills such as “teamwork,” “problem-solving,” “time management,” or “organization.” If you’re in a more creative field, hard skills include softwares such as “Adobe Creative Suite” and talents such as “photography,” “writing & editing,” or “videography.” 
• Note your experience level . With each skill, specify whether you are a “beginner,” “expert,” or somewhere in between (using words like “intermediate” and “moderate”). Our resume templates have bars beneath each skill that you can toggle to reflect your expertise. 

The resume below is for a Human Resources Manager, and includes all of the above tips.

250+ Skills for Each Industry  

Although we’ve split these skills up by industry, please note that many skills are applicable to a variety of careers. For example, someone working in marketing might find knowledge of JavaScript just as useful as someone working in the computer science field. 

Let’s jump in!

Office and Administrative Job Skills

• Answering Phones
• Bookkeeping (Excel, Turbotax)
• Office Equipment
• Welcoming Visitors
• Calendar Management
• Organization 
• Time Management 
• Problem Solving
• Attention To Detail
• Adaptability 
• Written Communication 
• Email Platforms (E.G., Gmail And iCloud Mail)
• Word Processing Software (E.G., Google Docs)
• Spreadsheet Software
• Digital Calendars
• Prioritization 

Sales, Retail, and Customer Service Job Skills

• Product Knowledge
• Lead Qualification
• Lead Prospecting 
• Customer Needs Analysis
• Referral Marketing
• Contract Negotiation
• Self Motivation
• Increasing Customer Lifetime Value (Clv)
• Reducing Customer Acquisition Cost (Cac)
• CRM Software (Salesforce, Hubspot, Zoho, Freshsales)
• Cashier Skills
• Knowledge Of Products And Services 
• Customer Service
• Communication (More Specifically -- Verbal Communication Skills, Listening Skills, Interpersonal Skills, Written Communication Skills, Public Speaking Skills, Presentation Skills)
• Math Skills
• Negotiation 
• Persuasion  
• Diplomacy  
• Cold Calling
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
• Lead Generation
• Buyer-responsive Selling
• Buyer Engagement

Nursing and Healthcare Job Skills

• Patient Assessment
• Taking Vital Signs
• Patient Care
• Recording Patient Medical History
• Wound Dressing And Care
• Urgent And Emergency Care
• Record-keeping
• Patient Education
• NIH Stroke Scale Patient Assessment
• Electronic Medical Record (EMR)
• Medicine Administration
• Blood Pressure Monitoring
• Rehabilitation Therapy
• Hygiene Assistance
• Use Of X-ray, MRI, Cat Scans
• Glucose Checks
• Electronic Heart Record (EHR)
• Decision-Making Ability 
• Critical Thinking
• Leadership 
• Thorough Understanding Of HIPPA And Privacy Policies
• Ability To Take And Record Vital Signs
• CPR And First-Aid Certifications
• Perform And Evaluate Diagnostic Tests
• Maintain Patient Charts

IT Job Skills

• Programming Languages
• Web Development
• Data Structures
• Open Source Experience
• Machine Learning
• Front-End & Back-End Development
• Cloud Management
• Agile Development
• CSS Preprocessors
• Graphic User Interfaces (GUI)
• Git/Version Control (Github, gitlab)
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• Application Programming Interface (API)
• Adobe Photoshop, InDesign
• Content Management Systems (CMS)
• Testing/Debugging
• Responsive Design Principles
• Mobile and Web Development (e.g. iOS, Android)

Engineering & Technical Job Skills

• STEM Skills
• Prototyping
• Troubleshooting
• Project Launch
• Lean Manufacturing
• Workflow Development
• Computer Skills
• Technical Report Writing
• Programming Languages HTML, CSS, CRM tools

Advertising & Marketing Job Skills

• SEO (SEMRush, WordPress, and Ahrefs)
• SEM (i.e., Google Adwords)
• CRO and A/B Testing
• Social Media Marketing and Paid Social Media Advertising
• Sales Funnel Management
• CMS Tools (WordPress, Weebly)
• Graphic Design Skills (Adobe Creative Suite)
• Email Marketing (MailChimp, Constant Contact)
• Email Automation
• Data Visualization
• Print Design
• Photography and Branding
• Communication 
• Creativity 
• Data Analytics (Google Analytics )
• Web Analytics
• Email Writing 
• Google Adwords
• Social Media And Mobile Marketing 
• Paid Social Media Advertisements
• Consumer Behavior Drivers
• Brand Management
• B2b Marketing
•  Writing Advertising Copy
• Soliciting Feedback From Customers
• Cutting Costs
• Leadership skills
• Task Delegation 
• Strategic Management
• Proposal writing
• Problem-solving
• Problem solving
• Website Management
• Social Media Outreach
• Video Production
• Campaign Management
• Photo Editing
• Logo Creation
• Digital Printing
• Interactive Media Design 
• Color Sense & Theory
• Social Media Publishing
• Storytelling
• Financial Analysis
• Consumer Research
• Statistical Analysis
• Videography 
• Technical Writing 

General Management and Project Management Job Skills

• Agile Project Management (Kanban)
• Managing Cross-Functional Teams
• Scrum Management
• Performance Tracking
• Financial Modelling
• Ideation Leadership
• Feature Definition
• Forecasting
• Profit and Loss
• Scope Management
• Project Lifecycle Management 
• Meeting Facilitation
• Risk Management 
• Cost Management 
• Data Analysis 
• Collaborative 
• Collaborative Programs (Slack, WhatsApp, Dropbox)
• Adobe Creative Suite

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Top 14 Resume Skills to add on your Resume + Examples

By Biron Clark

Published: December 18, 2023

Biron Clark

Writer & Career Coach

Putting skills on a resume is a great way to show hiring managers what you can do for them, while also including relevant keywords on your resume. However, there’s one BIG mistake that I’ve seen many job seekers make with their skills section on a resume… and it can cost them the interview.

So in this article, we’re going to look at real-life examples of resume skills sections, how to write this section and come up with ideas of skills to list, and the biggest mistake to avoid if you want to get the interview.

What Skills Should you add on your resume?

Your resume is essentially your first impression to a potential employer, so it must showcase your skills in the best possible light. Hence, it’s important to understand that there are two types of skills: hard skills and soft skills . 

Hard skills are those that are specifically related to the job at hand, such as technical skills like programming or accounting.

Examples of Hard Skills: 

• Proficiencies with tools or software.
• Hands-on work experience or degrees and certifications.
• Proficiencies in languages.

Meanwhile, soft skills are more personal traits such as interpersonal skills like communication, EQ, teamwork and problem-solving abilities. Additionally, transferable skills are those that can be used across different industries and job types, such as leadership, time management, computer skills and adaptability. Usually, job postings include a bullet list of role requirements that each feature a certain skill, skill set, aptitude, or ability.

Examples of Soft Skills:

• Active listening
• Problem-solving

Essentially, the skills, competencies, or core competencies section of your resume will give hiring managers a quick-glance guide to how closely your abilities match the role requirements.

With this in-mind, let’s take a closer look at each of those hard and soft transferable skills I mentioned above, to see why they really are the best skills to put on your resume. Let’s start with the soft skills because, even if you’ve never had a job or skills training, there’s a good chance you already have many of these skills.

Best Soft Skills to add on your resume:

1. communication skills.

These skills are essential to almost all roles because they allow you to receive and share ideas effectively. These skills are applied through a range of channels and may include both soft skills (like active listening) and hard skills (like social media writing). Communication skills include listening skills, verbal skills, body-language skills, visual skills, and contextual (or versatility) skills like cross-cultural, academic, crisis, professional, and online communication skills.

2. Problem-solving skills

Most roles will see you encountering problems at some point, that’s one of the reasons work can be stressful. Some roles are all about finding and making innovative solutions to problems. Problem-solving skills may include methodologies and various hard skills, but they’re also about the soft skills of defining problems, prioritizing issues, determining causes, brainstorming solutions, considering alternatives, and implementing solutions.

3. Creativity skills

These skills come naturally to some but, in general, can be learned by simply applying yourself to creative pursuits. Aside from the artistic side, however, creativity is a thinking skill that allows you to think outside the box, innovate solutions, imagine new concepts and ideas, and generally do things in an open-minded, original way. This is highly prized by employers who are trying to set their brand apart through creative, innovative products and services.

4. Organizational skills

Organizational skills refer to your ability to manage yourself, your time, and your productivity efficiently and effectively. They’re vital to employers because they indicate that you have a systematic, goal-oriented approach to working. Unless you have the ability to manage your calendar, your time, your thoughts, and your duties in a functional and efficient manner, you will be difficult to manage or rely on, and you certainly won’t be able to manage others.

5. Leadership skills

Some simply have a natural tendency to lead, while others seem ready to follow them–this is important to employers, as few things are more costly than an ineffective leader. Leadership skills, however, can be learned over time, and include a range of other hard and soft skills like communication, critical thinking, versatility, conflict management, relationship building, decisiveness, delegation, project management, and more.

6. Teamwork skills

Teamwork skills are vital to all interactive and collaborative job roles, as they allow you to work efficiently and effectively with others. Teamwork skills are very much a blend of communication and interpersonal skills, but there are specific soft skills, like collaboration, empathy, honesty, and integrity that will determine whether you can thrive in a team setting.

Best Hard Skills to add on your resume:

1. digital skills:.

In 2023 and beyond, you’d be hard-pressed to find a business that doesn’t rely largely on digital interaction and processes to get their products and services to market. So, adding digital skills means that employers will know that you can use a tablet, computer, mobile phone, and the internet to communicate, research, transact, manage tasks, and create. Examples of hard digital skills include market research, social media marketing, SEO, email marketing, digital project management, software development, and much more.

2. Design skills

Design skills start with foresight and imagination, and the ability to envision things that aren’t yet made. In that way, they are similar to creative skills. Other than that, design skills include a range of hard skills that depend on your profession, including coding abilities, branding skills, typography skills, architectural software skills, Adobe apps skills, Illustration skills, physics and engineering skills, and more. Design skills are vital to jobs that involve product innovation, marketing, and more.

3. Project management skills

Whether you’re applying for a post in marketing, product or service development, or something like events planning, project management skills are those skills that allow you to take a project (often requiring numerous employees and teams) all the way from ideation to completion. There are a range of factors involved and a number of hard and soft skills. Examples of PM skills include budgeting, scope planning, risk assessment stakeholder communication, problem-solving, team leadership, delegation, digital project management administration, and more.

4. Data analysis skills

Data analysis skills are important because they allow you to absorb, quantify, categorize, analyze, collate, and draw conclusions from data such as statistics , sales figures, customer queries and complaints, product tests, and more. Data analysis skills are essential to a range of roles and include hard and soft skills such as math, statistics , calculus, linear algebra, detail orientation, logical thought, troubleshooting, speed reading, database management, data mining, and more.

5. Customer service skills

Customer service skills are your ability to offer knowledge and support to prospective and existing customers and to act as the face of a business. As such, these are essential skills for a range of businesses. Core customer service skills include soft skills like discernment and emotional intelligence, communications skills, and persuasion skills, and hard skills like SaaS support, POS skills, FOH skills, outbound call skills, product/industry knowledge skills, and more.

6. Language skills

Language skills include proficiency in native and foreign language reading, writing, listening, and speaking, and they can be included among communication skills as well. In today’s globalized world and online marketplace, multilingual skills are in high demand. Employers are often willing to pay more for multilingual candidates, especially in fields like international business, hospitality, tourism, human resources , and more. Language skills are, however, largely made up of hard skills because language proficiency is a technical and measurable skill set. Correct use and grasp of grammar, syntax, tone, diction, vocabulary, and contextual language are essential in the professional world because they allow you to absorb and offer information in a way that is more accurate, conclusive, concise, and business-like.

7. Content writing skills

Incorporating many of the language skills mentioned above, content writing includes knowledge of formats, annotation systems, referencing skills, and tonal parameters that apply to all different types of business, sales, and marketing content. Companies value content writing skills because, using hard skills like knowledge of online content formats, research and referencing, SEO, and sales funneling, a content writer can target, engage, and convert new customers while retaining existing ones with regular, high-value content.

8. Marketing skills

Marketing is a powerful skill set that incorporates other skills like content writing, customer service, data analysis, communication, creativity, and problem-solving. Marketing allows businesses to target markets, figure out how to appeal to and reach those markets, and then effectively (and in conjunction with content writers, web designers, and other key members) funnel clients down the path to conversion. Marketing includes a broad range of highly technical hard skills as well, including UX design, CRM, CMS, CRO, marketing automation, social media and ad marketing, PPC, SEO, SEM, and more.

How Many Resume Skills Should You Put?

The number of skills to include on your resume will depend on the job you’re applying for, your industry, and your experience level. For example, an experienced software engineer may list 20 skills. However, for an entry-level job seeker, 8-10 skills are sufficient, and any more than that will be unlikely to be read by a hiring manager or recruiter .

Also, someone in a less technical field (like sales or customer service) might only need 8-10 skills on their resume, even if they have a few years of experience.

Overall, my recommendation as a recruiter is that you should have somewhere between 8 and 20 skills on your resume. You should list both hard and soft skills, but it’s more important to include hard skills. These are the skills that hiring managers look for first and foremost on your resume; soft skills are secondary.

Resume Skills Section Guide With Examples

Let’s look at some good examples of resume Skills sections (which you can also name “Core Competencies,” “Professional Skills,” etc.) Your goal when writing this resume section is to highlight your most relevant skills for the job, all in one place. So you want the list to be easy to read. I suggest one or two columns. 

And you don’t just want to list random skills. And you don’t want to list the same skills for every job! You really want to research the job and company (starting with the job description) and put the skills and keywords THEY mention. This is called “tailoring” your resume and will immediately boost the number of interviews you receive. I wrote a guide on the easiest way to do this HERE . (It’s much easier than people think).

So you really need to be looking at the specific job description for keywords.

Once you’ve done that, you’re ready to put together your Skills section. Here are some sample skills sections so you can see what it might look like:

Resume Skills Section Example #1 – Bullet Point format:

This resume skills section example is for a salesperson. You can see it contains a lot of keywords, and also highlights what this person is best at. That’s what you should aim to do.

Remember, don’t just guess which skills and keywords the employer wants. Study the job description.

Resume Skills Section Example #2:

This is another example of a simple layout for this section on your resume, this time using two columns.

Choose a format that is simple and not distracting. You want the employer’s attention to be on your skills and qualifications, not on your resume’s formatting.

If you take one idea away from these sample skill sections of a resume, it should be that the section is meant to be simple and clutter-free, and should only feature your top relevant skills for the jobs you’re pursuing now. It’s not a place to list every single skill you’ve ever used, and it shouldn’t have as much content as other, more important, sections like your resume work experience.

