Hard skills vs soft skills
Hard skills are specific, teachable and measurable — a programming language, a design tool, a certification. Soft skills are how you work — communication, adaptability, leadership. Recruiters want both: hard skills prove you can do the job, soft skills prove you'll do it well with others.
How to choose the right skills
- Mirror the job description — list the skills it names, as long as you genuinely have them.
- Prioritise hard, role-specific skills — these are what ATS and recruiters scan for first.
- Back the important ones up — show at least one in action in your experience bullets.
- Drop the obvious and the fake — "MS Word" and skills you can't demonstrate add nothing.
50+ skills to put on a resume, by job
Software / IT
Java, Python, JavaScript, React, SQL, Git, REST APIs, data structures, debugging, cloud (AWS/Azure).
Data / Analytics
Python, SQL, Excel, Power BI, Tableau, statistics, data cleaning, dashboards, A/B testing.
Digital marketing
SEO, Google Ads, Meta Ads, Google Analytics, content writing, email marketing, keyword research, Canva.
Design
Figma, Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, UI/UX, wireframing, prototyping, typography, design systems.
Accounting / Finance
Tally, Excel, GST, accounts payable/receivable, financial modelling, reconciliation, SAP.
Sales / Business
CRM (Salesforce/Zoho), lead generation, negotiation, cold calling, pipeline management, MS Office.
Core engineering
AutoCAD, SolidWorks, STAAD.Pro, MATLAB, project estimation, quality control, CAD/CAM.
Soft skills (all roles)
Communication, teamwork, problem-solving, time management, adaptability, leadership, attention to detail, critical thinking.
Where to put skills on your resume
Use two places: a clean Skills section (a scannable list ATS reads easily) and your experience bullets, where you prove a skill with a result — e.g. "Used SQL and Power BI to build a sales dashboard that cut reporting time by 30%." Listing a skill is good; showing it in action is better.