How to List Skills on a Resume (With Examples)

To list skills on a resume, pick 8 to 12 skills that match the job description, group them by type, place the section after your summary and back up your top skills in your experience bullets.

Jobscan's 2026 report found that 97.4% of Fortune 500 companies use an applicant tracking system, so matching the job's wording in your skills section matters.

Jump to skills examples by industry.

Hard Skills vs. Soft Skills

What are hard skills?

Hard skills are technical, teachable abilities that can be measured and verified. These are specific competencies you’ve acquired through education, training, or hands-on experience.

Examples of hard skills:

• Programming languages (Python, Java, JavaScript)
• Data analysis tools (Excel, SQL, Tableau, Power BI)
• Project management software (Asana, Jira, Salesforce)
• Foreign languages (Spanish, fluent; Mandarin, conversational)
• Medical procedures (phlebotomy, EHR systems)
• Accounting software (QuickBooks, SAP)
• Design tools (Adobe Creative Suite, Figma, Canva)

Why they matter: Hard skills are ATS-friendly because they're concrete and keyword-specific. When a job description asks for "proficiency in Salesforce CRM," the ATS literally scans for 'Salesforce CRM'. Hard skills also provide objective proof of your qualifications: you either know SQL or you don't.

What are soft skills?

Soft skills are interpersonal abilities and personality traits that affect how you work with others and approach problems. These are harder to quantify but equally important for job performance.

Examples of soft skills:

• Communication (written and verbal)
• Leadership and team management
• Problem-solving
• Time management and organization
• Adaptability and flexibility
• Critical thinking
• Emotional intelligence
• Conflict resolution

Why they matter: While ATS systems scan for soft skills mentioned in job descriptions, human recruiters evaluate whether you can actually demonstrate these abilities. Soft skills show you'll fit the company culture and work well with the team.

The right balance

Most of your skills section should be hard skills the job posting asks for, plus the 2 to 4 soft skills it names. Hard skills get you past the ATS and prove you can do the job. Back the soft skills up in your experience bullets, where a recruiter can see them at work.

Prove Your Skills in Your Experience Bullets

The most effective resumes back up each listed skill with a concrete achievement in the work experience section.

Weak:

Strong:

Notice how the work experience provides evidence for the skills listed. This is the approach that impresses both ATS systems and human recruiters.

Awards are another form of proof; see how to list awards on your resume.

How Many Skills Should You List on a Resume?

List 8 to 12 skills in your skills section. The right number within that range depends on your experience and the role:

• Entry-level: 6 to 10 skills, drawn from coursework, internships, and projects
• Experienced: 8 to 12 skills, matched to the job posting
• Technical roles: up to about 15 when grouped into categories, since recruiters scan by category
• When to stop: if a skill isn't in the posting and you couldn't discuss it in an interview, leave it off

Once you're past entry level, cut skills a recruiter assumes you have, such as email or basic Microsoft Office.

How to Choose Which Skills to Put on Your Resume

Listing every skill you've ever acquired buries the ones that matter. Strategic selection is what separates effective resumes from rejected ones. These four steps help you pick the right skills for each job.

Step 1: Analyze the job description

The job description is your roadmap. Read it carefully and identify the skills that matter most.

What to look for:

• Skills in the requirements section: These are typically listed as "must-haves" or under "Required Qualifications"
• Repeated terms: If a skill appears multiple times throughout the description, it's critical
• Specific tools or software: Exact names like "Salesforce," "Python," or "Tableau"
• Industry-specific terminology: Methodologies like "Agile," "Six Sigma," or "GAAP"
• Soft skills emphasized: Often in "About You" or "What You'll Bring" sections

Example analysis:

Let's say a job description mentions:

• "Required: 3+ years experience with SQL and Python"
• "Experience with data visualization tools (Tableau preferred)"
• "Strong communication skills and ability to present to stakeholders"
• Throughout the description: "data analysis" appears 4 times, "SQL" appears 3 times

Your takeaway: SQL, Python, data analysis, and Tableau are high-priority hard skills. Communication and presentation skills are the key soft skills to include.

Step 2: Match your skills to requirements

Create an honest inventory of your skills and match them to the job requirements.

