Skills are the all-important part of your resume that tells a hiring manager you can handle your role, whether you’re an entry-level candidate or someone who is experienced.
However, it’s critical to add only the most relevant skills to your resume.
In this article, we’ll go over:
How to include resume skills correctly
Hard and soft skills
Resume skills examples
What recruiters look for when hiring based on skills
Along with the following tips, take advantage of our free skills generator to quickly add the right skills for the job you are applying for, with instant AI suggestions.
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What Are Skills and Core Competencies in Your Resume?
Recruiters scan the skills and core competencies on your resume to quickly understand what you can do and how you operate in a professional setting.
Skills show your measurable abilities, while core competencies highlight how you apply those abilities to drive results. Including both gives employers a clear picture of your strengths, working style, and potential fit.
A well-crafted resume will include these skills and competencies throughout to help it pass automated screenings and make it easier for recruiters to see the value you bring.
What Is Skills-Based Hiring?
Employers utilize skill-based hiring and recruitment practices to fill job positions based on the competencies and skills that candidates possess.According to NACE’s Job Outlook 2025 report, nearly two-thirds (64.8%) of employers now use skills-based hiring practices for entry-level positions, with more than half applying these practices consistently throughout their hiring processes.
💡 Our expert, Dr. Kristy Taylor’s advice
When I first started my career, my resume was simply a list of job titles, descriptions, and dates. It did not show actual relevant skills, and I often wondered why I did not receive job interviews. I later became a Career Coach and committed myself to helping clients understand the power of writing resumes with impact. Fast-forward to today, and the competition is stiff. Candidates compete in a tough job market that continues to evolve due to technological advances. We are now in the age of artificial intelligence (AI) and the ever-popular gig economy, making it increasingly important to build diverse skill sets.
Example of a Skills-Based Resume
Below, we have included a skills-based resume template, which you can review to see where and how to place skills throughout your resume.
123 Job Search Avenue • Brookside, NY 11223 John.Doe@email.net
Professional Summary
Detail-oriented professional with 6+ years of experience improving operations, optimizing workflows, and supporting cross-functional teams. Strong focus on problem-solving, communication, and continuous improvement to strengthen organizational efficiency and customer satisfaction.
Through interviews, feedback, observed behavior, and cultural fit.
When they stand out
When the role requires technical proficiency or specialized knowledge that directly matches job requirements.
When roles involve teamwork, leadership potential, and fields that need adaptability and collaboration.
How they’re developed
Formal education, training programs, courses, or hands-on technical practice.
Real-world experience, reflection, mentorship, and adaptation to challenges in the workplace.
With our free resume builder, you can get instant suggestions for relevant hard and soft skills.
Free Resume Templates
Using resume templates that are proven to work will help you to move your career search forward. Start and customize as many resumes as you need with our free resume builder.
Hard skills are essential for performing specific tasks and duties, such as programming, operating machinery, or using particular software applications, and are often a key focus in job descriptions and resumes. Hard skills are those skills that drive a business’s service or product.
Let’s have a look at the most sought-after hard skills for different industries.
Top hard skills for tech & IT jobs
For Tech & IT professions, skills might differ slightly depending on the exact position. However, you can include any of the following skills for just about any tech or IT jobs, like a software engineer or a data analyst:
Programming languages
Project management
Data analytics
Coding
Database management
Artificial intelligence
Application development
Top hard skills for sales & marketing roles
It may, of course, depend on whether you are marketing online, via conferences and events, through brochures, sales calls, etc. However, here are some common technical skills that recruiters look for in sales and marketing candidates.
Product knowledge
Data analysis
Marketing strategy
CRM software
Negotiation
Market research
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
The most relevant hard skills for roles in finance
It’s important to be good at math for finance roles, such as a financial analyst, but there are many more skills that you should highlight on your resume.
Accounting
Analytical reasoning
Budgeting
Bookkeeping
Financial reporting
Risk management
Financial analysis
Top soft skills for your resume
Soft skills are general, harder-to-define abilities that are more like personality traits relevant to many positions. These types of competencies are broadly applicable across various roles and typically remain consistent throughout your career, though you may improve them over time.
According to the 2024 LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report, 91% of learning and development professionals agree that soft skills are increasingly important. Check out the following examples in different fields that value strong interpersonal skills in applicants.
Soft skills for customer service & retail
Whether you work in a store, in a call center, or on a customer service desk, there are a variety of interpersonal skills you can mention to strengthen your resume.
Teamwork
Conflict resolution
Interpersonal skills
Communication
Empathy
Positive attitude
Active listening
The best soft skills for roles in healthcare & medicine
Healthcare is a very broad area of work, but here are some examples of skills for the healthcare and medicine sectors to help you differentiate yours.
