Skills to put on Resume

When it comes to writing a strong resume, one of the most commonly searched questions is “What are the best skills to put on a resume?”. And if you’ve Googled that, chances are you’ve been told to simply list keywords on your resume. Today’s hiring managers and recruiters aren’t looking for buzzwords. They’re looking for proof. They want to see how you’ve applied those skills in real-world situations and the results you delivered.

Why Simply Listing Skills on a Resume Doesn’t Work

Most job seekers include a “Skills” section on their resume, hoping to catch the attention of recruiters or pass Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). While keyword matching is a consideration, dumping a list of generic skills without context or evidence is largely ineffective. Overloading your resume with cliché phrases like Team player, Self-starter, Strong communicator, Problem solver can do more harm than good. These terms are so overused, they’ve become meaningless unless they’re backed up with measurable achievements.

What Hiring Managers Actually Want to See

Show how and where you applied a skill in a real role to give them the context. Demonstrate how you were able to practically apply skills. Include the results/achievements by applying your skills. Avoid just recycling skills within bullets on your resume. Tailor your resume based on the job ad.This approach is more than just good writing, it’s strategic.

How to Show Skills Effectively on Your Resume

The key is to embed the skill into your experience section, using action-oriented statements that include context, responsibility, and quantifiable results. Here are a couple of examples:

• To Highlight Agile Project Management Skills: Delivered an ERP implementation end-to-end using Agile methodology, ensuring adherence to schedule, budget, and resourcing constraints across 3 business units.

• To Demonstrate Problem Solving: Reduced defect rates by 10%, delivering over $1M in annual savings by identifying and addressing root-causes through structured problem solving.

• To Show Communication and Stakeholder Engagement: Led cross-functional workshops to align 5 business units on scope and deliverables for a $2.5M digital transformation program, securing executive sponsorship.

Showcasing technical skills

For specialized technical roles, adding a short targeted 1-line list of skills can be beneficial. This is true in limited scenarios where the job ad specifically calls out the requirement for a skill. E.g. Python or SQL skills.

In majority of scenarios, incorporating the skill within the work experience bullet points delivers a greater impact to the reader. E.g. Applied SQL skills to optimise data reporting dashboards