Questions to ask yourself:

• Which skills from the job description do I genuinely possess?
• What technical proficiencies have I developed in previous roles?
• Which transferable skills apply to this new position?
• Can I discuss and provide examples for each skill in an interview?

Critical rule: Only include skills you can confidently discuss in an interview. Listing "advanced Python" when you've only completed a basic online course will backfire during technical screening.

Step 3: Understand How ATS Reads Your Skills

Applicant Tracking Systems work like keyword-matching algorithms. Understanding how they read your resume helps you optimize effectively without resorting to keyword stuffing, and the same principles drive ATS resume optimization across the rest of your resume.

How ATS reads your skills section:

• Exact keyword matching: "Project Management" scores higher than "managed projects"
• Exact tool names: Use the posting's exact wording for tools and methods (if it says "Salesforce CRM", write "Salesforce CRM")
• Context: Repeat your top skills in your summary and experience so a recruiter sees them in context

Step 4: Prioritize strategically

Not all skills carry equal weight. Rank your skills based on:

• Required skills first: Anything listed as "required" or "must-have" in the job description
• Frequently mentioned skills: Skills that appear 3+ times in the job posting
• Your proficiency level: Skills where you have expert-level experience
• Differentiating skills: Specialized abilities that set you apart from other candidates

Place your highest-priority skills at the beginning of your list. Both human recruiters and ATS algorithms pay more attention to items listed first.

Where to Place Skills on Your Resume

Your skills need to appear in multiple locations for maximum impact with both ATS systems and human recruiters.

The three key locations

1. Dedicated skills section (essential)

This section usually comes after your summary, or after your experience if you're a senior candidate. See how to order your resume sections. It serves as a quick reference guide for recruiters and a keyword target for ATS systems.

Best for: Technical roles, mid-career professionals, anyone applying through ATS-heavy industries

2. Integrated in work experience (essential)

Weave your skills naturally into achievement-focused bullet points in the work experience section. This demonstrates skills in context with quantifiable results.

Example:

3. In your resume summary (recommended)

Mention your top 2-3 skills in your professional summary or career objective to immediately establish your fit for the role.

Example:

Career-level considerations

Where you emphasize skills depends on your experience level:

How to Format Your Skills Section

Format matters for both ATS parsing and human readability. Keep it simple and scannable: the same rules that apply to your overall resume format hold here too.

ATS-friendly formatting rules

Follow these guidelines to ensure ATS systems can read your skills section:

• Use standard section headers: "Skills," or "Technical Skills"
• Avoid tables, graphics, progress bars, or skill charts
• Use simple bullet points or separators like pipes (|)
• Maintain consistent capitalization (title case or sentence case)
• Include proper spacing for readability

Two format options

Choose the format that best fits your experience level and the number of skills you need to showcase. If you have more than 10 skills or several skill types, use the categorized format in the skill categories section below.

Option 1: Simple List

This works well for most professionals. Use this when you have 10 or fewer skills across different categories.

SKILLS

Project Management | Salesforce CRM | Data Analysis | SQL | Team Leadership | Budget Forecasting | Stakeholder Communication | Agile Methodologies

Pros: Clean, scannable, works for most industries

Cons: Can look cluttered with 12+ skills

Option 2: Industry-specific Formatting

Some industries have specific conventions for listing skills.

Healthcare example:

Finance example:

See full ATS resume examples to check how a skills section fits the whole page.

Should you list proficiency levels for skills?

Proficiency indicators (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced) are rarely necessary and can clutter your skills section. Most hiring managers and ATS assume if you list a skill, you have working proficiency.

Exception: Language skills benefit from proficiency levels (e.g., "Spanish: Native," "French: Conversational"). The standard scales are covered in how to list language skills on your resume.

For technical skills, demonstrate your proficiency level through your work experience achievements rather than self-rating in the skills section.

How to List Technical Skills on a Resume

Group technical skills by type (languages, tools, platforms, databases), use the names the job posting uses, and prove your proficiency in your experience bullets.

Group Technical Skills by Type

A single comma-separated line of 15 tools is hard to scan. Grouping them lets a hiring manager find the part of your stack they care about in seconds.

Match the Posting's Tool Names

ATS software matches text, so write each tool the way the posting does. If it says "React.js," write "React.js"; if it says "React," write "React." Spell out an acronym once, for example "Amazon Web Services (AWS)," so both forms appear on the page.