Resume Skills Section Example #3 – Skills Matrix Format:

Communication | Problem-Solving | Time Management | Teamwork | Technical Skills

Excellent verbal and written communication skills | Strong analytical and creative problem-solving abilities | Proficient in prioritizing tasks and meeting deadlines | Collaborative and able to work effectively in team settings | Proficient in MS Office and Google Workspace

Now, let’s look at examples of resume skills sections for popular professions:

1. Software Developer:

• Programming Languages: Java, Python, C++
• Web Development: HTML, CSS, JavaScript
• Database Management: SQL, MySQL
• Problem-Solving: Strong analytical and debugging skills
• Collaboration: Experienced in working in Agile development teams

2. Marketing Coordinator:

• Digital Marketing: SEO, SEM, PPC
• Social Media Management: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter
• Content Creation: Copywriting, blogging, content strategy
• Analytics: Google Analytics, data analysis
• Project Management: Organizing campaigns, coordinating with stakeholders

3. Registered Nurse:

• Patient Care: Assessing, planning, and implementing patient care
• Medical Procedures: IV insertion, wound care, medication administration
• Communication: Effective patient and family communication
• Critical Thinking: Rapid decision-making in emergency situations
• Team Collaboration: Working closely with doctors and healthcare professionals

4. Sales Representative:

• Relationship Building: Cultivating and maintaining client relationships
• Negotiation: Effective in closing deals and achieving sales targets
• Presentation Skills: Delivering persuasive sales presentations
• CRM Software: Proficient in Salesforce or other CRM platforms
• Prospecting: Identifying and pursuing new sales opportunities

5. Graphic Designer:

• Adobe Creative Suite: Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign
• Typography: Knowledge of various typefaces and layout design
• Branding: Creating visually consistent brand identities
• User Experience (UX): Designing intuitive user interfaces
• Attention to Detail: Ensuring accuracy and precision in design wor

More Ideas of Skills to Include

If you’ve read the tips above and are still thinking, “I don’t have enough key skills to put on my resume,” here are a few ideas to help you… Along with looking at the job description for the role you’re applying for, you can also look at job descriptions for roles you’ve previously held. Which skills did you use most?

Look at current or most recent work, too. What did your typical week look like? Sit down and think about which skills you used the most throughout a normal week. Remember to think about hard skills and soft skills. That should help you come up with more ideas.

You can also look at LinkedIn’s list of skills that are available for your LinkedIn profile . (LinkedIn suggests skills when you go edit this section of your profile).

You can look at peers/colleagues on LinkedIn, too, to see which skills they’ve chosen! Look at a few current coworkers, for example. Which skills are they mentioning? Those are good skills to list on your LinkedIn and your resume, too. The LinkedIn skills section is a great way to get resume ideas overall.

You can also learn something new that will make you more attractive to employers…

I recommend doing this by taking a course via LinkedIn Learning and then adding it to your resume Skills section). This is a great option if you’re job searching after being unemployed because it shows employers you’re keeping your skills current and staying active.

You can learn soft skills like body language (this could help you if you’re in sales, customer service, etc.) or hard skills like front-end web development, social media management, and more.

Tip: Employers Want to See Where You Used Each Skill, Too

In general, employers want to see where and when you used each skill (especially for hard skills). So don’t just rely on a Skills section. You should put equal (or more) time into writing your work experience section and your resume bullets ).

Also, put effort into your resume summary paragraph.

I typically read those sections first as a recruiter. That’s where I can see which key skills you’ve used most in your career. In fact, even if you put your skills section very high up on a resume, I usually skip it and only return to read it AFTER I check out your recent work experience and bullets!

The bottom line is: Recruiters and hiring managers don’t want to see a big list of skills with no reference to where each skill was used… at least not at first. And they especially do not want to see a long list of soft skills. They’re mostly looking for hard skills and key skills from the job posting when they first glance at your resume.

So keep this in mind when writing your skills list. The hiring manager might skip it and look for your experience section first.

This resume section still has value – as a secondary place to show off your abilities and core competencies, and as a place to fill your resume with great keywords so you can get past the ATS (applicant tracking system). But the biggest mistake I see job seekers making is relying on the skills section too much to get interviews or get the employer’s attention.

Be Prepared to Answer Interview Questions About the Skills You’ve Listed

If you say you’re an expert in Phone Sales, Digital Marketing , Social Media Marketing, Customer Service, or any other hard skill… you need to be ready to defend this in an interview. If you say you’ve done a lot of time management, be prepared with examples. If you say problem-solving is one of your strengths , be ready to back it up with a success story!

They will want to know where you used that skill and details about how you used it and what results you got in recent jobs. And if you say you’re an “expert” at something, they might ask what makes you an expert. So if you’re not an expert or highly proficient, don’t say you are. You can still list the skill, but don’t exaggerate and go overboard by saying “expert.”

I made this mistake early in my career, costing me the job! I said the word “expert” when describing my Microsoft Excel skills, and they asked me about it in an interview and I completely crumbled. I wasn’t an expert and I wasn’t ready to defend why I had said that on my skills list.

Also, don’t list skills you’ve never used. Even if they do hire you, you could immediately be fired if they discover you lied about your skills in your interview. Lying in your job search is usually not a good tactic. So be honest when listing skills on your resume, and review your own resume as you prepare for the interview so you’re not caught off-guard by the interview questions they ask .

You should be ready to answer questions related to any or all skills mentioned in your resume skills section – both soft and hard skills.

What Not to Include in Your Resume Skills Section

Quality over quantity always wins, and this applies while listing resume skills. Highlighting the most relevant skills in your resume is important. Otherwise, your resume may look disorganized and unfocused. Therefore, avoid listing every skill you possess, and follow these tips to ensure your skills align with the job posting. 

1. Irrelevant Skills : Only include skills directly related to the job you’re applying for. Avoid listing unrelated or outdated skills, as they can take up valuable space on your resume and distract from your qualifications.

2. Generic Skills : Avoid using overly broad or generic skills that are not specific or actionable. Instead, highlight skills specific to the job and industry you’re targeting.

3. Obvious Skills : Skip listing skills considered basic or commonly expected in the industry. For example, including “proficient in Microsoft Office Suite” may not be necessary, as it is generally expected in most professional roles.

4. False or Exaggerated Skills : Be honest about your skills and avoid exaggerating or fabricating information. Employers may verify your skills during hiring, and misrepresenting your abilities can have negative consequences.

Recap: Putting the Right Skills in a Resume

• Choose 8-20 skills, depending on your industry and level of experience
• Put mostly hard skills and skills that relate directly to the employer’s job
• Avoid putting too many soft skills; employers will judge this primarily in the interview and aren’t looking for soft skills as much on your resume
• Whenever listing a hard skill, make sure also to mention it on your work experience; employers want to see where you used each skill, too, and this is how to show them
• Use the job description to identify important skills for this position
• Include exact phrases from the job description to improve your chances of getting past automated job application systems
• If you need more ideas for which skills to put, review past jobs you’ve held and/or look at peers on LinkedIn to see skills they’ve chosen
• Use one or two columns and simple formatting to make your Skills section easy to read
• Never put your Skills section before your Employment History section on your resume
• If you’re an entry-level job seeker, never put your Skills section before your Education section
• Be prepared to answer interview questions about any skills listed on your resume
• Avoid including irrelevant or generic skills, obvious skills, and false or exaggerated skills in the skills section. 

If you read the tips above, you now know how to write a great skills section of a resume, including examples of what it should look like.

You also know the other important pieces to focus on, like your resume work experience . If you follow these guidelines that I shared, you’ll get more interviews and get noticed by better employers in your job search.

About the Author

Read more articles by Biron Clark

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300+ Resume Skills to Use on Your Resume in 2024

Wondering what skills to put on your resume? Dive into our list of 300+ resume skills we’ve extracted from analyzing over 1,000,000 resumes, learn how to include them in yours, and increase your chances of landing a job interview.

3,908 happy customers shared their experience.

Our resumes get people hired at top companies:

Skills are great but…

Making a resume is more than just skills. Use our resume builder and let us take care of the design while you focus on your skills and experience!

Have you considered how difficult it is to select the right skills for your resume ?

You have to curate resume skills that:

• reveal as many details about your proficiency; without going over the two-page limit .

Writing about your skills seems daunting - like you're fighting an uphill battle.

Yet, the potential wins are worth it: from landing an interview to getting a job offer.

So, here's our explicit guide on how to write about your skills on your resume:

• Over 150 popular niche skills for over 15 industries.

The difference between hard skills and soft skills

Recruiters look for both hard and soft skills in a job application.

Before we get into the details of what both types of skills imply, we'd like to focus on how the skills are acquired, used, demonstrated, and measured.

Skill acquisition

Hard skills are attained via on-the-job experience, education, training, or certification.

While soft skills are obtained in a more intangible manner: via life or work experience.

Skill usage

Hard skills are used directly within your role - you need them to complete specific tasks.

Soft skills are most often related to how your flexible mindset is able to adapt, communicate, and excel within a new (potentially unfamiliar) work environment.

Skill showcase

It's easy to demonstrate your hard skills through various resume sections - showing recruiters what you're capable of.

Soft skills often complement your hard skills, thus providing unique value to your professional resume.

Skill measurement

Hard skills can be quantified based on your achievements, certifications, proficiency level, etc.

While soft skills could be a bit more difficult to pinpoint and could mainly be understood via your resume highlights.

Now, for a more brief definition of the two types of skills.

Hard skills comprise of the technical know-how and capabilities you possess: they are learned through studying and can be measured based on your performance.

Some of the more popular hard skills include:

• Foreign Languages - opening doors to more international opportunities.

Soft skills are transferable skills: characteristics and habits that are most associated with you as a person. They indicate to recruiters just how well you will adapt, perform, and grow within a new environment.

Recruiters are constantly on the lookout for these types of soft skills:

Presentation

Why listing skills is important.

Your skills are one of the most important sections, as they help your potential employers to identify whether you would be a good fit for the role.

Consider the whole recruitment process from the recruiter's point of view.

You have a thousand applications for the same role.

You’ll either briefly skim the document to identify relevant skills. Or work with an Applicant Tracker System (ATS) to identify relevant keywords .

So, including a separate skills section, gives recruiters the opportunity to familiarize themselves with:

• the specific (or unique) potential you'll bring with your in-demand, rare, or relevant skills.

Lack of relevant skills (keywords), placed at the top of their resume, often leads to a rejection from the ATS.

To avoid this, include this separate skills section to hint that:

• you can bring the desired skill set to the table.

The best skills to put on your resume

Building your skills section would very much depend on the role you're applying for.

For example, say you’re applying for a Cloud computing architect job. In this case, your ability to implement relevant technologies are a prerequisite for recruiters.

But if you do include instances where you've had to present information to stakeholders, this would set you apart from other candidates.

Software Development and Programming

With the rise of technologies, these will continue to be one of the most in-demand hard skills for the next decade or so.

Demonstrating your software development knowledge could be via various resume sections - as long as you've noted the outcome of your use of the particular skill.

As this is a pretty vast field that includes numerous abilities - Web and Mobile Development; Version Control; Various Frameworks and Databases; Agile Methodologies; Software Testing and more - we've listed some of the most popular technologies:

Data Analysis and Statistics

Data has become one of the most valuable assets - those with the ability to understand and interpret it will discover many opportunities ahead.

This field again includes various hard skills, from Data Manipulation and Mining to Big Data and Machine Learning.

Discover a list of some of the most popular Data technologies:

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML)

With the rise of ChatGPT and similar platforms, one thing is evident - AI will continue to expand into uncharted territories.

And as a skill set, both AI and ML will continue to be in demand and take over multiple industries.

So, brush up on your:

Cloud Computing

Your knowledge of cloud platforms could land you the dream job in a dynamic environment.

Make sure you constantly upgrade your skill set with the most recent certificates , as this field is ever-evolving.

Meet job requirements by demonstrating your knowledge of:

• Azure Functions
• Cybersecurity

As a cybersecurity professional, it’s important to show on your resume not just your relevant certification, but adaptability in particular skills.

Referencing experience to project labs you’ve experimented with in your free time, can show your knowledge of the industry.

Here is a list of popular cybersecurity hard skills for your resume:

• Digital Forensics

Project Management

Project management includes a combination of both hard and soft skills you'll need to be able to showcase via your resume.

While the end results are important, highlight instances where you've had to use any of these skills for successfully delivered projects:

• Project Closure and Evaluation
• Digital Marketing

Digital marketing encompasses many different roles, responsibilities, and industries.

Our advice is to highlight the skill set that would be most useful for your chosen career path.

For example, if you’re applying for a role in social media, include on your resume your experience with different channels and how your communication strategy succeeded.

Digital marketing skills may include:

• Influencer Marketing

Graphic Design

While imagination and creativity may be at the center of the graphic designer's work, there are plenty of technologies that are important to success.

The list of graphic design skills includes:

UX/ UI Design

UX/UI design contains multiple skills from research, architecture, and wireframing to design and analysis.

Discover our top picks for your resume:

• Accessibility Design

Financial Analysis

Plain and simple, financial analysis skills are focused on understanding data to make informed decisions.

They integrate an abundance of hard and soft skills, such as:

• Data visualization tools

Foreign Languages

When listing foreign languages on your resume, it’s vital you explain your capabilities via your proficiencies and specializations.

It’s not enough to say you know a certain language - you need relevant certification or at least some widely-accepted reference as to your reading, comprehension, listening, and speaking skills.

Make sure to note your:

• Interpersonal Communication
• Communication

Perhaps your ability to communicate is one of the most important soft skills you'd need to show to recruiters - for any role.

Make sure that your communication efforts are always linked with relevant achievements.

Popular communication skills include:

• Cultural awareness
• Collaboration

Collaboration is your ability to participate within a team environment with the end goal of success.

While collaboration also covers various communication soft skills, here's the list of some other abilities you could list within your resume:

Problem-Solving

Problem-solving requires demonstrating your analytical abilities and shows the way you think in certain situations.

Can you take time-sensitive decisions or under pressure?

Skills that are linked with problem-solving include:

• Systematic thinking
• Critical Thinking

Like problem-solving, critical thinking is another must-have cognitive skill recruiters are on the lookout for.

Apart from your projects , you could also demonstrate your approach by incorporating various achievements through your resume as a result of your critical-thinking skills.

Showcase some of these skills to further prove your critical-thinking abilities:

• Effective Communication

Adaptability

Within the past three plus years, it has become more and more evident that individuals who can navigate through dynamic environments (and thrive) become the most sought-out professionals.

Showcase you can adapt to new challenges on your resume via these skills:

Effective leaders are able to enable their teams to progress while creating a work environment with a vision.

While your leadership approach may be more evident during the interview stage of your application process, it's a good idea to note cases where you've shown some of the following skills:

• Fostering a culture of growth

Organization

If you're apt at maintaining an organization's efficiency, definitely list your skills within your resume.

Organization skills hint at your abilities as a manager, but also, include:

• Adaptation to technology
• Negotiation

Navigating complex discussions, reaching agreements, and building relationships - that's what the ultimate outcome of your negotiation skills is.

Include as many of these relevant soft skills to highlight your negotiation abilities further:

• Relationship building

The ability to think outside the box, while driving forward-facing initiatives, is surely impressive.

Highlight innovation on your resume with these soft skills:

• Growth mindset

Interpersonal Skills

Interpersonal skills help you to build positive relationships with others: whether those be third-party vendors, stakeholders, or team members.

Demonstrate your interpersonal skills via these abilities:

• Valuing contributions

The ability to deliver information in a manner that's informative, engaging, and persuasive is one that leaves a lasting impression on recruiters.

Hone your presentation abilities with these soft skills:

• Visual and verbal communication alignment

Within the next section of this guide, discover more practical advice to writing your resume skills.

How to list skills on your resume

To list skills on your resume, consider what works in light of the job requirements and will match your authentic skill set (and voice).

We've discovered six best practices that highlight strategy, space, and thought process, so you could make the most of your resume skills.

Find skills the company is looking for

First, read the advert job description.

It is most often the case that recruiters include all relevant keywords under the requirements or qualifications section.

As a final step to your research process, check out the company's website for even more gold nuggets related to what the company is all about.

This way, you'll be able to identify if you'll be a good match for the company culture (and vice versa - if it'll match your expectations).

What if the job advert you have doesn't provide enough information?

Search on other popular recruitment platforms for the job advert. The missing link is out there somewhere - you just need to find it.

Another option, in this case, will be to reach out to recruiters on LinkedIn - ask them just a few questions about the desired, specific skill set.

Match your skill set with the company's ideal profile

The ugly truth is that when every single company is hiring, they have an ideal candidate profile in mind. They might make a couple of compromises for an "out of the blue" Cinderella, but...

... practice goes to show that skill alignment is no fairy tale.

