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101 Essential Skills to Put on a Resume in 2024 [For Most Jobs]

Skills make a huge chunk of a potential employer’s decision to hire you. 

You might think this section of your resume is easy - you just list your skills and you’re good to go.

But listing your skills the right way is a bit trickier.

How do you know if you’re mentioning the necessary skills for the job or if you’re just giving the hiring manager irrelevant information? 

Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.

In this guide, we’re going to walk you through the process of putting skills on your resume from start to finish.

You’re going to learn:

What Are the Different Types of Skills?

• Why Should You List Your Skills on Your Resume?
• How to List Skills on a Resume
• 12 Best Skills to Put on Any Resume 
• 400+ Skills to Put on a Resume for Different Professions

Let’s dive in!

Skills are the various abilities and attributes that you bring to the table when you’re applying for a job.

Your skills can be your ability to do a specific task or solve a problem with some level of proficiency, and they’re typically divided into hard skills and soft skills.

If you want to create an effective resume that catches the hiring manager’s attention, you need to mention both hard and soft skills.

Let’s break down what each means:

Hard Skills

Hard skills involve the technical knowledge or know-how one can gain through experience, training, or education. 

While hard skills are essential for completing tasks in just about any job, they’re also teachable and easily measurable. 

For example: 

• Machinery skills. Some fields require operating specialized machinery or equipment. (E.g., operating a road roller, pallet-stalker, forklift, or others.)
• Software skills. Depending on the field, you need to know how to use different software, such as the Adobe Creative Suite for designers or the Ableton Live Suite if you’re a DJ.
• Tools. If you’re a digital marketer , you’ll need to know how to use tools like Stethoscope, Google Search Console, Google Analytics, Ahrefs, and SEMrush.
• Languages. Being able to communicate in more than one language is an extremely useful skill. The more customers or teams you can communicate with, the more valuable you are as an employee. Some of the most sought-after languages today include German, Chinese, Spanish, and Arabic.
• Computer skills. Most jobs will require that you have at least some basic computer knowledge in MS Office and G-Suite, emailing, and presentations. If you’re a web developer , your hard skills will likely include more specialized software knowledge or proficiency in coding languages such as Python, C++, or PHP.
• Techniques. Different specialized techniques you’ve learned can be listed as individual skills. (E.g.: frequency analysis, crystallization, gamification, or even CPR and first aid.)
• Mathematics. A lot of professions, such as accounting and finance, require mathematical skills. If you’re applying for a position in a field that uses advanced mathematics, such as a research assistant , you should be more specific with the types of mathematical skills you have. (E.g.: statistics, trigonometry, calculus, algebra, etc.)
• Data analysis. Businesses are always looking for professionals who can gather and analyze data for various stakeholders and help make strategic decisions, making different types of data analysis a very in-demand hard skill.

…so, just about any field-specific skill is a hard skill you can list on your resume.

Soft Skills

The attributes and habits that describe how you work individually or with others are known as soft skills .

Generally speaking, soft skills aren’t job-specific, so they’re transferable skills that indirectly help you adapt to the work environment and company culture. 

Some examples of the most in-demand soft skills include: 

• Time management
• Communication
• Adaptability
• Problem-solving
• Interpersonal skills
• Attention to detail
• Emotional intelligence
• Conflict resolution
• Stress management
• Critical thinking
• Organization

Soft skills are essential for just about any job out there.

While some soft skills can be critical to doing your job well, such as communication with a customer support representative , others ensure that you get along with your coworkers and foster a positive work environment.

Like hard skills, you can also learn how to develop soft skills, but it’s significantly harder. 

While you can acquire computer skills through a technical course, you’ll need to put in a lot more effort to develop your communication skills. 

For example, you would need to practice active listening in the workplace, learn how to notice nonverbal cues and practice your oral communication skills as much as possible to improve.

What’s the Difference Between Hard Skills and Soft Skills?

There are three main differences between hard skills and soft skills.

• How you obtain them. You can obtain hard skills through work experience , education, training, and certifications. Soft skills, on the other hand, can be gained through life experience, both in and out of work.
• How you use them. While you apply hard skills directly to the job, soft skills usually come into play indirectly and may often complement your hard skills. For example, you may be a communicative marketer or an office manager with great leadership qualities.
• How you list them. Hard skills and soft skills should be listed separately on your resume, but unlike soft skills, hard skills can include your level of proficiency. You can say you’re an advanced user of Adobe Photoshop, but you can’t measure how creative you are in the same way.

When it comes to your employability, both sets of skills are crucial for your resume.

If a hiring manager is on the fence about two candidates with the same hard skills, it’s the soft skills that are going to tip the scales in someone’s favor.

Why Should You List Skills on Your Resume?

The skills section is one of the two most important resume sections , with the other being your work experience.

In fact, 41% of hiring managers notice skills on your resume first.

Let’s look at an example of a well-written skill section:

At first glance, listing some skills on your resume looks easy.

In reality, though, putting skills on your resume the right way is a bit more nuanced than that, and here’s why:

Most companies nowadays use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to help them go through the hundreds and thousands of resumes they receive every day.

This software scans your resume for keywords relevant to the job you’re applying for, and if it doesn’t find them, the ATS automatically rejects your resume.

For example, let’s say you’re applying for a job as a software engineer , and the job requires an expert level of proficiency in Javascript.

If you focus on other programming languages and don’t mention Java as a skill on your resume, the ATS will probably discard it immediately.

Resume statistics show that nearly 75% of resumes are rejected at this first screening stage, and they never make it to a hiring manager .

But let’s assume the company doesn’t use an ATS, and your resume ends up on a hiring manager’s desk.

There’s a good chance the hiring manager is only going to skim through your resume in less than six seconds , looking for the right set of skills.

So, regardless of whether you’ll need to breeze past the ATS or the hiring manager, you have to mention the right skills.

How to List Skills on a Resume (And Stand Out)

Now that you have a clear understanding of how important skills are, let’s talk about how you should list them on your resume.

We’ve divided the process into a step-by-step guide you can follow, starting with:

#1. Tailor Your Skills to the Job

The key to an effective skills section is making sure the skills you list are relevant to the job.

For example, if you’re applying for a job as a backend developer, the customer service skills you gained working as a server during college don’t belong on your resume.

So, only list skills that are useful for the job you are applying for.

Start by thoroughly reading the job advertisement to find out what skills to include on your resume.

Job ads usually list a set of requirements or skills they expect from candidates. Take note of which skills and experiences you have, and remember to write them down on your resume.

Let’s look at an example of a job ad for a line cook position in a restaurant:

At Restaurant X, we are dedicated to delivering an exceptional dining experience that reflects the heart of French cuisine. We are currently seeking a skilled Line Cook to join our team for the summer season. This is an exciting opportunity to work in a fast-paced, prestigious environment under the mentorship of our acclaimed chef.

Key Responsibilities:

• Efficiently prep ingredients for service, ensuring high standards of quality and freshness.
• Execute recipes to exact standards, contributing to the creation of signature dishes that delight our guests.
• Maintain meticulous attention to detail in the plating and presentation of each dish.
• Uphold the highest standards of cleanliness and sanitation in the kitchen before, during, and after service.

Requirements:

• Proven experience as a line cook in a fast-paced kitchen environment.
• A passion for French cuisine and a strong desire to learn and grow within the culinary field.
• Excellent communication and teamwork skills, with the ability to work effectively under pressure.
• Knowledge of best practices for food handling, safety, and sanitation.

From this job description, we can see that the restaurant is looking for someone who:

• Is committed to excellence and is highly professional
• Works well under supervision and as part of a team
• Has experience working in a fast-paced kitchen environment
• Pays great attention to detail when it comes to cooking and presentation

Based on this, some of the skills you should definitely mention in your resume include:

• Culinary Expertise
• Food Preparation
• Knife Skills
• Plating Techniques
• Time Management
• Attention to Detail
• Safety and Sanitation
• Stress Management

Don’t mention skills that aren’t directly related to the job. For example, a line cook doesn’t need to list computer skills on their resume, even if those skills are relevant for most other jobs.

#2. Create a Skills Section

Once you’ve identified all the right skills to add to your resume, create a dedicated “Skills” section to list them under.

A dedicated section will help you pass the ATS, and it makes it easier for hiring managers to find the skills they’re looking for.

Here’s an example of what a skills section can look like on a resume:

We recommend keeping your resume skills section somewhere near the top of the page so that the hiring manager can see it quickly. Usually, they should go either next to or after the work experience section, depending on your resume layout .

Next, here are a few tips you should keep in mind when listing your skills:

• Be specific. “Verbal and written communication” sounds significantly better than just “communication.” 
• Sort your skills by relevance. Order your skills based on how crucial they are for the role. The more important skills should go at the top, and the nice-to-have ones should go after them.
• Format skills accordingly. Not everyone has dozens of skills they can show off on their resume, and that’s okay. If you don’t have a lot of skills, you can list both your hard and soft skills in a single section, just like the example we used above.
• Don’t lie or exaggerate. If you don’t have one of the required skills for the role or you’re not very experienced, just be honest. It goes without saying that you should never lie about what you can do. The employer will find out you lied eventually, your professional reputation will bear the consequences, and you could even lose your job.

#3. Match Each Skill With Your Proficiency Level

While some skills are hard to measure, others can be put on a proficiency scale .

We recommend only using a proficiency scale for some hard skills, such as specific tools or software programs. Soft skills are difficult to measure objectively, so there’s no point in putting them on a scale.

Here’s how to show your proficiency level:

• Beginner. You are just starting to learn this skill, or you haven’t practiced the skill through experience. This usually applies to students with no experience who only understand concepts through theories or classroom experience.
• Intermediate. You have applied this skill in practice, and you rarely need help with it, but you still have room to grow.
• Advanced. At this level, you know your stuff. You don’t need help with this skill anymore, and you can teach beginners how to use it.
• Expert. You’re a recognized authority when it comes to this skill, and you’re the go-to person if anyone has any questions.

#4. Back-Up Your Skills in Other Resume Sections

Only listing your skills in their dedicated section will get you so far. After all, everyone else is doing the exact same thing. 

If you want to take your resume from good to great, you need your most critical skills to make an impression from the get-go.

This is where the resume headline and work experience sections come in.

Resume Headline

Your resume headline can be either a resume summary or a resume objective.

The resume summary is a short, two to four-sentence-long paragraph that summarizes your resume. When done right, it shows the hiring manager your strongest selling points as a candidate right from the start.

Here’s an example in action:

But if you don’t have a lot of experience, you can use a resume objective instead.

The resume objective is a two to three-sentence statement of your career intent that goes at the top of your resume. It can include a snapshot of your professional experience, skills, achievements, and professional goals.

Here’s what it looks like:

Both the resume summary and resume objective go at the top of your resume, either before or after your contact information section .

Regardless of which resume headline you go for, the goal of this section is to pique the hiring manager’s curiosity and make them want to read your whole resume. You should always add one or two of the most necessary skills from the job description here.

Work Experience

Once you’ve mentioned some of your top skills in your resume headline, you have to prove you actually have them.

The best way to do that is by listing some impressive achievements in your work experience section and explaining how your skills helped you.

Let’s look at what the work experience section could look like for the data entry specialist from our resume summary example:

• Achieve a 99% accuracy rate, surpassing departmental accuracy goals by 15%.
• Leveraged advanced organizational abilities to streamline data entry processes, reducing task completion times by 20%.
• Employed superior communication and interpersonal skills to resolve 95% of customer inquiries on the first contact, earning an Employee of the Month award.
• Managed and maintained a complex database of over 10,000 records, ensuring data integrity and accuracy through effective office management practices.

Hobbies and Interests

Another section where you can back up your skills is your hobbies and interests section .

If you have leftover space on your resume, you can use this optional section to list a couple of hobbies or areas of interest that relate to your skills.

For example, let’s say you’re applying for a job as a writer, and the ad says you need to be creative, collaborative, and familiar with pop culture.

In that case, if one of your hobbies is playing a popular tabletop role-playing game with your friends, like Dungeons and Dragons, make sure to list it.

A hobby like that shows that you are genuinely creative, like writing for fun, and are capable of organizing with multiple people for a mutual goal.

#5. Put Transferable Skills to Use 

If you’re looking for your first job or if you’re making a career change , transferable skills are something you should make use of.

Transferable skills are skills that aren’t directly related to the job you are applying for, but they’re still useful and likely relevant for most jobs.

For example, if you're writing a career change resume and you’re going from a role as a sales associate to a copywriter, there are several transferable skills you can list on your resume.

Some of them include:

• Written communication. Both roles involve communicating through text. A salesperson needs to send cold outreach emails, while a copywriter has to write newsletter emails.
• Persuasion. A copywriter needs to create copy that drives sales, while a salesperson needs to be persuasive in person.
• Computer skills. Both jobs require some degree of computer literacy. For a salesperson, that might mean using Customer Management Software, while for a copywriter, that’s publishing content online.

