Quick answer: The best skills to put on a resume are the ones the job description asks for and you can honestly demonstrate. Mix technical skills with workplace skills, and list the required ones first.
The sections below cover how to pick skills from a posting, how hard, soft and technical skills differ, and how to lay out the list. For wider resume tips, start with the main resume and job search guide.
Choosing which skills to list
Your skills section should come from the role you are applying for, not from a generic list. Coursera describes the usual shape as a mix of technical skills (software and tools you know) and workplace skills. That mix is the starting point, and the job posting decides the proportions.
Start with the job description
Read the posting and note which skills are required and which are only recommended, then list the required ones first. Coursera advises reviewing each job description and aligning your skills with the ones the company wants. Coursera also notes that many companies now use an applicant tracking system (ATS) to parse resumes, so a skills section that echoes the posting’s own wording carries weight.
Print the posting or paste it into a document and highlight every skill it names. Then check each highlighted item against your real experience. Keep the ones you can back up in an interview and leave out the rest.
Decide what to cut
A longer list is not a stronger one. Coursera recommends cutting skills that are less critical or unrelated to the work you will be doing. If a skill does not appear in the posting and does not support the job’s core tasks, it is a candidate for removal.
Hard, soft and technical skills compared
Hard skills are specific, teachable abilities that are often quantifiable and job-specific, according to BetterUp. Soft skills are the opposite in scope: they are not job-specific and are valuable across roles and industries. Technical skills sit inside the hard-skill group and cover tools, software and programming.
| Skill type | What it covers | Planning use |
|---|---|---|
| Hard skills | Specific, teachable abilities, often job-specific and often quantifiable; some are notably transferable | Match these closely to the posting, because they separate one role from another |
| Soft skills | Interpersonal abilities, healthy work habits, a positive attitude; usually very transferable | Choose a few that fit the role and support them with examples in your experience section |
| Technical skills | Programming languages, web development, experience with specific programs; digital literacy is crucial in nearly any occupation | Name the exact tools the posting lists, and note general digital skills when the role is less technical |
Definitions here come from BetterUp and from Mount Vernon Nazarene University.
The practical difference is portability. A hard skill tells the employer you can do this job’s tasks, while a soft skill tells them how you work with others. Applicants changing fields lean more on transferable skills, because their role-specific hard skills may not carry over directly.
Finding the right technical skills for a role
The posting is your best source for technical skills. Look for named software, tools and languages, and use the same names it uses. BetterUp’s examples of computer skills include programming languages, web development and experience with specific programs. Those are the kinds of entries that belong in a technical group.
When the role is not technical, do not leave the category empty out of habit. Digital literacy, the ability to use digital technology effectively, is described by Mount Vernon Nazarene University as crucial in nearly any occupation. Listing the everyday programs you use well is therefore relevant for most jobs, provided the posting makes them relevant to this one.
Soft skills worth listing
Choose soft skills the role clearly rewards, not a stock set. Urbe University calls communication one of the most important skills to have in any industry, which makes it a safe inclusion for most applicants. BetterUp lists organization and time management among transferable or functional skills, and these suit roles with many competing tasks.
Mount Vernon Nazarene University reports that most business leaders agree some of the most valuable work skills are transferable ones. Soft skills are easy to claim and hard to verify, so tie each one to something visible. If you list communication, your work history should show where you used it. The guide on how to write work experience on a resume shows how to carry those examples into your bullets.
Structuring the skills section
Divide the section into bullet points rather than a paragraph. Coursera says the section can be bullets or grouped by major job function. BetterUp suggests categories such as Technical Skills and Soft Skills to organize the list and save space.
- Single bulleted list: suits a short list or an early-career resume with few skills to show.
- Technical and soft categories: suits a mixed list where the reader should see tools separately from working style.
- Grouping by major job function: suits experienced applicants whose skills span several areas, since each group can mirror a part of the posting.
For length, BetterUp’s general guideline is 10 to 15 skills on the resume. Treat that as a typical range rather than a target. If the job description supports fewer, a shorter list built from the required skills is better than padding.
If you open the resume with a short statement, keep it consistent with the skills you list. The resume objective examples show how that opening line can point to the same strengths.
Troubleshooting common problems
- The list feels generic: replace broad labels with the specific tools and abilities named in the posting, and drop anything the role does not use.
- You lack a required skill: do not list it. Lead with the transferable skills you do have, such as organization and time management, and keep the required skills you hold at the top.
- The list has grown past a useful length: cut the least critical and unrelated items first, then group what remains by category or job function.
- One resume for every application: adjust the order and selection for each posting, since the required skills differ from role to role.
Frequently asked questions
Does an applicant tracking system change which skills I list?
It makes matching the posting’s wording more useful. Many companies now use an ATS to parse resumes, so name the tools and abilities the job description names, as long as you genuinely have them.
Should soft skills get their own heading?
They can. A separate Soft Skills category next to Technical Skills is one way to organize a mixed list, and it works best when each soft skill is backed by an example elsewhere on the resume.
Are transferable skills worth including when I change careers?
Yes. Soft skills are valuable across roles and industries, and some hard skills transfer too. Put the ones that match the new posting first.
How many skills should I list?
A general guideline is 10 to 15 skills. Keep the ones tied to the job description and cut the rest.