Here's where you have to learn to read between the lines of the advert.

Not just because you have to consider the technical capabilities as described, but also because you have to look deeper into the tone of voice, soft skills, and preferred culture.

Aim to synthesize this information for yourself, so you can better understand what is it that the company needs from the specific candidate:

• A nod to the future - what would my potential be in the job?

Ultimately, your application shouldn't be set to just fill in a tangible (or not) vacancy but it should answer your and the company's expectations.

Here's an example with a job description for a UX Copywriter. We've highlighted the hard skills in green, while the soft skills are in blue. This exercise should help you better understand the preferable skill set of the ideal candidate.

• Collaborate with Product Managers, UX Designers, UX Program Managers, and other key stakeholders to develop online device setup instructions and engagement pieces.
• Maintain brand voice and alignment with packaging through copyediting.
• Create and maintain editorial style guides and master copy documents.
• Ensure the highest standards of style and writing (e.g., grammar, spelling, syntax, diction, punctuation, brand alignment).
• Help improve processes for how content is created, delivered, and maintained.
• Proofread all final documents before print.
• Work closely with the subject matter experts, advocating for product and documentation innovation on behalf of the customer.
• Pursue automated content development.
• Create and maintain standards/guidance for localized translations.
• 3 years of design experience.
• An available online portfolio.
• Degree in English, Technical Writing.
• Experience in writing and editing technical documentation.
• Strong written and verbal communications skills.
• Ability to earn trust, engage, and influence people and teams at every level in the organization.
• Experience with content management systems and project management tools.
• Demonstrated ability to work in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.

Want to make your resume stand out even further? Always match each skill with precise role accomplishments.

This would give social proof that you're adept at the skill and that your application is as close to the ideal candidate profile as it can be.

Use the STAR methodology to talk about your skills and experiences

The STAR method is one of the recruiters' favorite tools during behavioral-based interviews.

The acronym stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result(s).

Apart from the interview stage, you can also use the S-T-A-R methodology to describe specific achievements which really stand out.

• Results or final outcomes: highlight precisely what “fruit” did your efforts bring in? BONUS: if you can add numbers and data to the results stage, then this will make quite an impression on recruiters.

Here are six more reasons why recruiters are huge fans of the STAR method.

These types of responses:

• show how you'd handle similar situations.

The STAR method also brushes up on your reflection skills - as any professional should be able to look back on their work and highlight what worked.

So, even when writing your resume, it's helpful to think about various situations or projects where you can apply the STAR method .

The outcome should be strong, evidence-based answers that highlight your suitability for the position. Check out this example:

Situation : a DevOps engineer for a finance website

Task : eliminate poor website performance during peak hours (stock opening hours)

Activity : migrated the existing website's database to a more optimal noSQL solution

Result : reduced complaints rate to 3% and 100% website uptime during peak visit hours

Communicate your skills proficiency

Which one sounds more professional to you, when listing your language skills - "French C2" or "French"?

Adding your level of proficiency helps employers better understand just how good you are at using that particular skill.

• Building trust with the organization from the get-go with transparency and honesty about your unique skill set.

But how can you - all by yourself - evaluate your skill set proficiency?

A popular framework that's used is the National Institutes of Health one; here's how it classifies the different experience levels:

• Expert - with unparalleled knowledge that surpasses that of most professionals, you're recognized as a thought leader in the industry. With experience that spans years (or decades) on end, you've mastered various challenges and situations to always achieve an outcome. You're able to mentor others to achieve even higher peaks in their skill set.

There are many ways to map your skill proficiency. Our practice has shown us that some of the best ways include visual level bars and charts, used in more creative resumes , and simple labels, used in most modern resumes .

Make a separate resume skills section

A separate skills section serves to improve your score with the ATS - and also helps recruiters understand whether you have the expertise they're searching for.

First, consider the skills that are listed closer to the top of the advert. Those will be most vital for the role.

Next, reflect upon your skill strengths - those should also be listed within the dedicated skills section with more prominence.

Don't forget about including a couple of soft skills - this will help you align your profile even further with the ATS.

If you want to take this activity a step further, create a separate, niche skills section. One that could list, for example, your technology proficiency or specific soft skills.

Back up your skills in other sections of your resume

The more you can integrate skill keywords within your whole resume, the better you’d meet recruiters’ requirements. Here are five other sections that could include your skill set.

• List accomplishments and skills in the experience section of your resume

Your experience bullets are the perfect opportunity to provide recruiters with some proof of your skill capabilities.

By quantifying your expertise with achievements (and possibly data), you'll provide them with the necessary background to better understand your skill set.

The more impressive your achievements were, the closer they should be to the top of your list (under each experience item).

Also, do consider what the requirements are for the job and use those to qualify your experience and skill set.

For example, if the role requires you to be able to apt in community management, your resume could list that you:

"Implemented communication strategies to attain a feeling of closeness amongst community members to attain a 107% growth and 65% more structured community management"

Let's take a look at a well-structured experience section that communicates the relevant skills of the applicant.

• • Significantly reduced past due receivables from $7M to $5M within four months, accelerating cash flow
• • Reduced company costs 50% through centralized purchasing
• • Trained and supervised more than 4 summer interns each for a period of 3 weeks

Write a summary of qualifications

Going back to the top one-third of your resume, we have the summary and headline .

The resume summary - those brief three-to-five sentences - is the best chance you'd get to integrate your skills.

Once again, go back to the advert at hand and select up to five skills that you feel most confident in (that are important for the job). Use those to structure your resume summary.

Here's an example from our practice:

With your resume headline, you could also make a lasting impression.

Even though it should be short and simple, while matching the job requirements, the headline could integrate one-to-three skills.

Both of these sections provide you with an opportunity to further "stuff" your resume with skill keywords. But you don't want to go over the top with that.

Use the limited space you have wisely to demonstrate your highlights, achievements, and unique skill set.

Use certifications and courses

The hidden gem of the certifications and courses resume sections is that they allow you to further expand on your skill set. They are also a must in certain industries, such as cybersecurity.

Including a certification section on your resume will:

• showcase your professional recognition.

A courses section is recommended for entry-level roles, where certifications (or more experience) are yet to be attained.

The courses could once again highlight the skills you've learned via your education or in your free time.

Showcase your transferable skills if you’re switching between career fields

Transferrable skills are universal skills you can easily apply from one role or responsibility to another.

They are basically what makes your experience unique and show that you can thrive within any work environment.

150+ Must-Have Skills (for Every Field)

Soft resume skills

Including this category of skills within your resume showcases the transferable skills and unique value you’d bring about as an applicant.

• Work Under Pressure
• Flexibility
• Independent
• Analytical Thinking
• Collaborative
• Strong Work Ethic
• Decision Making
• Detail Oriented
• Organizational
• Problem Solving
• Responsibility
• Interpersonal
• Team Leadership
• Time Management
• Coordinating
• Reliability
• Multi-Tasking
• Creative Thinking
• Strategic Thinking
• Dealing with Ambiguity
• Emotional Intelligence
• Active Listening
• Transferable
• Fast Learner
• Public Speaking
• Conflict Resolution
• Willingness to Learn
• Dealing with Objection
• Creating Good Rapport
• Resource Allocation
• Goal-Oriented
• Remote Work Skills

Computer skills for your resume

Computer skills are your technical competencies - basically, your ability to use various computer software and applications.

• Microsoft Access
• Microsoft Word
• Microsoft Office
• Data analysis and interpretation
• Database management (e.g., SQL, Oracle, MySQL)
• Programming languages (e.g., Python, Java, C++)
• Web development (HTML, CSS, JavaScript)
• Front-end frameworks (e.g., React, Angular, Vue.js)
• Back-end frameworks (e.g., Node.js, Django, Laravel)
• Cloud computing platforms (e.g., AWS, Azure, Google Cloud)
• Networking protocols (e.g., TCP/IP, DNS, HTTP)
• Cybersecurity principles and best practices
• Virtualization and containerization (e.g., Docker, Kubernetes)
• Data visualization tools (e.g., Tableau, Power BI)
• Machine learning and data mining
• Artificial intelligence (AI) concepts and frameworks
• Natural language processing (NLP)
• Big data technologies (e.g., Hadoop, Spark)
• Statistical analysis software (e.g., R, SAS, SPSS)

Design resume skills

With design skills, you have to be able to showcase to recruiters that you’re able to use an array of technology (and/or software), yet also have a creative vision.

Perhaps the strongest asset you have that demonstrates your graphic design skills are your past projects and portfolio. Make those easily discoverable by recruiters with links within the resume header .

• Videography
• Graphic design
• User interface (UI) design
• User experience (UX) design
• Branding and identity design
• Print design
• Mobile app design
• Layout design
• Illustration
• Icon design
• Logo design
• Visual communication
• Color theory
• Composition
• Motion graphics
• Video editing
• 3D modeling and rendering
• Infographic design
• Data visualization
• Art direction
• Photo editing and retouching
• Virtual reality (VR) design
• Augmented reality (AR) design
• Game design
• Brand guidelines
• Style guides

Business and management resume skills

Show that you’re the top candidate by featuring the right skills on your resume. Explore a list of the most popular business and management skills in 2022 below.

• Client Relations
• Stakeholder Management
• Team Management
• People Management
• Procurement
• Contract Management
• Implementation
• Fundraising
• Sustainability
• Client Management
• Crisis Management
• Manufacturing
• Performance Management
• Quality Management
• Microsoft Project
• Event Management
• Report Writing
• Inventory Management
• Relationship Management
• Risk Management
• Lean Six Sigma
• Process Improvement
• Quality Assurance
• Faciliation
• Vendor Management
• Financial Modeling
• Asset Management
• Customer relationship management
• Supply chain management
• Key performance indicator (KPI) tracking

Accounting and finance resume skills

Accounting and finance skills could open your doors to opportunities within various sectors. Your proficiency and technological capabilities would be a definite must for some roles.

These are also transferable skills, as they focus further on growing your analytical thinking and the ability to back up your decisions via data.

The more numbers that pinpoint results you could integrate (e.g. that show how your financial decisions have brought about a 56% increase in ROI), the better you’d be able to demonstrate your success.

• Budget Management
• Financial analysis
• Financial reporting
• Financial modeling
• Tax preparation and planning
• Risk management
• Cost accounting
• Managerial accounting
• Financial statement analysis
• Cash flow management
• Revenue recognition
• Accounts payable
• Accounts receivable
• General ledger management
• Financial planning and analysis (FP&A)
• Internal controls
• Financial systems and software (e.g., QuickBooks, SAP, Oracle)
• Compliance and regulatory knowledge (e.g., GAAP, IFRS)
• Financial statement preparation
• Variance analysis
• Investment analysis
• Capital budgeting
• Treasury management
• Financial risk assessment
• Cash management
• Financial operations management
• Cost control and reduction
• Financial reconciliation
• Financial statement consolidation
• Financial data analysis and interpretation
• Microsoft Excel proficiency (advanced functions, pivot tables, macros)
• Financial forecasting and planning
• Inventory management and costing
• Financial controls and procedures
• Debt management and financing
• Forecasting

Engineering resume skills

Engineering skills encompass various fields - from mechanical and chemical engineering to aerospace and civil engineering. It's no surprise that there's an array of skills that you could demonstrate across your resume.

Once more, remember to select the ones that are most relevant for the job you're applying for. In this industry, it'll be very often that your technical competencies would serve as your base for getting the job.

Soft skills are also a very good at showing not only your people skills but that you're adaptable to growth.

• Prototyping
• Technical drawing and drafting
• Engineering design and analysis
• Mathematical modeling and simulation
• Technical documentation and reporting
• Risk assessment and management
• Quality control and assurance
• Materials selection and testing
• Manufacturing processes and techniques
• Electrical circuit design and analysis
• Mechanical design and analysis
• Structural analysis and design
• Thermodynamics and heat transfer
• Fluid mechanics and hydraulics
• Control systems and automation
• Systems engineering
• Environmental sustainability in engineering
• Engineering ethics and professionalism
• Root cause analysis
• Failure analysis and prevention
• Statistical analysis
• Geotechnical engineering principles
• Engineering

Marketing resume skills

Marketing encompasses many different activities (e.g. social media, content creation, PPC strategies) all aiming to bring brands closer to audiences.

It's an ever-evolving sector that presents opportunities for professionals with different levels of proficiency.

One of the best things you could do, if you're looking to grow into the field, is to get as much hands-on experience as possible and always stay up to date with relevant technologies.

• Lead Generation
• Content Management
• Storytelling
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
• Social Media Management (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, etc.)
• Content Marketing
• Email Marketing
• Online Advertising
• Mobile Marketing
• Video Marketing
• Affiliate Marketing
• Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)
• Google Analytics
• Social Media Analytics
• Marketing Automation
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
• Marketing Strategy
• Marketing Campaign Management
• Market Research
• Competitor Analysis
• Consumer Insights
• Brand Development
• Brand Positioning
• Brand Messaging
• Brand Management
• Copywriting
• Content Creation
• Website Copy
• Community Management
• Public Relations (PR)
• Event Planning
• Customer Acquisition
• Customer Retention
• Customer Segmentation
• Customer Experience (CX)
• A/B Testing
• User Experience (UX)
• Landing Page Optimization
• Marketing Analytics
• Data Analysis

Sales resume skills

Demonstrate your sales skills with the actual achievements of your role, like maintaining a 95% positive customer feedback score or the number of units you've sold.

Your resume should also showcase the technology you feel comfortable using (e.g. Salesforce) and put a particular focus on your communication skills.

As in the words of Jeff Gitomer, "Great salespeople are relationship builders..."

• Telecommunications
• Cold Calling
• Product Knowledge
• Customer Service
• Prospecting
• Sales Process Knowledge
• CRM Software
• Territory Management
• Sales Forecasting
• Team Collaboration
• Goal Orientation
• Consultative Selling
• Rapport Building
• Objection Handling
• Value Proposition Development
• Competitive Analysis
• Strategic Account Management
• Cross-Selling
• Solution Selling
• Qualifying Leads
• Pipeline Management
• Relationship Development
• Relationship Marketing
• Customer Satisfaction
• Sales Presentations
• Sales Funnel Management
• Closing Techniques
• Contract Negotiation
• Sales Analytics
• Relationship Building
• Business Development
• Customer Engagement
• Sales Training
• Key Account Management
• Territory Planning
• CRM Administration

IT and Data management resume skills

Data has become the most valuable asset across our digital-driven world. That's why professionals with expertise in data management and information technology will be presented with a multitude of chances for professional growth.

IT careers allow professionals to experience versatile industries with ever so many rising challenges that require a new, more adaptive skill set for creative problem-solving and innovation.

But, as a starting point, make sure you can demonstrate how you can use your knowledge in the real world with projects , experience items , and technical skills .

• Active Directory
• Database Management
• Data Management
• Penetration Testing
• Data Warehouse
• Technical Support
• Mathematics
• Machine Learning
• Integration
• Artificial Intelligence
• Software Testing
• Data Modelling
• Data Collection
• Data Center
• Statistical Analysis
• artificial intelligence
• data center
• data collection
• data management
• data modelling
• machine learning
• microsoft access
• penetration testing
• software testing
• data warehouse
• microsoft office
• statistical analysis

Office resume skills

These skills are indispensable in any industry (or sphere) as they prove your ability to communicate and how you handle some office software.

If you're looking to find an admin role, definitely showcase your office skills, supported by relevant strengths, within your resume.

This particular skill set is also a nice-to-have for more entry-level candidates and candidates with less ( or no ) professional experience.

