Start with the job description
Choosing the right skills starts with the job you're applying for. Read the job description carefully and look for skills, tools, responsibilities and requirements that appear more than once or seem central to the role.
Then compare those requirements with your own experience. Focus on skills you genuinely have and can support with examples from your work, education, projects or other relevant experience.
Separate hard skills from soft skills
Once you've identified the skills mentioned in the job description, separate them into hard skills and soft skills.
Hard skills are technical or job-specific abilities such as Excel, SQL, project planning or a programming language. Soft skills describe how you work, communicate and solve problems.
Need examples? Browse our complete list of 100+ resume skills →
Rank skills by relevance
After comparing your experience with the job description, don't treat every matching skill equally. Prioritize the skills that appear most important for the role.
A simple way to do this is to group your skills into three levels of relevance.
Required for the role
Skills explicitly required or repeatedly mentioned in the job description that you genuinely have.
Useful for the role
Relevant skills that support the position but are not presented as core requirements.
Not directly relevant
Skills you may have but that add little value for this particular application.
If a job repeatedly mentions Excel, forecasting and inventory planning, those skills should usually receive more attention than unrelated abilities that are not important for the position.
Find resume skills for your profession
The right skills depend on the role you're applying for. If you need ideas before narrowing down your list, explore examples of hard skills, soft skills and job-specific skills.
Browse skill examples and then choose the ones that genuinely match your experience and target job.
Not sure which skills are worth adding? See our 50+ good skills to put on a resume with soft skills, technical skills and examples for different jobs.
Show evidence, not just skill names
Listing a skill tells an employer what you claim you can do. Your experience should show where and how you actually used it.
For your highest-priority skills, look for opportunities to support them with projects, responsibilities or measurable results.
Inventory management
Managed raw-material inventory and adjusted replenishment plans based on forecast changes and stock coverage.
You do not need a separate example for every skill. Focus on the skills that matter most for the position and reinforce them naturally throughout your resume.
Put skills where they have context
Your skills section is useful, but it should not be the only place where important skills appear on your resume.
The strongest skills can also appear naturally in your experience, projects and resume summary when they are relevant to what you actually did.
Repeating the same skill throughout your resume does not automatically make it stronger. Use relevant terms where they accurately describe your experience and make sense to a human reader.
If you're also thinking about resume structure and applicant tracking systems, see our ATS-friendly resume guide .
Use relevant skills naturally for ATS
Employers may use applicant tracking systems to organize and search applications. Relevant terminology can help communicate the match between your resume and the job requirements.
This does not mean filling your resume with keywords. Use relevant terms naturally and only when they accurately describe your experience.
Understand resume structure, formatting and relevant keywords.
Add skills, languages, experience, education and other sections directly in your resume on iPhone.
Common mistakes when choosing resume skills
Even a strong list of skills can weaken your resume if the skills are irrelevant, unsupported or added only because they appear in the job description.
A job description is a guide, not a checklist to copy. Include skills only when they genuinely reflect your experience and abilities.
A long list can make your strongest qualifications harder to notice. Prioritize the skills that matter most for the role.
Broad terms such as “communication” or “teamwork” are less useful when more specific, job-relevant skills better explain what you can do.
Be prepared to explain how you used important skills. Your experience, projects or education should support the strongest claims on your resume.
Repeating terms only for ATS can make your resume difficult to read. Use relevant terminology naturally and accurately.
Different roles emphasize different abilities. Review your skills for each application and prioritize the ones most relevant to that position.
Before you add skills to your resume
Before sending your resume, review your skills one more time against the job you're applying for.
I reviewed the job description and identified the skills most relevant to the role.
I included only skills I genuinely have.
I prioritized the strongest and most relevant skills instead of listing everything I can do.
My most important skills are supported by experience, projects, education or measurable results where possible.
I used relevant terminology naturally instead of repeating keywords for ATS.
I adjusted my skills for this specific application rather than reusing the same list for every job.
Choosing skills for your resume: FAQ
How do I choose the right skills for my resume?
Start with the job description and identify the skills, tools and responsibilities most relevant to the role. Compare them with your own experience and prioritize the skills you genuinely have and can support with examples.
Should I use the same skills on every resume?
Not necessarily. Different jobs emphasize different abilities, so review your skills for each application and give more attention to those most relevant to the role.
Should I copy skills from the job description?
Use the job description to understand what the employer is looking for, but do not copy skills you do not have. Include relevant terminology only when it accurately describes your experience and abilities.
How many skills should I put on my resume?
There is no single number that works for every resume. Focus on a concise set of relevant skills rather than trying to include every ability you have.
Should I include both hard and soft skills?
You can include both when they are relevant to the role. Prioritize job-specific hard skills and add soft skills that meaningfully reflect how you work and contribute.
Put your skills to work.
Create a professional resume on your iPhone, organize your skills and experience, choose a template and export your resume as PDF.
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