What skills should I put on a resume?
Prioritize skills that match the target role and that you can support with concrete examples in your work history.
364 Resume Skills for ATS-Friendly Resumes
Browse 364 ATS-friendly resume skill guides across technical, business, soft, marketing, and sales categories.
How to choose resume skills that actually help interviews
- Match skills to the exact role and requirements in the job description.
- Balance hard skills with role-relevant soft skills instead of generic lists.
- Prove skills in experience bullets using scope, tooling, and measurable outcomes.
- Prioritize current skills that are actively used in your target jobs.
Popular resume skills across industries
Start with high-demand skills, then open each category hub for deeper role-specific coverage.
Technical Skills
Business & Management Skills
Marketing Skills
Sales & Customer Skills
Skill Categories
Explore distinct category hubs for technical delivery, business execution, collaboration, marketing growth, and customer outcomes.
Technical Skills
115 guidesProgramming, data, cloud, QA, cybersecurity, and design tooling skills employers scan for in technical resumes.
Use technical skills to prove implementation depth, tooling fluency, and measurable delivery impact.
Focus areas
Python
Popular for backend services, automation workflows, analytics stacks, and machine learning teams.
View skill guideJavaScript
Core for modern web products across frontend interfaces, Node.js services, and full-stack delivery.
View skill guideTypeScript
Used to improve code reliability and maintainability in large React and Node.js codebases.
View skill guideReact
Teams use it to ship component-driven UI, design systems, and interactive web apps.
View skill guideNode.js
Frequently required for API development, real-time services, and JavaScript backend platforms.
View skill guideSQL
Essential for analysts, data teams, BI reporting, and product roles working with relational data.
View skill guideMachine Learning
Valuable in predictive modeling, recommendation systems, and AI-assisted product features.
View skill guideData Engineering
Often appears in teams building ETL pipelines, data platforms, and analytics-ready datasets.
View skill guideDocker
Widely used to standardize local development, CI pipelines, and production deployments.
View skill guideKubernetes
Hiring teams look for this when running container orchestration, scalable services, and cloud-native infrastructure.
View skill guideDevOps
Signals ownership of deployment automation, reliability practices, and cross-team delivery speed.
View skill guideAWS
Especially relevant for cloud engineering and product teams building services on scalable managed infrastructure.
View skill guideBusiness & Management Skills
96 guidesProject, operations, finance, strategy, and leadership capabilities used across business-facing roles.
Show ownership, decision quality, and measurable business outcomes with concrete management evidence.
Focus areas
Project Management
Core for planning cross-functional projects, aligning timelines, and delivering agreed outcomes.
View skill guideAgile Methodology
Relevant for teams using iterative planning, sprint rituals, and continuous delivery cycles.
View skill guideStakeholder Management
Key for coordinating leadership, partners, and execution teams around shared priorities.
View skill guideBusiness Analysis
Best used when turning business requirements into actionable plans, processes, and measurable decisions.
View skill guideOperations Management
Applied in roles responsible for day-to-day execution quality, throughput, and service reliability.
View skill guideRisk Management
Important where teams must identify exposure early and mitigate delivery, compliance, or financial risk.
View skill guideBudgeting
Expected in finance and operations roles that own planning, spend control, and forecasting discipline.
View skill guideFinancial Analysis
Used to evaluate performance trends, profitability drivers, and investment decisions.
View skill guideSupply Chain Management
Especially relevant for procurement, logistics, inventory flow, and vendor coordination at scale.
View skill guideQuality Management
Supports process control, defect reduction, and consistent standards across operations.
View skill guideTeam Management
Highlights people leadership in staffing, performance coaching, and execution accountability.
View skill guideLeadership
Valued when you own direction, motivate teams, and deliver outcomes through others.
View skill guideSoft Skills
59 guidesCommunication, leadership, adaptability, and execution behaviors that improve hiring confidence.
Use soft skills with context, outcomes, and evidence instead of generic self-rating statements.
Focus areas
Communication
Foundational in roles that require clear updates, alignment, and effective cross-team collaboration.
View skill guideWritten Communication
Shows strength in documentation, client messaging, and asynchronous collaboration across teams.
View skill guidePublic Speaking
Best used for presentations, training, demos, and stakeholder-facing communication.
View skill guideEmotional Intelligence
Shows maturity in conflict handling, feedback quality, and collaboration under pressure.
View skill guideAdaptability
Signals you can stay effective through changing priorities, tools, and business conditions.
View skill guideResilience
Relevant in high-pressure environments where sustained performance and recovery matter.
View skill guideTeamwork
Demonstrates reliable collaboration in shared ownership, handoffs, and collective delivery.
View skill guideInitiative
Indicates proactive problem ownership and execution without waiting for direction.
View skill guideGoal Setting
Useful when roles require planning targets, tracking progress, and driving consistent execution.
View skill guideProblem Solving
Expected in most roles to diagnose blockers, weigh options, and resolve issues quickly.