• Documentation
• Administrative
• Data Entry and Management
• Office Equipment Operation
• File Management
• Record Keeping
• Calendar Management
• Office Supply Management
• Office Space Planning
• Office Decorum and Etiquette
• Document Sharing and Collaboration Tools (e.g., SharePoint, Google Drive)
• Presentation Software (e.g., PowerPoint, Keynote)
• Task Management Tools (e.g., Trello, Asana)
• Web Conferencing Platforms (e.g., Zoom, Microsoft Teams)
• Customer Complaint Resolution
• Risk Assessment
• Performance Tracking
• Data Reporting
• Workplace Ergonomics
• Employee Relations
• Knowledge of Labor Laws and Regulations
• Benefits Administration Support
• Recruitment and Onboarding Coordination
• Workplace Culture Enhancement
• Employee Engagement Initiatives
• Employee Recognition Programs
• Workplace Wellness Initiatives
• Diversity and Inclusion Support
• Business Correspondence Etiquette

Food service resume skills

Bring your A-game to the table with your previous experience and food service skills.

The food and beverage industry allows professionals to grow a multitude of unique (and transferable) skills, from customer service to system operations and creativity.

On a side note, your patience and active listening skills should be at a superior level.

• Food Safety and Sanitation
• Menu Knowledge
• Order Taking
• Food Preparation
• Food Presentation
• Cash Handling
• POS Systems
• Menu Specials Promotion
• Food Handling Equipment
• Cleanliness and Organization
• Knowledge of Dietary Restrictions
• Menu Planning
• Inventory Ordering and Management
• Quality Control
• Culinary Skills
• Recipe Development
• Food Cost Analysis
• Portion Control
• Knife Skills
• Food Sourcing and Procurement
• Food Plating Techniques
• Food Styling
• Beverage Service
• Wine and Beer Knowledge
• Coffee Brewing Techniques
• Cash Register Operation
• Cross-selling
• Table Setting
• Dining Etiquette
• Special Event Catering
• Buffet Setup and Management
• Food Allergies and Dietary Restrictions
• Safe Food Handling and Storage
• Menu Engineering
• Health and Safety Regulations
• Food Service

Medical and healthcare resume skills

From patient care to managing various software, creating a separate resume section to showcase your medical and healthcare skills is always a good idea.

Take the time to consider which medical skills would be most relevant for the job and align those with your experience .

Also, include your healthcare skills within various parts of your resume. This should also be done to showcase your commitment to the industry and the steps you've taken to ensure that you're the most up-to-date with recent R&D.

• Patient Assessment
• Administering Injections
• Patient Care
• Taking Vital Signs
• Medical Administration
• Recording Patient Medical History
• TB Test Clearance
• Teamwork Abilities
• Medical Procedures
• Electronic Medical Records (EMR)
• Medical Terminology
• Diagnostic Testing
• Infection Control
• Surgical Assistance
• Medical Equipment Operation
• Clinical Documentation
• HIPAA Compliance
• Medical Ethics
• Emergency Response
• Patient Education
• Quality Improvement
• Cultural Competence
• Healthcare Regulations
• Patient Advocacy

Legal resume skills

All rise for the honorable legal resume skills!

While the skills may encompass various roles within the legal system, the field of regulatory compliance has been gaining more traction in the past decade or so.

The best way to highlight your legal capabilities (apart from the dedicated skills section ) is also to boost your relevant legal certification and trial/ jury/ job success.

• Contract Law
• Civil Litigation
• Legal Writing
• Legal Research
• Commercial Litigation
• Criminal Law
• Legal Analysis
• Case Management
• Contract Review and Negotiation
• Litigation Support
• Legal Document Preparation
• Legal Terminology
• Legal Ethics and Professional Responsibility
• Oral Advocacy
• Legal Citations
• Client Counseling
• Legal Due Diligence
• Legal Compliance
• Mediation and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR)
• Legal Software and Technology
• Courtroom Procedures
• Document Drafting and Editing
• Contract Drafting
• Deposition Preparation
• Legal Brief Writing
• Trial Preparation
• Mediation Techniques
• Legal Research Methodologies
• Legal Research Databases (e.g., Westlaw, LexisNexis)
• Discovery Process

Customer service resume skills

Anyone who's ever had a customer-facing role, can let you know one thing - the experience teaches you so many personal skills in handling communications.

It's all about taking the time to understand the party opposing you, to find ways to show them both empathy and compassion, and - in the end - have a tangible outcome.

The STAR methodology could be a great way to showcase your customer service skills on your resume within the projects section .

Another good idea would be to create a supplementary experience section that focuses more on your soft and customer service skills.

• Dispute Management
• Oral Communication
• CRM Systems
• Technical Expertise
• Knowledge of Policies and Procedures
• Complaint Handling
• Follow-Up and Resolution
• Telephone Etiquette
• Customer Feedback Analysis
• Customer Service Training
• Problem Escalation and Resolution
• Customer Retention Strategies
• Upselling Techniques
• Customer Satisfaction Enhancement
• Customer Needs Assessment
• Service Recovery
• Social Media Customer Service
• Customer Service in Multilingual Environments
• Professional Phone Etiquette
• Knowledge of Industry Regulations
• Customer Education and Training
• Product Demonstrations
• Technical Troubleshooting
• Knowledge Base Creation and Management
• Continuous Improvement
• Service Level Agreement (SLA) Management
• Customer Success Management
• Voice of Customer Analysis
• Service Recovery Strategies

Warehouse resume skills

There's an array of warehouse resume skills that entangle various aspects of operations. Those include third-party vendor communications and logistics to operating equipment and workplace health and safety procedures.

Your resume allows for a multitude of opportunities to list these skills - so don't miss your chances to include them, for example within your headline . Thus, optimizing it for the ATS and recruiters.

Look no further for inspiration as to your warehouse resume skills.

• Cleaning Equipment
• Forklift Operation
• Loading and Unloading Trucks
• Record-Keeping
• Lifting Heavy Items
• Warehouse Operations
• Order Fulfillment
• Shipping and Receiving
• Warehouse Organization
• Safety Compliance
• Physical Stamina
• Problem Identification
• Vendor Coordination
• RF Scanner Usage
• Warehouse Safety Training
• Lean Principles
• Warehouse Software Proficiency
• Cycle Counting
• Stock Replenishment
• Hazardous Materials Handling
• Inventory Auditing
• Cross-Docking
• Shrinkage Prevention
• Material Handling
• Workflow Optimization
• Reverse Logistics
• Space Utilization
• Stock Rotation
• Returns Processing
• Freight Management
• Customs Compliance
• Container Unpacking and Consolidation
• Inventory Forecasting
• Routing and Scheduling
• Warehouse Layout Design
• Supplier Negotiation
• Supply Chain Management

Human Resources (HR) resume skills

If you're apt at working with people and supporting the acquisition functions (or funnel) of an organization - this next list is especially for you.

Demonstrate your abilities to support one of the most crucial areas of the business - that is talent management - with an array of hard and soft skills that support your understanding.

Have you implemented any changes that have improved the lives of individuals or perhaps increased interest in the organization? Make sure you dedicate a special section to those, and also quantify the impact your decisions have made.

• Human Resource Management (HRM)
• Applicant Screening
• HR Strategy Creation
• Career Coaching
• HR Reporting
• Recruitment and Selection
• Employee Onboarding
• HR Policies and Procedures
• Training and Development
• Compensation and Benefits
• Human Resource Information Systems (HRIS) HR Systems
• Employee Engagement
• Labor Law Compliance
• Diversity and Inclusion
• Employee Performance Improvement
• Employment Law Knowledge
• Compliance Reporting
• Ethics and Confidentiality
• Employee Wellness Programs
• Employee Performance Evaluation
• Succession Planning
• Employee Benefits Administration
• Organizational Development
• Employee Engagement Surveys
• Employee Coaching and Development
• HR Policy Development
• Workforce Planning
• Compensation Analysis and Benchmarking
• HR Training and Facilitation
• Talent Acquisition and Retention
• Human Resources

Technical resume skills

Technical skills have to do with the specific technologies that are a must to complete a job.

The best way to showcase your technical expertise, of course, is by showing the skills' practical side with on-the-job experience, projects, and relevant certification.

The more results of your technical skills you can include, the better it'd be for recruiters to understand precisely your understanding of the given technology.

Speaking of which - in some cases - it could be good to also note your proficiency level.

• Lean Manufacturing
• Payment Processing
• Linear Regression
• Programming Languages (e.g., Python, Java, C++, Ruby)
• Web Development (HTML, CSS, JavaScript)
• Database Management (SQL, Oracle, MySQL)
• Software Development Lifecycle (SDLC)
• Version Control Systems (Git, SVN)
• Agile/Scrum Methodologies
• Network Administration
• System Administration (Windows, Linux)
• IT Troubleshooting
• Cloud Computing (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud)
• DevOps Tools (Docker, Kubernetes, Jenkins)
• Scripting Languages (Shell Scripting, PowerShell)
• Big Data Technologies (Hadoop, Apache Spark)
• Data Analysis and Visualization (Excel, Tableau, Power BI)
• Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence
• Natural Language Processing (NLP)
• Data Mining
• Internet of Things (IoT)
• Mobile App Development (Android, iOS)
• User Interface (UI) Design
• User Experience (UX) Design
• Web Frameworks (React, Angular, Django)
• Object-Oriented Programming (OOP)
• Test Automation (Selenium, JUnit)
• Quality Assurance (QA) Testing
• Data Structures and Algorithms
• Data Warehousing
• Mathematical Modeling
• Embedded Systems
• Computer Vision
• Operating Systems (Windows, Linux, macOS)

Hospitality resume skills

In spite of the global pandemic, the hospitality sector continues to thrive and be an indispensable part of people's lives.

With that being said, perhaps one of the most important skills within hospitality is the ability to adapt (and accept) change.

By managing customers' expectations and experiences of the given hospitality service, you've surely also attained a variety of other soft, transferrable skills.

Even if a certain skill doesn't seem that important to you, yet it's a must-have on the job advert, and you have relevant, result-driven experience of it - make sure you dedicate some resume space to quantify your experience.

• Hotel Management and Operations
• Maintenance and Cleaning
• Staff Management
• Central Reservation System “CRS”
• Event Planning and Coordination
• Front Desk Operations
• Property Management Systems (PMS)
• Sales and Marketing Knowledge
• Housekeeping Coordination
• Concierge Services
• Wine and Beverage Service
• Event Setup and Breakdown
• Venue Management
• Guest Satisfaction Enhancement
• Time-sensitive Issue Management
• Venue and Room Management
• Staff Training and Development
• Revenue Management
• Hospitality

Key Takeaways

Frequently asked questions about resume skills, what are the top skills to list on your resume.

There are no "top" skills, but rather ones that answer two-part criteria.

The first is the job requirements, and the second - is your capability and practical knowledge of using particular skills.

Now, both criteria could be met by both:

• soft skills - transferrable, personal traits that showcase the unique value of working with you as a professional.

How many skills should I list on my resume?

It's not a question of how many, but rather which skills showcase you as the best fit for the role and also prove your unique expertise and knowledge.

Asses what are the key skills for the job advert (select between five and ten) and align those with the five to ten skills you're best at.

Remember to strike a balance between hard and soft skills, and to make use of every section of your resume to demonstrate your achievements.

Can I list soft skills on my resume?

Of course - soft skills are hints of how you'd adapt and grow within new work dynamics and environments.

Soft skills support your experience and tell a further narrative: that you've grown up both as a professional and a person.

They make a fantastic first impression on more experienced recruiters who are on the lookout for more than just the check-box-fitting candidate.

Should I tailor my skills to the job description?

This is perhaps the best strategy out there for creating your professional resume. First, take notice of what skills are important to the role, recruiters, and subsequently the organization.

If from the get-go you take the time to target your skills section to the advert at hand, this would go to show that you're ready to take the next steps and subsequently - are more than prepared for the role.

As you know, the whole job application process is one of meeting expectations and aligning visions.

How do I showcase my skills on my resume?

Make use of all the resume space (or real estate) you have to highlight your versatile skill set.

What this means is that you shouldn't just limit this to a dedicated skills section. You could also talk about these capacities within your resume:

• niche/specific skills section.

It's entirely up to you to choose which sections of your resume would best fit your skill set.

When talking about your hard and soft skills, remember to also quantify your achievements.

Instead of saying you're apt at using "AutoCAD", note that you've "created 65+ full building plans in AutoCAD that have helped make the design 35% more understandable and efficient for contractors".

You could also use the STAR methodology (situation, task, action, result), when talking about your skills.

Can I include skills I learned outside of work?

If those skills are relevant to the job you're applying for and fully support your application, there isn't a reason why you shouldn't include them.

For example, you could further build your education, certifications, or hobbies section to detail those specific skills.

Test labs that you've done in your free time or side-projects that have taught you a specific skill could also work in showcasing your capabilities.

Your dream career awaits, make your move.

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Skills to Put on a Resume: 100 Best Examples of Hard & Soft Skills

By Hannah Yang

If you’re applying to jobs, you’ll need to craft a resume that showcases your most valuable skills.

Your resume will be a document that represents you throughout the recruitment process, from your initial application to your final interview .

Hiring managers are looking for specific skills on your resume that will demonstrate your ability to succeed in the role.

So how do you choose the right skills to include?

This article will explain the most important skills to include on your resume, and some resume skills examples.

Where Do I Include Skills on My Resume?

Why is it important to include the right resume skills, what’s the difference between technical skills and soft skills, how do i decide which skills to put on my resume, best hard & soft skills for a resume (with examples).

Most resumes are organized into the following sections:

• Contact information
• Resume summary / objective (optional)
• Work experience
• Hobbies / interests (optional)

The purpose of the skills section of your resume is to provide a concise list of the abilities you can offer.

In the skills section, you can mention each of the skills you have that might be relevant to the job, from language fluency to coding abilities.

You can also use a scale to show your level of expertise for each skill (e.g. beginner, intermediate, advanced, expert).

Here’s an example of what that might look like in your skills section:

• Programming languages: C (expert), Java (expert), Python (advanced)
• Leadership skills: people management (expert), Agile methodology (advanced)

But here’s the twist: your key skills should be included throughout the resume, not just in the skills section.

To really impress your hiring manager, you should mention your key skills in your work experience section, along with numbers to back them up.

Show the specific instances you’ve used those skills and how they’ve brought value to your previous employers.

Here’s an example of what that might look like in your work experience section:

• Led an Agile team of 12 software developers to build an innovative music education app using Java and Python

Choosing the right skills to include in your resume is important because employers are looking for specific skills that you’ll need to succeed.

Many companies use ATS (Applicant Tracking System) to screen applicants’ resumes before passing them on to the hiring manager.

The software looks for specific keywords, and if you have those in your skills section, you can get past the screening.

If you don’t, your resume will get discarded without ever being seen by human eyes.

Even if the company still uses a traditional system, the hiring manager will likely only look at your resume for seven seconds before making the decision of whether or not you progress to the next step.

Having the right skills in a prominent position will get you an interview, or maybe even the job.

Technical skills, also known as "hard skills," are skills that you’ve learned through practice and training.

You can measure your proficiency with a technical skill by taking a test or passing a class.

Examples of technical skills include:

• The ability to speak French
• The ability to fix a car engine
• Familiarity with ProWritingAid software

Soft skills are skills that you gain from life experience rather than formal education or work experience, such as communication skills and interpersonal skills.

Soft skills are harder to test, since they’re more qualitative than quantitative.

Examples of soft skills include:

• Problem-solving

As a general rule, you should include more technical skills than soft skills on your resume.

Since soft skills are harder to measure, they tend to make less of an impact on your resume, even if they’re just as important in the workplace.

Anyone can claim that they’re excellent at teamwork, but this skill is hard to confirm or deny in a quantifiable way.

On the other hand, someone who claims they can fix a car engine is more likely to be able to measure that ability, and to back it up with a certification or with experience fixing cars.