Technical Skills for Non-Technical Roles

Most office roles now list software requirements too. Name the specific platforms instead of writing "computer skills."

Show Proficiency Without Ratings

Skip bars, stars, and labels like "Advanced." ATS software can't read rating graphics, and recruiters discount self-ratings. Show proficiency with a result in an experience bullet, then run your resume through an ATS resume checker to confirm the section parses.

Skill Categories and Section Names for Your Resume

Categories make a long skills list easy to scan. You can group skills three ways:

• By type: technical skills and soft skills
• By function: sales, analytics, operations
• By tool: CRM, design software, cloud platforms

This categorized format works best for technical roles or when you have more than 10 skills:

Pros: Highly organized, helps recruiters find specific skill types quickly. Cons: Takes more vertical space on resume.

Section names and when to use them

• Skills: most resumes
• Technical Skills: technical roles, as a second section alongside Skills
• Core Competencies: mid-career and above
• Areas of Expertise: senior and executive resumes
• Key Qualifications: government and education postings

Example for a senior operations leader:

Keep your heading to one of these standard names so ATS software can recognize the section.

Top Skills by Industry

These are the essential hard skills for eight major industries, each with an example skills section. Use them as a reference when building your own skills section, but always tailor to the specific job description.

1. Technology / Software Development

Essential hard skills:

• Programming Languages: Python, Java, JavaScript, C++, SQL
• Web Development: HTML, CSS, React, Angular, Node.js
• Cloud Platforms: AWS (EC2, S3, Lambda), Azure, Google Cloud
• Development Tools: Git, Docker, Kubernetes, Jenkins
• Databases: PostgreSQL, MongoDB, MySQL
• Methodologies: Agile, Scrum, CI/CD

Example skills section:

2. Marketing / Digital Marketing

Essential hard skills:

• SEO/SEM Tools: Google Ads, Moz, Ahrefs, SEMrush
• Analytics: Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Data Studio
• CRM Systems: HubSpot, Salesforce, Marketo
• Social Media Management: Hootsuite, Buffer, Sprout Social
• Content Tools: WordPress, Canva, Adobe Creative Suite
• Email Marketing: Mailchimp, Constant Contact

Example skills section:

3. Sales

Essential hard skills:

• CRM Software: Salesforce, HubSpot, Zoho CRM, Pipedrive
• Sales Tools: LinkedIn Sales Navigator, Outreach, Gong
• Data Analysis: Excel (Advanced), Sales Metrics & KPIs
• Product Knowledge: Industry-specific expertise
• Sales Forecasting and Pipeline Management

Example skills section:

For more terms to pull from, use our full list of sales resume keywords.

4. Healthcare

Essential hard skills:

• Patient Assessment and Care Planning
• Medical Coding: ICD-10, CPT, HCPCS
• Electronic Health Records (EHR): Epic, Cerner, Meditech
• Clinical Procedures: Specific to role (phlebotomy, medication administration, etc.)
• HIPAA Compliance and Regulatory Knowledge
• Medical Terminology

Example skills section:

5. Finance / Banking

Essential hard skills:

• Financial Modeling and Forecasting
• Excel (Advanced): Pivot Tables, VLOOKUP, Macros, VBA
• Accounting Software: QuickBooks, SAP, Oracle Financials
• Financial Analysis Tools: Bloomberg Terminal, FactSet
• Regulatory Compliance: GAAP, SOX, IFRS
• Risk Management and Assessment

Example skills section:

6. Data Science / Analytics

Essential hard skills:

• Programming: Python, R, SQL
• Data Visualization: Tableau, Power BI, Looker, Matplotlib
• Statistical Analysis: Hypothesis testing, regression, A/B testing
• Machine Learning: Scikit-learn, TensorFlow, PyTorch
• Big Data Tools: Hadoop, Spark, Apache Kafka
• Database Management: SQL, NoSQL, PostgreSQL

Example skills section:

7. Customer Service

Essential hard skills:

• Customer Service Software: Zendesk, Freshdesk, Intercom
• CRM Systems: Salesforce, HubSpot
• Ticketing Systems: Jira Service Desk, ServiceNow
• Communication Tools: Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zoom
• Data Entry and Record Keeping
• Product Knowledge: Industry-specific

Example skills section:

If the role leans administrative, our executive assistant resume keywords cover scheduling, travel, and office tools.

