Skills to Put on a Resume: 50+ Examples and How to List Them Right

Knowing which skills to put on a resume sounds simple. Until you’re staring at a blank skills section wondering if “communication” is actually doing anything for you.

Most job seekers fill that section with the same soft skills everyone else uses — “communication,” “teamwork,” “Microsoft Office.” Then they wonder why nothing’s happening. So, instead, let’s look at what actually works.

Hard Skills vs. Soft Skills — Why Recruiters Need Both

Before you start listing anything, it’s worth understanding the two types of skills that belong on every resume.

Hard skills are specific, teachable abilities — things like SQL, Google Analytics, QuickBooks, or fluency in another language. They tell a recruiter you can do the actual job.

Soft skills, on the other hand, describe how you work — things like problem-solving, adaptability, or active listening. These matter too, especially for collaborative or leadership-heavy roles.

The key point here? You need both. A resume with only hard skills looks technical but cold. A resume with only soft skills gives a recruiter nothing concrete to hold onto.

In fact, the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report consistently finds that in-demand candidates combine technical expertise with strong interpersonal competence.

For most roles, aim for 60% hard skills and 40% soft skills — though the balance shifts depending on your field.

The Best Hard Skills to Put on a Resume (by Category)

Hard skills are concrete, so the goal here is specificity. “Excel” is better than “Microsoft Office.” “Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUP, Power Query)” is even better. The more specific you are, the more credible the claim — and the better your chances of matching what an ATS scans for.

Here are the most in-demand hard skills, organized by category:

Technology & Software

• Microsoft Excel (advanced), Google Sheets
• Salesforce, HubSpot
• Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere Pro)
• WordPress, Webflow
• SQL, Python, JavaScript, HTML/CSS
• AutoCAD, SolidWorks
• QuickBooks, SAP, NetSuite, Xero

Data & Analytics

• Google Analytics 4, Tableau, Power BI
• Data analysis and visualization
• A/B testing and experimentation
• Market research and competitive analysis
• SEO and keyword research

AI Tools (Increasingly Expected in Most Roles)

• AI prompt writing (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini)
• AI-assisted research and content creation
• Workflow automation with AI tools
• Microsoft Copilot

Marketing & Communications

• Content marketing and copywriting
• Email marketing (Mailchimp, Klaviyo, HubSpot Email)
• Social media management
• Paid advertising (Google Ads, Meta Ads)
• Video editing (Premiere Pro, CapCut, Final Cut Pro)

For marketing-specific roles, get more targeted. Keywords for a marketing resume differ from general skill lists — knowing which ones recruiters scan for makes a real difference.

Project Management & Operations

• Agile/Scrum methodology
• Asana, Trello, Monday.com, Jira, Notion
• Six Sigma (Green Belt, Black Belt)
• Budget management and forecasting
• Event planning and coordination

Science & Technical Roles

If you’re in a lab-based or technical field, the specifics matter even more. Moreover, lab and science roles have their own vocabulary. Specifically, listing the exact terminology hiring managers and ATS systems scan for is what separates a generic skills section from one that gets interviews.

One rule that applies to everything above: only list hard skills you can actually talk through in an interview. If Python is on your resume and you can’t write a basic function, that’s a problem.

Soft Skills That Recruiters Actually Care About

Here’s the uncomfortable truth — listing “communication skills” or “team player” on your resume tells a recruiter almost nothing. After all, every single applicant claims those things.

So, instead of copying what everyone else lists, choose soft skills specific enough to mean something. Then back them up in your bullet points.

The soft skills that genuinely register with hiring managers in 2026 include:

• Problem-solving — Ideally supported by a specific outcome in your work history
• Adaptability — Particularly valuable in fast-moving environments or roles with shifting priorities
• Cross-functional collaboration — More critical than ever in hybrid and distributed teams
• Active listening — Increasingly valued in client-facing and leadership positions
• Critical thinking — Employers want people who question the right things, not just execute tasks
• Emotional intelligence — A high-signal soft skill for anyone in management or people-facing roles
• Time management — Meaningful in any role where you’re juggling competing priorities
• Leadership — Even if you’ve never held a formal manager title, showing initiative counts

The rule for soft skills: never list one you can’t back up somewhere else on the resume. If “communication” is in your skills section but nothing in your experience section reflects it, it reads as noise.