You might be tempted to copy and paste the hottest keywords, but that will make your resume look generic at best and inaccurate at worst.

Your goal is to give the hiring managers an accurate picture of what you can do and how your abilities can bring value to the role.

Every skill you include on your resume should have the following three traits:

• It should be relevant to the role you’re applying for
• It should be a skill you’ve demonstrated repeatedly
• It should be a specific skill, not a generic one

Let’s take a closer look at each of these traits.

Choose Resume Skills that Are Relevant to the Role You’re Applying for

You should always tailor your skills to the specific role you’re applying for.

Even if you’re a world-class photographer, that skill won’t make a difference to hiring managers if you’re applying for a job with no photography involved.

So how do you find the job skills that will bring value to the role?

One great place to look for relevant skills to demonstrate is your job description.

Most likely, your job description will mention specific skills that they’d like to see from candidates. Look for keywords and phrases that require specific abilities.

For example, say you’re a graphic designer and the job description you’re looking at includes the following sentence:

The perfect candidate for this job will have experience with Adobe Creative Suite and Dreamweaver. Experience with logo design is a plus.

Looking at this sentence, you can pick out some of the top skills your position needs: Adobe Creative Suite, Dreamweaver, and logo design.

Here’s how that might look in your skills section:

• Adobe Creative Suite: Photoshop (expert), Dreamweaver (expert), Illustrator (advanced), InDesign (advanced)
• Art: logo design (expert), color theory (advanced), typography (intermediate)

In addition to looking at the job description you’re applying for, you can also look at the job description for a similar role at a different company.

It will most likely mention other relevant skills that you can consider including.

Another tip is to look at related LinkedIn profiles. LinkedIn is a great resource for useful skills, as many people will list their job skills on their profiles.

Choose Resume Skills that You’ve Demonstrated Repeatedly

Your skills section shouldn’t feel separate from the rest of your resume.

Instead, it should work cohesively with your education and experience sections to highlight the abilities you’ve demonstrated in the past.

Each skill you list should be supported by evidence.

One way to do this is to look through your work experience section and see which skills stand out.

For example, if you led a team project at your past company using Agile methodology, you can consider including Agile methodology (a hard skill) and team leadership (a soft skill) in your skills section.

If you need to narrow down your list, you can rank all your skills as beginner, proficient, advanced, or expert. Prioritize the ones in the advanced or expert categories.

You might be applying to a role that’s different from the roles you’ve had before. In that case, it’s useful to look for transferable skills from your previous experiences.

For example, if you’re applying to a health insurance job and you’ve worked in car insurance before, you can pick out the skills that are related to insurance, not the ones that are related to the transportation industry.

That way, your skills section can help tie your past experiences to your new role.

Choose Resume Skills That Are as Specific as Possible

The last criterion for choosing your job skills is specificity.

Some skills are universal and can apply to almost any role, such as problem-solving skills, communication skills, and familiarity with Microsoft Office.

You can include these if you’d like, but they don’t tell the hiring manager as much as more specific skills do.

For example, "communication skills" is a vague soft skill.

Use ProWritingAid’s Word Explorer to help you make this vague skill more specific. The common 2-word phrase suggestions are particularly useful in this situation.

Instead of "communication skills," you can say "personal communication," "verbal communication," or "mass communication."

Similarly, "programming languages" is a vague hard skill. Instead of "programming languages," you can say "Javascript," "Python," "HTML" or the other specific programming languages you’ve used in the past.

If you’re looking for more skills to include in your skills section, you’re in the right place.

We’ve compiled a list of professional skills for each of the following job sectors:

• Data analysis
• Finance / Accounting
• Software development

Relevant Skills for a Data Analysis Role

Here are some of the hard skills you could include for a data analysis role:

• SQL and Hive
• Programming languages (R, Python, Scala, Matlab)
• STATA, SPSS, SAS
• Data Mapping
• Entity Relationship Diagrams
• Big Data tools
• Microsoft Visio
• Machine learning

Here are some of the soft skills you could include for a data analysis role:

• Problem-solving skills
• Technical and non-technical communication
• Analytical ability
• Time management
• Attention to detail
• Capacity for innovation

Relevant Skills for a Design Role

Here are some of the hard skills you could include for a design role:

• Adobe Creative Suite: Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop
• Dreamweaver
• Infographics
• Color sense & theory
• Photo editing
• Typography: spacing, line height, layout, choosing fonts
• Interactive media design
• Targeting and marketing through visual communications

Here are some of the soft skills you could include for a design role:

• Eye for aesthetics
• Communication
• Active listening
• Persistence
• Storytelling

Relevant Skills for an Education Role

Here are some of the hard skills you could include for an education role:

• Updated curriculum knowledge
• Foreign languages (Spanish, Mandarin, etc.)
• Research & data analysis
• WebCT or Blackboard Teaching skills
• File management
• Electronic presentation skills
• Video conferencing skills (software like Zoom)
• Educational platforms (software like Elearn)

Here are some of the soft skills you could include for an education role:

• Organization
• Imagination
• Conflict resolution
• Critical thinking

Relevant Skills for a Finance / Accounting Role

Here are some of the hard skills you could include for a finance role:

• Microsoft Excel (Advanced)
• Enterprise Resource Planning
• Big Data Analysis & SQL
• Know Your Customers (KYC)
• Cognos Analytics (IBM)
• Visual Basic
• Accounting Software
• Cash flow management

Here are some of the soft skills you could include for a finance role:

• Clear communication
• Business knowledge
• Numerical competence

Relevant Skills for a Healthcare Role

Here are some of the hard skills you could include for a healthcare role:

• Paperwork / record-keeping abilities
• Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS)
• Infection control
• Surgery preparation

Here are some of the soft skills you could include for a healthcare role:

• Patient care and assistance
• Physical endurance
• Flexibility

Relevant Skills for a Management Role

Here are some of the hard skills you could include for a management role:

• Data management and analytics
• Agile project management
• Six Sigma techniques
• The McKinsey 7s Framework
• Porter’s Five Forces
• Proposal writing

Here are some of the soft skills you could include for a management role:

• Emotional intelligence
• Task delegation
• People management
• Negotiation

Relevant Skills for a Marketing Role

Here are some of the hard skills you could include for a marketing role:

• Search engine optimization (SEO)
• Conversion rate optimization (CRO)
• A/B testing
• HTML & CSS
• Social media and mobile marketing
• Email marketing

Here are some of the soft skills you could include for a marketing role:

• Multitasking

Relevant Skills for a Retail Role

Here are some of the hard skills you could include for a retail role:

• Loss prevention
• Product knowledge
• Visual merchandising
• Window displays
• Cash registers
• Point of sale (POS) systems

Here are some of the soft skills you could include for a retail role:

• Customer service skills
• Resolving complaints
• Friendliness

Relevant Skills for a Software Development Role

Here are some of the hard skills you could include for a software development role:

• Programming languages (R, Python, Java, Javascript, C)
• Object-oriented design (OOD)
• Software testing and debugging
• Git/Version control (Github, gitlab)
• Graphic User Interfaces (GUI)
• Application Programming Interface (API)
• Content Management Systems (CMS)
• Responsive design principles

Here are some of the soft skills you could include for a software development role:

• Problem solving

The Most In-Demand Technical Skills Right Now

Finally, we’ve also researched the skills that are most in demand right now.

The need for different skills evolves quickly, and the ones employers are looking for have changed a lot over the years.

A 2020 LinkedIn Talent blog survey found that ten of the top technical skills today are:

• Cloud and Distributed Computing
• Statistical Analysis and Data Mining
• Middleware and Integration Software
• Web Architecture and Development Framework
• Software Revision Control Systems
• Data Presentation
• SEO / SEM Marketing
• Mobile Development
• Network and Information Security

If any of these hard and soft skills might be relevant to your role, it could be a great idea to include them on your resume.

Don’t worry, however, if these skills aren’t applicable to the role you’re applying for.

Employers won’t care about skills that aren’t relevant. You should focus on the ones that are most useful for you.

The Most In-Demand Soft Skills Right Now

According to The Ladders , the seven soft skills employers are looking for are:

• Adaptability

Given the pandemic, adaptability is likely to be a key skill. Companies are looking for employees who are flexible and can roll with the punches.

Emotional intelligence includes empathy, motivation, and self-awareness. These are increasingly important in the workplace today.

Mentioning some of these soft skills on your resume could show your hiring manager how well you’d fit into the company culture.

Final Words

There you have it: a complete guide for choosing which skills to include on your resume.

Let us know in the comments if there are any important skills you’d recommend including. Best of luck with your job search!

Want to learn more great business writing hacks? Download this free book now:

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Hannah Yang

Hannah Yang is a speculative fiction writer who writes about all things strange and surreal. Her work has appeared in Analog Science Fiction, Apex Magazine, The Dark, and elsewhere, and two of her stories have been finalists for the Locus Award. Her favorite hobbies include watercolor painting, playing guitar, and rock climbing. You can follow her work on hannahyang.com, or subscribe to her newsletter for publication updates.

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• 17 Best Skills to Put on Your...

17 Best Skills to Put on Your Resume (with Examples)

20 min read · Updated on July 30, 2024

Everything you need to know about adding the right skills to your resume

Whether your resume has been through 19 revisions lately or you're just revisiting it for the first time in years, spending some time taking stock of your skills section can generate more interest in your candidacy and be the key to winning interviews. 

However, there's a lot of conflicting information online and in books about maximizing the effectiveness of this section. 

Do you simply list all of your key skills on the resume? 

What are the right skills to put on a resume? 

What order is best? 

How will a jumble of technical qualifications help you stand out? 

And what about those  soft skills ?

Let's tackle those questions one at a time and learn the 17 best skills to put on your resume – starting at the beginning.

Why is the resume skills section there in the first place?

The number one reason to spend a fair amount of time crafting your skills list is employability. Being employable means that you have the right skills – academic skills, applied knowledge, technology skills, vertical and lateral thinking abilities, and interpersonal skills – that employers value and are willing to pay you for. 

When the hiring manager picks up your resume to determine whether you're a fit for the role they have open, one of the first things they'll look at is your skill level. Having the right skills on your resume is also important to ensure your CV pops up in recruiter searches. 

There are three key reasons to include the skills section in your resume and to organize it well:

To list your skills and abilities in one place for easy reference and scanning

To highlight the match between your background and the job requirements for the position you're interested in

To get your well-crafted resume through keyword screening by applicant tracking systems

The right mix of resume skills will get you past the first hurdle and towards a conversation. Here's a blueprint for making the most out of your skills section:

Relevancy is critical

Including a jumble of skills on your resume, beefed up with some basics that pretty much everyone knows (like Microsoft Office, as an example) won't help you to stand out. In fact, listing out skills that are considered to be a common baseline can actually hurt your candidacy by making you look like you're scrambling to establish credibility. 

PRO TIP: As a general rule, basic user-level proficiency with Word, Excel, PowerPoint and email applications is  assumed to be a given . However, if you have advanced Excel skills (expert-level proficiency with macros and advanced analysis capabilities, for example), you should list those.  

Rather than go back to basics, you'll want to focus only on skills that look good on a resume.

So how can you tell that a skill is relevant? That's easy! Read the  job description . 

Interpret the job description

As you dissect the job description to learn what will be required of you if you're hired for the position, pay special attention to the “requirements” and “qualifications” bullets, as that's where you'll find the majority of the keywords your resume will need. Again, the goal is to ensure that your resume speaks to that particular job so you can impress the hiring manager. 

Let's say you're applying for a job as an Account Manager. You may see these bullets under the “requirements” part of the job description:

Build lasting relationships with new and existing clients

Maintain client records, including contract renewals 

Develop sales plans to meet key performance indicators

Understand product offerings to meet customer needs and upsell when available

The keywords you need to focus on in each bullet are:

Client relationships

Client records and contract renewals

Sales plans and KPIs

Product offerings, customer needs, and upsell

The question you then need to ask yourself is, “Do I have the skills to back up these keywords?” If the answer is “Yes,” then these skills should appear on your resume. 

This is called  tailoring your resume  and should be done with every job that you apply to. For example, if you are applying to be a Floor Manager at a store that sells musical instruments, your proficiency with inventory management and your ability to play guitar would both be relevant for the job.

The four main types of skills for your resume

As a human being, you have technical and interpersonal skills in a broad range of areas. You might be an expert whitewater rafter, or maybe you have advanced a World of Warcraft character all the way to level 80. Both of those accomplishments require dedication, practice, and technical proficiency, but they're probably not going to help you land a job. 

The general recommendation on standout skills for a resume is to only list skills that will, directly or indirectly, help you to be more effective in your job. 

To do this, you have to understand the different types of skills that employers look for. 

1. Hard skills for a resume

These are learned abilities that you've picked up during your career, either through education, training, or experience. They can be honed over time. When you add hard skills to your resume, you'll want to include numbers –   measurable accomplishments  – as often as possible. 

2. Soft skills for a resume

Soft skills are characteristics you possess that improve your ability to get along with others, solve problems, and communicate effectively. You'll find that hiring managers love soft skills. 

No matter how technical your position is, it will require interacting with people, dealing with deadlines, and adapting to change. It's not as easy to quantify soft skills as it is hard skills, but employers still want you to prove that you possess these traits.

While most skills can be categorized as hard or soft skills, there are other types of skills, too!

3. Transferable skills for a resume

In addition to hard and soft skills, you might consider whether you have any transferable skills. This becomes especially important if you're changing careers, as they allow you to provide tangible proof of your ability to adapt to new circumstances and use lateral or vertical thinking to apply knowledge about one thing to something else. 

When you're leaning on  transferable skills to sell your qualifications  to the hiring manager, you must take the time to relay how those skills will benefit them and their new team. So, rather than saying that you have good time management skills, prove it by demonstrating what you do to manage time and how this has benefitted previous employers. 

4. Adaptive skills for a resume

You can also show resiliency through skills in your resume if you're not changing careers. Let's face it, if there's one thing that's certain in life and work, it's that things change. If you're the type of person to leverage change as a learning opportunity, then you should definitely be highlighting your adaptability on your resume. 

The 17 best skills to put on your resume

Now that we've defined what types of skills you can use on your resume, let's explore some specific examples of different skills you can include.

1. Computer skills and programming languages

When the job description wants you to prove that you possess programming skills, you can add “ Proficiency in Python, Java, or HTML, ” for example. This signals to employers that you can do everything from coding to automation and makes you a valuable candidate in the tech space.

Some roles that require an understanding of computer languages include:

Software Engineer

Computer Scientist

2. Data analysis

Saying that you possess data analysis skills allows you to demonstrate that you can interpret raw data and draw actionable insights to fuel change. It's adaptable across industries and can be easily backed by quantifiable data. 

Some roles that require an understanding of data analysis include:

Data Scientist

Marketing Consultant

Senior Accountant

3. Project management

You don't have to be a Certified Project Management Professional to include an ability to manage projects on your resume. If you're good at leading, organizing, and delivering successful outcomes, then you should add that you know how to manage projects. 

Some roles that require an understanding of project management include:

Construction Contractor

Industrial Engineer

IT Project Manager

4. Creativity

Creativity is one of the most highly sought-after skill sets. Not only can you leverage it to create tangible marketing pieces that connect with target audiences, but it can also be used to solve problems and bring fresh perspectives to projects. Creativity also signals that you're adaptable to dynamic environments. 

Some roles that require you to be creative include:

Graphic Designer

Digital Marketing Manager

Brand Manager

5. Languages

The world gets smaller every day, so being able to speak more than one language is a skill that you should definitely include on your resume. Adding multiple languages to your application makes you highly valuable in a globalized, connected working world.