8. Project Management

Essential hard skills:

• Project Management Software: Jira, Asana, Monday.com, Microsoft Project
• Methodologies: Agile, Scrum, Waterfall, Kanban, Six Sigma
• Certifications: PMP, Certified Scrum Master (CSM), PRINCE2
• Budget Management and Financial Tracking
• Risk Assessment and Mitigation
• Resource Allocation and Scheduling

Example skills section:

For more roles, see our keyword lists for consulting, electrical engineering and wealth management, plus warehouse skills for your resume.

Skills by Career Stage

Your approach to the skills section should evolve as your career progresses, and each stage calls for a different emphasis.

Entry-Level / Recent Graduates

Focus on:

• Foundational technical skills from coursework
• Skills from internships, part-time work, or volunteer experience
• Relevant certifications and training programs
• Transferable skills from academic projects and extracurriculars
• Technical tools and software you learned in school

Example skills section:

Drop your skills into one of our free resume templates to see how the section fits on the page.

Pro tip: Don't apologize for limited experience. Emphasize your eagerness to learn, strong foundational skills, and any practical projects that demonstrate your abilities.

Mid-Career Professionals (3-15 years)

Focus on:

• Advanced technical skills developed over time
• Specialized industry expertise
• Management and leadership capabilities
• Strategic and analytical skills
• Cross-functional collaboration experience

Example skills section:

Pro tip: At this level, demonstrate progression in your skills. Highlight advanced proficiency and leadership applications of your technical skills, and drop the basic tools.

Senior Professionals / Executives (15+ years)

Focus on:

• Strategic and visionary leadership
• Business transformation and growth initiatives
• Financial acumen and P&L responsibility
• Board-level communication and governance
• Industry thought leadership and innovation
• Executive-level soft skills

Example skills section:

Pro tip: At the executive level, avoid listing basic software or tools (like "Microsoft Office"). Focus on high-level strategic competencies, business outcomes, and leadership capabilities. What you've achieved matters more than what software you can use.

Career Changers: Focus on transferable skills

If you're pivoting to a new industry or role type, your skills section should bridge the gap between your previous experience and your target role, the same way the rest of a career change resume does.

Emphasize:

• Universal skills that apply across industries (project management, data analysis, communication)
• Technical skills that transfer (Excel, CRM systems, presentation skills)
• Leadership and management experience
• Soft skills that demonstrate adaptability

Example for retail to IT support transition:

Cross-reference the relevant industry examples in the section above to identify which skills from your background apply to your target role.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

These are the skills-section mistakes that most often cost candidates an interview.

Listing outdated or irrelevant skills

Tools that were standard years ago signal you're out of touch with current workflows. Audit your skills list once a year and replace obsolete tools with current industry standards.

Being vague or generic

Broad skills mean nothing to an ATS or a recruiter. Name the specific tool or method instead.

Keyword stuffing

Cramming every keyword from the job description into your skills section reads as padded to a recruiter, and you'll be asked about every skill you list. Keep to 8-12 skills you can discuss confidently in an interview.

Using graphics or complex formatting

Rating bars, stars, and charts look polished, but ATS software can't parse them. Use plain text with clear section headers, and save creative designs for your portfolio.

Lying about skills you don't possess

Claimed skills get tested in technical assessments and interviews, and a gap there costs you the offer. If you're still learning a critical skill, mention it in your cover letter as something you're actively developing.

Using the same skills section for every application

Identical skills lists miss what each role prioritizes, and ATS software scores you against job-specific keywords. Reorder and swap skills for each posting.

Ignoring soft skills entirely

A purely technical list can suggest you'd struggle with collaboration or communication. Include the soft skills the job description names, and show them at work in your experience bullets.

Poor skill prioritization

Recruiters read the first few items most closely, so burying your key skills at the end wastes them. Put required skills and frequently mentioned keywords first.

Time Saving Tip

Identifying the required hard and soft skills from the job description, prioritizing and rephrasing your skills to match, formatting them, and tailoring your skills and experience section for every job takes significant time. Using an AI resume optimizer like Upplai that understands ATS and recruiter best practices can significantly speed up this process without compromising the quality of your application.