Resume writing
Skills to Put on Your Resume (with Examples by Industry)
By the MyResumeExpert Team · Updated October 3, 2026 · 3 min read
Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both look for skills first. The right skills section tells them quickly that you have what the job needs, and it is one of the main places where keywords from the job posting appear.
This guide explains which skills to include, how to find them, and how to present them so they are believable.
Hard skills vs. soft skills
| Hard skills | Soft skills | |
|---|---|---|
| What they are | Teachable, measurable abilities and tools | Personal qualities and ways of working |
| Examples | SQL, accounting, welding, Spanish, Salesforce, phlebotomy | Communication, leadership, problem solving, adaptability |
| Where to show them | Skills section and bullet points | Mainly in bullet points, through results |
| How ATS uses them | Matched directly against the job posting | Rarely searched on their own |
Hard skills belong in your skills section. Soft skills are more convincing when your experience proves them: "led a team of eight through a system migration" shows leadership far better than the word "leadership".
How to choose the right skills
- Open two or three postings for the role you want and copy every skill, tool and qualification they mention.
- Mark the ones that appear in more than one posting: these are the core skills for that role.
- Keep only the skills you genuinely have and could discuss in an interview.
- Use the employer’s exact wording ("Microsoft Excel", "Search engine optimization (SEO)") so recruiters and ATS searches find them.
- Put the most important six to twelve skills in your skills section and prove the top ones in your bullet points.
Tip: Paste the job description into our ATS resume checker with your resume to see which sections may need stronger keywords for that role.
Skills examples by industry
| Field | Hard skills to consider |
|---|---|
| Software development | Python, Java, JavaScript/TypeScript, React, SQL, REST APIs, Git, Docker, AWS, automated testing |
| Data and analytics | SQL, Excel (pivot tables, Power Query), Python or R, Tableau, Power BI, statistics, A/B testing, data cleaning |
| Finance and accounting | Financial reporting, reconciliations, budgeting, forecasting, IFRS/GAAP, SAP, QuickBooks, Tally, tax compliance |
| Marketing | SEO, Google Ads, Meta Ads, Google Analytics, email marketing, content strategy, copywriting, CRM tools |
| Sales | Prospecting, pipeline management, negotiation, Salesforce or HubSpot, account management, forecasting |
| Healthcare | Patient assessment, medication administration, electronic health records (EHR), infection control, BLS/ACLS |
| Customer service | Ticketing systems (Zendesk, Freshdesk), de-escalation, product knowledge, live chat, CSAT tracking |
| Project management | Agile/Scrum, risk management, budgeting, stakeholder reporting, Jira, MS Project, PMP or PRINCE2 |
| Engineering and trades | AutoCAD, SolidWorks, technical drawings, quality control, health and safety compliance, equipment maintenance |
| Administration | Microsoft 365, scheduling, data entry, bookkeeping basics, document management, minute-taking |
For role-specific lists with example bullet points, see our resume examples, such as the data analyst and software engineer examples.
Soft skills employers value, and how to prove them
WeakExcellent communication skills
StrongPresented monthly performance reports to a leadership team of 10 and wrote the customer FAQ that cut support tickets by 20%.
Shows communication to different audiences, with a result.
WeakStrong leadership
StrongLed a team of 6 through a warehouse system migration, finishing two weeks early with no shipping delays.
Team size, challenge and outcome make the claim credible.
WeakProblem solver
StrongFound the root cause of recurring billing errors and fixed the workflow, saving 15 hours of rework a month.
A concrete problem and a measurable fix.
Other soft skills worth demonstrating include teamwork, adaptability, time management, attention to detail, critical thinking, customer focus and conflict resolution.
How to format your skills section
- Group related skills under short labels such as Tools, Languages and Methods.
- Add a level only where it is useful, for example for languages ("Spanish: fluent") or software ("Excel: advanced").
- Avoid skill bars or star ratings: they are hard to interpret and applicant tracking systems ignore them.
- Keep it to one or two lines per group, and remove outdated or obvious skills such as "Microsoft Word" for senior roles.
Languages: Python, SQL, TypeScript Frameworks: React, FastAPI, pandas Cloud and tools: AWS, Docker, GitHub Actions, PostgreSQL
Frequently asked questions
- How many skills should I put on my resume?
- Usually six to twelve in the skills section, chosen from the job posting. Prove the most important ones in your bullet points.
- Should I list soft skills on my resume?
- You can mention a few, but they are much more convincing when your bullet points demonstrate them with specific examples and results.
- Where should the skills section go on a resume?
- After work experience for most people. Students, career changers and technical candidates can place it higher, directly under the summary.
- What are the top skills employers look for?
- It depends on the role, but employers consistently value communication, problem solving, teamwork, adaptability and the core technical skills named in the job posting.
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