Skills to Put on a Resume: 100+ Examples by Job & Type (2026)

213+ itemized hard and soft skill examples organized by job and by type — plus how many to list, where to put them, and how to match them to the job description so they pass the ATS.

By The ATSGrader Editorial Team · Last updated June 2026

Quick answer:List 8–12 skills the job posting actually asks for that you genuinely have — mostly hard skills (tools, software, measurable abilities) plus a few soft skills. Put them in a plain-text “Skills” section the ATS can read, and mirror the job's exact wording.

See the skill lists ↓

Hard skills vs soft skills

Hard skillsare specific and measurable — software, programming languages, certifications, financial reporting. They're the keywords an applicant tracking system matches against the job, so they belong in a clear skills section. Soft skills — communication, leadership, adaptability — are how you work. List a few, but prove them inside your experience bullets rather than just naming them.

The golden rule for both: take the skills straight from the job posting (for things you genuinely have) and use its exact wording. That's what gets you matched.

Hard skills examples by job

Copy the ones you genuinely have, then add the specific tools named in your job posting. Each field below lists 10–14 of the most in-demand skills.

Software & IT

Python
JavaScript
TypeScript
SQL
React
Node.js
Git
AWS
Docker
Kubernetes
REST APIs
CI/CD
Agile
Linux

Data & Analytics

SQL
Python
R
Excel
Tableau
Power BI
Statistical analysis
Data visualization
A/B testing
ETL pipelines
Machine learning
Snowflake
dbt

Marketing

SEO
Google Analytics (GA4)
HubSpot
Content marketing
Google Ads (PPC)
Email marketing
Social media management
Conversion rate optimization
Marketing automation
Copywriting
Meta Ads
Marketing attribution

Sales

Salesforce (CRM)
Lead generation
Prospecting
Cold calling
Negotiation
Pipeline management
Account management
B2B sales
Sales forecasting
Upselling & cross-selling
Outreach.io
Quota attainment

Finance & Accounting

QuickBooks
Excel (advanced)
GAAP
Financial reporting
Accounts payable
Accounts receivable
Budgeting
Forecasting
Auditing
Reconciliation
SAP
Financial modeling
Tax preparation

Healthcare & Nursing

Patient assessment
EHR (Epic/Cerner)
Medication administration
BLS/ACLS certification
Care planning
HIPAA compliance
Vital signs monitoring
Wound care
Phlebotomy
Triage
IV insertion
Patient education

Design & Creative

Figma
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe InDesign
UI/UX design
Prototyping
Wireframing
Typography
Branding
Design systems
Motion graphics
User research

Project Management

Agile
Scrum
Kanban
Jira
MS Project
Risk management
Stakeholder management
Budgeting
Roadmapping
PMP methodology
Resource planning
Gantt charts
Asana

Administrative

Microsoft 365
Calendar management
Data entry
Scheduling
Bookkeeping
Travel coordination
Minute-taking
Office management
Filing systems
Expense reporting
Google Workspace
Inventory tracking

Customer Service

Zendesk
CRM software
Conflict resolution
Live chat support
Product knowledge
Multitasking
Complaint handling
Ticketing systems
Order processing
Phone etiquette
Upselling
De-escalation

Human Resources

Recruiting
Onboarding
HRIS (Workday)
Employee relations
Compliance
Payroll
Performance management
Benefits administration
Applicant tracking systems
Interviewing
Conflict mediation
Policy development

Education

Lesson planning
Classroom management
Differentiated instruction
Curriculum development
Google Classroom
Student assessment
IEP development
Educational technology
Behavior management
Grading & feedback
Parent communication
Special education

Skills examples by type

Not sure which bucket a skill falls in? Here are the eight categories recruiters and ATS keyword filters look for — pick the ones that match the role.

Communication skills

How you share information and ideas.

Verbal communication
Written communication
Active listening
Presentation skills
Public speaking
Email etiquette
Storytelling
Cross-functional communication

Technical skills

Tools, software and measurable hard skills.

Microsoft Excel
SQL
Data analysis
Programming
Cloud platforms
CRM software
Project management tools
Cybersecurity awareness

Leadership skills

How you guide people and outcomes.

Team leadership
Coaching & mentoring
Delegation
Decision-making
Strategic planning
Conflict resolution
Performance management
Change management

Analytical skills

How you reason through problems and data.

Critical thinking
Problem-solving
Data analysis
Research
Forecasting
Attention to detail
Logical reasoning
Quantitative analysis

Organizational skills

How you manage time, tasks and priorities.

Time management
Prioritization
Multitasking
Planning
Scheduling
Goal setting
Process improvement
Project coordination

Interpersonal skills

How you work alongside other people.

Teamwork & collaboration
Empathy
Emotional intelligence
Networking
Customer service
Negotiation
Relationship building
Cultural awareness

Language skills

Spoken and written languages you can work in.

English (native/fluent)
Spanish
French
Mandarin Chinese
German
Arabic
Portuguese
Bilingual communication

Transferable skills

Skills that move with you between roles and industries.

Adaptability
Creativity
Work ethic
Initiative
Collaboration
Communication
Problem-solving
Resilience

Top 20 most-searched skills — and how to prove each one

Naming a skill is cheap; proving it is what converts. Each line below shows how to back the skill with a result in your experience section (“show, don't tell”).