Some roles that require you to be speak other languages include:

International  HR Director

Foreign Exchange  Investment Banker

Some  Teacher  roles

6. Communication

Every job everywhere requires employees to have good communication skills. But instead of simply saying that you are a good communicator, be prepared to demonstrate that you understand the value of everything from active listening to properly articulating complex concepts. 

Some roles that require great communication include:

Sales Representative

Public Relations

Nurse Practitioner

7. Teamwork

A lot of people will throw the word “teamwork” into the skills list on their resume without giving it much thought. However, given the vast amount of hybrid and remote working environments, teamwork is more important than ever. A happy team that works together reduces burnout and increases morale. 

Some roles that require good teamwork include:

Sports Fitness Coach

Product Manager

Scrum Master

8. Leadership

If you're applying for a role that will involve guiding others, then including leadership skills is a must. When you add leadership to your resume, you highlight that you're not afraid to take the initiative to make decisions that drive outcomes. 

Some roles that require you to be a leader include:

Director of IT

Sales Manager

9. Critical thinking

When you're known for making well-informed decisions by analyzing information and evaluating situations objectively, you possess critical thinking skills. You may see this pop up in job descriptions where the employer is seeking someone with high emotional intelligence. Basically, if you can navigate your way logically through problems, then critical thinking is probably something you should add to your resume.

Some roles that require critical thinking include:

Data Engineer

Telecommunications Professional

10. Cultural competence

Diversity, equity, and inclusion have become buzzwords in today's workforce. People want a voice and value having a psychologically safe place in which to get things done. This is even more true when you have people coming together from different cultures. 

Some roles that require you to have cultural competence include:

Military-to-Civilian

11. Quality assurance

Quality assurance has implications across a number of fields, including software development and cybersecurity. There is an emphasis on quality assurance in roles that require you to maintain compliance with regulations or particular guidelines and best practices. 

Some roles that require an understanding of quality assurance include:

Aviation Mechanic

Cyber Security Specialist

12. Time management

Ranking right up there with creativity as far as top-rated skills go, being able to properly manage time is critical in today's workforce. It's not only something that's found in professional settings, but across industries and jobs worldwide. A simple search of job descriptions will reveal that the majority of them want people who can meet deadlines, at the minimum. 

Some roles that require good time management include:

Administrative Office Assistant

Finance Director

Project Manager

13. Conflict resolution

Being able to de-escalate situations with irate clients by demonstrating empathy and clearly defining options for a resolution means you're probably good at conflict management. However, conflict management isn't only demonstrated in client interactions. You may also be able to showcase conflict resolution skills if you've solved problems within team environments, too. 

Some roles that require conflict resolution skills include:

Retail Merchandising

Insurance Agent

Information Technology

14. Sales and upselling

Sales is all about employing active listening to ascertain customers' needs, to sell the right product or service at the right time. Whether you're connecting with target audiences to get them to buy something through a digital marketing campaign or you're trying to sell someone a product, meeting client needs is critical to demonstrating that you're good at sales and upselling. 

Some roles that require you to be able to sell and upsell include:

Marketing Manager

Consulting Manager

Real Estate Manager

15. Data entry

As you progress in your career, showcasing that you're good at data entry will become less and less important, however, there are still some roles that value candidates who can quickly and accurately input data into a system. 

Some roles that require data entry include:

Recent Graduate

Mid-Career Professionals

16. Tech-savviness 

Being tech–savvy means that you're always on the cutting edge and consistently keep up with emerging technologies. It helps you to deliver innovative solutions that help your company remain competitive in the ever-changing IT landscape.

Some roles that require candidates to be tech-savvy include:

DevOps Engineer

Technical Project Manager

Senior Software Engineer

17. Continuous learning

Today's employers value job seekers and employees who are fastidiously committed to ongoing education and skill development. Most even provide some sort of knowledge bank or in-house professional development courses to allow you to engage in continuous learning. 

Some roles that value a commitment to continuous learning include:

Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

Electrical Engineer

Mechanical Engineer

How to add skills to your resume

Keep your skills specific and clear.

A common pitfall when it comes to resume skills is to list broad categories of abilities without going into sufficient detail. The problem with that approach is that it won't get your resume found in keyword searches, because they are looking for specific proficiency statements.

So, instead of writing “familiarity with accounting software,” list “Quickbooks, Quicken, Sage, and Xero.” 

Use numbers and descriptive words where appropriate – 

How many projects have you managed using Teamwork Projects? 

How many people have you trained to use Salesforce? 

A few well-placed quantifiers can position you as a serious candidate with supported qualifications.

Organize your skills list

When creating a long list of skills for a resume, consider how you organize everything. Ordering your skills strategically will make your resume easier to read and call the right attention to the right skills in the right place. 

This is especially true considering that our brains look for patterns. A well-organized skill section on your resume will improve the aesthetics and help the hiring manager to skim through it to find just what they're looking for. 

PRO TIP: There isn't a hiring manager alive who is reading your resume. They're  scanning through it in just a few seconds . This makes keeping things organized all the more important.

Another organizing tip is to list the most important skills for the job first. Specifics will vary by industry, but think through the critical technical skills that will drive your effectiveness and success in the role and put them at the top.

When you're starting to group your skills list together, deciding which is most important depends on the job description. While most employers want employees who are good communicators and can solve problems, you have to take the industry and employer preferences into consideration. 

Job relevance: This goes back to tearing the job description apart to find the relevant keywords

Industry trends: Stay on top of things that may be changing in your industry and highlight any new skills that come into demand

Employer preferences: Take some time to research the company and learn what they do, why they do it, and for whom – this will help you to get a feel for their company culture, so you'll know which soft skills will impress them the most

The best place to put skills on your resume

The placement of the resume skills section itself on the page is up to you. Many people prefer to have it positioned near the top of their resume, but it works at the bottom too.

PRO TIP: If you have a lot of skills to list, consider breaking them up (for example, technical skills at the top and additional skills at the bottom).

No matter where you place the skills section, the layout is critical in catching the eye of hiring managers and showcasing your qualifications in a way that helps you to stand out from the crowd. 

At the top of your resume

Technically speaking, your skills list shouldn't be at the top. The first things on your resume should be your  contact information ,  headline , and  summary paragraph . So, when we say “at the top of your resume,” we mean beneath the summary paragraph. 

When you put your skills list at the top of your resume, you call immediate attention to some key selling points. It's an effective technique if you have a strong set of skills that directly align with the job requirements. 

Here's what a skills list at the top of your resume would look like:

FIRST NAME, LAST NAME

City, ST 12345 • LinkedIn URL • [email protected] • 111-222-3333

REGIONAL MANAGER

Operations Management | Project Management | Sales Management | Business Analysis

Innovative and ambitious executive-level management professional offering extensive experience and an accomplishments-driven career in sales, marketing and operations, and key account management. Leverages an entrepreneurial spirit to orchestrate tactical business plans that challenge the status quo, allowing for reformation of process. Intuitive business acumen and skilled strategist who uses the most up-to-date business practices to create, implement, and oversee business continuity. Naturally assumes leadership roles to oversee and achieve organizational success.

Business Development • Executive Leadership • Strategic Business Planning • Data Analysis • Team Training & Development • Policy & Procedure Development • Marketing & Territory Expansion • Procurement, Sourcing, & Negotiation • Relationship-Selling • Customer Relations

This resume example actually has two skills lists. One just beneath the title and then the regular one beneath the summary paragraph. It's an effective way to separate out the skills that are most important – the specialized abilities that you want to call immediate attention to. However, if you do it like this on your resume, the skills listed beneath the title should only be one to two lines max!

At the bottom of the resume

If you've reached a point in your career where your work history and career achievements outshine your skills, then it's a good idea to place the skills list at the bottom of your resume. 

Here's what your skills could look like at the bottom of your resume:

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

[List your career history in reverse-chronological order, starting with the most recent and working backward about 10 years]

[List the degrees you've earned and the schools where you obtained your degrees. You can also mention any professional development classes you've taken and certifications or licenses you possess]

Core proficiencies:

Project Management | Lean Management | Change Management | Operations Management | 3PL | Inventory Management | Inventory Control | Inventory Planning | Logistics Management | Distribution & Processing | Budgeting | Procurement | Purchase Orders

Soft skills:

Team Leadership | Coaching | Persuasion | Creative Problem Solving | Negotiation

Technical skills:

Epicor | PeopleSoft | XAL(Concorde) | HighStage | Deltek (Costpoint) | KBM | Syteline | Kinaxis | Glovia (Oracle-based) | Oracle | Adept | Workflow | Data Vault (Oracle-based) | Intralink

English |  Spanish |  French

Throughout your resume

Since your resume is more than a list of skills, you should know that your master list of abilities and the keywords you've culled from the job description aren't limited to being placed only in a skills list. You can – and should – include hard, soft, adaptive, and transferable skills throughout your entire resume. 

After your contact information, the first thing that should appear on your resume is a headline. A lot of people will simply put a title, but if you take a moment to spruce it up and turn it into a headline, you'll be able to inject a few keywords on the top line of your resume. 

For example, if you're applying for a role as a Real Estate Broker, here's the difference between a title and a headline:

Title: Real Estate Broker

Headline: Real Estate Broker with Expertise in Property Valuation and Team Management

Put yourself into the shoes of a hiring manager and ask yourself, which of those would give you more information about the job seeker? The headline not only indicates which role you want, but also includes two keywords – property valuation and team management. 

Summary paragraph

As you move on to write your career summary, that appears just beneath the headline, you'll want to continue adding relevant skills from your career that are mirrored in the job description. Doing this will ensure that your resume presents a cohesive and powerful message that your experience and achievements will serve the new company well. 

In sticking with the example of Real Estate Broker, perhaps you find that the new company wants you to coordinate marketing events and client activities, write weekly reports, and have a solid understanding of the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) platform for listing properties. 

The keywords to include in your profile paragraph would be:

Marketing events

Client activities

Multiple Listing Service (MLS)

Thus, your profile paragraph could look like this:

Veteran real estate professional with a strong background in orchestrating impactful marketing events for single and multi-family residences. Specializes in managing client activities that turn passive consumers into active clientele. Proficient in maximizing MLS to enhance property visibility and streamlining documentation and reporting processes. Known for creating a culture of excellence and client satisfaction by maintaining an open-door policy that encourages communication among team members.

As you can see, the profile paragraph isn't a long and drawn-out diatribe of things you've done in your career. Rather, it's a short paragraph that matches your skills to the job you're applying for. 

Work experience

Let's move on to the meat of your resume - the part the hiring manager is going to spend the most time on – your  career history . You may be wondering how you can put future-facing keywords into the historical part of your resume, but all it takes is a bit of finesse. 

For example, if you have a history of closing multi-million-dollar deals in high-end neighborhoods, you could work a few keywords into an achievement bullet like this:

• Closed 5 multi-million-dollar property sales per month by leveraging MLS for property exposure

While you could stop after you say how many multi-million-dollar deals you closed, because that's a great achievement statement, expanding the bullet to include a keyword makes your overall resume all the more compelling. 

TopResume wants to do more than write your resume. We want to give you the tools you need to succeed in your job search and career. Click on the following link for more  resume and career advice .

Stand out from the crowd

When you master including the best skills in your resume, you reach a level of job search preparedness that propels your resume to the top of the pile. The whole idea is to make it easy for potential employers to see how you'll fit within the folds of their organization and team. That's where tailoring the skills on your resume comes in – wherever you include them. 

Want to see how your resume stacks up? Try out our  free resume review  today!

Recommended reading:

How to Write a Powerful LinkedIn Summary

How to Format a Resume for Multiple Jobs at One Company

The Best Resume Format to Get Hired  

Related Articles:

7 Signs Your Resume is Making You Look Old

Don't “Snowplow” Your Kids' Job Search — Set Them Up for Success Instead

What Kind of Job Candidate Are You?

See how your resume stacks up.

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Resume Examples for 2024 & Guides for Any Job [90+ Examples]

In today’s competitive job market, having an impactful resume is more essential than ever. 

However, many job seekers struggle to craft a resume that effectively highlights their skills and experience and, in turn, misses out on potential job opportunities. 

This is where our extensive library of resume examples comes in. 

By looking at examples of resumes for different industries and professions, you can gain great insight into what works and what doesn’t, get inspired to present your own qualifications, and stand out from the competition.

Let’s dive in!

15+ Resume Examples

#1. architect resume example.

Here’s what this architect resume example does right:

• Lists related experience. This resume highlights the relevant professional experience the candidate gained in the field during their internship.
• Mentions achievements and responsibilities. The candidate backs up their claims by going into detail about their achievements and responsibilities. 
• Focus on personal projects. By dedicating a section to their personal projects, this candidate makes up for their lack of work experience and shows off their dedication to the industry. 

#2. Business Resume Example

Here’s what this business-related resume example does right:

• Prioritizes work experience. The work experience section is arguably the most important section in every resume, which is why this candidate has given it a priority by giving it enough resume space and going into detail about their previous positions. 
• Highlights accomplishments. To make their professional experience even more impactful, this candidate has supported all their claims with quantifiable achievements. 
• Lists the right optional sections . The candidate adds more value to their resume by including the organizations, honors, and conferences as optional sections.

#3. Computer Science Resume Example

Here’s what this computer science resume does right: 

• Prioritizes technical skills. Technical skills are essential when it comes to IT-related roles, which is why this candidate has prioritized them over soft skills.
• Keeps the education section concise. With such extensive professional experience in the field, the candidate has opted to keep their education section short.
• Lists relevant social media profiles. Listing websites like GitHub and LinkedIn is a great way to provide recruiters with additional information about your skills.

#4. Data Analyst Resume Example

Here’s what this data analyst resume does right: 

• Includes a strong resume summary . This candidate showcases their key skills and qualifications from the get-go, which is much more likely to get recruiters to read their resumes from start to finish.
• Highlights technical skills. Data analysts work with “big data,” so this candidate prioritizes their quantitative and technical skills over other resume sections.
• Lists relevant professional certifications . The resume lists the candidate’s most noteworthy professional certificates.

#5. College Resume Example

Here’s what this college resume example does right: 

• Lists relevant social media profiles. By including their Medium and LinkedIn accounts, this candidate gives the hiring manager a chance to know them more professionally. 
• Highlights achievements . Although they lack work experience, the candidate has listed everything they’ve achieved during their academic career, thus showing they’re a promising candidate. 
• Mentions the right optional sections. Adding hobbies and interests and foreign languages to a resume is a huge plus for a candidate with no work experience.

#6. Customer Service Resume Example

Here’s what this customer service resume does right: 

• Includes both soft and hard skills . Customer service roles require a mix of soft and hard skills, so this candidate has listed both. 
• Mentions quantifiable achievements. To make their achievements more impressive, the candidate has backed up their work achievements with data and numbers. 
• Lists foreign language skills. Foreign languages are a huge plus when you’re working in customer service and this resume does a good job highlighting the candidate’s foreign language skills. 

#7. Digital Marketing Resume Example

Here’s what this digital marketing resume does right: 

• Follows the reverse chronological format . This format is the most popular one worldwide and is easily the safest choice.
• Grabs attention with a resume summary. In a single glance, the recruiter can tell that the candidate is a digital marketing professional with the right amount of experience.
• Lists relevant skills. The digital marketing specialist resume above lists in-demand marketing skills like Google Ads, SEO, and others.

#8. Graduate Resume Example

Here’s what this graduate resume example does right:

• Starts off with a well-written resume objective . The resume objective does a great job of showing off the candidate’s promise and industry-related experience. 
• Includes work experience. The candidate has gained professional experience while they were a student and they’ve made sure to include that in their resume. 
• Takes advantage of optional sections. Sections like volunteer experience, and personal projects and achievements can help make up for the lack of extensive experience in the industry. 