12 Best Skills to Put on Any Resume

Now that you know how to put skills on your resume, it’s time to talk about which skills you should add.

Every profession requires some role-specific hard skills. For example, a photographer needs to know how to use photo editing software like Photoshop. 

But when it comes to soft skills, a lot of them are universal across different industries.

Soft skills are the skills that define your approach to work, how well you cooperate with others, and if you can fit into a company’s culture.

And while the right soft skills for a job may be harder to point out, they’re just as essential in today’s job market. In fact, 93% of employers say that soft skills play a critical role in the hiring decision.

There are very few, if any, jobs out there that don’t require at least some level of communication skills .

So, let’s look at some of the most highly valued skills for any resume:

#1. Communication skills

Whether you’re a writer who needs to communicate a message to your readers, a marketing specialist who needs to communicate an advertising campaign to your client, or an employee who needs to communicate with a coworker to complete a task, communication skills are vital. 

Communication is a multi-faceted skill that includes several skills, such as: 

• Oral and written communication
• Non-verbal communication
• Active Listening
• Presentation
• Public-speaking
• Negotiation

#2. Problem-Solving

Problem-solving means you’re able to identify problems, find the root cause behind them, and come up with creative solutions.

Considering there isn’t a single job where you won’t face problems in one way or another, problem-solving skills are a great asset to have.

Throughout your career, you might have to troubleshoot technical glitches, resolve customer complaints, streamline processes, or drive strategic initiatives. In any of these cases, strong problem-solving skills will be crucial to your success. 

But problem-solving is a broad set of skills that can include:

• Analytical thinking
• Root cause analysis
• Data gathering and evaluation
• Creative thinking
• Decision making
• Strategic planning
• Risk assessment and management

Whether you’re an IT professional debugging code or a manager implementing operational improvements, problem-solving skills let you tackle challenges head-on.

#3. Conflict Resolution

When working with diverse groups, disagreements are bound to happen. So, having the skills to resolve conflicts in a constructive manner is extremely valuable in any organization.

Conflict resolution skills are essential for managers addressing performance issues, HR professionals mediating workplace disputes, sales teams negotiating contracts, or coworkers with clashing personalities.

This multifaceted skill involves:

• Impartiality and objectivity
• Assertive communication
• Creative problem-solving
• Persuasion and influence
• Patience and composure

#4. Computer Literacy

Over 70% of jobs require medium-to-high-level digital skills.  

This means that computer and technical skills are priceless assets, even if your job isn’t centered around technology. So, computer skills are almost always a great addition to any resume.

Here are some valuable computer skills for every professional: 

• Office suites (MS Office, iWork)
• Social media
• Database management
• Web (Internet savviness, basic HTML, CMS)
• Troubleshooting
• Equipment installation and configuration
• Fast Typing

#5. Research

Effective research abilities are essential for making informed decisions and driving successful outcomes across any industry.

Whether you’re conducting market research to identify consumer needs, gathering data to explore a scientific hypothesis, or investigating to build a legal case, strong research skills are invaluable.

Some research skills include:

• Finding credible sources
• Evaluating information objectively
• Organizing data
• Identifying patterns
• Documenting and reporting findings

#6. Teamwork

Teamwork skills enable you to work effectively with others towards a common goal.

Since teams tend to drive most major projects and workplace initiatives, learning how to work well with others is essential to most jobs. You might be part of a project team, a committee, or just coordinate across departments someday.

What you need for strong teamwork skills is:

• Active listening
• Reliability
• Flexibility
• Motivating others

#7. Project Management

Project management skills are usually associated with dedicated project manager roles, but in reality, that's not usually the case. Any type of professional can benefit from strong project management skills.

In a nutshell, project management skills involve being able to effectively handle resources, timelines, deliverables, and processes for driving projects to successful completion.

Here are some of the most in-demand project management skills:

• Resource allocation and management
• Project planning and scheduling
• Risk identification and mitigation
• Logistics and coordination
• Action planning
• Task planning and prioritization
• Stakeholder management

#8. Leadership

Leadership includes both the ability to manage and inspire others. Managers are not always great leaders, but leaders almost always make good managers. 

People who are good at leading are emotionally intelligent, good communicators, and natural-born influencers. They can motivate others to reach their full potential and work together towards common goals. This makes leadership another great skill to have for many professions out there. 

Some important soft skills related to leadership include:

• Relationship-building
• Strategic thinking

#9. Organization

Organizational skills are a set of soft skills that help you keep track of information, materials, and even your time in such a way that you can tackle short and long-term tasks efficiently.

Organizational skills are among the top skills recruiters are looking for in 2022, primarily because they help employees be more productive, save companies time and money, and facilitate a more positive work environment. 

Here is what organizational skills consist of: 

• Physical organization
• Prioritization
• Goal setting

#10. Time Management

Time management is the ability to effectively prioritize and organize your tasks and responsibilities.

Needless to say, it’s a crucial skill in nearly every job, since being able to manage your time well allows you to increase productivity, meet deadlines, and maintain a healthy work-life balance .

Time management includes:

• Task prioritization and planning
• Task delegation
• Avoiding and Ignoring distractions
• Adapting to changing priorities

#11. Customer Service

A lot of the jobs out there involve dealing with customers. 

From customer support representatives to cashiers, customer service skills are a great asset to have in 2024. Particularly, that’s because it encompasses a number of other valuable skills, such as:

• Persuasion skills
• Product knowledge

#12. Networking

Networking skills refer to how well you can build professional relationships and connections.

It goes without saying that they're extremely useful for roles like sales, business development, or entrepreneurship, as a lot of the work involves meeting and engaging new people.

However, these skills are also useful for roles where you don't expect to rely on professional networking as much.

Take, for example, project managers. To be really effective, they need to:

• Understand the needs of stakeholders
• Collaborate with various teams across the organization
• Build rapport with people at all levels

Just like most other skills on our list, networking skills are multi-faceted. They include:

400 Must-Have Skills for Different Professions

Still not sure which skills to mention in your resume? We’ve got you covered.

We compiled a list of some of the most relevant skills on the market in 2024, for all sorts of different fields!

If you happen to possess some of these skills, make sure to mention them in your resume. If not, it’s never too late to learn something new!

#1. Retail and Sales Skills

Retail and sales are at the heart of successful business interactions.

Despite the rise of technology, the essence of sales hasn’t changed much . People still need contact with each other, and even with channels of communication becoming digital, communication skills and empathy still take top priority in this industry.

So, here’s a list of must-have skills for salespeople and retail workers :

• Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
• Cold-calling
• Merchandising
• Product demonstration
• Public speaking
• Inventory management
• Lead generation
• Buyer-Responsive selling
• Buyer engagement
• Point of Sale (POS) proficiency
• Effective communication and sociability
• Social media and digital communication
• Listening skills
• Personalized selling
• Service-based selling
• Follow-up techniques
• Up-selling and cross-selling
• Knowledge of return and exchange policies
• Organizational skills
• Multitasking capabilities

#2. Customer Service Skills

Customer service requires a specialized skill set centered around excellent communication and problem-solving. Success in this field relies on effectively managing various communication platforms and maintaining customer satisfaction through attentive service.

Some skills crucial for any customer service representative include:

• Telephone etiquette
• Data entry proficiency
• Customer needs assessment
• Crisis management
• Multitasking
• Ticket tracking systems
• Scripted responses
• Technical troubleshooting
• Complaint resolution
• Record-keeping
• Team collaboration
• Understanding of privacy and confidentiality
• Customer education techniques
• Feedback collection
• Call center operations
• Email Etiquette
• Live chat management
• Help desk support
• Client retention strategies
• Cultural sensitivity

#3. Hospitality Skills

Hospitality is all about making guests feel welcome and appreciated, no matter the setting - whether it’s a bustling hotel, a serene resort, or a cruise ship. Professionals in this field need to create memorable experiences for guests by providing impeccable service and making sure their every need is met with a smile.

Some of the most sought-after hospitality skills are:

• Customer service excellence
• Effective communication
• Foreign languages
• Reservation management
• Event planning
• Specialized software proficiency
• Front desk operations
• Tour and activity coordination
• Guest Relations
• Guest information management
• Concierge services
• Personalized guest experiences
• Safety and security protocols
• Marketing and upselling
• Health and hygiene standards
• Loyalty programs management
• Quality control
• Emergency response handling
• Environmental sustainability practices
• Check-in and check-out procedures

#4. Food and Beverage Skills

The food and beverage industry is one of the most dynamic and fast-paced environments you can work in. Here, professionals have to continually adapt to customers’ changing preferences, stay updated on culinary trends, and provide exceptional service.

Here are some skills that would look great on any food and beverage worker's resume:

• Menu planning and design
• Recipe development
• Food safety and hygiene
• Culinary arts
• Plate presentation
• Portion control
• Cost control and budgeting
• Wine pairing
• Beverage service
• Detailed menu knowledge
• Order taking and processing
• Table setting and arrangement
• Food preparation techniques
• Dietary restrictions and allergen awareness
• Staff training
• Quality assurance
• Health and safety regulations compliance
• Event catering management
• Customer feedback management
• Upselling techniques
• Point of sale (POS) system operation
• Kitchen equipment operation and maintenance
• Communication skills

Looking for more skills? Check out our server resume example here.

#5. Marketing and Advertising Skills

With new technologies developing faster than ever, it’s essential to move beyond the basics of traditional marketing and advertising to succeed in the industry. New skills keep popping up, and even the biggest marketing executives out there need to stay up to date on the latest developments.

So, here are some  of the most important marketing and advertising skills for any level:

• Data analysis
• Web analytics 
• Email marketing
• Web scraping
• CRO and A/B testing
• Data visualization
• Pattern-finding through critical thinking
• Project/campaign management
• Social media and mobile marketing 
• Paid social media advertisements
• B2B Marketing
• The four P-s of Marketing
• Consumer Behavior Drivers
• Brand management
• Copywriting
• Storytelling
• Digital advertising
• Multichannel marketing
• Public relations
• Content strategy
• Market research
• Budget management
• Compliance and legal considerations
• Affiliate marketing

#6. Administrative Skills

If you work in an office setting, there are some skills you should know, regardless of your job. Whether you’re a secretary, office manager, or executive assistant , you can put these skills on your resume.

Some basic administrative skills include:

• Microsoft Office
• Google Suite
• Filing and paper management
• Bookkeeping
• Research and data analysis
• Office management
• Technical writing
• Cloud networking and file sharing
• Prioritization and task management
• Customer service skills
• Meeting planning and coordination
• Event management
• Travel management
• Document preparation
• Confidentiality and data protection
• Minute taking
• Report generation
• Problem-solving skills
• Calendar management
• Expense reports
• Reception duties
• Correspondence handling
• Presentation skills
• Project management skills

#7. Human Resources Skills

Human Resources is a field that needs a strategic blend of soft and hard skills.

HR specialists are essential for managing diverse workforce needs and enhancing employee and company productivity in the long run.

Here are some examples of HR skills that always come in handy:

• Emotional Intelligence
• Motivation techniques
• Technological savviness
• People management
• Business development
• Strategic management
• Negotiation skills
• Recruitment and selection
• Training and development
• Performance management
• Knowledge of compensation and benefits
• Employee relations
• Labor law compliance
• Succession planning
• HR analytics
• Diversity and inclusion initiatives
• Change management
• Employee engagement strategies
• Workplace safety
• Talent acquisition strategies
• Policy formulation and implementation
• Employee counseling and support
• HR information systems (HRIS)
• Cross-cultural communication

#8. Business Skills

Business professionals are increasingly vital to organizations since they offer operational support and strategic insights that can drive growth.

Experts in the business industry need a broad set of skills to analyze trends , optimize processes, and predict future outcomes so their companies remain competitive and responsive to changes in the market.

Here are some examples of skills any business professional could add to their resume:

• Financial forecasting
• Profit and loss management
• Market analysis
• Trend identification
• Competitive analysis
• Risk management
• Project management
• Operations management
• Leadership and team building
• Stakeholder engagement
• Supply chain management
• CRM software proficiency
• ERP systems
• Business reporting
• Compliance and ethics
• Sales and marketing strategies
• Customer service
• Business writing
• Analytical reasoning
• Cloud computing
• E-commerce management
• Social media strategy
• Digital marketing
• Innovation management

#9. Finance and Accounting Skills

The days of filing financial data and taxes by hand are long behind us, and now there are countless digital platforms and apps you can use instead.

So, it goes without saying that anyone working in finance or accounting should be familiar with the most popular skills and tools in the industry.

