Skills for a Resume: Examples for 12 Jobs and How to Choose Them
The skills section is where recruiters and applicant tracking systems look for the exact tools, methods and licenses a job needs. The best list is short, specific and matched to the posting.
How to choose
- Read the posting and write down every skill, tool, license and method it names.
- Circle the ones you really have. Only those go on your resume.
- Use the posting's words. If it says "Microsoft Excel", don't write "spreadsheets".
- Keep 6 to 12 skills. Specific beats long.
- Prove the important ones in your bullet points as well.
Hard skills and soft skills
Hard skills are things you can be tested on: software, equipment, languages, licenses, methods. They belong in the skills section. Soft skills like communication, teamwork and patience are important, but a list of them doesn't convince anyone. Show them in your bullets: "Trained two new cashiers" says more than "team player".
Skip skill bars, stars and percentages. They don't mean anything to a reader, and applicant tracking systems can't read them.
Example skills by job
Starting points. Use the ones that are true for you and match the posting.
Customer service
Ticketing systems (Zendesk, Freshdesk), live chat, phone support, de-escalation, returns and refunds, CRM (Salesforce, HubSpot), order tracking, typing speed
Sales
Prospecting, cold calling, pipeline management, CRM, negotiation, product demos, account management, quota attainment
Office and admin
Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, calendar management, data entry, filing, scheduling, travel booking, invoicing
Project coordinator
Asana, Jira, Trello, scheduling, budget tracking, status reporting, vendor management, risk logs
Registered nurse
Patient assessment, medication administration, IV therapy, EHR (Epic, Cerner), care planning, discharge teaching, BLS, ACLS
Teacher
Lesson planning, differentiated instruction, classroom management, IEP and 504 support, Google Classroom, formative assessment, parent communication
Retail
Point of sale, cash handling, merchandising, inventory counts, loss prevention, opening and closing, visual displays
Warehouse and logistics
Forklift (certified), pallet jack, picking and packing, RF scanners, shipping and receiving, cycle counts, OSHA safety
Marketing
Social media management, content writing, email marketing (Mailchimp, Klaviyo), Google Analytics, SEO, Canva, paid ads
Bookkeeping
QuickBooks, Xero, accounts payable and receivable, bank reconciliation, payroll, month-end close, Excel
IT support
Windows and macOS, Active Directory, Microsoft 365 admin, ticketing, hardware setup, networking basics, remote support
Restaurant and server
Point of sale (Toast, Square), menu knowledge, upselling, food safety, table management, cash handling, food handler card
Where skills go
- A Skills section after Experience, or after your summary if skills are your strongest selling point
- Licenses and certifications in their own section, with the issuing body
- The two or three most important skills also in your summary
The Inksets builder has a keyword check: paste a job posting and it shows which of its words are already in your resume and which are missing.