For help with this, listing communication skills on a resume requires more than naming the skill. Furthermore, it needs concrete evidence to land with a recruiter.

Not sure how your skills section should be structured? ResumeStudio’s free resume builder gives you a template where the skills section is already set up — just fill it in.

How to Choose the Right Skills for YOUR Resume

This is where most people get it wrong. They copy a list of “top resume skills” online and call it done — without checking if those skills match what the employer actually wants.

Here’s the smarter approach:

Step 1: Read the job description carefully. Every posting is essentially a prioritized wish list of skills. Highlight every skill, tool, software, or quality mentioned. Those exact words are your targets.

Step 2: Match your real experience to their list. Don’t include skills you don’t have — ATS systems flag mismatches, and interviewers will catch you. Instead, focus on skills you genuinely possess that align with what they’re asking for.

Step 3: Prioritize ruthlessly. You don’t need 25 skills in your skills section. In fact, most hiring managers recommend 8 to 12 — enough to hit key terms without making the section look like a keyword dump.

Step 4: Customize for each application. Yes, it takes extra time. But a resume tailored to the job description consistently outperforms a generic one, especially for passing ATS filters. According to SHRM research on talent acquisition, skills-based hiring is now the dominant model. As a result, keyword alignment in your skills section directly affects whether your resume surfaces at all.

If you’re still working out your resume’s structure, picking the right resume format first makes everything else easier — including how you present your skills. And for a complete walkthrough of building every resume section from scratch, that’s a good companion read alongside this one.

Where to Put Your Skills Section (and How to Format It)

Importantly, placement matters more than most people realize. Here’s a straightforward guide based on your situation:

• Early-career candidates and career changers: Put your skills section near the top — right after your summary or objective. This puts your strongest qualifications first, even if your work history is short or unrelated.
• Experienced professionals: Place skills after your work experience. Your job titles and accomplishments carry the real weight; the skills section reinforces them.
• Technical roles: Consider a dedicated “Technical Skills” block near the top, separated from soft skills. A recruiter scanning for specific tools needs to find them fast.

Two Formats That Work

Inline list (clean and compact):

Skills: SQL | Python | Google Analytics | Agile | Cross-functional Collaboration

Categorized block (good for technical roles or longer lists):

Technical: SQL, Python, Tableau Tools: Asana, Salesforce, HubSpot Soft Skills: Problem-solving, Adaptability, Active Listening

Both are ATS-friendly — just keep the heading simple. Use “Skills” or “Core Competencies,” not something clever like “What I Bring.” ATS systems parse standard labels; unusual ones can get misread.

Skills to Leave Off Your Resume

Knowing what NOT to include is just as important as knowing what to put in. Some skills actively hurt you by signaling poor self-awareness. Others simply waste space.

Remove these from your resume:

• “Microsoft Word” and “Microsoft PowerPoint” — It’s 2026. These are assumed for nearly every office role. Listing them signals that you’re not aware of what’s actually competitive.
• Vague filler traits — “Hard worker,” “motivated,” “team player,” and “passionate” are empty claims without evidence. They add nothing to your candidacy.
• Outdated software — If you’re listing tools with “2007” or “2010” in the name, it raises questions about whether your experience is current.
• Obvious basics — Email, internet browsing, and typing should never appear on a professional resume.

Additionally, avoid listing skills you haven’t used in three to five years — unless you’ve recently refreshed them through a course or project.

For a side-by-side comparison, the good resume vs. bad resume breakdown is a quick reality check before you finalize yours.

Build Your Skills Section With ResumeStudio

Knowing which skills to include is only half the job. The other half is presenting them in a format that works — clean for ATS systems, readable for the humans who see it next.

ResumeStudio’s free resume builder takes care of the formatting side. Every template includes a pre-structured skills section — with layout options for both simple lists and categorized blocks.

The built-in AI career coach also helps you identify which skills are worth highlighting for the role you’re targeting. And it helps you carry those skills through your entire resume — not just the skills section.

Start building your resume with ResumeStudio — it’s completely free, no credit card required.

Frequently Asked Questions

Wrapping Up

Your skills section is a small part of your resume. But it has an outsized effect on whether you get seen at all.

The formula is simple: be specific with hard skills, prove soft skills through your bullet points, and always tailor to the job description. Cut anything that doesn’t add real value.

For more help, the complete resume writing guide covers every section from format to final polish — including how to write the kind of summary that makes recruiters keep reading.