#9. HR Resume Example

Here’s what this human resources resume example does right: 

• Follows the right format. The reverse chronological format lists the candidate’s latest experience and achievements first, which is exactly what recruiters want to see. 
• Highlights professional experience. With so many years in the industry, this candidate has dedicated the biggest part of their resume to their work history. 
• Includes courses and certificates. To make their achievements even more impressive, the candidate has included all their courses and certifications. 

#10. Medical Assistant Resume Example

Here’s what this medical assistant resume example does right: 

• Starts off with a memorable resume summary. The candidate lists their years of experience, skills, and passion for the industry, making it more likely for the hiring manager to read the rest of their resume. 
• Lists the candidate’s certificates. There are many certifications one can obtain in the medical field, and this candidate proves how professional they are by listing theirs. 
• Highlights the candidate’s extensive work experience. Experience speaks louder than a thousand words, which is why this resume example provides the work experience section its due space. 

#11. Project Manager Resume Example

Here’s what this project manager resume example does right: 

• Uses bullet points. The candidate uses bullet points to organize and present the information which makes this project manager resume example look neat and structured.
• Keeps their education section relevant. The candidate only includes their key education details, such as their Bachelor’s degree and a field-related minor.
• Takes advantage of additional sections. The candidate takes advantage of the extra space on their project manager resume by including relevant additional sections, such as their industry-related certifications and academic achievements

#12. Bar Manager Resume Example

Here’s what this bar manager resume example does right:

• Includes relevant social media profiles. Details such as your LinkedIn profile or Instagram handle make you look more professional (as long as they’re work-related). 
• Mentions industry-related skills. Instead of listing a bunch of unrelated skills, the bar manager resume example above only lists industry-relevant skills.
• Quantifiable achievements. This applicant quantifies their achievements as much as possible, showing the bar owner how they stand out amongst other candidates.

#13. Supervisor Resume Example

Here’s what this supervisor resume example does right: 

• Lists relevant contact details . The supervisor resume example above leaves out redundancies like marital status or age and includes relevant information, like a LinkedIn URL. 
• Features as many accomplishments as possible. To really highlight their candidate’s professional experience, the supervisor example lists achievements over responsibilities. 
• Lists the right kind of skills. This supervisor's resume example doesn’t list every skill under the sun. Instead, they keep the section relevant by only listing skills required from a supervisor. 

#14. Teacher Resume Example

Here’s what this teacher resume example does right:

• Mentions industry-relevant skills. The candidate lists all the soft and hard skills a teacher should have. 
• Includes hobbies and interests . By including hobbies and interests, the hiring manager will see the candidate as more than just a resume. 
• Lists volunteer experience. The candidate reinforces their teaching experience by including their teaching volunteer gigs and experience. 

#15. Writer Resume Example

Here’s just what this writer resume example does right: 

• Impressive resume summary. The resume includes a brief but effective resume summary that highlights the candidate’s skills and top achievements.
• Relevant contact details. This writer resume example contains relevant contact information, including the candidate’s name and surname, email address, phone number, location, professional website URL, and LinkedIn URL. 
• Short education section. A writer’s skills and experience matter more than their education. For this reason, this candidate kept their writer resume’s education section short and sweet. 

#16. Web Developer Resume Example

Here’s what this web developer resume example does right: 

• Focuses on technical skills. Technical skills are essential for web development, which is why this candidate has prioritized theirs.
• Grabs attention with their work experience. Their rich work experience, listed in reverse chronological order, shows the candidate is a promising professional.
• Keeps their education section minimal. With such extensive work experience and training, the candidate has kept their education section concise.

65+ More Resume Examples and Guides 

Couldn’t find a resume example for your field? Worry not!

Below you can find a number of other resume examples for different fields and industries:

• Accountant Resume
• Administrative Assistant Resume
• AI Engineer Resume
• Animator Resume
• Babysitter Resume
• Banking Resume
• Bank Teller Resume
• Barbie's Resume
• Barista Resume
• Bartender Resume
• Bookkeeper Resume
• Business Analyst Resume
• Career Change Resume
• Caregiver Resume
• Cashier Resume
• College Application Resume
• College Freshman Resume
• Consultant Resume
• Construction Project Manager
• Creative Resume Examples
• Data Entry Specialist Resume
• Data Scientist Resume
• Dentist Resume
• DevOps Engineer Resume
• Digital Marketing Manager Resume
• Editor Resume
• Electrical Engineer Resume
• Elon Musk's One-Page Resume
• Engineering Resume
• Esthetician Resume
• Europass CV
• Event Planner Resume
• Executive Assistant Resume
• Federal Resume
• Financial Analyst Resume
• Flight Attendant Resume
• Game Designer Resume 
• Graphic Designer Resume
• High School Resume
• Illustrator Resume 
• Interior Designer Resume
• Internship Resume
• Java Developer Resume
• Military to Civilian Resume
• Marketing Executive Resume
• Minimalistic Resume Examples
• Nanny Resume Example
• Nurse Resume
• Office Assistant Resume
• Office Manager Resume
• Operations Manager Resume
• Paralegal Resume
• Pharmacist Resume
• Photographer Resume
• Program Manager Resume
• Real Estate Agent Resume
• Receptionist Resume
• Recruiter Resume
• Research Assistant Resume
• Restaurant Manager Resume
• Retail Manager Resume
• Richard Branson's One-Page Resume
• Sales Resume
• Sales Associate Resume
• Satya Nadella's One-Page Resume
• Server Resume
• Social Worker Resume
• Software Engineer Resume
• Stay-at-home Mom Resume
• Student Resume
• Student Resume Templates
• Taylor Swift Resume
• Video Editor Resume
• Volunteer Resume
• Waiter/Waitress Resume
• Warehouse Worker Resume
• Web Developer Resume
• Welder Resume

5+ Examples of Resume Templates

Your resume template can play an important role in helping you make a great first impression on the hiring manager. 

Specifically, your industry, work experience, or skills all impact how your resume should look, so make sure to choose the right template when making your resume: 

#1. Traditional Resume

A straightforward format that gives equal importance to all resume sections , emphasizing skills and work experience.

#2. Creative Resume

Land your dream job in the creative industry by using this creative resume template. 

#3. Minimalist Resume

A simple and easy-to-follow resume template. Perfect for more conservative industries which prefer less flashy templates.

#4. Basic Resume

This easy-to-personalize basic resume layout can be ready in under ten minutes through our resume builder .

#5. IT Resume

One of the best resume layouts to choose when you wish to showcase your IT expertise.

#6. Modern Resume 

It can be hard to stand out from the crowd, but this modern resume sample will take care of this.

#7. General Resume

5+ Resume Examples by Career Level

#1. no experience resume .

Are you a student with no experience ? Learn how to write a compelling resume with our guide! 

#2. College Freshman Resume

Learn how to ace your college freshman resume with our comprehensive guide! 

#3. Graduate Resume

Fresh out of college? Write an impactful graduate resume to land your first gig after college. 

#4. Career Change Resume

Going through a career change? Perfect your career change resume to make the transition as smooth as possible. 

#5. Manager Resume

#6. Executive Resume

The Perfect Resume Structure 

Not sure how to structure your resume?

Here’s our tried-and-tested resume layout :

• Choose the right resume format or pick a template. If you’re formatting your resume yourself, follow the reverse-chronological format and make sure to follow the right layout rules. Alternatively, you can use one of our premade resume templates and not have to worry about formatting your resume one bit. 
• Add relevant contact details and make sure they’re mistake-free. You shouldn’t be missing information such as your full name and job title, e-mail address, and where you’re based. Optionally, you can also include some relevant social media profiles, such as your LinkedIn.
• Include a resume summary or a resume objective. Done right, a resume summary will show the hiring manager you’re a relevant candidate from the get-go and have them read the rest of your resume.
• List your work experience, placing special focus on your achievements. Your work experience becomes more meaningful if you include your achievements in your past roles and manage to make them quantifiable.
• Mention your top soft and hard skills. List any skills you have that are relevant to the job you’re applying for in a seperate section. 
• Keep your education section short and concise. Unless you’re an entry-level candidate with little-to-no work experience, keep your education section short and to the point. 
• Leverage optional sections like “Languages,” “Certifications,” or “Hobbies and Interests.” Fill up the rest of your resume space with optional sections that can highlight your strengths and qualifications as a candidate (e.g. foreign languages you speak, certifications you’ve obtained over the years, or your hobbies and interests).

3 Examples of Resume Formats 

#1. reverse chronological resume format.

This resume format highlights your experience and key professional achievements by listing your latest position and acquired skills first. It’s the most popular resume format among recruiters and the one we advise job seekers to use in 99% of cases. 

#2. Functional Resume Format

A functional resume , also known as the skill-based resume, is a resume format that focuses on your professional skill test as opposed to work experience. You’re better off using a functional resume if you’re a recent graduate with no work experience, if you’re switching careers, or if you have a long employment gap . 

#3. Hybrid Resume Format

A combination resume combines the two traditional resume formats: the reverse-chronological resume and the functional resume.

As such, this format places emphasis on a candidate’s skills and work experience. 

Frequently Asked Questions About Resume Examples

1. Are resume examples helpful?

Resume examples are helpful for several reasons. For starters, they can inspire you to write an A+ resume that meets the industry’s requirements. 

Also, resume examples can show you the best practices for listing your work experience and achievements, can guide you through your resume formatting and can help you understand exactly what the end result should look like.

2. How were these resume examples created?

All our resume examples and resume templates were created in full collaboration with industry-leading HR professionals.

This means that they meet all job market requirements, are modern and impactful, and meet recruiters’ standards worldwide.

3. What if I can’t find a resume example for my job?

While we’ve tried to list as many resume examples as possible for different jobs across several industries, it might happen that you can’t find the resume example that perfectly matches your needs. 

If that’s the case, you can check out our guide on how to write a resume , and learn to create an effective resume regardless of industry.

4. What is the best resume format in 2024?

The reverse-chronological format is still the best resume format in 2024. It remains the most widely used and preferred format by employers and recruiters alike. In this format, you list your work experience in reverse chronological format, starting with your most recent position and working backward.

This format showcases our most recent and relevant experience, making it easier for employers to see our career progression and accomplishments. 

5. Are these resume examples free? 

Yes, most of these resume examples can be used for free in the Basic account, while there is also a selection of templates included in the Premium account. All of them though can be tested for free in our editor. 

6. Do you also have cover letter examples?

Yes, we have an entire article dedicated to cover letter examples for different fields and jobs. Not just that, but you can also find tips on how to write a great cover letter and an FAQ section to answer any question you may have. 

7. Should my resume and cover letter match?

Yes, having a cover letter that’s consistent with your resume in terms of style, tone, and content can be a plus for your overall job application. In a nutshell, a matching resume and cover letter can increase your chances of getting an interview by demonstrating your professionalism, attention to detail, and suitability for the role. 

Conclusion 

And that’s a wrap!

We hope the examples and guides provided in this article can help you create a powerful and effective resume that highlights your unique qualifications and experiences. 

Whether you're a recent graduate, a mid-career employee, or a seasoned professional, there are tips and templates here to help you create a compelling resume for any job.

For more career advice, make sure to check out our career blog . 

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The Top Resume Skills You Need to Get Hired in 2024

We analyzed more than 10 million job descriptions and 17 million resumes to find the skills that employers want the most.

Customers Interviewed by:

When looking for a job, think of potential employers as your customers. What do your customers want to buy? The answer is simple—skills.

But how do you know which skills employers want to buy the most?

To answer that, Jobscan analyzed more than 10 million job descriptions and 17 million resumes. Not only did we discover the top 10 overall skills that employers value the most, but we also identified the top 10 skills for over 30 specific job titles.

With this knowledge, you’ll be able to tailor your resume to highlight the resume skills that matter most—giving you a competitive edge and a better shot at landing your next job.

Hard skills vs. soft skills

All job seekers need to understand that there are two types of skills: hard skills and soft skills.

Hard skills are the technical abilities you learn through education, training, or hands-on experience. They include things like programming, data analysis, project management, or MS Office.

Soft skills are more about how you work. They are personal attributes that help you navigate the workplace, such as communication, adaptability, leadership, and teamwork.

Think of hard skills as the tools in your toolbox, while soft skills are how you use those tools.

Many people make the mistake of thinking that hard skills are more valuable than soft skills. This isn’t true! In fact, most experts believe that soft skills are just as important, if not more important, than hard skills.

“Soft skills come before hard skills. It’s the soft skills that drive the hard results,” says David Novak , author of How Leaders Learn .

What are transferable skills?

Some skills are transferable . This means they can be used in a variety of jobs and industries. For example, communication skills are valuable no matter what the job.

Soft skills are always transferable, but some hard skills are transferable as well. For example, MS Office is used in a variety of jobs and industries.

If you’re thinking about changing careers , your transferable skills are especially important. They are “the golden currency of the modern job market,” says recruitment expert Aiyaz Uddin . “Problem-solving, communication, leadership, adaptability—these are just a few examples that shine brighter than any piece of paper.”

The top 10 resume skills employers want the most

According to our analysis, these are the top 10 skills that employers are eager to find in candidates. Try to develop as many of these key skills as you can—they form the cornerstone of every successful career.

As you’ll notice, some of the following skills are soft and some are hard.

1. Communication skills

Communication is the #1 soft skill. Whether you’re talking with a team, explaining ideas to clients, or sending an email, the way you communicate matters.

Communication is not just about speaking and writing. It’s also about listening, building relationships, and understanding non-verbal cues. These skills help employees understand their role and the tasks they need to perform. This leads to a more productive and harmonious workplace.

• Active listening
• Clear verbal communication
• Written communication
• Nonverbal communication (body language, tone, etc.)
• Public speaking/presentation skills
• Empathy and emotional intelligence
• Feedback delivery and reception

Read more: The Top 5 Communication Skills To Include On Your Resume 

2. Leadership skills

Leadership skills aren’t just for managers—they’re valuable for anyone who wants to inspire others to think more, learn more, do more, and become more. When people trust in your abilities and know that you’re focused on everyone’s success, they’ll be willing to follow your lead.

Leadership skills are in high demand because they can determine how successful a company is. This is why leadership is considered a high-income skill .

• Decision-making
• Problem-solving
• Team building
• Emotional intelligence
• Adaptability
• Conflict resolution

Read more: Leadership Skills You Need to Include On Your Resume

3. Engineering skills

According to our data, engineering is the #1 hard skill. Almost a quarter of all jobs (24%) require it. The demand for software engineers, in particular, is on the rise, with a projected job growth of 25% over the next decade.

Engineering is crucial for many businesses as it helps them come up with new products to sell. It also helps them maintain those products and stay ahead of the competition. 

• Proficiency in technical software
• Mathematical and analytical abilities
• System design and implementation
• Computer programming
• Project lifecycle management
• Knowledge of industry-specific regulations and standards
• CAD and simulation skills

4. Marketing skills

Nearly a quarter of all job listings today (23%) require marketing skills. Digital marketing in particular is set for strong growth, with the global market projected to reach $310 billion by 2033 .

Marketing helps companies spread the word about what they have for sale. It also researches customers to find out what they want. Having a dedicated marketing department is crucial for any business aiming to stay relevant and competitive.

• Data analysis
• Content creation
• SEO and SEM
• Social media management
• Branding and positioning
• Campaign management
• Video creation and editing
• Market research

5. Sales skills

Knowing how to sell is a highly valued skill in any field. According to our data, about one in five job postings (21%) specifically require sales skills.

Sales skills go beyond closing deals—they involve understanding customer needs, building relationships, and solving problems. Whether you’re working in technology, healthcare, or retail, the ability to sell effectively can set you apart and drive success in your career.

• Persuasion and negotiation
• Relationship building
• Product expertise
• Lead generation and prospecting
• Closing techniques

6. Professional skills

The term “professional” isn’t a skill in the traditional sense. It refers to a set of skills and values that employers all over the world, in every industry, want to see in job candidates.

