What skills to put on your CV (hard and soft)
The skills section is a fast signal for both the recruiter and the ATS. The key is choosing the skills that actually matter for this role - and presenting them credibly.
Hard vs soft skills
Hard skills are measurable: tools, languages, software (Excel, Python, English C1). Soft skills are how you work: communication, teamwork, organisation. A good CV shows both.
How to choose
- Read the ad and list the skills it asks for.
- Mark the ones you genuinely have - those go in.
- Keep the list tight; 8-12 relevant skills beat a wall of thirty.
Show proof
Bare keywords don't convince anyone. Soft skills work best inside your experience: instead of "communicative", write "presented weekly results to clients". For hard skills, add a level ("Excel - advanced") or a certificate.
Watch out for
Listing skills you don't have - it unravels fast in an interview. Better to show fewer, honestly.
To see whether your skills are actually findable, the free ATS resume checker lists the ones it could extract from your file.
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Comments (3)
How many skills is too many? My list is at 25...
Way too many - pick the 8-12 most relevant to the posting. A long list buries the ones that matter.
Skill bars and star ratings look nice but ATS can't read them - plain text saved my parsing.
Good point about proving soft skills in the experience section instead of just listing them.