Some examples include:

• Microsoft Excel
• Enterprise Resource Planning 
• Big Data Analysis
• Know Your Customers (KYC)
• Cognos Analytics (IBM)
• Visual Basic
• Accounting Software
• Revenue recognition
• Anti-money laundering
• Clear communication
• General business knowledge
• Numerical competence
• Financial reporting
• Cost accounting
• Tax preparation and planning
• Financial modeling
• Investment analysis
• Credit analysis
• Cash flow management
• Portfolio management
• Compliance and regulatory management
• Audit coordination
• Project financing
• Mergers and acquisitions

#10. IT Skills

New technology is popping up every other day, and that’s a great reason for anyone working in IT to keep their skills updated.

That said, if you are proficient in a programming language or two, you pretty much have a leg up on the competition.

Here’s a list of some of the most useful skills for any IT professional out there:

• Programming languages (Python, Java, C#)
• Web development (HTML, CSS, JavaScript)
• Frameworks (React, Angular, Vue.js)
• Mobile app development (iOS, Android)
• Database management (SQL, NoSQL)
• Cloud computing services (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud)
• DevOps practices (CI/CD, automation)
• Containerization technologies (Docker, Kubernetes)
• Network security protocols
• Cybersecurity best practices
• Data analysis and visualization
• Machine learning and AI algorithms
• Version control systems (Git, SVN)
• Agile and Scrum methodologies
• Software testing and debugging
• System architecture design
• API design and development
• Performance optimization
• IT project management
• IT support and troubleshooting
• Operating systems (Windows, macOS, Linux)
• Scripting (Bash, PowerShell)
• IT infrastructure management
• Virtualization technologies
• IT compliance and governance
• UX/UI design principles
• SEO and web analytics
• Blockchain technology

#11. Nursing and Healthcare Skills

More than any other profession, healthcare professionals need to stay updated on the latest technologies, medicines, and techniques.

While the skills a registered nurse or other healthcare professional needs are countless and can be extremely specific to their specialization, the most basic skills boil down to:

• Mathematics
• Paperwork/record-keeping abilities
• Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS)
• Physical endurance 
• Infection control
• Surgery preparation
• Medication administration
• Emergency room care
• Psychiatric support
• Geriatric health
• Pediatric nursing
• Oncology knowledge
• Patient education
• Medical software proficiency
• Phlebotomy skills
• Vital signs monitoring
• Palliative care
• Obstetric and neonatal care
• Medical terminology
• Ethical decision-making
• Team coordination
• Cultural competency

#12. Art and Design Skills

Today, knowing the basics of art and design isn’t enough. To get hired as part of a creative team, be it as a designer or illustrator , you need to know how to create content with different tools and for different channels, like the web and social media.

Some of the most important art and design skills for your resume include:

• Graphic design
• Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop)
• Dreamweaver
• Infographics
• Web and app development (HTML, CSS, UX/UI)
• Photo Editing 
• Typography (spacing, line height, layout, choosing fonts)
• Storyboarding
• Targeting and marketing through visual communications
• Logo creation
• Digital printing
• Integration of visual communication in social media platforms
• Attention to detail and aesthetics
• Interactive media design
• Color sense and theory
• 3D modeling and animation (Blender, Autodesk Maya)
• Video editing (Adobe Premiere, Final Cut Pro)
• Motion graphics (Adobe After Effects)
• Print design
• Packaging design
• Branding and identity design
• Environmental graphic design
• Exhibition design
• Illustration
• Sketching and conceptual visualization
• User interface design
• User experience design
• Prototyping (digital and physical)
• Content management systems (WordPress)
• Accessibility standards for design
• Composition
• Crafting and use of traditional media
• Client relations and communication
• Augmented reality (AR) design
• Virtual reality (VR) design

#13. Education Skills

You might have three PhDs and still struggle to get the latest educational programs to work in front of your classroom. You’re likely missing some crucial skills for your field.

Teaching methods have evolved, and so have the skills you need to be a teacher or professor at the top of your game. So, here are some essential skills if you want to work in education:

• Updated curriculum knowledge
• Educational platforms (Elearn)
• Technological and digital literacy
• Lesson planning
• Classroom management
• Student assessments
• Differentiated instruction
• Educational theory and practice
• Parent and community engagement
• Child psychology
• Educational policy knowledge
• Student safety and welfare
• Career counseling
• Technology integration in the classroom
• Remote learning management
• Curriculum adaptation
• Educational software proficiency

Looking for a job in academia? Learn how to write an academic CV to get started.

Bonus Infographic: Skills to Put on a Resume

FAQs About Putting Skills on Your Resume

Do you still have some questions about what skills you should put on your resume and how? Check out the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions here:

#1. What kind of skills should I include in my resume?

Your resume should include a combination of two types of skills: hard skills and soft skills.

Hard skills involve job-specific skills that are acquired through education, training, or work experience, while soft skills involve personality traits that can be indirectly useful at the workplace and help you adapt to the company culture better.

Depending on your industry, some examples of hard skills you can list on your resume include copywriting, database management, graphic design, foreign languages, public speaking, and more.

Examples of soft skills include communication, creativity, leadership, teamwork, time management, and conflict resolution.

#2. What top skills do employers look for?

Currently, some of the top hard skills hiring managers are on the lookout for include blockchain development, SEO, virtual reality development, data analysis, artificial intelligence, business analysis, Java development, affiliate marketing, UX design, machine learning, project management, video production and editing, sales, and business development .

The top soft skills hiring managers are looking for include creativity, collaboration, persuasion, adaptability, and emotional intelligence.

#3. How can I identify my skills?

If you want to identify your skills, start by considering your greatest accomplishments . Have you been recognized for a specific achievement? What skills helped you do it? You’re probably still skilled in those areas.

Next, consider asking friends and coworkers. Sometimes, it’s easier for others to recognize your strengths . If you’re new to the job market, you can ask former professors and classmates to give you some insight, too.

#4. Where do skills go on a resume?

Your skills should go under a separate ‘Skills’ section on your resume, typically placed right below or next to your work experience section.

That said, you should further prove that you have the skills you list in this section. Weave the most relevant skills for the job in other resume sections, such as the resume summary and your work experience sections, to show the hiring manager how those skills are put to use.

#5. How many skills should I include in my resume?

The number of skills to add to your resume depends on the job you’re applying for, as well as your level of expertise and work history.

If you’re a seasoned professional with plenty of job-related skills, you should definitely include them in your resume.

As a rule of thumb, listing up to ten skills on your resume is typically a safe choice, as long as they don’t make your resume spill over to page two .

#6. What are the best skills for a candidate with no experience?

If you’re a student with no experience and few job-specific skills, you can benefit from adding transferable skills to your resume. These are skills that can be applied to many jobs across several industries.

Some examples of good skills for a no-experience resume include communication, organization, problem-solving, teamwork, adaptability, and computer skills.

#7. What are the top 12 skills to put on your resume?

There are several skills that could go on just about any resume, regardless of your targeted job. These include both hard skills and soft skills that can be used in any industry.

We recommend including skills like communication, problem-solving, conflict resolution, computer literacy, research, teamwork, project management, leadership, organization, time management, customer service, and networking.

#9. Does a CV need skills?

There are a few differences between a CV and a resume . But for the most part, if you’re writing a CV for a job application, the structure should be similar to a resume.

So, you should add a skills section to your CV and list skills relevant to the job you’re applying for. The only exception to this rule is when you’re writing an academic CV, in which case skills are optional or even discouraged.

#10. What’s the best way to list skills on a resume in 2024?

To really impress with your skills in 2024, don’t just list some random skills under a separate section and call it a day!

Instead, make them more credible by finding out more about the company culture, tailoring your skills to the job description, mentioning the most critical skills in your resume summary or resume objective, and using your achievements to explain exactly how you used your skills to your advantage.

Key Takeaways

And that’s all there is to putting skills on a resume!

By now, we’re sure you’re a pro and ready to impress the hiring manager with the skills on your resume.

But before you go, let’s sum up the most important things we mentioned in this article:

• One of the most important sections on your resume is the skill section, and over 41% of hiring managers check it first.
• The skill section is crucial for making it past the ATS because some of the most important resume keywords are skills you should list on your resume.
• Skills are divided into hard skills and soft skills. Hard skills are technical skills you can gain through experience, training, or education, while soft skills can be attributes or habits related to how you work.
• Your resume should only list skills that are relevant to the job. Find out which skills these are by scanning through the job ad picking out the required skills that you have, and adding them to your resume.
• Some skills are universally useful across different professions, like adaptability, communication, and teamwork.

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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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How to List Skills on a Resume (Real Skill Examples)

This essential resume writing article is about how to list skills on a resume. For more resume writing help, visit our job seeker resource center .

EdgeWater Pharmacy just posted an opening for a Sales Associate right down the street from your home. You think you are the perfect fit for the job, so you submit your resume, but so do 30 other candidates.

Do you know who is going to get called in for an interview? 

The job seeker who looks like they have the most relevant skills for the job.

Make sure you’re getting the callback for an interview from a hiring manager by reading how to list your skills on a resume.

This essential job seekers’ guide will walk you through how to add the skills a hiring manager wants to see on your resume, along with 50+ real resume examples of skills you can use.

This article on how to include key skills on a resume covers:

• What are professional skills?
• Why are skills important on resumes?
• Different types of skills for job seekers
• Where and how to incorporate skills on a job application
• Top 50+ skills hiring managers want to see on your resume
• Fastest ways to gain new skills to get hired

What Are Skills? Why Are Skills Important?

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, a skill is:

“the ability to use one’s knowledge effectively and readily in execution or performance”

“a learned power of doing something competently : a developed aptitude or ability”

When it comes to job hunting, your skills are what set you apart. Every human on earth has a set of skills that is unique to them. Likewise, every professional position has a unique set of skills that is required for performing the job.

Finding the perfect alignment between these two ideas is the key goal for every hiring manager.

If a hiring manager finds someone that already possesses the skills needed for their job, they won’t have to spend so much time and money on training. It also means that their new employee will be able to pull their own weight more quickly, providing a quicker return on their hiring investment.

But how do hiring managers know who has what it takes to perform well on the job?

The first and most important place hiring managers look is at your resume. On average, a hiring manager spends 6 seconds reviewing a resume and during that time they are scanning the pages to see if the skills required for the job jump out at them.

If they find what they are looking for, you get called in for an interview. If they don’t quickly see what they are looking for, your resume will most likely be discarded.

As a job seeker, it is your responsibility to make sure you know what skills hiring managers are looking for.

Once you identify those skills, it is also your responsibility to make sure those relevant skills are incorporated into your resume in a way that stands out.

If you do these two things accurately, you will be the one getting called in for an interview and will be that much closer to landing a new job.

Types of Professional Skills (Real Resume Examples)

Skills can be broken down into four main categories:

• Hard skills
• Soft skills
• Transferable skills
• Job-related skills.

Before you start writing your own list of skills, let’s go through each of these skill categories to see what the difference between them is.

Hard Skills vs Soft Skills

Hard skills are specific, teachable, and tangible. They can be measured and tested using assignments and assessments. Hard skills are learned, either through on-the-job training or through school, rather than coming naturally.

Examples of hard skills for a resume:

Soft skills are intangible and are harder to measure. They are personality traits and interpersonal skills that come naturally to humans, rather than being learned through school.

People are born with soft skills. These soft skills grow and develop over time from your upbringing, education, and experiences.   

Examples of soft skills:

Contrary to popular belief, hiring managers often care more about soft skills than hard skills, though both hard and soft skills contribute to your appeal as a candidate.

Hard skills, such as computer programming or accounting, can be taught using a combination of curriculum and hands-on practice. Whereas soft skills, such as a positive attitude or punctuality, are harder to teach.

Regardless of your background, hiring managers are usually flexible with teaching you the hard skills needed for their job, as long as you already have the right attitude along with the aptitude to learn.

Transferable Skills vs Job-Related Skills

Transferable skills can be carried with you from one job to the other. These skills can be a hard skill or soft skill, as long as they can be used in any type of role, regardless of the industry, company, or position.

Examples of transferable skills:

Job-related skills are usually always hard skills.  These job-related skills are specific to a certain type of role or position.

Examples of job-related skills:

How And Where To List Skills On Your Resume

Skills should be included throughout your resume, rather than confined to one area.

While scanning your resume, hiring managers will be looking over each resume section, starting with the top. Because of how people read resumes, you need to make sure they see your skills immediately.

Guarantee hiring managers will see your skills by listing them in four key areas of your resume:

• Resume header
• Professional summary
• Summary of skills
• Work Experience section

If you are writing a resume from scratch, try using this free and easy-to-use resume builder from Resume.com. The sections and formatting are already created for you, so all you need to worry about is filling in the blanks to finish a free printable resume.

1. Resume Header

At the top of your resume, directly below your name, write your job title along with the three most relevant skills you have as a candidate.

This is the first section hiring managers will be reading, so it is important to draw their attention using bold and large lettering.

If you’re using this resume builder , the ‘ Blue Skies ’, ‘ Three Blocks Digital ’, and ‘ van Deco ’ resume templates already have a header section included, which will make finishing your resume easier.