1. Communication
Show it: "Presented quarterly results to 50+ stakeholders across 3 departments."
2. Leadership
Show it: "Led a 6-person team to ship the launch 2 weeks ahead of schedule."
3. Teamwork
Show it: "Collaborated with design and engineering to cut handoff time by 30%."
4. Problem-solving
Show it: "Diagnosed a recurring outage and reduced downtime by 40%."
5. Microsoft Excel
Show it: "Built pivot tables and VLOOKUP models tracking $2M in monthly spend."
6. Project management
Show it: "Managed 12 concurrent projects, delivering 95% on time and on budget."
7. Time management
Show it: "Balanced a 40-account portfolio while hitting every weekly deadline."
8. Customer service
Show it: "Maintained a 4.9/5 CSAT across 2,000+ resolved tickets."
9. SQL
Show it: "Wrote queries that surfaced insights cutting churn analysis time in half."
10. Data analysis
Show it: "Analyzed user data to drive a feature change that lifted retention 18%."
11. Adaptability
Show it: "Re-prioritized roadmap mid-quarter to absorb a new compliance requirement."
12. Critical thinking
Show it: "Identified the root cause of a 20% revenue gap missed by prior audits."
13. Salesforce (CRM)
Show it: "Automated CRM workflows that saved the team 8 hours per week."
14. Attention to detail
Show it: "Caught reconciliation errors that prevented $50K in overpayments."
15. Negotiation
Show it: "Renegotiated vendor contracts to cut annual spend by $120K."
16. Python
Show it: "Built a script that automated reporting, eliminating 10 hours of manual work weekly."
17. Collaboration
Show it: "Partnered with 4 cross-functional teams to deliver a unified product roadmap."
18. Creativity
Show it: "Designed a campaign concept that doubled social engagement quarter over quarter."
19. Organization
Show it: "Restructured the team's file system, cutting document retrieval time 60%."
20. SEO
Show it: "Grew organic traffic 3x in 6 months through on-page and technical SEO."

Skills to put on a resume with no experience

No formal job history? Lead with transferable skills from school, volunteering, part-time work and personal projects. These read as “ready to work” to a hiring manager — match them to the posting and back each with a concrete example.

Microsoft Office / Google Workspace
Communication
Teamwork & collaboration
Time management
Customer service
Reliability & punctuality
Basic data entry
Social media literacy
Willingness to learn
Problem-solving
Foreign languages
Organization

Skills for a new-grad resume

Recent graduates have more proof than they think — coursework, capstone projects, labs, internships and clubs all generate resume-worthy skills. Surface the hard skills your degree gave you, then add the soft skills you can demonstrate.

Research & analysis
Academic writing
Data analysis (Excel/SQL)
Presentation skills
Project coordination (group work)
Programming / coding from coursework
Lab or technical methods
Statistical software (SPSS/R)
Critical thinking
Adaptability
Internship-acquired tools
Leadership (clubs/societies)

How to choose (and place) your skills

Mine the job posting — list the hard skills and tools it names that you genuinely have. These are your highest-priority keywords.
Lead with hard skills — they're what the ATS matches. Keep the section to ~8–12 items.
Plain text only — a comma-separated list under a standard “Skills” heading. No tables, columns, or graphical skill bars; parsers can't read them.
Prove the soft skills — instead of “great communicator”, show it: “Presented quarterly results to 50+ stakeholders.”
Be honest — only list skills you can speak to in an interview. Keyword-stuffing skills you don't have backfires fast.

Are your skills matching the job?

Paste your resume and the job description below — the free checker shows exactly which of the job's skill keywords you're missing (the #1 thing the ATS filters on). No signup, nothing uploaded.

scan.local — your resume stays in this tab0 bytes uploaded

Paste your resume

🔒 100% private: analysis runs entirely in your browser. Your resume is never uploaded to any server.

Don't take our word for it — turn off your wifi and scan again. It still works, because the whole analysis runs on your device.

Frequently asked questions

What skills should I put on a resume?

Put the skills the specific job posting asks for that you genuinely have — split into hard skills (tools, software, measurable abilities like SQL, Salesforce, financial reporting) and a few soft skills (communication, leadership). The single best source is the job description itself: mirror its exact wording for skills you possess, because that's what the ATS and the recruiter search for.

What's the difference between hard skills and soft skills?

Hard skills are specific, teachable and measurable — programming languages, software, certifications, financial reporting. Soft skills are how you work with people and problems — communication, leadership, adaptability. A strong resume lists hard skills prominently (they're keyword-matched by the ATS) and proves soft skills through achievements rather than just naming them.

How many skills should I list on a resume?

A dedicated skills section of roughly 8–12 is the sweet spot — enough to cover the job's key requirements without becoming a keyword dump. Prioritize the hard skills and tools named in the job posting; weave soft skills into your experience bullets where you can show evidence of them.

Where do skills go on a resume?

Use a clearly labeled 'Skills' section (a standard heading the ATS recognizes) near the top or just under your summary, listed as plain comma-separated text — not in a table, columns or graphical skill bars, which parsers can't read. Then reinforce your most important skills inside your experience bullets with proof.

What skills do I put on a resume with no experience?

Lead with transferable hard skills from coursework, projects, internships or part-time work (e.g. Excel, a programming language, a design tool, a language) and the soft skills you can demonstrate (communication, teamwork, reliability). Match them to the job posting, and back each up with a concrete example wherever possible.

Keep improving your resume

Weak verbs dragging your bullets down? Swap them using stronger resume action verbs.

Want the verdict on the whole document? Get an instant data-backed resume review — $9, not $300, or optimize your resume for the ATS step by step.

Will your resume pass these ATS platforms?

Workday Greenhouse Taleo iCIMS Lever SuccessFactors Workable Indeed

Writing yours from scratch? Start from ATS-friendly resume summary examples for your role and level, the right skills to put on a resume for your job, or resume objective examples if you're just starting out. Want a clean base? Use the Harvard resume template.

New here? Run the free ATS resume checker — paste your resume and get your score in seconds, nothing uploaded.