Skills for your resume: what to list and how

The skills section is where recruiters and ATS search first. A good one is short, specific, uses the same words as the job post and only lists what you can talk about in an interview.

Hard skills vs soft skills

Hard skills are learnable and checkable: programming languages, software, methods, certifications, languages you speak. Soft skills are how you work: communication, leadership, problem-solving.

Put hard skills in the skills section, because that’s what recruiters search for. Show soft skills in your bullet points instead of listing them: “Presented monthly results to a 40-person sales team” proves communication better than the word itself.

Group them so they’re quick to scan

A wall of 30 comma-separated skills is hard to read. Group them into three to five labelled lines:

Languages: JavaScript, TypeScript, Python
Frameworks: React, Next.js, Node.js, Express
Databases: PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis
Tools: Git, Docker, AWS (EC2, S3), Jest

Match the job post’s keywords

A keyword scanner compares your resume with a job post and shows which important terms are missing, which is quicker than doing it by eye for every application.

Use the post’s exact wording: if it says “Microsoft Excel”, don’t only write “spreadsheets”
Include both the full name and the abbreviation once: “Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)”
Put the skills the post repeats or lists first near the start of your section and in your summary
Back up key skills in your bullets, so the recruiter sees where you used them
Only add skills you actually have. If a post asks for something you’ve never used, it’s a gap to learn, not a keyword to paste

What to leave out

Generic soft skills on their own: “hard-working”, “team player”, “quick learner”
Skill bars, star ratings and percentages: “Python 80%” means nothing to a recruiter, and ATS can’t read graphics
Basics everyone is assumed to have, such as MS Word or internet browsing, unless the post asks for them
Outdated tools that don’t relate to the job
Anything you couldn’t answer a basic interview question about

Example skills by role

Software developer: Java or Python, JavaScript, React, Node.js, SQL, REST APIs, Git, data structures and algorithms, Docker, AWS

Data analyst: SQL, Excel (pivot tables, XLOOKUP), Power BI or Tableau, Python (Pandas), statistics, data cleaning, A/B testing, dashboarding

Digital marketing: SEO, Google Ads, Meta Ads, Google Analytics 4, email marketing, content writing, keyword research, Canva

Sales executive: B2B sales, lead generation, CRM (Salesforce, Zoho), negotiation, pipeline management, product demos, target achievement

Accountant: Tally Prime, GST filing, TDS, bank reconciliation, accounts payable and receivable, MS Excel, financial statements, audit support

Customer service: ticketing tools (Zendesk, Freshdesk), live chat and email support, complaint resolution, CRM, typing speed, languages spoken

Teacher: lesson planning, CBSE or ICSE curriculum, classroom management, Google Classroom, assessment design, subject expertise

Skills for freshers

Without job experience, your skills section carries more weight, so it should list what you’ve used in coursework, projects and internships, not what you’ve only watched a tutorial on. A fresher with five skills backed by projects is a stronger candidate than one with twenty unexplained names.

If you’ve done a certification, link it to a skill: “Google Analytics (certified, 2025)”. For languages, say what you can do: “Hindi, English (fluent); Tamil (conversational)”.

How many skills to list

Ten to fifteen is enough for most people, grouped into a few lines. Freshers can list fewer; what matters is that each one shows up in a project, internship or job somewhere else on the page.

Frequently asked questions

What are the top skills to put on a resume?

The ones named in the job post that you genuinely have. There's no universal list: a data analyst's top skills are SQL and Excel, a teacher's are curriculum and classroom management.

Should I put soft skills on my resume?

Show them in your bullet points rather than listing them. One or two can go in your summary if the job post stresses them, such as stakeholder management for a client-facing role.

Where should the skills section go?

Near the top for freshers and career changers, just after education or your summary. Experienced candidates can put it after Experience, since their bullets already show the skills in use.

Should I rate my skills on a resume?

No. Bars and percentages are subjective and often unreadable by an ATS. If level matters, use words like “Advanced Excel” or mention it in a bullet.

How do I find the right keywords for my skills section?

Read three or four job posts for the same role and note the skills that appear in most of them. Those are the terms recruiters search for. A keyword scanner does the same comparison against one post in seconds.

Resume keyword scanner: match your resume to a job