When writing your header, it is crucial that you customize the job title and skills to each job you’re applying for. Your job application needs to be consistent – you can read more about consistency in this article .

For example, if you write Java Developer in your resume header, but are applying for a .NET Developer position, a huge red flag will go up for the hiring manager.

When writing your top three skills in your header, make sure they align with the required skills listed in the job posting.

If you’re applying for a job at a large company or corporation, or you’re applying through a job board, it’s helpful to keep applicant tracking systems (ATS) in mind. Make sure your resume makes it past ATS software by listing your skills using the same wording as the job posting.  

Example of skills in the resume header: 

2. Professional Summary

Below your header and contact information, you will have a professional summary section. A professional summary used to be called an ‘objective’, but the modern resume writing approach is to replace your objective with a professional summary section.

Your professional summary should give an overview of your background, years of experience, and the top skills that set you apart. The skills in your professional summary should be written in sentence form, rather than listed out.

If using the resume builder , the ‘ My Employment ’, ‘ Apple Green ’, and ‘ Side Panel ’ resume templates have professional summary sections that are sure to draw attention to your most relevant skills.

Example of skills in the professional summary of a resume:

3. Summary of Skills

Below your professional summary, include a ‘summary of skills’ section. Alternative titles for this section could be ‘core competencies’, ‘key skills’, ‘professional skills’, or ‘relevant skills’.

If you have less than 10 skills, you can list them out in columns. 

Summary of skills resume example (less than 10 professional skills) :

Summary of skills resume example (more than 10 professional skills) :

For your skills section, your skills should be listed, rather than written out in sentence form. This formatting choice helps hiring managers to pick out the key words quickly, which they can read about in more detail in the experience section after.

4. Experience Section

The ‘experience’ section usually comes after your summary of skills on a resume. Depending on your background, this could also be called ‘professional experience’, ‘work experience’, or ‘relevant experience’.

Your experience section is the perfect place to back your skills up with real-life examples of when you have used your skills, in addition to the results you have achieved.

When writing your experience section, give specific details about where, when, and with whom you have used your skills. When possible, use numbers and metrics to quantify your achievements.

Example of how to list skills in the experience section of a resume:

How to List Skills On A Resume – Finding Relevant Skills For You

To figure out what skills you should include on your resume, follow these three simple steps.

Step #1: Create a master list of skills

Go through each category and create a master list of the skills in your toolbox. Don’t be afraid to list things that seem obvious, like computer skills or customer service.

Although they might seem like a given in your profession, many hiring managers still want to see these skills listed.

Never include skills that you are no longer familiar with. If you write a skill on your resume, hiring managers will be expecting that you can deliver on that activity.

If you are worried that a hiring manager will over or underestimate your level of proficiency, feel free to write ‘beginner’, ‘intermediate’, or ‘proficient’ next to each skill listed.

Step #2: Figure out the skills needed for the job

When applying for jobs, it is important to identify the set of skills that are needed. Picking out the needed skills will help you determine if you are a good fit for the role. It will also help you tailor your resume skills to the specific job you are applying for.

There are two main ways to determine the skills needed for a job.

The first is to dissect job descriptions and job postings that are posted on career websites and job boards. To do this, go through a job description and highlight each quality that describes the candidate the company is looking for.

For example, here is a job posting for a cashier position: 

Then create a list of all the qualities described, making sure to write each skill using the same wording that is used in the job posting.

The second way to figure out what skills are needed for a job is to search for people on LinkedIn who are already performing the role.

By searching for a certain job title in the search bar, you can find a list of professionals who are already in that job and then search through their profile to see what skills they have listed, both in their summary and experience sections.

Step #3: Match your master list with the skills needed for a job

The skills you write on your resume should be whatever overlaps between your master list and the list of skills you created from researching jobs.

By using this technique, you will be making sure that the skills you have listed on your resume are relevant to the jobs you are applying for.

A general rule of thumb is to never include skills that aren’t important for the job you are applying for.

For example, if you are applying for a project manager position, there is no need to list that you know yoga or CPR.

Top 50+ Skills Hiring Managers Look For On Resumes

A lot of research has been done as to what hiring managers look for on a resume. Many of the skills they seek are job-specific, while others are transferable.

To increase your chances of getting called in for an interview, include these top skills throughout your resume.

These professional skills are divided by category to help you find the skills that are relevant to you.

Soft Skills

Basic Computer Skills

Customer Service

Project Management

Art & Design

Human Resources

Fastest Ways To Obtain New Skills

Are you looking for your first job? Are you missing some of the required skills on a job posting? If so, don’t worry. There are a range of ways for you to obtain the needed skills quickly.

If you are in need of a hard skill, this task is much easier. Hard skills are learned, so you can typically find an online resource, school, or curriculum to pick up the needed skills.

If you don’t have enough time to attend class in person, there are a number of online learning platforms with courses that you can take online, in your spare time. Some examples of popular eLearning platforms include Lynda, Udemy, and Skillshare.

Learning soft skills are a little trickier. These interpersonal and personality traits are hardwired into humans, so the only way to get better at them is to practice, practice, practice.

If you can’t practice soft skills while on a job, try to find some day-to-day activities that you can practice these skills during.

For example, if you need to work on punctuality, set a goal to arrive 5 minutes early wherever you need to be, no matter if it is for class or for coffee. Or if you need to work on your professionalism, pick up a volunteer job based in a professional, office setting.

More Skill-Related Articles For Resume Writing:

• How To List Hard Skills On A Resume (50+ Technical Skill Examples)
• How to List Computer Skills on a Resume (50+ Computer Skill Examples)

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How to List Special Skills on Your Resume

1. Demonstrate an impressively rare skill set

2. avoid excessive resume skill repetition, 3. ensure your top resume skills are the most visible.

When you are making your case for a new job, it is your blend of resume skills that will show a hiring manager whether you are qualified for the role. Hard and soft skills are easy to define and can be demonstrated with a carefully chosen accomplishment. Stating that you possess a special skill is not enough - you should show that you can put it to good use.

These resume skills might be listed in a specific section, described within your work experience , or even subtly implied in the summary, and they are an essential ingredient in your job search story. They are the foundation of your achievements. Learning new skills goes in tandem with advancing your career - without new tools at your disposal, you won;t be able to reach the heights.

The thing is, once you have listed a skill in your resume you have to be able to back it up with the career story that lies behind it. Resume skills are the strengths , talents, traits and wisdom that you have acquired throughout your education and career. The skills are your badges of honour, but it is the achievements that those skills support that are the hero content of any job search. If you can see that the job description requires a certain skill, you should not be shy about shouting about it on your resume. Don't be subtle. 

This guide will cover how to go about showcasing your resume skills to the best effect, including:

• Why skills are your job search currency
• The difference between hard skills and soft skills
• How do you list special skills on a resume?
• Tips to match your skills to the job requirements
• How to convey your level of proficiency
• Top ten skills for ten common job functions
• Top ten skills for ten common professions

Should I include every skill on my resume? It is of utmost importance that your resume is easy to read, so if you leave out some of your more obscure skills, you will still have the chance to mention them during an interview. You never quite know what the hiring manager is looking for, so describing a particularly specific skill when you are not sure whether it is required is a little risky. Make sure that the key skills for the role are all included. Then you can sprinkle some of the minor skill fairy dust. Less is more when you come to writing a resume - ensure that you are remembered for what truly matters.

Why special skills are your job search currency

When you sit down to consider your next career move, you could do a lot worse than sitting down and listing all the things that you are good at. Then have a think about how these special skills have contributed to your achievements and you will be able to sense how you will go about convincing your next boss to give you a job.

Your resume skills are your job search currency because they show a hiring manager whether you have what it takes to do a job. If you can share examples of your special skills in action, they are the ultimate objective measure of your ability. But what counts as a special talent or skill? Well, put simply, any ability that helps you to do your job better than anyone else. It took you a while to learn and even longer to master - while in the process you have added huge value to your employer.

The hard and soft skills that underpin your achievements indicate your suitability for a role. This blog will show you how to highlight them during the recruitment process.

The difference between hard and soft skills

Hard (or technical) resume skills are all the practical, industry-specific tools and know-how needed for a job. Hard skills are quantifiable and usually learned in school, on the job, or training. Hard resume skills can usually be tested and are sometimes verified during the hiring process. There are often degrees of mastery of hard skills, so share them in the context of your achievements to indicate your level of proficiency.

A modern trend we see across the millions of resumes created with Resume.io is that more job seekers use hard skills to optimize the keywords on their resume. This strategy is an especially important step for candidates applying to larger companies who are likely to use Applicant Tracking Software (an ATS) to automatically filter and score resumes based on a list of keywords in the job description. 

Soft resume skills are usually aspects of your personality, work style, or effectiveness that are harder to measure or quantify. Soft skills are especially important for positions of leadership or positions where you are interacting with customers. When you have two candidates of similar backgrounds and professional qualities, it is often the soft skills that can be the deciding factor in who is hired.

Once hiring managers assess your hard skills to know you can get the job done, they look to your soft skills to know if you can get the job done well. For many modern offices and creative start-ups, a company culture fit could be the edge over someone with the same hard skills. Soft skills speak louder in some situations. Whether you will get on with your colleagues is an essential question - for any type of business.

Getting on with others is the key to business success, but how are interpersonal skills defined and how might we use these examples in our resume to make it stronger? Which interpersonal skills does the job require?

Many recent studies have demonstrated the importance of soft skills in today’s job market. According to LinkedIn ’s 2019 Global Talent Trends report, 92 percent of hiring managers agree that strong soft skills are increasingly important. A study reported by SHRM , an organization for HR professionals, found that almost half of executives thought a lack of soft skills was the biggest proficiency gap in the U.S. workforce. Few managers have the ability to coach soft skills - much of an employee's soft skillset is picked up passively from those around them. If you are a curious person, it is likely that you have strong soft skills.

Profession-specific examples of hard and soft skills 

Hard skills ( Doctor ):  Surgery, Post-Operative Care, Emergency Medicine, Diagnosis. 

Soft skills (Doctor):  Team Management, Leadership, Compassion, Empathy. 

Hard skills (Sales Rep):  Salesforce, Sales Development, Lead Qualification, Pipeline Management. 

Soft skills ( Sales Rep ): Communication, Decision-Making, Focus, Integrity, Influencing. 

Hard skills (Waitress):  Aloha POS, Customer Service , Inventory Management, Bartending, and Food Prep. 

Soft skills ( Waitress ):  Positive Attitude, Reliable, Communication, Hard Working, and Responsible.

Key rules for including resume skills

How do you describe skills on a resume? There is much more to describing your skills on your resume than a few afterthoughts in the skills section. Rare skills may need some explanation, certain skills may crop up over and over again and how do you ensure that your very top skills are most visible?

One of the best ways to send a hiring manager to sleep is to include the same resume skills as every other candidate. When they read the words communication skills for the tenth time, they will mentally pigeon-hole you with all the rest of the average candidates.

If they think that you are average because you have included the same average skills as everyone else, it will be incredibly hard to shift that perception if you are lucky enough to be invited to an interview. This is the stage where you have to be self-critical. Are you really that exceptional?

When you have multiple places to share your skills, it is easy to think that repetition is a powerful way of getting your message across. Believe me, it isn’t. Even if you use different words to describe the same resume skill, you need to realize that your resume real estate is far too valuable to be doing this.

In order to come across as a rounded professional, you should seek to highlight as many different skills as possible in the skills section, employment history and summary. By all means, repeat a couple of the really core resume skills, but variety is definitely your friend. 

The more skills that a hiring manager can read on a resume, the more interesting the potential interview with you might prove. Try to use synonyms for the most common skills if you wish to repeat them for effect. Psychologically, using different words can give a sense of a broader skillset.

In the table below you can find the three places to list your resume skills. There are different ways to describe your skill set to a potential employer, but if there are skills that you want to shout about from the rooftops, you should absolutely put them (or describe them) in your summary or skills section.

You might think that a potential employer might read every detail of your work experience, but that may not be the case for many reasons. You can’t afford for critical skills to be lost in your general work experience, so put them at the top of your resume in the summary or in the specific skills section (where they are most visible but have the least context).

Three places to list your resume skills

Skills section.  As a typical skills section contains 6-7 key skills, only the rarest and most impressive skills should get on your list. Mostly include your harder and technical skills here as your soft skills can come across in what you achieved in your work experience and in your summary. Suggested ratio of 2:1 in favour of hard skills.

Work experience.  Sometimes your skills speak for themselves if you describe your accomplishments well enough. If you mention that you saved 15% on the annual equipment spend you won’t need to state the obvious and wax lyrical about your negotiation skills. Be smart in the language that you use and what lies behind it.

Summary. The summary section is the most important 3-4 lines on your resume and it should be dripping with your top skills, both described and implied. It is okay to repeat the rarer skills that are in your skill section – you need the hiring manager to read that far, after all. Don’t be afraid to bring out the big resume skill guns.

