Updated November 4, 2026.
In short: a resume skills list is the short set of abilities you show an employer, usually 8 to 12 skills matched to the job posting you are answering. Put hard skills (tools, methods, licenses, languages) in the skills section first, because a reader can check them. Leave soft skills out of the list and prove them in your experience bullets instead. Use the 200+ skills below as a menu to jog your memory, then keep only the ones the posting names and you can back up with a real example.
What skills to put on a resume?
Put the skills the job posting asks for that you can prove, with hard skills in the list and soft skills shown through results. Nothing else earns the space.
This page is a reference, not a checklist. Use it as the complete guide to resume skills list building: scan the four lists, mark every skill you have actually used at work, school or in volunteer roles, then cut that long list down in three passes.
1.Match. Open the posting and highlight every skill, tool and certification it names. Keep the items on your marked list that appear there. Use the posting's spelling.
2.Rank. Order what is left by how often the posting repeats it and how early it appears. Required qualifications outrank "nice to have."
3.Prove. For each of the top five, find one result from your history that shows it in use. Those results become bullets; the skill names become your list.
If you are unsure what a role usually asks for, our role skills pages are built from real job postings and show the skills that come up for each title. The resume keyword scanner compares a posting with your draft and flags the terms you have left out.
The University of Georgia Career Center gives a useful test for every item: ask how you practiced the skill, whether that experience is also on your resume, and whether the skill relates to the opportunity. A skill that fails either question comes off.
What hard skills can you put on a resume?
Hard skills are abilities someone can test, certify or see in a work sample. They are the core of any resume skills list. The 72 below are grouped by field; for job-family tables and bullet examples, read our full guide to hard skills for a resume.
Technical and IT
1.Python
2.Java
3.JavaScript and TypeScript
4.C#
5.SQL
6.Linux system administration
7.Network configuration (TCP/IP, DNS, VPN)
8.Cloud platforms (AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud)
9.Containers (Docker, Kubernetes)
10.Infrastructure as code (Terraform)
11.Active Directory administration
12.Incident response and vulnerability management
Data and analysis
13.Data cleaning and validation
14.Statistical analysis
15.A/B test design
16.Data visualization
17.Dashboard building
18.Spreadsheet modeling
19.ETL pipeline development
20.Demand forecasting
21.Machine learning fundamentals
22.Survey design and analysis
Finance and business
23.Financial modeling
24.Budgeting and variance analysis
25.GAAP reporting
26.Accounts payable and receivable
27.Account reconciliation
28.Payroll processing
29.Tax preparation
30.Internal audit
31.Requirements gathering
32.Procurement and vendor contracts
33.Project scheduling and cost tracking
Marketing and sales
34.Search engine optimization (SEO)
35.Paid search campaigns
36.Paid social advertising
37.Email marketing automation
38.Content strategy
39.Copywriting
40.Marketing analytics
41.Market research
42.Prospecting and lead qualification
43.Product demonstrations
44.Pipeline forecasting
Healthcare
45.Patient assessment
46.Medication administration
47.Vital signs monitoring
48.Phlebotomy
49.IV therapy
50.Wound care
51.BLS and ACLS certification
52.Electronic health record charting
53.Medical coding (ICD-10-CM, CPT)
54.HIPAA compliance
55.Infection control
Trades and operations
56.Blueprint reading
57.Electrical wiring
58.Welding (MIG, TIG)
59.HVAC diagnostics
60.Forklift operation
61.CNC machining
62.Preventive maintenance
63.Inventory control
64.Lean and Six Sigma methods
65.Quality inspection
66.OSHA safety compliance
67.Commercial driving (CDL Class A)
Languages and writing
68.Spanish
69.Mandarin Chinese
70.American Sign Language
71.Technical writing
72.Grant writing
73.Editing and proofreading (AP style)
74.Translation and localization
When you list a human language, add a level in plain words such as native, fluent, intermediate or beginner. The University of Georgia Career Center suggests a short parenthetical after the skill, for example "Arabic (Advanced)," and treating a skill with no label as one you can already use on the job.
What soft skills can you put on a resume?
Soft skills describe how you work with people, problems and your own time. A reader cannot check them from a list, so they work best as the subject of a bullet rather than a line in the skills section. Our guide to soft skills for a resume shows how to turn each one into evidence.