Compassion/empathy
Patience
Bedside manner
Organizational
Multitasking
Collaboration
Attention to detail
Most relevant soft skills for roles in education
Teachers must be creative and inspiring to help their students learn. However, there are many more important competencies involved in this line of work. Here are some examples.
Communication
Adaptability
Conflict resolution
Collaboration
Time management
Creativity
Organizational
How and Where To Add Skills in Your Resume
No matter how or where you decide to add skills to your resume, keep everything concise. Hiring managers are busy and don’t have the time (or desire) to read through dozens of bullet points’ worth of skills.
For reference, the average resume contains about 13 different skills in the skills section. However, you should look to mention your skills in different sections as well for a well-rounded resume.
Include a mix of skills in your resume summary
Your resume objective or resume summary is the first thing hiring managers see when they read your resume, and it’s a great spot to stick a few of your most impressive hard and/or soft skills.
Here’s an example of what a good resume summary would look like — with a few skills thrown in:
Highly skilled software developer with 5+ years of experience in designing and developing web applications. Proven track record of leading teams to deliver high-quality software solutions, improving system performance by 35%, and increasing user engagement by 40%. Proficient in JavaScript, Python, and React, with strong adaptability and communication skills.
The most obvious place to put your hard and soft skills is in a specific skills section.
Your skills section doesn’t have to be super in-depth. It can range anywhere from a simple bulleted list of your various skills, two different lists breaking up the hard and soft skills, or a brief description of your skills.
Here’s a quick example of a perfectly acceptable skills section:
Additional skills
Data Analysis
Project Management
Adaptability
Resilience
Emotional Intelligence
Programming (JavaScript, Python, React)
Cybersecurity
Technical Writing
It’s typical nowadays to add this section right after your summary, as skills-based hiring is becoming more common.
Add relevant skills to your experience section
Weaving your skills into other parts of your resume is a great strategy, and your experience section is the perfect place to mention how your abilities helped you complete your tasks.
Here’s an example of what adding different skills to your experience section might look like:
Software Developer | Innovative Tech Co.
June 2021–December 2024
Performed data analysis using SQL and Python to identify and fix bugs, improving application stability by 20%.
Collaborated with product managers and designers to create user-friendly interfaces, leveraging emotional intelligence to understand and meet user needs effectively.
Key Takeaways
Now that you know how to show off your skills efficiently, it’s time to create a winning resume.
With our free AI builder and resume templates, you can easily add your different skills, as long as you remember that:
Hard skills are more technical, while soft skills are more about your personality
You can list your skills right under your summary
Include your skills in different resume sections, such as your experience section
By including your relevant skills, like we pointed out, you’ll be able to land your dream job in no time!
Free Resume Templates
Using resume templates that are proven to work will help you to move your career search forward. Start and customize as many resumes as you need with our free resume builder
To find relevant skills in a job description, it’s important to read the description carefully. Take note of any technical words or phrases that are likely to indicate hard skills, such as specific programming languages or coding terms.
Be aware of any industry-specific terms as well. These might include terms such as customer service or project management, or might consist of specific software or hardware applications.
Words accompanying phrases such as “must have”, “must demonstrate”, “must be proficient in”, or “must have experience in” are also indicative of hard or soft skills that the employer is seeking.
Skills are specific technical abilities you’ve learned, while core competencies reflect how you apply those abilities in real work situations.
They blend knowledge and strengths that support long-term success. When adding core competencies in a resume, you’re highlighting broader qualities beyond technical tasks.
Understanding the meaning of core competencies helps you show employers how you think and how you contribute to a team, not just what your skills are.
Most applicants include 8 to 12 well-chosen skills. This gives recruiters enough information without overwhelming them.
When deciding what to include, focus on skills that directly match the job description and demonstrate your relevance.
Also, try to prioritize quality over quantity by listing the skills that best reflect your experience, strengths, and the requirements of the role you’re applying to.
Possessing both hard and soft skills allows you to present yourself as a well-rounded individual who is both adaptive and able to get the job done.
By adding these skills correctly, you can show potential employers that you have the abilities and skills needed to complete the technical aspects of any job while having the ability to work closely with others when needed.
Recruiters favor skills-based hiring to meet fast-changing tech needs such as AI and programming, as these roles prioritize proven, hands-on ability over pedigree.
This approach closes skills gaps and supports future workforce planning. It also reduces costly mis-hires by targeting precise competencies rather than titles.
Importantly, skills-focused evaluation helps reduce bias by emphasizing performance over education or employer prestige.