Thinking through a difficult problem with a logical and unbiased approach lies at the heart of great decision making. Critical thinking skills are highly prized by all employers, so make sure to talk about them during your job search.

Tips to match your skills to job requirements

When adding resume skills, it helps to know your audience. As you apply to jobs, consider three sources to understand how your audience might react to the resume skills: the job description, the company, and the industry. 

Read the job description to understand the important keywords and tone of voice. How does the job description talk about skills? Are there any required skills? Be sure to list and talk about skills on your resume in a similar way the job description uses. The job description may not always be written by the hiring manager, but they will certainly be aware of it and use it as a basis for the interview. Match your resume special skills to what is required.

Research the company to figure out the company culture. Does the company put an emphasis on innovation and learning? Does the company seem like it would have an appreciation for creative skills or like they might put a stronger emphasis on soft skills? Know what type of skills the company values overall and be sure to include those skills on your resume. 

Understand the industry to align the skills on your resume with the expectations of your industry. Demonstrate your experience and industry knowledge by talking about the skills on your resume exactly the way an industry insider would expect. 

How to answer: What are your top three skills? Well, to start with, you need to have an idea of your most suitable skills for each job in priority order. These are your trump cards in your job search sales pitch, so craft the narrative around them with care. If asked for a list of three, I would suggest to start with the best fit skill, then go down to number three and finish on number two. Any sales pitch cannot be full on all the time and in this way you can start off strong and finish nearly as strong. An interview is an exercise in retaining the interviewers attention, so you have to accept that there will be part of the interview that aren't "smash it out of the park" impressive. Just make sure that they aren't clumped together too much.

How to convey your level of skill proficiency

How do you list a skill level on a resume? Well, how long is a piece of string, and how can you compare it to all the other bits of string?

The difficult thing with a resume is that it is difficult to indicate that level of proficiency you have in a certain skill. If your ability with Excel is basic, you might think twice about including it in your skills section, but not including it might mean that the ATS rejects you before a hiring manager has even read a word.

One easy solution for this is including a skills section that has a graphical representation for the level of skill (with bars, stars or some other visual effect). This is quite basic, but it is effective and will allow you to include those must-have skills without having to overplay your experience. If you work in a technical profession, representing your skills graphically can be impactful.

It is true to say that your experiences will give an indication of your proficiency in certain skills, so don’t waste too much resume space in detailing exactly what level of skill you possess in a certain area. That will come at a later stage in the interview.

Soft skills are great, but is it compassionate skills that truly make a difference? Soft skills such as time management and attention to detail are important on an individual level, but for me it is the "compassionate" soft skills that make more of an impact. Skills such as active listening and empathy allow us to show compassion to others - that is what truly lies at the heart of a great team.

Top ten skills for 10 common job functions

Scroll to the right to view more job functions.

Top ten skills for 10 common professions

Scroll to the right to see more job functions.

Key takeaways

When you read enough resumes for the same position, they can seem to blend into one another. Every hiring manager is on the lookout for a unicorn - a candidate who has it all, and then some. If you know that you are that rarest of candidates, it will be your unique skillset that will allow you to show it off.

• Make sure that you have a solid balance of soft and hard skills
• If you have a rare skill set, back it up with visible examples
• Make sure that your skills section is filled with skills to set you apart
• Don't repeat skills too much - the hiring manager will get the message the first time
• Double check the job description to see that you are not going beyond the requirements

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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!

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

Top skills for your resume, how to list skills on a resume, list of skills for different jobs.

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?

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

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.”

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.

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.

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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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Most Important Skills for a Resume (Hard & Soft Skills)

Deciding which skills to use on your resume can be tough. We explain how to extract the best hard and soft skills for a resume with examples.

You may have heard that a terrific resume is key in landing your dream job.

That’s because it is.

Your resume introduces you to a company, hiring manager, or recruiter.

A resume showcasing your best skills is how you wedge your foot in the door … and keep it there until you get into the company (i.e. land the job).

So, it behooves you to learn how to flaunt your great skills on your resume.

Case in point:

Once upon a time, there was a Mad Hatter.

He saw an open position as a leading character in Alice in Wonderland.

The Mad Hatter wrote on his resume, “I have mad skills.”

Those mad skills got him the job.

But seriously … when a hiring manager sees a great set of skills and abilities on your resume, they’ll take a second look, increasing your chances of a callback.

So, what are good skills for a resume?

And how do you effectively position those skills to stand out from the rest?

Glad you asked!

The Best Skills for a Resume

First of all, let’s quickly define skills.

Skills are a combination of your natural and learned talents and abilities.

They enable you to perform a task, process information, or solve a problem.

When a hiring manager or employer is skimming resumes for a new hire, they are looking for a combination of two kinds of skills – hard skills and soft skills.

In this section, we’ll define and provide examples of both kinds – because both hard skills and soft skills are vital for a resume.

Hard Skills for Resume: Definition and Examples

Hard skills include technical or learned skills.

They are generally the practical skills you need to perform a job in an industry.

For example, a computer programmer would need a solid foundational knowledge in SQL in order to perform computer management and programming tasks.

Additionally, some hard skills would be useful in a variety of industries.

Let’s look at a few of the most common hard skills many companies would find useful for a job candidate to have.

List of Valuable Hard Skills for a Resume:

• Computer skills
• Mathematics and analysis skills
• Accounting and finance skills
• Digital marketing skills
• Research and analysis skills
• Foreign language skills
• Writing and communication skills
• Customer service skills

Many of these skills can be further broken down into subdivisions.

For instance, computer skills for a resume section might also include familiarity with various software, capabilities in online networking, and fluency in using various operating systems.

The image below shows more valuable hard skills for a resume:

Soft Skills for Resume: Definition and Examples

Soft skills have a few synonyms. You might have heard them referred to as social skills or abilities that a “people person” is strong in.

Foundational soft skills often go hand in hand with a person’s EQ – or emotional quotient.

In many cases, the higher a person’s emotional intelligence, the more easily that person can develop soft skills that will look good on any resume.

The reason these soft skills are such a commodity in the professional world is that, while some can be learned, many are considered more innate.

For instance, active listening simply comes more naturally to some people.

Here is a list of valuable soft skills and abilities for your resume.

These “social skills” will complement the hard skills on your resume.

List of Valuable Soft Skills for a Resume

• Leadership skills
• Teamworking/interpersonal skills
• Problem-solving skills
• Communication skills
• Positive work ethic skills
• Time management skills
• Adaptability skills

Again, several of these resume soft skills can be divided further, as per the image below:

You’ve undoubtedly noticed that many soft skills could fit in a variety of positions and industries.

For instance, if you have active listening skills, not only will it help you in communication, but also in team and leadership positions.

This is why soft skills are so important.

Good Skills for a Resume Make a Great Skillset

Your hard and soft skills combine to create your unique skillset.

No one will have the exact same skillset for a resume as you do.

What you want to do is find ways to highlight your unique skillset and use it to show why you are the ideal candidate for the position.

Sample: Resume Skills for an Operations Leader

Let’s consider a job posting and look at an ideal combination of skills.

A job description for an operations leader might include the following expectations:

• Be an expert in operations, accuracy, process, and efficiency.
• Establish clear goals and expectations for team members.
• Demonstrate a culture of ethical conduct, safety, and compliance.
• Assess department workflow and processes.
• Develop and implement changes that improve data collections, operations, and protocols.
• Review, update, and maintain organizational policies and procedures.

Relevant hard skills for this position would include:

• Versatility in communication tools and technologies.
• Analytical, financial planning, management, and reporting skills.
• Adept in process improvements and workload efficiency.
• Skills in interviewing, developing, coaching, evaluating, and retaining team members.
• Experience in change management and process improvement.

Ideal soft skills for this position would include:

• Superior problem-solving skills.
• Ability to work independently; self-motivated.
• Strong oral and written communication skills.
• Skilled in teamworking and fostering collaboration.
• Ability to manage operations with flexibility and creativity.

Where to Put Skills on a Resume

So, now you have the skinny on a variety of general hard and soft skills, as well as what skills and abilities for a resume would look good.

Now let’s discuss where you will place these skills on your resume.

Where should hard and soft skills go when you craft your professional resume?

1. Create a Resume Section to Highlight Skills

You’ll want a section of your resume set apart for skills.

You might title it “skills” or “areas of excellence.”

Use bulleted points and short phrases in this section.

As per the operations manager example above, your skills section might look something like this, borrowed from Find My Profession’s sample resumes:

2. Place Your Skills Throughout Your Resume

You’ll also want to sprinkle an ample helping of your skills and abilities in your resume’s “work experience” section.

See the example below, from one of Find My Profession’s sample resumes:

3. Choose the Best Format for Your Resume

The format you choose for your resume will determine how skills are used throughout your resume.

Chronological Resumes

Most professionals use the chronological format when organizing their resume.

This format usually begins with a brief, bulleted section of skills.

Then it moves into work experience.

The most recent work history is placed at the top and continues in reverse-chronological order.

Functional Resumes

A functional resume is often recommended for someone changing careers.

It is also helpful when an individual does not have a lot of work experience.

The functional resume includes a lengthier skills section.

Beneath each general skill, you would describe specific achievements relevant to that skill.

Hybrid Resumes

Also known as the combination resume, this resume format combines the chronological and the functional resume styles.

You would outline skills and connect them to former employment experiences.

(Read more about using different  Resume Formats .)

How to Describe Skills on Your Resume

1. research similar skillsets.

Do you know there are job sites that give detailed job descriptions from real companies looking for real candidates?

You can browse job sites such as Glassdoor and Indeed and find out exactly what skills a variety of companies are looking for.

This isn’t cheating; it’s research.

For instance, searching “operations leader” on Glassdoor.com turns out several open positions.

They are not all for an “operations leader” but browsing the job descriptions can provide a helpful list of good skills for a resume:

• Read through job descriptions similar to the position you are seeking.
• Take note of the relevant skills and abilities that you see repeatedly.

These are skills that you should be adding to your resume.

2. Make Your Skills Relevant to the Position and Company

Now, having recommended that you research similar positions, the fact is that no two jobs will be exactly alike .

The most important job description you should be studying is the one to which you are applying!

Don’t just submit a resume generally suited to the position.

You don’t have to be a Mad Hatter to tell them about your mad skills.

Create a unique resume precisely targeted to the position you’re seeking.

3. Sprinkle Skills Throughout Your Resume

As mentioned previously, don’t cram your skill and abilities for your resume into one single section.

• Make it easy for the hiring manager to make the connection.
• Demonstrate how the skills you have will help their company.

Add specific details to your work experience section that will make an employer think, “Hey, we need those achievements in our company!”

4. Balance Soft and Hard Skills

We already spent a lot of time on this, but once you’re actually crafting your resume, don’t get lost in specific details to the neglect of the big picture.

You want to make sure your resume contains a good combination of soft skills and hard skills.

The hiring manager should be able to see that you would be a practical choice because of your technical and computer skills. But they also want to know that your “people” skills will make you a good fit for the team and company culture.

For instance, you might find the following list of qualifications on a job description, which focus on hard skills you could add to your resume:

Qualifications

• Working knowledge of material, facilities, and equipment – including maintenance.
• Working knowledge of computers and related hardware and common business software.
• Above-average spreadsheet and word processing skills.
• Ability to write in English coherently with proper grammar and tone.
• Ability to manage projects from conception to final commissioning.
• Experience with a computerized maintenance management system.
• Willing to study and learn new technical skills and techniques.

Additionally, you might find a request for a set of good people skills:

Team/People Skills

• Ability to lead a team in an industrial setting, effectively balancing Customer, Company, and Team Member needs.
• Understands and is committed to the growth and development of coworkers.
• Ability to delegate and/or involve others where appropriate.
• Ability to effectively communicate on several different levels (Customers, Team, and other Managers).
• Sets tone, motivates and persuades Team Members to follow a positive example in the areas of safety, health, and the environment.
• Ability to interact and work effectively with vendors, always maintaining a high level of integrity.

Use some of these same phrases as keywords in your resume.

5. List Transferable Skills That Provide Value to a Company

We focused primarily on “hard skills” and “soft skills” but there is another category of skills for a resume.

Often called transferable skills, they compass both hard and soft skills.

Transferable skills are those abilities that will add value to any company.

They include proficiency in areas such as:

• Communication – written and verbal
• Time management and multitasking
• Technological literacy (computer and Internet)
• Adaptability/flexibility

As you craft your resume, highlight a few vital transferable skills.

6. Provide Statistics and Percentages

No one loves success like a hiring manager skimming through resumes.

If you were a hiring manager or employer looking for the right candidate, which of the following statements would stand out to you?

• Reduced employee turnover rate by utilizing effective plans and processes.
• Reduced employee turnover rate from 30% to 12% by improving hiring process and compensation plans; established learning and development program.