Communication
75.Active listening
76.Written communication
77.Public speaking
78.Presenting to senior leaders
79.Explaining technical topics to non-specialists
80.Giving and receiving feedback
81.Negotiation
82.Persuasion
83.Diplomacy
Teamwork
84.Collaboration
85.Cross-functional coordination
86.Conflict resolution
87.Remote and hybrid teamwork
88.Cultural awareness
89.Service orientation
90.Social perceptiveness
91.Peer training
92.Supporting colleagues under pressure
Leadership
93.Delegation
94.Coaching
95.Mentoring
96.Decision making
97.Accountability
98.Motivating a team
99.Setting priorities for others
100.Leading change
101.Running effective meetings
Problem-solving
102.Critical thinking
103.Troubleshooting
104.Root-cause analysis
105.Judgment
106.Creativity
107.Research
108.Attention to detail
109.Analytical thinking
110.Resourcefulness
Work habits
111.Time management
112.Organization
113.Adaptability
114.Self-motivation
115.Dependability
116.Composure under pressure
117.Active learning
118.Follow-through
119.Discretion with confidential information
Several of these names, such as active listening, critical thinking, time management and social perceptiveness, match the skill labels O*NET uses to describe occupations. That makes them safe wording when a posting asks for them by name.
What computer skills can you put on a resume?
Computer skills are the software and digital tools you use to get work done. On O*NET's Hot Technologies page, which counts US job postings from Lightcast data, Microsoft Office software appeared in 3,421,542 postings and Microsoft Excel in 3,211,598 of 46,885,153 unique postings between January and December 2025. So office tools still matter, but name the specific capability rather than the suite. See our guide to computer skills for a resume for proficiency wording by tool.
Office suites
120.Microsoft Word (styles, mail merge, track changes)
121.Microsoft Excel (pivot tables, XLOOKUP, macros)
122.Microsoft PowerPoint
123.Microsoft Outlook (shared calendars, rules)
124.Microsoft Access
125.Google Docs
126.Google Sheets
127.Google Slides
Collaboration and project tools
128.Microsoft Teams
129.Slack
130.Zoom
131.Microsoft SharePoint
132.Atlassian Confluence
133.Atlassian Jira
134.Asana
135.Trello
136.Notion
Design
137.Adobe Photoshop
138.Adobe Illustrator
139.Adobe InDesign
140.Adobe Premiere Pro
141.Figma
142.Canva
143.Autodesk AutoCAD
144.Autodesk Revit
Development basics
145.HTML
146.CSS
147.Git and GitHub
148.WordPress
149.Command line (Bash, PowerShell)
150.Visual Studio Code
151.Postman (API testing)
152.React
Data tools
153.Tableau
154.Microsoft Power BI
155.Looker Studio
156.PostgreSQL
157.MySQL
158.Snowflake
159.Google Analytics 4
160.IBM SPSS Statistics
161.Jupyter Notebook
CRM and ERP
162.Salesforce
163.HubSpot
164.Zendesk
165.ServiceNow
166.SAP
167.Oracle NetSuite
168.Workday
169.Intuit QuickBooks
170.Epic
What transferable skills can you put on a resume?
Transferable skills are abilities you built in one job that carry into a different one. O*NET groups them under headings such as social skills, resource management, systems skills and complex problem solving. They matter most when you change fields or come back after a gap. To map yours onto a new role, see our guide to identifying transferable skills.
171.Training new hires
172.Writing standard operating procedures
173.Resolving customer complaints
174.De-escalating tense situations
175.Managing a budget
176.Handling cash and closing out a register
177.Coordinating schedules
178.Planning events
179.Keeping accurate records
180.Data entry and reporting
181.Teaching and tutoring
182.Recruiting and managing volunteers
183.Fundraising
184.Building client relationships
185.Upselling and cross-selling
186.Assessing customer needs
187.Interviewing people
188.Collecting and analyzing feedback
189.Writing reports
190.Improving a process
191.Monitoring quality
192.Following safety protocols
193.Managing inventory and supplies
194.Operating and maintaining equipment
195.Managing a project from start to finish
196.Supervising a shift
197.Prioritizing a caseload
198.Meeting fixed deadlines
199.Working in a high-volume environment
200.Learning new software quickly
201.Serving as a go-between for departments
202.Mediating disputes
203.Working with diverse populations
204.Managing social media accounts
205.Logistics coordination
206.Vendor relationships
207.Stakeholder updates
208.Policy compliance
209.Grant and proposal writing support
210.Managing your own workload without supervision
The trick with transferable skills is translation. A server who "handled tables" becomes a candidate who "managed a section of 8 tables per shift and resolved guest complaints" (a sample bullet). The skill was always there; the wording makes it visible to a new field.
How do you write the skills section of a resume?