View skill guideCritical Thinking
Helps evaluate assumptions, prioritize tradeoffs, and make sound decisions.
View skill guideAttention to Detail
Important in quality-sensitive work where accuracy, consistency, and error prevention matter.
View skill guideMarketing Skills
46 guidesSEO, content, social, paid media, lifecycle, and brand skills for conversion-focused marketing roles.
Present channel strategy, campaign ownership, and measurable growth outcomes.
Focus areas
SEO
Core for organic growth roles focused on rankings, search intent coverage, and sustainable traffic.
View skill guideKeyword Research
Used to prioritize search demand and map content to role-relevant query intent.
View skill guideContent Marketing
Hiring teams prioritize it when planning and publishing content that drives traffic, trust, and conversions.
View skill guideCopywriting
Directly impacts conversion rates across landing pages, ads, email campaigns, and product messaging.
View skill guideEmail Marketing
Often appears in lifecycle and retention programs tied to engagement and revenue performance.
View skill guideSocial Media Marketing
Relevant for audience growth, brand visibility, and channel-specific content execution.
View skill guideFacebook Ads
Best used by paid acquisition teams optimizing Meta campaigns for lead or revenue goals.
View skill guideGoogle Ads
Required in search and paid media roles managing intent-driven acquisition campaigns.
View skill guideGoogle Analytics
Key for performance reporting, attribution insights, and data-informed optimization.
View skill guideConversion Rate Optimization
Applied to improve landing-page performance, funnel metrics, and revenue efficiency.
View skill guideMarketing Automation
Supports scalable nurture programs, segmentation, and automated campaign orchestration.
View skill guideHubSpot
Often required in marketing ops and demand-gen teams managing CRM workflows and lifecycle campaigns.
View skill guideSales & Customer Skills
48 guidesRevenue, account growth, customer operations, and service delivery skills for commercial roles.
Demonstrate quota impact, account growth, retention outcomes, and customer-facing execution quality.
Focus areas
Sales
Foundational in quota-carrying roles focused on pipeline creation, deal progression, and revenue.
View skill guideLead Generation
Hiring teams expect this for building qualified pipeline through outbound, inbound, and partner channels.
View skill guideAccount Management
Shows strength in retaining clients, growing accounts, and coordinating long-term value delivery.
View skill guideCustomer Success
Used in post-sale roles driving adoption, retention, and expansion outcomes.
View skill guideClient Relations
Signals strength in trust-building, communication cadence, and executive relationship management.
View skill guideCustomer Service
Essential for support, retail, hospitality, and frontline customer-facing operations roles.
View skill guideCRM Tools
Expected where pipeline hygiene, activity tracking, and customer lifecycle visibility are required.
View skill guideSalesforce
Frequently requested in B2B organizations standardizing sales process, forecasting, and reporting.
View skill guideSales Negotiation
Best used when closing value-based deals while protecting margin and long-term relationships.
View skill guideUpselling
Shows ability to grow revenue through expansion opportunities in existing accounts.
View skill guideClosing Sales
Highlights execution in late-stage pipeline, objection handling, and final deal conversion.
View skill guidePipeline Management
Core for maintaining forecast accuracy and moving opportunities predictably toward close.
View skill guideNeed the full index?
Use the A-Z directory to browse every available resume skill and filter by category.
You can also review the full Open A-Z skill index and use the resume skills section guide to tailor section wording for each role.
Hard skills vs soft skills on a resume
Hard skills prove tooling and execution depth. Soft skills show collaboration, judgment, and delivery behaviors. Strong resumes combine both with evidence in experience bullets.
How many skills should you include?
- Prioritize 8-16 role-relevant skills instead of long generic lists.
- Mirror required job-description terms only when you can prove them with results.
- Refresh your skill list for every target role so ATS matching stays accurate.
How to phrase skills in resume bullets
Use skill names with context and outcomes, not standalone keyword lists.
Python
Built Python automation scripts that reduced manual reporting time by 60%.
Project Management
Led four cross-functional launches, delivering all milestones on schedule.
Customer Service
Resolved 50+ weekly customer issues while maintaining 96% satisfaction.
Resume skills FAQ
How many skills should a resume have?
Most roles are strongest with 8-16 relevant skills, chosen for fit instead of volume.
What is the difference between hard and soft skills?
Hard skills show tools and methods you can execute, while soft skills show how you collaborate and deliver results.
Should I tailor resume skills for every job?
Yes. Update the list for each application so terminology and emphasis match the specific job description.
Which skills help with ATS matching?
Use exact terms from the job description only when they accurately reflect your experience and accomplishments.
Related resume resources
Use guides, examples, and builder tools together so skills align with role requirements and ATS parsing.
Build your resume with role-matched skills
Use this skills hub together with our builder and templates to turn skills into interview-ready bullet points and ATS-aligned sections.
364 resume skill guides