You don’t have to add a lot of numbers and percentages.

Even a few impressive statistics, strategically placed, can stand out effectively.

7. Make Your Resume ATS-Friendly

We’re not saying that AI is taking over the world … yet.

But robots do play a part in the hiring process.

More specifically, Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) often process resumes before a human reader ever sets eyes on the resume.

If your skills don’t impress the robot, your resume won’t get a second glance.

The most effective way to get past ATS is by placing relevant keywords, such as industry terms and applicable skills, throughout your resume.

(Read more:  How to Make a Resume that Gets Past the Robots .)

Closing: Get Help for Your Resume

There’s a lot more to writing a resume than the skills that you include.

A perfect resume is in the details and even something as seemingly insignificant as the resume font and color you choose can make a world of difference.

Here at Find My Profession, we would love to help you land the perfect career.

We offer a top-notch resume writing service.

Our mission? To create effective resumes that convert into offers.

You don’t have to settle for a resume that simply states, “I have mad skills.” (While it worked for the Mad Hatter, it wouldn’t fly for most positions.)

A major perk of working with our team at Find My Profession is that we assign you to the best writer for you based on your unique background and experience. They will be familiar with your industry and the keywords and skills that go with it.

Learn more about our  resume writing services or reverse recruiting services  today. We want to help you find true vocational success!

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Resume Skills – Complete Career Hub 2023

Employers often look for specific skills when hiring, as they demonstrate your ability to succeed in a particular role. Therefore, it is crucial to include relevant skills in your resume that showcase your strengths and set you apart from other candidates.

In this hub article, we will cover everything you need to know about resume skills: skill sets, useful tips, and formatting recommendations — and more.

Table of Contents

Hard & Soft Skills Fundamentals

When creating a resume, it’s essential to understand the difference between hard skills and soft skills.

Hard skills refer to specific, technical abilities that are teachable and easily quantifiable, while soft skills refer to non-technical, interpersonal skills that are often difficult to measure but critical for success in the workplace.

Knowing the difference between these two types of skills is crucial, as they are both important in demonstrating your value as a candidate.

Hard skills

Check top 10 universal hard skills and crucial skill sets for 17 popular careers.

Hard skills are tangible and measurable capabilities that are typically specific to particular industries or job roles. These skills are acquired through formal education, certifications, on-the-job training, and practical application.

Unlike soft skills, which encompass interpersonal and behavioral traits, hard skills are more concrete and can be objectively assessed.

Soft Skills

Check the list of most valuable soft skills and examples for 16 well known careers.

Soft skills are intangible qualities that enable individuals to communicate effectively, collaborate harmoniously, and adapt to diverse situations. These skills encompass a wide range of traits, including communication, empathy, problem-solving, emotional intelligence, adaptability, teamwork, leadership, time management, and conflict resolution.

In the workplace, soft skills are increasingly recognized as essential for career success and advancement.

Hard Skills VS Soft Skills

Let’s compare and contrast the two distinct categories of skills that individuals possess.

Hard skills refer to specific, measurable, and technical abilities that are acquired through education, training, and practical experience.

On the other hand, soft skills are intangible, interpersonal, and behavioral attributes that enhance communication, collaboration, and adaptability.

Skill Sets for Resume

Your skills and abilities play a crucial role in showcasing your qualifications for a job. However, it’s not just technical skills that matter – employers also look for transferable skills, networking skills, and people skills, among others. In the articles below, we will discuss the different types of skills you should include in your resume, how to identify them, and how to present them to prospective employers to make a strong impression.

You will also find handy skill description templates and examples that you can use in your resume.

Here are some of the most essential skills to include in your resume:

Teamwork Skills

Teamwork skills are essential in various settings, including the workplace, academic projects, sports teams, and community organizations. Effective collaboration within a team enhances productivity, creativity, and overall performance.

Teamwork skills encompass a diverse range of abilities, including communication, empathy, problem-solving, adaptability, leadership, followership, conflict resolution, and a willingness to collaborate.

Collaboration Skills

Effective collaboration involves individuals combining their strengths, expertise, and perspectives to accomplish shared objectives.

These skills encompass effective communication, active listening, adaptability, problem-solving, conflict resolution, contributions to the team, leadership, followership, trust-building, and celebrating shared successes.

Leadership Skills

Leadership skills encompass a diverse range of traits and competencies that distinguish successful leaders from others. These skills include communication, self-awareness, emotional intelligence, decision-making, empowerment, motivation, problem-solving, integrity, adaptability, collaboration, and continuous learning.

Work Ethic Skills

Work ethic skills encompass a set of values and attitudes that drive individuals to work diligently, responsibly, and with integrity.

These skills encompass reliability, self-discipline, initiative, efficiency, attention to detail, positive attitude, continuous learning, collaboration, and a commitment to excellence.

Management Skills

Management skills encompass a diverse range of qualities and capabilities that empower individuals to oversee and coordinate tasks, resources, and people.

These skills include communication, leadership, planning, problem-solving, time management, delegation, conflict resolution, performance evaluation, adaptability, budgeting, and relationship building.

Conceptual Skills

Conceptual skills involve the capacity to see the big picture, identify patterns, and comprehend the interconnectedness of various components within a system or organization.

These skills encompass analytical thinking, creativity, strategic planning, decision-making, trend analysis, understanding complex systems, effective communication, and the ability to apply technical knowledge in practical contexts.

Transferable Skills

Transferable skills are versatile and can be applied across diverse roles and industries.

These skills include communication, problem-solving, adaptability, time management, leadership, teamwork, attention to detail, decision-making, customer service, and technical literacy.

Organizational Skills

Organizational skills are essential for effectively managing tasks, time, and resources in various settings.

These skills include time management, goal setting, prioritization, attention to detail, task delegation, maintaining organized spaces, effective communication, problem-solving, and adaptability.

Communication

Communication skills.

Communication skills encompass both verbal and non-verbal methods of expression. Effective verbal communication involves articulating thoughts clearly, using appropriate language and tone, and actively listening to others.

These skills encompass verbal and non-verbal communication, clear written communication, empathy, conflict resolution, leadership communication, presentation skills, cross-cultural communication, constructive feedback, and networking.

Interpersonal Skills

Interpersonal skills encompass a broad range of qualities that enable individuals to navigate social situations with empathy, respect, and effective communication.

These skills encompass empathy, active listening, verbal and non-verbal communication, conflict resolution, negotiation, leadership, networking, social awareness, and adaptability.

People Person Skills

Being a “people person” involves innate qualities and learned behaviors that promote positive and authentic connections with others.

People person skills are essential for building strong and authentic connections with others, promoting effective communication, and fostering successful relationships. These skills include empathy, active listening, clear verbal and non-verbal communication, adaptability, relationship-building, conflict resolution, positivity, and networking.

Verbal Communication Skills

Verbal communication skills are essential for expressing thoughts, ideas, and emotions clearly and effectively in various settings.

These skills include clear and articulate speech, using appropriate language and tone, active listening, non-verbal communication, confidence, clarity, storytelling, emotional intelligence, and persuasion.

Problem-Solving Skills

Problem-solving skills are essential for overcoming difficulties and finding solutions to complex situations.

These skills encompass problem identification, analysis, creative thinking, evaluating and implementing solutions, adaptability, collaboration, resilience, and continuous improvement.

Technical Skills

In the technology sector, technical skills may include proficiency in programming languages, software development, database management, network administration, cybersecurity, and IT support.

These skills are tangible and measurable, often acquired through formal education, certifications, workshops, or on-the-job training.

IT skills encompass programming, database management, networking, cybersecurity, cloud computing, web development, data analysis , AI/ML, project management, and more.

Proficiency in programming languages is a fundamental IT skill. Programmers use languages like Python, Java, C++, and JavaScript to develop software applications and web-based solutions.

Computer Skills

Computer skills encompass a broad range of abilities that enable individuals to interact with computers and digital devices proficiently:

• Microsoft Word/Google Docs
• Microsoft Excel/Google Sheets
• Microsoft PowerPoint/Google Slides
• Adobe Photoshop/Illustrator/Figma
• Internet and web browsing skills
• File management skills

Microsoft Office Skills

Microsoft Office skills are essential for office administration, data analysis, project management, and academic tasks:

• Microsoft Word for word processing,
• Microsoft Excel for spreadsheet calculations and data analysis,
• Microsoft PowerPoint for creating visually engaging presentations,
• Microsoft Outlook for email communication and scheduling,
• Microsoft Access for database management,
• Microsoft OneNote for note-taking and information organization.

By continually developing and refining these skills, individuals can better adapt to the evolving technology landscape.

• Business Skills
• Networking skills
• Analytical Skills
• Research Skills
• Microsoft Excel Skills

Resume Skills By Industry

Marketing skills.

In summary, a well-crafted resume for a marketing position should emphasize communication skills, interpersonal abilities, analytical capabilities, creativity and innovation, digital marketing proficiency, project management skills, branding expertise, presentation skills, and adaptability to marketing trends and technologies. By showcasing these marketing skills, you will increase your chances of securing a rewarding position in the marketing field.

Human Resources (HR) Skills

HR professionals should possess strong data analysis skills. The most essential skills for an HR position cover communication skills, interpersonal abilities, knowledge of employment laws, recruitment expertise, organizational and time management skills, problem-solving capabilities, data analysis skills, employee development skills, and adaptability to HR trends and technologies.

Sales Skills

Recruiters seek candidates who possess a strong set of sales skills to drive revenue growth and contribute to the success of the sales team. To success on a job market you can emphasize communication skills, interpersonal abilities, customer needs analysis, sales process management, product knowledge, negotiation skills, goal orientation, and problem-solving capabilities.

Finance Skills

Highlight the skills that demonstrate your expertise in financial analysis, accounting principles, and financial management. Employers in the finance industry seek candidates who possess a strong foundation to effectively analyze financial data, make informed decisions, and contribute to the financial success of an organization.

Teacher Skills

For teachers it is essential to highlight the skills that demonstrate your ability to effectively educate and engage students, create a positive learning environment, and contribute to their academic and personal development.

Recruiter Skills

It’s crucial to showcase the skills that demonstrate recruiter’s ability to effectively source, screen, and attract top talent for organizations. You can emphasize communication skills, interpersonal abilities, sourcing expertise, industry knowledge, organizational skills, attention to detail, and adaptability.

Warehouse Skills

A well-crafted warehouse resume should emphasize organizational skills, physical abilities, attention to detail, communication proficiency, adaptability, and problem-solving capabilities. By showcasing these essential warehouse skills, you will increase your chances of securing a rewarding position within the field.

Data Entry Skills

Data entry skills encompass various abilities, including proficiency in typing, data accuracy, attention to detail, and familiarity with data management software. Emphasizing these skills on a resume showcases your ability to handle data-related tasks with precision, maintain data integrity, and meet tight deadlines.

Graphic Design Skills

Graphic design skills encompass a diverse range of creative and technical abilities that showcase a candidate’s proficiency in visual communication and design principles. Key skills to include on a resume are proficiency in industry-standard design software like Adobe Creative Suite (Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign), a strong understanding of layout and composition, typography expertise, and the ability to create visually compelling graphics, logos, and illustrations.

Additionally, showcasing skills in digital design, user interface (UI) and user experience (UX) design, and knowledge of current design trends can bolster a candidate’s appeal to employers seeking versatile and forward-thinking designers.

Sales Associate Skills

Sales associate skills encompass a diverse set of abilities that highlight a candidate’s capacity to build strong customer relationships, meet sales targets, and contribute to the overall success of a business. Key skills to include on a resume are effective communication and interpersonal skills to engage with customers, identify their needs, and provide personalized product recommendations.

A sales-oriented mindset, negotiation skills, and the ability to upsell products can significantly impact a company’s revenue generation.

Supervisor Skills

Supervisor skills encompass a wide range of abilities that showcase a candidate’s capacity to oversee and optimize workflow, foster a productive work environment, and achieve organizational goals. The ability to make informed decisions, solve problems efficiently, and handle conflicts professionally reflects your aptitude for resolving challenges that may arise in a supervisory role. Demonstrating exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail can enhance a candidate’s effectiveness in managing schedules, deadlines, and resources.

Engineering Skills

We recommend to highlight your proficiency in engineering software and tools, such as CAD software for mechanical engineers or programming languages for software engineers. Strong analytical and critical thinking skills are crucial for approaching complex engineering challenges and developing efficient solutions.

Effective communication and collaboration skills enable engineers to work effectively in interdisciplinary teams and convey technical information to non-technical stakeholders. Moreover, a strong understanding of engineering principles and relevant industry regulations showcases the candidate’s expertise and adherence to quality standards.

Babysitter Skills

Babysitter skills encompass a diverse set of abilities that highlight your capacity to ensure the safety, well-being, and happiness of the children under your care. Essential skills to include on a resume are strong communication and interpersonal skills, enabling the babysitter to build rapport with children and parents, as well as to understand and address the unique needs of each child.

