Suggested URL: /resume-skills Title tag: What Skills to Put on a Resume (+ Examples by Industry) | CV Creatives Meta description: Learn which skills to put on a resume, how to split hard vs soft skills, and see real examples by industry — including what to list with no experience. Primary keyword: what skills to put on a resume Secondary keywords: what skills should i put on my resume, good skills to put on a resume, skills to put on resume with no experience, what to put in skills section of resume, hard skills vs soft skills, resume skills examples, what skills to put on a cv Internal links to include: /how-to-write-a-resume, /examples/no-experience-resume, /ats ---
The skills section is one of the first things an applicant tracking system scans, and one of the first things a hiring manager's eyes jump to on a quick skim. Get it right and it does silent work for you — confirming you meet the requirements before anyone reads a single bullet point of your experience. Get it wrong (too generic, too long, or unsupported) and it reads as filler.
This guide breaks down exactly which skills to include, how to organize them, and gives real examples across the most common industries.
Hard Skills vs. Soft Skills: Know the Difference
Hard skills are specific, teachable, and usually verifiable: software, tools, languages, certifications, technical methods. Examples: Excel, Python, Google Ads, forklift certification, conversational French.
Soft skills are behavioral and harder to verify on paper: communication, teamwork, adaptability, time management, problem-solving.
Both matter, but they work differently on a resume. Hard skills are what most ATS systems scan for and what gets you past the first filter. Soft skills support the story but need evidence elsewhere on the resume to be believable — listing "leadership" with nothing backing it up anywhere else reads as empty.
How to Choose Which Skills to Include
Don't guess. The fastest, most reliable method is:
- Open the job posting and underline every skill, tool, or qualification mentioned
- Cross-reference with what's genuinely true of you — never list a skill you can't speak to in an interview
- Prioritize the skills that appear more than once or are listed under "requirements" rather than "nice to have"
- Use the exact wording from the posting where it matches — "customer relationship management" and "CRM" can be scanned differently by some ATS systems, so include the form that's used in the posting
This single habit — matching language to the posting — does more for resume performance than almost anything else on the page.
Resume Skills Examples by Industry
Use these as a starting point, then narrow to what's genuinely true for you and relevant to the specific role.
Customer Service / Retail Point-of-sale (POS) systems, conflict resolution, active listening, multitasking, cash handling, inventory management, upselling, bilingual communication
Office / Administrative Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook), calendar management, data entry, scheduling, document management, Google Workspace, attention to detail
Marketing Google Analytics, SEO/SEM, social media management, email marketing platforms (Mailchimp, HubSpot), content writing, A/B testing, campaign reporting
Software / IT Programming languages (Python, JavaScript, SQL), Git/version control, cloud platforms (AWS, Azure), debugging, API integration, Agile/Scrum
Healthcare Patient assessment, EHR systems (Epic, Cerner), HIPAA compliance, medication administration, vital sign monitoring, patient education
Sales CRM software (Salesforce, HubSpot), pipeline management, negotiation, cold outreach, lead qualification, quota attainment
Skilled Trades Blueprint reading, equipment operation and maintenance, safety compliance (OSHA), troubleshooting, manual dexterity, project estimation
Leadership / Management Team supervision, performance reviews, budget management, conflict resolution, project planning, cross-functional collaboration
How to Prove a Skill Instead of Just Listing It
A skill listed alone is a claim. A skill referenced in your experience section, with a result attached, is proof. Whenever possible, make sure your top 3-4 skills each show up at least once in a work experience bullet point.
Listed only: "Leadership"
Proven: "Led a 5-person team through a system migration, completing the rollout 2 weeks ahead of schedule" — the word "leadership" doesn't even need to appear; the bullet demonstrates it directly.
This pairing — a clean skills list plus evidence in the experience section — is what separates a resume that gets shortlisted from one that gets skimmed past.
How to Format the Skills Section
Three common formats, all acceptable:
Simple list: a single row or short bullet list of skills, best for shorter resumes or entry-level roles.
Categorized list: split into "Technical Skills" and "Core Skills" (or similar), useful when you have a mix of hard and soft skills worth separating for clarity.
Skill + proficiency level: mainly used for languages or specific technical tools where the level genuinely matters (e.g., "Spanish — Conversational," "Excel — Advanced"). Don't apply this format to soft skills; rating yourself "Advanced" in teamwork reads oddly.
Keep the section to 6-10 skills. A longer list dilutes the strongest ones and starts to look like keyword stuffing.
Skills to Put on a Resume With No Experience
Without a long work history, lean harder on transferable skills proven through school, volunteering, or activities — see the full example in our no-experience resume guide. A few that consistently transfer well regardless of background:
Communication, reliability, time management, teamwork, adaptability, basic software proficiency (Word, Excel, Google Workspace), and any language beyond your native one.
Pair each with a brief proof point elsewhere on the resume, exactly as described above — the principle doesn't change just because the experience section is short.
Common Mistakes
- Listing skills with zero proof anywhere else on the resume. This is the single most common issue with skills sections.
- Padding the list to look more qualified. A resume claiming 20 skills usually reads as less credible than one with 8 well-chosen ones.
- Copying a generic "skills list" off the internet. Every skill listed should be something you could discuss confidently in an interview.
- Mixing skill levels and skill types inconsistently. Don't rate some skills with proficiency levels and others without — pick one approach per section.
- Ignoring the job posting's exact wording. This is the easiest, highest-impact fix available and the one most commonly skipped.
FAQ
How many skills should I list on a resume? Between 6 and 10 is the sweet spot — enough to cover the role's core requirements without diluting the strongest ones.
Should I separate hard skills and soft skills into different sections? It's optional but often clearer, especially for technical roles. If you do, keep each subsection short and avoid repeating a skill in both.
What if I don't have the exact skill the job description asks for? List the closest related skill you genuinely have, and consider addressing the gap briefly in a cover letter rather than fabricating the missing one on the resume.
Should skills go in their own section, or just appear in my experience bullet points? Both — a dedicated skills section helps with ATS scanning and quick human skimming, while skills demonstrated in experience bullets provide the proof. Resumes that do only one or the other are weaker than ones that do both.