Write it as a short, labeled block near the top or bottom of the page, with the posting's most important skills first. The format depends on how many skills you have and how technical the role is.
| Format option | When to use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Grouped by category | Technical roles, or any resume with more than eight skills | Languages: Python, SQL · Tools: Tableau, dbt · Cloud: AWS |
| Single comma-separated line | Short list, non-technical roles, one-page resumes | Skills: Payroll processing, QuickBooks, Account reconciliation, Spanish (fluent) |
| Skill with proficiency level | Human languages, or tools where depth varies | Spanish (native), French (intermediate), R (beginner) |
| Core competencies block under the summary | Experienced candidates who want key skills seen first | Core competencies: Budget ownership · Vendor negotiation · Lean methods |
| Skills built into bullets only | Soft skills, and any skill you want to prove rather than claim | Sample bullet: Trained 5 new hires on the POS system during a holiday staffing change |
| Separate certifications section | Licenses employers screen for | RN, State of Ohio · BLS (American Heart Association) |
Three rules hold whichever format you choose. Label groups so a reader can find a skill in one glance; the UGA Career Center recommends a bold category followed by a comma-separated list. Order groups and skills from most to least relevant. Keep the section plain text, with no icons, bars or charts.
Our step-by-step guide on how to list skills on a resume covers placement, layouts and edge cases. For worked examples by job title, browse our resume examples.
How many skills should you put on a resume?
Aim for 8 to 12 in the skills section. That is a working guideline, not a researched rule. Fewer than eight often means you have under-read the posting. More than twelve tends to hide the skills that decide the screen.
Adjust for the role:
- Entry-level or career change: 6 to 10, with each one tied to a class project, volunteer role or part-time job somewhere on the page.
- Technical roles: up to 15 is reasonable when grouped, because postings list many tools and versions.
- Senior roles: fewer, broader items, since your bullets carry most of the proof.
Count soft skills separately. They belong in bullets, so they do not use up space in the list.
Which skills should you leave off?
Leave off anything that is assumed, outdated, unprovable or irrelevant to the job you want.
- Assumed basics. Email, web browsing and typing for an office role tell the reader nothing.
- Old software. Tools a field has stopped using suggest your knowledge has not moved on.
- Adjectives dressed as skills. "Hard-working," "detail-oriented" and "go-getter" claim a trait without evidence. Show them in a bullet instead.
- Skills you could not discuss in an interview. If one question would expose the gap, the line costs more than it earns.
- Skills for a job you no longer want. A nurse moving into health IT can drop phlebotomy and keep EHR charting.
- Rating graphics. Stars, bars and percentages mean different things to every reader, and text parsers may skip them.
- Personal details. Age, marital status and similar facts are not skills and do not belong on a US resume.
Harvard's career office advises writing resume language that is specific rather than general and fact-based. Apply that to every item: if a skill is vague, replace it with the specific tool or method behind it.
Frequently asked questions
What is a resume skills list?
A resume skills list is the labeled section where you name the abilities most relevant to a job, usually 8 to 12 hard skills such as software, methods, certifications and languages. It acts as an index: it tells the reader what to look for, and your experience bullets supply the proof. Build it fresh for each application from the skills the posting names.
What are the most common skills employers list in job postings?
Software basics lead. On O*NET's Hot Technologies page, based on Lightcast posting data for 2025, Microsoft Office software, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint and Word were the most frequently named technologies, followed by Python and SQL. Beyond software, the right skills depend on the role, so check the role skills pages for your title.
Should soft skills go in the skills section?
Usually not. A word like "teamwork" in a list cannot be checked. Put the behavior in a bullet instead: who you worked with, what you resolved and what changed. The exception is a posting that names a soft skill as a requirement. Then use its exact wording once, ideally inside a bullet that shows it.
Can I list skills I am still learning?
Yes, if you label them honestly. Add a level such as "beginner" or "in progress," or list a course or certification with its expected completion date. Only include it if the job values the skill and you can describe what you have done with it so far, such as a finished project.
How do I choose skills when I have no work experience?
Mine school, projects, volunteering and part-time jobs. Coordinating a club fundraiser, tutoring classmates in statistics or running the register at a weekend job each gives you a skill and a story. Keep the ones the posting asks for, and back each with a line under Projects, Activities or Education.
Should I tailor my skills list for every job?
Yes. Keep a long master list of everything you can prove, then copy the 8 to 12 that match each posting into that application. Reorder them so the posting's top requirements come first, and use its exact terms. The resume keyword scanner shows which terms you have missed.
Sources
- O*NET OnLine, Browse by Essential Skills — checked November 4, 2026.
- O*NET OnLine, Browse by Transferable Skills — checked November 4, 2026.
- O*NET OnLine, Employer-Based Hot Technologies — checked November 4, 2026.
- University of Georgia Career Center, Listing Hard and Soft Skills on a Resume — checked November 4, 2026.
- Harvard University Mignone Center for Career Success, Harvard College Guide to Creating a Strong Resume — checked November 4, 2026.