Demonstrating patience, creativity, and a playful attitude can showcase your ability to engage and entertain children with age-appropriate activities.

Medical Assistant Skills

Medical assistants play a crucial role in healthcare settings, acting as a bridge between patients and medical professionals. Strong communication skills, both verbal and written, are paramount for effectively interacting with patients, medical staff, and administrative personnel.

Medical assistants must possess a solid understanding of medical terminology, procedures, and protocols. Proficiency in administrative tasks, such as scheduling appointments, maintaining medical records, and handling billing and insurance matters, is equally vital to ensure the efficient functioning of the healthcare facility.

Phlebotomist Skills

Phlebotomists are vital members of healthcare teams, responsible for safely and efficiently drawing blood samples from patients. Technical expertise in venipuncture and capillary puncture techniques is the cornerstone of a phlebotomist’s skill set.

A comprehensive understanding of anatomy, proper vein selection, and precise needle insertion are essential for successful blood draws, minimizing discomfort and potential complications.

Pharmacy Technician Skills

Pharmacy technicians are responsible for maintaining the pharmacy’s inventory, managing medication stock, and verifying expiration dates to guarantee the availability of essential medications while minimizing wastage.

Accurate medication dispensing is a core competency of pharmacy technicians. They must have a solid understanding of pharmaceutical drugs, dosages, and dosage forms to prepare prescriptions precisely and prevent medication errors.

Laboratory Skills

Laboratory skills cover a wide range of technical abilities, starting with proficiency in laboratory equipment and instruments. Precise handling and operation of tools such as microscopes, pipettes, centrifuges, spectrophotometers, and chromatography systems are vital for obtaining accurate data in experiments and tests.

Laboratory professionals must possess strong analytical skills to interpret complex data, identify patterns, and draw meaningful conclusions. These skills are crucial in various scientific fields, from medical diagnostics to research and development, where accurate analysis forms the foundation of critical decision-making.

One of the primary responsibilities of a CNA is to assist patients with activities of daily living (ADLs) such as bathing, dressing, eating, and mobility. Proficiency in assisting with transfers, using assistive devices, and maintaining patient comfort is crucial for promoting patients’ physical and emotional well-being.

Observation and reporting skills are integral to a CNA’s role. CNAs are often the first to notice changes in patients’ conditions and behavior, making them key contributors to early identification of potential health issues.

Nursing Skills

Patient assessment and clinical skills are at the core of nursing practice. Competent nurses are proficient in conducting thorough patient assessments, monitoring vital signs, administering medications, performing wound care, and managing medical equipment. These skills are vital in detecting changes in patients’ conditions, facilitating early intervention, and providing safe and effective treatments.

Critical thinking and problem-solving abilities are integral to nursing practice. Nurses must analyze complex situations, prioritize care needs, and make sound decisions swiftly and effectively.

LPNs play a crucial role in healthcare settings, working under the supervision of registered nurses and physicians to provide direct patient care.

Clinical skills are the foundation of an LPN’s practice. LPNs are proficient in performing a wide range of clinical tasks, including administering medications, dressing wounds, monitoring patients’ vital signs, and assisting with medical procedures.

Clear and empathetic communication ensures proper understanding of patients’ needs, facilitates effective care coordination, and promotes a positive patient experience.

Physical Therapist Skills

Physical therapists play a critical role in helping patients recover from injuries, manage chronic conditions, and improve their overall mobility and function.

Clinical expertise is at the core of physical therapist skills. With a deep understanding of anatomy, biomechanics, and human physiology, physical therapists conduct comprehensive assessments to identify patients’ impairments and functional limitations.

Registered Nurse Skills

Registered rovide comprehensive and compassionate care to patients across various settings.

RNs are adept at conducting patient assessments, monitoring vital signs, administering medications, dressing wounds, and providing complex medical treatments. Their proficiency in clinical tasks allows them to identify changes in patients’ conditions and respond promptly with appropriate interventions.

Child Care Skills

Child care skills encompass a range of abilities that demonstrate a candidate’s capacity to provide nurturing and safe environments for children, fostering their physical, emotional, and cognitive development. Key skills to include on a resume are proficiency in supervising and engaging children in age-appropriate activities, maintaining a clean and organized play space, and ensuring their safety at all times. Communication skills, both with children and their parents or guardians, are crucial for building trust and providing updates on a child’s progress.

Caregiver Skills

Key skills to include on a caregiver resume are empathy and interpersonal skills, enabling the caregiver to build trusting relationships with clients and their families, and creating a supportive environment. Proficiency in providing personal care, such as bathing, dressing, and feeding, reflects your dedication to meeting the specific needs of each individual. Additionally, demonstrating knowledge of administering medication and monitoring vital signs underscores the caregiver’s commitment to ensuring the health and safety of their clients.

Tips for Formatting Skills on a Resume

Formatting your skills on a resume can be a tricky task. Employers look for specific skills that demonstrate your suitability for a job, making it essential to present them in a clear and concise manner.

However, finding the right format can be a challenge, and a poorly formatted resume can hurt your chances of getting hired.

Learn what skills you should definitely put on your resume (and which you may want to keep off), how to correctly demonstrate skill levels, and when you should use a skills based resume.

• What skills to put on resume
• Levels of skills on your resume
• Building skills based resume
• How many skills to put on a resume

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• Career Advice
• What Are Skills? (With...

What Are Skills? (With Examples and Tips on How to Improve Them)

13 min read · Updated on October 17, 2023

To make the most of your career, you need to focus on the right skills

Without skills, very few people would ever come close to meeting their career goals. Whether you're looking for a job, or you're already employed and trying to keep up with your duties and responsibilities, the skills you possess are vital for success. Unfortunately, many people never really take the time to sit down and think about their skill set and the value that those skills can offer to prospective employers. More to the point, what are skills - and how do you develop and improve them?

In this post, we'll examine those questions in detail and provide some examples of the best skills to put on a resume. We'll also consider some of the best tips you can use to develop your skill set by improving the hard and soft skills you'll need to make a great impression and advance your career.

What are skills?

Skills get a lot of attention from job seekers, especially when they're preparing resumes or practicing for job interviews. But to truly make the most of your job skills, you need to understand them at a more basic level. So, what are skills? Put simply, your skills include all those abilities, competencies, and areas of expertise that you use to perform your duties. They encompass a broad range of abilities and knowledge and can include different types of competencies that help you to add value to your job role.

Skills can also be categorized into two main types: hard skills, that include all those abilities you learn through formal education, on-the-job training, or other avenues of instruction; and soft skills, that you can obtain and enhance over time, through continuous use. Hard skills range from specific job-related competencies to more generic technical abilities like computer expertise. Soft skills encompass everything from the way you think and process information to interpersonal  talents that you use as you interact with others.

Resume skills: examples

If you want to fully understand your skills and how they can help you to land a job, or even identify abilities that you need to improve, it's helpful to first understand the different categories of skills that employers may look for in job candidates. To help you in that process, we've identified five broad categories of skills and a host of abilities that fall under each category.

Thinking skills

There are many ways of processing information and making sense of the world. Thinking skills are soft abilities that define how you analyze information, process data and facts, apply reason, and solve problems. We've included several of the most common thinking styles below for your consideration:

Analytical thinking

Critical thinking

Creative thinking

Deductive reasoning

Inductive reasoning

Logical thinking

Problem solving

Interpersonal skills

Interpersonal skills are incredibly important in business, since employers are always looking for candidates who can communicate and interact with others in a positive way. If your resume qualifications are comparable to another candidate, then soft skills such as these are often the key factor determining who gets the job. Interpersonal skills include a broad array of traits and abilities that help you navigate complex human interactions, function within a team setting, and fit within a company's culture. They include:

Verbal and non-verbal communication

Teamwork and collaboration

Emotional intelligence

Active listening

Conflict resolution

Negotiation

Technical skills

Technical skills include all those abilities involving the use of physical or digital tools. Your specific technical abilities may differ significantly from workers in other industries, due to those industries' distinct needs. In general, however, these are skills that often require at least basic knowledge of mathematics, mechanics, information technology, computer science, and similar technical aptitude. Some examples of technical skills to list on a resume can include:

Programming expertise

Software proficiency

Data analysis

Technical writing

Digital media

Engineering

Logistics management

Familiarity with POS systems

Graphic design

Leadership skills

Leadership abilities include all of those traits and talents that you use to effectively lead and manage other people. Some are acquired through formal education, while others are learned through practice or developed over the course of a lifetime. These essential skills often help to determine the quality of any company's leadership and its ability to enjoy sustained success in the marketplace. Some examples of common leadership skills include:

Decision-making

The ability to inspire others

Team building

Strategic planning

Business acumen

Effective delegation

Professionalism

Life skills

Employers also prize useful life skills, since these often help to define a candidate's character and resilience as an employee. Life skills help you to meet challenges in a professional, rational way. Employees with poor life skills often react to events rather than managing problems and overcoming difficulties. Job candidates who possess strong life skills can provide reliable value to any company and may be better positioned to rise to management and leadership positions. These skills can include:

Prioritization

Time management

Punctuality

The ability to provide or handle feedback

Accountability

Self-awareness

Tips to help you improve your skills

Career advancement rarely happens by accident. Instead, any serious effort to meet your broader career goals will require a commitment to learning and developing the skills you need to obtain your objectives. Of course, you'll need to have a sound strategy and plan to get the skills you need. To help you with that effort, we've compiled some of the best tips you can use to identify, obtain, and develop abilities that can help you reach your goals.

1.     Take stock of your strengths and weaknesses

Anyone who is serious about their career must be aware of their own strengths and weaknesses. After all, without that self-awareness it's almost impossible to know what you need to do to improve your abilities and advance your career. Take the time to sit down and take stock of your skills. What are your strengths? Do you have weaknesses that need to be improved? Are some of your abilities failing to keep pace with changes in your industry?

2.     Identify the skills needed for your career goals

Once you've conducted an analysis of your own abilities, it's time to identify the skills you'll need to achieve your career objectives. One way to do this is to start by reviewing the job description of the position you want to obtain. Take note of any skills that the employer lists as requirements, then compare them to a list of your current abilities. If you see areas that you need to improve, that's where your skill development efforts will need to be focused.

3.     Research your skill development options

Once you've identified which skills you need to learn or improve, the next step is to figure out how you can develop those abilities. Some skills may require you to further your education, either in real-world educational settings or via online learning. Other skills can be improved by participating in workshops, engaging in self-instruction, or by attending seminars and conferences. Many interpersonal and leadership abilities can be cultivated by finding a mentor who can guide you in those areas of development.

4.     Commit to the investment

Make no mistake; developing your skills will require an investment in either time or financial resources - and sometimes both. You'll need to weigh those costs and ensure that you're fully prepared to make that investment in your future. If you're not fully committed before you embark on a mission to bolster your skills, there's a good chance that you'll give up and abandon your broader career goals. You can avoid this by taking the time to compare the costs and potential benefits of skill development before you start that journey. Consider:

How much will your skill development cost you in terms of money and time?

Will your career goals - including a better job - provide the return you need on that investment?

Do you have the family support you need to justify the initial sacrifice of money and time?

How much better will your life be once you've acquired these skills and advanced your career?

By asking and answering these types of questions, you can ensure that you're ready for the sacrifices you'll need to make to reach that next level of career success. Be sure to consult with your loved ones too, since they will also be impacted by any decision you make to invest time and money in your own personal skill development.

5.     Create a plan of action

After doing that preliminary work, your next step will be to create a concrete plan of action to develop your needed skills. This plan should include your main goals, short-term objectives that will help you to achieve those broader goals, and detailed strategies for time management, financing, and balancing of your other responsibilities. Oh, and set firm deadlines too. A plan without deadlines is nothing more than a suggested course of action. Deadlines help to keep you focused and on track to achieving your goals.

6.     Monitor your progress and adjust your strategy as needed

The final element of any plan involves continual monitoring and assessment to ensure that the strategy remains on the right track. You may want to schedule regular check-ins to review your progress, identify unexpected challenges, and adjust whenever the circumstances call for a deviation from the plan. The aim here should be to ensure that you continue to make consistent progress toward your goals.

Finally, it's important to note the important role that priorities play in all of this. For example, if you identify three specific skills that you need to learn to reach your career destination, you may need to focus on them one at a time. To prioritize skill development, you will need to decide which skills you need to learn first to keep your career moving forward. 

By adopting a progressive, step-by-step approach to your career advancement and skill development, you can better ensure that you continue to move toward your long-range goals. Remember, your career is a marathon, not a sprint. Take it one step at a time and follow your plan. That approach will help you to maintain focus on your broader career vision.

