Skills to Put on a Resume: How to Choose Them, by Job
The right skills for your resume are already written in the job posting. Here is how to find them, prove them, and place them where a recruiter looks.
Most people write their skills section from memory. They list what they think they are good at, in their own words, and send the same list to every job. That is why a qualified CV can still miss: the recruiter searched for the posting's words, and the CV used different ones.
This guide shows you how to choose skills from the job itself, where to put them, and how to back each one up. At the end you will find keyword lists for 16 roles.
Start with the job posting, not a list
Every posting tells you which skills it values. They sit in the requirements, the responsibilities and often the job title itself. A generic list of the best resume skills cannot know which of them this employer cares about.
- 1Copy the requirements section into a note and highlight every skill, tool, method and certification it names.
- 2Mark the ones you can prove. Proof is a job, a project, a course or a result you could talk about in an interview.
- 3Note the exact wording. If the posting says 'stakeholder management', do not write 'working with stakeholders'. Applicant tracking systems and recruiters search for the literal term.
- 4Rank by repetition. A skill the posting names three times matters more than one it mentions once.
If you want this done for you, paste the posting and your CV into the missing resume keywords checker. It lists the terms the posting uses that your CV never mentions.
Hard skills and soft skills
| Hard skills | Soft skills | |
|---|---|---|
| What they are | Specific and testable | How you work with people and problems |
| Examples | SQL, Excel, Salesforce, IV therapy, IFRS, Figma | Communication, leadership, problem solving |
| How recruiters find them | They search for the exact name | They look for evidence in your bullets |
| Where they go | Skills section and bullets | Inside bullets, with a result |
Lead with hard skills. They are what gets searched and what a hiring manager checks first. Soft skills still matter, but a list of adjectives proves nothing. The same skill inside a bullet with a number proves a lot.
The posting asks for strong communication skills.
Excellent communication skills.
Wrote and presented the monthly sales report to the leadership team, and cut the meeting from an hour to 30 minutes by leading with three decisions.
Where skills go on the page
Skills section
Two to four lines, grouped by type: tools, methods, languages, certifications. Plain text, separated by commas. This is where a recruiter scans for names.
Summary
Two or three of the skills the posting stresses most, next to the role title. This is the most read part of the page.
Experience bullets
The same key skills, each attached to something you did and a result. A skill that appears only in the list is a claim. In a bullet, it is evidence.
Certifications and education
Licences, registrations and qualifications, written exactly as the posting writes them, including the short form where one exists.
Resume skills and keywords by job
Each page below lists the terms postings for that role tend to use, grouped by where they belong on your CV, with before and after bullets. Use them as a checklist against your own history, then check against the real posting.
| Role | Keyword list |
|---|---|
| Software engineer | Software engineer resume keywords |
| Data analyst | Data analyst resume keywords |
| Data scientist | Data scientist resume keywords |
| UX designer | UX designer resume keywords |
| Product manager | Product manager resume keywords |
| Project manager | Project manager resume keywords |
| Business analyst | Business analyst resume keywords |
| Financial analyst | Financial analyst resume keywords |
| Accountant | Accountant resume keywords |
| Marketing manager | Marketing manager resume keywords |
| Sales manager | Sales manager resume keywords |
| Customer service | Customer service resume keywords |
| HR manager | HR manager resume keywords |
| Administrative assistant | Administrative assistant resume keywords |
| Nurse | Nurse resume keywords |
| Teacher | Teacher resume keywords |
All 16 lists are also on one page: resume keywords by job.
Mistakes that cost interviews
- Listing skills you cannot talk about. The skills section is where interview questions start. Keep only what you would be happy to be asked about.
- Using your own words instead of the posting's. 'Customer care' and 'customer service' mean the same to you, not to a search box.
- One list for every job. The skills a posting values change from employer to employer. Reorder and trim for each application.
- Skills in a graphic or a rating bar. Parsers cannot read a five star rating, and a recruiter cannot check it. Use plain text.
- Soft skills as a list of adjectives. 'Hardworking, motivated, team player' fills space and proves nothing. Show them in bullets instead.
Check your skills against a real posting
A keyword list tells you what postings for a role tend to ask for. The posting in front of you is the one that decides your application. Paste it and your CV into the checker to see which of its terms you never mention.
Find the skills your CV is missing
Paste a job description and upload your CV. See which terms the posting uses that your CV never mentions, and how often each appears. Free, and your file is read in your browser.
Once you know the gaps, FitMyCV can tailor your CV from the job link, rewriting your skills and bullets against that posting while keeping your real experience.