Our data revealed that over 10% percent of job postings required professional skills. These skills aren’t taught in schools or university programs, but they are the foundation of long-term career success.

• Reliability
• Determination
• Productivity

7. Customer service skills

How important is customer service ?  According to one survey , 73% of people said they would stop using a brand after only one bad customer service experience. On the flip side, a good customer service experience can turn first-time buyers into loyal, repeat customers.

Our data show that over 10% of job postings require customer service skills, spanning all industries and fields.

• Product knowledge

Read more: 10 Customer Service Skills You Need on Your Resume

8. Organizational skills

While 6% of job listings in our database specifically list organizational skills as a requirement, nearly half of all hiring managers say they look for some kind of organizational skills when reviewing resumes.

If you lack organizational skills, you can easily learn them—whether it’s by picking up simple habits like planning your day or using tools to keep track of everything.

• Task prioritization
• Time management
• Goal setting
• Project planning
• File management
• Calendar management

Read more: The Top 10 Organizational Skills To Put On Your Resume

9. Scheduling skills

Scheduling skills are closely related to organizational skills, but focus specifically on planning when tasks and events should happen.

Whether it’s setting appointments, planning deadlines, or coordinating team activities, strong scheduling skills help ensure that work flows smoothly and efficiently.

• Time blocking
• Deadline management
• Appointment setting
• Task sequencing
• Buffer time allocation
• Resource scheduling
• Using scheduling tools like Asana

10. MS Office skills

MS Office is a computer software program that includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, and Outlook. It’s used by over a million companies worldwide.

MS Office skills are easy to pick up, whether through online tutorials, formal courses, or hands-on practice. With a little time and effort, you can master the essential features of MS Office and boost your chances of getting a job.

• Word processing (Microsoft Word)
• Data analysis (Microsoft Excel)
• Presentation design (Microsoft PowerPoint)
• Database management (Microsoft Access)
• Email management (Microsoft Outlook)
• Collaboration and sharing (Microsoft OneDrive/SharePoint)

You now have a clear picture of the skills that employers—your customers—want to buy. We’ll tell you how to add these skills to your resume further down.

But first we’re going to show you the top 10 hard and soft skills for over 30 specific job titles.

The top 10 hard and soft skills for 32 jobs

After analyzing more than 10 million job descriptions, Jobscan has discovered the ten 10 hard and soft skills for over 30 job titles. 

Next to each skill is the percentage of job postings that list that skill. The higher the percentage, the more important it is to have that skill on your resume if you want to get a job interview .

1. Account manager

An account manager builds and maintains long-term relationships with clients. They coordinate the delivery of services or products and make sure their clients’ needs are always met.

Read the full report: Account Manager Skills

2. Administrative assistant

An administrative assistant provides support to an office or team by handling tasks such as scheduling, correspondence, and filing.

Read the full report: Administrative Assistant Skills

A barista prepares and serves coffee and espresso-based drinks, ensuring quality, consistency, and customer satisfaction.

Read the full report: Barista Skills

4. Business analyst

A business analyst helps a company figure out what it needs and suggests ways to fix problems.

Read the full report: Business Analyst Skills

A cashier handles transactions, processes payments, and provides customer service at the point of sale.

Read the full report: Cashier Skills

6. Certified nursing assistant (CNA)

A Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) provides basic patient care, assists with daily activities, and supports nursing staff in healthcare settings.

Read the full report: CNA Skills

7. Data analyst

A data analyst looks at numbers and information to find patterns, helping companies understand their data better so they can make smarter choices.

Read the full report: Data Analyst Skills

8. Data engineeer

A data engineer designs, builds, and maintains systems that collect, store, and process large volumes of data for analysis and operational use.

Read the full report: Data Engineer Skills

9. Data entry

A data entry clerk inputs, updates, and manages data in digital systems with accuracy and attention to detail.

Read the full report : Data Entry Skills

10. Data scientist

A data scientist digs into data, uncovers patterns, and helps turn numbers into insights that guide smart decisions using stats, algorithms, and machine learning.

Read the full report : Data Scientist Skills

11. Dental assistant

A dental assistant helps keep things running smoothly by prepping patients, assisting the dentist during procedures, and making sure tools are clean and ready to go.

Read the full report : Dental Assistant

12. Executive assistant

An executive assistant keeps everything on track by managing schedules, handling communications, and tackling tasks that help executives stay focused and organized.

Read the full report : Executive Assistant Skills

13. Financial analyst

A financial analyst digs into data, reviews trends, and helps guide smart investment decisions by providing insights on financial performance and market conditions.

Read the full report : Financial Analyst Skills

14. Graphic designer

A graphic designer uses computer programs to make illustrations and designs that grab people’s attention in cool and creative ways.

Read the full report: Graphic Design Skills

15. Manager

A manager leads a team, keeps things organized, and makes sure goals are met by overseeing operations, solving problems, and supporting their staff.

Read the full report: Management Skills

16. Marketing manager

A marketing manager plans and directs marketing efforts to promote products or services. They also conduct market research to identify demand and potential markets.

Read the full report: Marketing Manager Skills

17. Medical assistant

A medical assistant helps doctors with everything from scheduling appointments and keeping patient records organized to taking vital signs, drawing blood, and getting exam rooms ready for patients.

Read the full report : Medical Assistant Skills

18. Nursing

A nurse provides patient care, gives medications, and monitors patient health. They also educate patients and their families about health conditions.

Read the full report: Nursing Skills

19. Office manager

An office manager keeps the workplace running smoothly by organizing daily operations, managing administrative tasks, and ensuring the team has what they need to succeed.

Read the full report: Office Manager Skills

20. Operations manager

An operations manager keeps things running smoothly by overseeing processes, streamlining workflows, and making sure everything stays on track to hit the company’s goals.

Read the full report: Operations Manager Skills

21. Pharmacy technician

A pharmacy technician helps fill prescriptions, manages inventory, and supports the pharmacist to make sure customers get the medications they need.

Read the full report: Pharmacy Technician Skills

22. Product manager

A product manager guides a product from idea to launch by coordinating teams, gathering feedback, and making sure the product meets customer needs and business goals.

Read the full report: Product Manager Skills

23. Project manager

A project manager plans, organizes, and oversees the completion of specific projects. Their job is to ensure projects are completed on time and within budget.

Read the full report: Project Manager Skills

24. Receptionist

A receptionist is the friendly face that greets visitors, answers calls, and keeps the front desk organized to help the office run smoothly.

Read the full report: Receptionist Skills

25. Recruiter

A recruiter finds and connects great candidates with job opportunities, guiding them through the hiring process and helping companies build strong teams.

Read the full report: Recruiter Skills

A server takes care of customers by taking orders, serving food and drinks, and making sure everyone has a great dining experience.

Read the full report: Server Skills

27. Social worker

A social worker helps people navigate life’s challenges by offering support, connecting them with resources, and advocating for their well-being.

Read the full report: Social Worker Skills

28. Software engineer

A software engineer designs, builds, and maintains software that solves problems and powers everything from apps to systems, making sure it all runs smoothly.

Read the full report: Software Engineer Skills

29. Supervisor

A supervisor leads a team by overseeing daily tasks, offering guidance, and making sure everything gets done efficiently and on time.

Read the full report: Supervisor Skills

30. Teacher

A teacher instructs and educates students in a specific subject or skill, fostering their intellectual and personal growth.

Read the full report: Teacher Skills

31. UI designer

A UI (User Interface) designer creates the look and feel of digital products, crafting intuitive and visually appealing interfaces that make using apps and websites easy and enjoyable.

Read the full report: UI Designer Skills

32. Web developer

A web developer builds and maintains websites, ensuring they function smoothly, look great, and provide a seamless experience for users.

Read the full report: Web Developer Skills

How to list skills on your resume

Now that you know which skills employers are looking for, the next question is: how do you show them off on your resume?

Here are four ways to strategically highlight your skills on your resume so it not only passes through ATS software but also demonstrates your value to hiring managers.

1. Read the job description

The skills listed above give a general idea of what hiring managers are looking for, but you still need to identify the specific skills required for the job you’re applying to.

If your resume doesn’t include the specific skills listed in the job description, it might never be found by a hiring manager. This is because most companies today use computer software to collect the resumes they receive. This software is called an Applicant Tracking System , or ATS.

Hiring managers find suitable resumes by typing keywords (which are often skills) into the ATS search bar. Your resume will only appear to the hiring manager if it contains the relevant keywords.

Read the job description carefully and find the skills that seem most important. Then, if you can, add them to your resume. This will increase the chances of getting a job interview.

2. Create a skills section

One of the most effective ways to list skills on your resume is to create a dedicated skills section. You can label this section “Skills” or “Core Competencies.” Use bullet points for easy scanning.

Put your list of skills after your resume summary and before your work experience section. Here’s an example of what the skills section of your resume could look like:

3. Add skills to your work experience section

The problem with just listing your skills in bullet points is that they aren’t tied to any real achievements. That’s why adding them to your work history section is so important.

In this section, you can show your skills in action by highlighting how you’ve actually used them to achieve measurable results . Here’s an example:

Read more : 500 Action Verbs to Use on Your Resume Today

4. Add skills to your resume summary

You should always include a resume summary . Not only does it give hiring managers a quick overview of your qualifications, but it’s also a great place to include important keywords.

Your resume summary should appear beneath your headline . Keep it brief and to the point. Aim for 3-4 sentences or around 50-80 words. Here’s an example:

Remember, it’s important to list your skills on your resume just as they appear in the job description. This is so your resume makes it through the ATS. And when you get to the interview stage, be ready to talk about your top skills and how you’ve used them to get results.

Showcasing the right skills on your resume and in the interview will boost your chances of landing the job.

ONLINE COURSES AND CERTIFICATIONS

Platforms like Coursera, LinkedIn Learning, and Udemy offer a wide variety of courses. From technical skills like coding and data analysis to soft skills like communication and leadership, you can find certifications to strengthen your resume.

WORKSHOPS AND WEBINARS

Attend industry-specific workshops and webinars to stay updated on the latest trends. Many are free and provide valuable insights that you can immediately apply in your work.

ON-THE-JOB TRAINING

Seek opportunities within your current role to develop new skills. Volunteering for new projects, shadowing colleagues, or taking on different responsibilities can help you learn while gaining practical experience.

NETWORKING AND MENTORSHIP

Connect with professionals in your field through networking events or mentorship programs. Experienced colleagues or mentors can offer guidance and help you develop both hard and soft skills.

BOOKS AND PODCASTS

Reading industry-relevant books or listening to educational podcasts is another way to expand your knowledge. These resources are often convenient for continuous learning on the go.

Key takeaways

• Jobscan analyzed over 10 million job descriptions and 17 million resumes to determine the top resume skills employers want most.
• Hard skills, such as programming, engineering, and project management, are critical, but soft skills like communication, leadership, and adaptability are equally important.
• Transferable skills, such as problem-solving and communication, can give you a competitive edge, especially if you’re transitioning to a new industry.
• Tailor your resume to include the exact skills mentioned in the job description to improve your chances of passing through ATS software and landing an interview.
• Continually develop new skills through online courses, workshops, and on-the-job experiences to keep your resume relevant and competitive in today’s job market.

Jobscan analyzed more than 10 million job descriptions and 17 million resumes. Here are the top 7 soft skills valued by employers: 1. Communication 2. Leadership 3. Professional 4. Organization 5. Scheduling 6. Adaptability 7. Critical thinking

Hard skills vary depending on your job or industry. Examples of hard skills include: • Programming languages (Python, Java, C++) • Tech (virtual reality, blockchain, cloud computing) • Microsoft Suite (Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Word) • Search engine optimization (SEO) • Data analysis • Project management skills • Graphic design

Transferable skills are abilities you can “transfer” or use in any job in any field or industry. For example, if you are a sales agent, you probably have good communication skills. You can then use your communication skills for a job in management, HR, teaching, or public relations. Here are some more examples of transferable skills: • Communication : Effectively sharing ideas, information, and feedback, whether verbally or in writing. • Leadership : Guiding teams, motivating others, and managing projects across different roles and industries. • Problem-solving : Identifying issues, developing solutions, and implementing them in various work environments. • Time management : Organizing tasks, setting priorities, and meeting deadlines efficiently. • Adaptability : Adjusting to new situations, roles, or challenges with flexibility and a positive attitude. • Teamwork : Collaborating effectively with others to achieve common goals. • Critical thinking : Analyzing information, evaluating options, and making informed decisions. • Project management : Planning, executing, and overseeing projects, ensuring completion on time and within budget.

You need to include job skills on your resume because they show employers that you’re a good fit for the job. Listing the right skills, especially those from the job description, helps your resume get through ATS systems and catches the eye of hiring managers. Plus, showcasing a good mix of hard and soft skills in your resume skills section can really help you stand out and boost your chances of getting an interview.

The most important hard and soft skills for any job will appear on the job description. The more skills you can include on your resume that you find in the job description, the better your chances of landing a job interview.

To know which skills to include on your resume (and your cover letter) to include, follow these steps: 1. Read the job description : Identify the specific skills the employer is looking for. These are often listed under “requirements” or “qualifications.” 2. Match your skills : Focus on the skills you have that directly relate to the job description, whether they are hard or soft skills. 3. Consider transferable skills : Include skills that apply to a wide range of jobs, such as communication, leadership, and problem-solving, especially if you’re changing industries. 4. Highlight in-demand skills : Research industry trends to include skills that are highly valued in your field, such as technical proficiencies or certifications. 5. Prioritize relevant skills : Tailor your resume by prioritizing the skills that are most relevant to the specific job you’re applying for.

You can organize your skills in the following ways: 1. Create a dedicated section for skills. 2. Incorporate skills into your work experience. 3. Add skills to your resume summary. 4. Tailor skills to the job description.

If you have no work experience, focus on these skills: • Transferable skills : These are skills that apply across different jobs, like communication, teamwork, problem-solving, and time management. • Technical skills : Highlight any technical abilities you’ve gained through coursework, such as proficiency in software like Microsoft Office, coding languages, or design tools. • Soft skills : Emphasize personal traits like adaptability, leadership, creativity, and reliability. • Education-related skills : Include skills developed through projects, internships, volunteer work, or relevant coursework, such as research, critical thinking, or presentation skills.

Technical skills include your ability to use technology and any other software or tool. Here are some examples: • Database management (MySQL, Oracle) • Data analysis (Excel, SQL, Tableau) • Mobile App (iOS, Android) • Web development (PHP, CSS, HTML)

Here are 5 examples of personal skills: 1. Communication : The ability to convey information and ideas verbally and in writing while actively listening to others. 2. Adaptability : Being flexible and open to change, allows you to adjust to new situations, challenges, and work environments with ease. 3. Time Management : Effectively prioritizing tasks and managing your time to meet deadlines and stay productive, even under pressure. 4. Problem-Solving : The skill of identifying issues, analyzing possible solutions, and taking action to resolve challenges efficiently and effectively. 5. Leadership : Inspiring and motivating others, taking charge of projects, and guiding teams toward achieving their goals.

Here are the 5 basic computer skills: 1. Word Processing : Creating, editing, and formatting documents using programs like Microsoft Word or Google Docs. 2. Spreadsheets : Managing data, performing calculations, and organizing information in tools like Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets. 3. Email : Composing, sending, and managing emails using platforms such as Microsoft Outlook, Gmail, or other email services. 4. Internet Navigation : Using web browsers like Google Chrome or Firefox to search for information, access websites, and utilize online tools. 5. File Management : Organizing, saving, and retrieving files on a computer, including creating folders, transferring data, and using cloud storage platforms like Google Drive or Dropbox.

Robert Henderson, CPRW, is a career advice writer and a resume expert at Jobscan.

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