What Skills to Put on a Resume

A practical guide to selecting, organising, and writing skills that get your resume past ATS and impress hiring managers.

Hard Skills vs. Soft Skills: What Actually Gets You Hired

Hard skills are teachable, measurable abilities specific to a role: Python, financial modelling, SEO, AutoCAD, GAAP accounting, surgical techniques. These are the skills that get you through ATS screening and justify an interview invitation.

Soft skills are interpersonal and behavioural traits: communication, leadership, problem-solving, time management. These matter enormously in the role — but on a resume, they're nearly useless without evidence. Saying "excellent communicator" tells a recruiter nothing; describing how you presented monthly board updates to C-suite stakeholders tells them something real.

The practical implication: fill your skills section with hard skills. Demonstrate soft skills through your bullet points. A skills section full of words like "team player," "self-motivated," and "detail-oriented" is a wasted opportunity.

How to Choose the Right Skills for a Specific Role

The most effective approach to skills selection is role-specific, not generic. For each application:

Step 1: Extract the skills from the job description. Read it carefully and note every tool, methodology, qualification, or competency mentioned — both in the requirements and in the responsibilities.

Step 2: Match against your own skills. Which of those listed skills do you genuinely have? These are the priority items for your skills section.

Step 3: Include adjacent skills the role likely requires. If a marketing role asks for "Google Analytics," it almost certainly also expects "Google Search Console," "GA4," and basic data interpretation. Add skills in the same cluster.

Step 4: Order by relevance. Put the most important and most role-specific skills first. Generic or peripheral skills go last — or don't go at all.

Using the LoopCV Resume Keywords Scanner to compare your current resume against a specific job description will surface exactly which skills are present and which are missing before you apply.

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How to Format the Skills Section

Option 1: Simple list (most common)
A single column or two-column list of skills. Clean and ATS-friendly.
*Skills: Python · SQL · Tableau · Stakeholder Management · Agile · JIRA*

Option 2: Categorised list
Group skills into subcategories. Works well for technical roles with diverse skill types.
*Technical: Python, SQL, R, TensorFlow*
*Visualisation: Tableau, Power BI, Matplotlib*
*Methodologies: Agile, Scrum, Kanban*

Option 3: Proficiency levels
Adding proficiency (expert / proficient / familiar) is sometimes useful for language skills or specialist tools. Avoid it for generic skills — it invites scrutiny and can undersell real competencies.

ATS note: use standard, recognisable skill names. "MS Excel" and "Microsoft Excel" both parse correctly, but creative formatting ("Excel (Advanced)") may cause ATS systems to miss the keyword entirely. Keep it simple and searchable.

Skills to Include and Skills to Cut

Include:
- Role-specific technical tools (software, platforms, languages, equipment)
- Methodologies and frameworks relevant to the role (Agile, PRINCE2, Six Sigma, GAAP, IFRS)
- Industry-specific certifications and qualifications
- Languages (with proficiency level)
- Domain expertise that a recruiter would search for

Cut or don't include:
- "Proficient in Microsoft Office" — assumed for almost every role and adds no signal
- Generic soft skills without evidence ("strong communicator," "results-driven")
- Outdated tools or technologies you no longer use and wouldn't want to be tested on
- Skills so basic that listing them implies a low bar (e.g., "email" or "internet research")
- Anything you'd struggle to back up in an interview or skills test

A good rule: if you'd be uncomfortable being asked to demonstrate a skill in an interview, take it off the resume.

Resume Skills for Specific Roles

Software engineering: languages (Python, Java, Go, TypeScript), frameworks (React, Django, FastAPI), cloud (AWS, GCP, Azure), databases (PostgreSQL, MongoDB), tools (Docker, Kubernetes, Git), practices (TDD, CI/CD, microservices).

Marketing: channels (SEO, PPC, email, social), tools (HubSpot, Marketo, Salesforce, Google Ads, GA4), skills (copywriting, A/B testing, funnel optimisation, content strategy).

Finance: Excel (specify: financial modelling, pivot tables, VBA), platforms (Bloomberg, FactSet, SAP, Xero), skills (DCF, LBO, GAAP, IFRS, variance analysis, FP&A).

Operations/supply chain: ERP systems (SAP, Oracle, NetSuite), methodologies (Lean, Six Sigma, Kaizen), skills (demand forecasting, procurement, logistics, inventory management).

HR: HRIS systems (Workday, BambooHR, SAP SuccessFactors), skills (talent acquisition, HRBP, L&D, compensation design, TUPE, employment law).

Frequently Asked Questions

More questions? Visit our help centre .

How many skills should I put on a resume?

Aim for 8–15 skills in a dedicated skills section. Fewer than 8 may look sparse; more than 15 starts to look like keyword stuffing rather than genuine expertise. Quality and relevance matter more than volume. Every skill listed should be something you could back up in conversation or a practical test.

Should I put soft skills on my resume?

Only if they're backed by evidence in your bullet points — and even then, don't list them in a skills section. "Excellent communicator" in a skills list is meaningless. "Presented monthly performance reports to the executive team across 4 departments" in a bullet point demonstrates communication. Show, don't list, soft skills.

What skills are most in demand right now?

This varies by sector, but high-value skills across most fields include: data analysis (SQL, Python, Excel), AI/ML familiarity, digital marketing (SEO, paid media, analytics), project management (Agile, PMP), cloud platforms (AWS, Azure, GCP), and CRM systems (Salesforce, HubSpot). For your specific field, analyse 10–15 job descriptions to see which skills appear most consistently.

Should I list skills I'm still learning?

You can include skills you're actively developing, but be honest about where you are. "Python (learning)" or "AWS (in progress — Cloud Practitioner certification)" is transparent and shows initiative. Listing skills you can't yet demonstrate and getting caught out in an interview is worse than not listing them at all.

Does the order of skills on a resume matter?

Yes. ATS systems scan left-to-right and top-to-bottom. Putting your most relevant, role-specific skills first improves both ATS matching and recruiter impression. Generic or peripheral skills go last. For a two-column layout, the left column takes priority.

How do I know which skills a job description is really looking for?

Read the job description carefully — the skills in the "requirements" section are non-negotiable; the skills in "responsibilities" tell you what tools and methods the team actually uses. The LoopCV Resume Keywords Scanner compares your resume against any job description and shows exactly which keywords are present, missing, and how your match score compares to what the role is looking for.

Can LoopCV help me apply to roles matching my skills?

Yes. Upload your resume to LoopCV and it will match your skills and experience against relevant roles across 20+ job boards, then apply on your behalf. The more specific your skills section, the better the match quality. The Keywords Scanner can help you optimise your resume before you start your automated search.

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