How to effectively showcase skills on your resume

Naturally, there's more to landing a great job than just developing the right abilities and knowing which skills to put on a resume. After all, even if you have the right qualifications, they won't do you any good if you don't know how to properly present them to prospective employers. That's because every employer will be reviewing your resume to see if your abilities satisfy the core qualifications for their open position and align with their company's needs.

With that fact in mind, you need to learn how to effectively showcase your talents and abilities on your resume. The following tips can help you ensure that your resume properly conveys all your relevant qualifications to any prospective employer.

Tailor your resume to the job

First, recognize that you will need to modify your base resume for every job you seek. You should never send your resume to an employer without first tailoring it to that company and position. That may require you to remove some skills and substitute more relevant abilities, alter your resume summary to highlight core qualifications for the job, or adjust your work experience and achievements to align with the company's stated needs.

Identify keywords from the job posting and use those terms in the resume

As you're tailoring your resume, make sure that you pay attention to the relevant keywords in the job posting and description. Use the exact terms you find in that posting to describe your qualifications - including relevant skills - in the resume. That will help to ensure that employers can quickly see that you have the right qualifications. Even more importantly, using those keywords will help your resume to be selected by any applicant tracking system that the employer might be using to screen for qualifications.

Focus on a balanced mix of 9-12 relevant skills

When you're listing your skills and core competencies, choose between nine and twelve of the most relevant abilities needed for the job. Again, refer to the job posting and any job description that you can find. As we noted earlier, you should use the terminology you find in the posting as you list your skills. Don't forget to include both hard technical skills and vital soft skills in that skill section. List them in bullet point form to ensure that you optimize your use of resume space.

Include key skills in your work history achievements and summary

Of course, you shouldn't limit your mention of skills to just the core competency section of your resume. Those skills can also feature prominently in your summary and work history sections too. As you create your summary section, make sure that you include one or two of your most relevant skills as you describe the type of positive impact you've had at previous employers. Do the same thing for the bullet point achievements you include with the company listings in your work history section.

Don't be afraid to express confidence in your abilities

If your natural tendency is to avoid tooting your own horn, get over it. Your resume is no place for modesty and you can rest assured that your competition will be going out of their way to boast about their skills and achievements. Remember, your resume is more than just a bland document listing your history and abilities. It is a marketing piece with one main purpose: to sell you as the best candidate for a given job. You don't sell products by downplaying their benefits. That same principle is true for your resume and job search too.

The right skills are vital for meeting your career goals

In any career journey, your ability to move forward will always depend on you having the right skills for any job you seek. That's why it is so important to understand the different types of skills that you need for success, the best way to gain and improve those abilities, and how to include them in your resume. By learning and applying the advice and tips in this post, you should be able to manage your own skill development more effectively so that you can land more interviews, receive the job offers you need, and continue to enjoy ever-greater career success.

Are you struggling to find the best way to highlight your job skills on your resume? Get a free resume review from our team of experts today to ensure that your resume makes the right impression on every prospective employer.

Recommended reading:

9 Soft Skills Employers Want in 2023

10 Best Places to Learn New Skills in 2022

Key Differences Between Hard Skills and Soft Skills

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10 Skills to Put on a Resume That Will Help You Stand Out

Here's how to show you're the best candidate for the job.

When you're looking for a job , submitting your resume is the first opportunity you'll have to make a good impression. What's more, this is the stage at which most employers weed out the vast majority of applicants. Showing that you're competitive is all about clear communication, hiring experts say. Yes, you need to have the skills that employers find desirable—but knowing the skills to put on your resume is just as important in forming your personal brand.

Caitlin Wehniainen, director of business development for the premier staffing agency On Cue Hire , says there are a handful of skills that are considered universally desirable across fields.

"By emphasizing these skills, candidates can not only distinguish themselves from others but also convey their readiness to contribute meaningfully to their prospective employers," she tells Best Life. "At On Cue Hire, we continually observe that these competencies are among the most sought-after by hiring managers across the various industries we serve as a staffing firm."

Ready to transform your resume and finally get noticed? These are the top 10 best skills to include on your resume to ensure your first impression is a lasting one.

RELATED: How to Build a Strong LinkedIn Profile and Dazzle Future Employers .

1 Analytical thinking

In today's corporate landscape, decisions are largely driven by data. This means that analytical thinking—the ability to interpret that data and put it to good use—is indispensable.

"This skill enables you to interpret complex information, identify trends, and solve problems efficiently," says Wehniainen. "Employers value candidates who can bring clarity to data-driven projects and provide actionable insights that drive business success."

2 Writing and communication skills

Wehniainen says that effective communication is the key to any successful team: "Being able to convey ideas clearly and persuasively, both in writing or verbally, ensures that you can collaborate seamlessly with colleagues and customers."

However, there's another facet of communication that you should plan on highlighting on your resume: Your willingness to do it often. "It's even more important in our world of remote and hybrid work," Wehniainen says. "Staying on your email, chat, answering your phone when someone on your team needs something—this is all so important to staying clued into your work environment."

RELATED:  11 Jobs That Don't Require a Degree .

3 Adaptability

Today's work environment is defined by fast-paced change, says David Blake , founder and CEO of Degreed . In 1975, the half-life of a skill was around 17 years. Now, it's closer to two-and-a-half years, he tells Best Life.

Blake explains that historically, "you could expect to learn a skill or trade, go to university, and enter a career that would not look that different at retirement or death, as the world was pretty stable. When you exist in a world where that's no longer the case, it's accelerating the usefulness of our knowledge and skills in many ways, and the half-life of those skills has come down, which means the rate at which we have to learn has gone up," he explains.

Wehniainen agrees that the ability to adapt to changing circumstances and embrace new challenges is crucial in today's rapid-fire work environment.

"Everything in our digital world is evolving at a rapid pace. Being able to learn new skills, adjust, and adapt well is key," she says. "Employers seek individuals who can pivot and remain effective even when faced with unexpected obstacles. Showcasing adaptability on your resume signals to employers that you can thrive in dynamic settings."

4 Foreign language fluency

Knowing a foreign language will also help you stand apart from the crowd—and it may help you get hired even if you won't need that language in the workplace. As a practical skill that could open up opportunities for the company, knowing a second language can also demonstrate a dynamic capacity for learning, cross-cultural interests, and the ability to commit to long-term development.

RELATED:  10 Most In-Demand Jobs in 2024 .

5 Problem solving skills

Lauren Winans , chief executive officer and principal HR consultant at  Next Level Benefits , notes that problem-solving, or "identifying issues and creating solutions," is another essential skill that employers are looking for. One way to feature this on your resume is to highlight specific problems you have solved in past work settings—and to quantify those successes where possible.

"Problem-solving skills are essential for overcoming challenges and achieving objectives," agrees Wehniainen. "Employers look for candidates who can identify issues, brainstorm solutions, and implement effective strategies. Showcasing this skill on your resume demonstrates your proactive approach and resilience in the face of challenges."

6 Specific tech skills

Having hard technical skills like data science, machine learning, cloud computing, photo or video editing, and more could also help you stand out from the crowd of job applicants. Blake says that if you possess these skills, you should always be sure to highlight them prominently on your resume.

Having knowledge of specific programs or platforms is also invaluable to many employers. Be sure to list specifics—for instance, by sharing that you are well-versed in Python, C++, AI programs, or any other relevant tech.

RELATED:  How to Ace Every Common Job Interview Question .

7 Time management

Having time management skills means you'll be a more self-directed employee—and independence is considered highly valuable in the workplace, Wehniainen says.

8 Emotional intelligence

Wehniainen says that if you possess high emotional intelligence , this is another quality worth highlighting both on your resume and in the interview phase.

"Emotional intelligence (EQ) involves understanding and managing your own emotions, as well as empathizing with others," she explains. "This skill is increasingly valued as it contributes to better teamwork, leadership, and conflict resolution. Demonstrating high EQ on your resume indicates that you can navigate interpersonal dynamics with ease and professionalism! People with strong EQ rise the ranks quickly, and employers value this as a soft skill today."

RELATED:  10 Resume Tips to Help Your CV Stand Out, Experts Say .

9 Public speaking

Highlighting your enthusiasm for public speaking will also help set you apart from the crowd. That's because "proficiency in presenting information clearly and confidently" is hard to come by, Winans says.

You can list this on your resume by highlighting past achievements in public speaking. Whether you led your office through professional development or spoke at an international conference, let your potential employer know that you can represent and lead within the organization with confidence and clarity of voice.

10 Anything specific to the position

The hiring experts agree that the most important skills you can include are those that are most pertinent to the job at hand. Take a close look at the listed job description and consider how many of the skills or qualities you possess. Then, tailor your resume to demonstrate that you're the best fit.

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9 Transferable Skills That Can Help You in Life

Learn about transferable skills and why they are so important..

Posted June 3, 2024 | Reviewed by Gary Drevitch

Cowritten by Nathalie Boutros and Tchiki Davis.

The average person can expect to hold 12 different jobs in his or her lifetime (United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2021). With all this job-changing, how can you navigate your career in the direction that you want to take it? One way to improve your career prospects may be to cultivate your transferable skills.

Transferable skills are those skills that are useful, and maybe even necessary, to the performance of a wide variety of jobs. A skill may be considered transferable if you learn and perfect it in one context, like school, a job, volunteer work, or a hobby, and then can use that skill in new and different situations (Nagele & Stalder, 2017). A huge range of skills, proficiencies, competencies, and talents may qualify as transferable skills. Some transferable skills are very specific and technical—for example, knowledge of specific software or industry regulations. Other transferable skills are more generic such as a general proficiency with computers, or fluency in a foreign language. A third category of transferable skills is often called “soft skills," such as the ability to communicate effectively and problem-solve creatively.

Soft skills are a type of transferable skills that are often needed to successfully apply technical skills and knowledge (Bancino & Zevalkink, 2007). For example, a restaurant manager’s ability to create a work schedule for a large staff requires technical skills like numeracy, literacy, computer proficiency, and administrative skills. Creating a schedule that staff members are generally happy with also requires the soft skills of empathy, leadership , and listening. ( Learn more about some of your soft skills through this well-being quiz.)

Why Transferable Skills Are Important

Change is an increasingly large part of people’s professional lives. Even within the same job, you may often change teams or projects. Having skills that transfer from one situation to another may be extremely helpful when adapting to these frequent changes in your roles and responsibilities.

While technical skills that are readily transferable across contexts may serve you well, having soft skills such as ambiguity tolerance, cultural acceptance, self-confidence , creative thinking , and the ability to give and receive feedback may be particularly valuable (de Villiers, 2010). Having a set of soft skills that you can carry from one role to another may even improve your earning potential. People with the soft skills of leadership, planning, and problem-solving tend to have higher incomes (Ramos et al., 2013).

Examples of Transferable Skills

Skills and proficiencies that tend to be important across workplace settings include (Nagele & Stalder, 2017):

• Fundamental skills – literacy, numeracy, proficiency with technology, and physical skills.
• People skills – oral and written communication, interpersonal skills, influencing, negotiating, teamwork , customer service, leadership, and management.
• Conceptualizing or thinking skills – managing information, problem-solving, organizing and planning, critical thinking, systems thinking, time-management, and teachability.
• Business skills – innovation, entrepreneurship, and administrative skills.
• Community skills – citizenship, work ethic, emotional labor , cultural awareness, and expression.

Although skills from each category may be required to do most jobs, the specific skills needed to perform a specific job may vary. Some transferable skills are more general than others. For example, basic communication and literacy skills will probably be required in most jobs. Other transferable skills may not be valued in as many jobs or industries. For example, customer service skills may not be as strongly valued in manufacturing roles as they are in cashier roles.

Transferable skills can be organized into broad categories of specific competencies and strengths (Ramos et al., 2013). Describing your specific abilities may be more informative than making broad statements about your generic skills.

• Literacy Skills – reading and writing documents, memos, forms, or reports.
• Leadership Skills – coaching and motivating staff, developing staff competencies, planning activities, making strategic decisions, and managing resources.
• Physical Skills – physical strength, dexterity with your hands, endurance, and stamina.
• Problem Solving Skills – spotting and analyzing problems, identifying causes, and finding solutions.
• Influencing Skills – advising customers, persuading others, dealing with people, making speeches and presentations.
• Teamwork Skills – working in teams, listening to colleagues, paying attention to details.
• Planning Skills – time-management, organizing, and planning tasks.
• Numeracy Skills – working with numbers or using advanced mathematical and statistical tools.
• Emotional Labor – language skills, negotiation, emotion -regulation, and managing other people's feelings.

Transferring your skills from one situation to another may not be easy (Saks et al., 2014). The ability to recognize which of your skills may serve you well in a new situation is itself a skill. And recognizing which of your skills are transferable and what new skills you may need to pursue may be the most valuable transferable skill of all.

Adapted from a post on transferable skills published by The Berkeley Well-Being Institute.

Tchiki Davis, Ph.D. , is a consultant, writer, and expert on well-being technology.

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