How to Write the Skills Section of Your CV

The skills section of a CV is often wasted space or an afterthought. Either it lists things so generic they add no signal ("good communicator", "team player"), or it tries to include everything and ends up as a keyword dump that a reader skims past in a second. Done well, it is one of the quickest parts of your CV to improve, because it works for two readers at once: the applicant tracking software and the person.

Why Does the Skills Section Matter So Much?

Many applicant tracking systems compare the keywords in a job advert with the wording of your CV, and the skills section is the most direct place to show that match. If the terms from the advert never appear, you may not surface in the search a recruiter runs. A human reader often uses the same section for a quick check of basic fit, straight after your name and job title. A strong skills section serves both.

What's the Difference Between Hard Skills and Soft Skills?

Hard skills are specific and verifiable: Python, Adobe Illustrator, SQL, French B2, IFRS accounting, PRINCE2 project management. Soft skills ("adaptable", "detail-oriented", "strong communicator") are claims that every candidate makes and that nobody can check from a list, so they add little. Keep them out of the skills section and let your experience bullets show them instead. "Led a cross-functional team of eight to deliver a rebranding project on time" says more about communication and teamwork than the words "team player" can.

Skills Examples by Type

These show the format, so list only what you use at work and could talk about in an interview:

• Tools and software: Excel (pivot tables, lookups), SQL, Salesforce, Adobe Illustrator, SAP, Google Analytics.
• Languages, with a level: English C2, Spanish B2, Catalan C1 (CEFR levels).
• Methods and knowledge: Agile and Scrum, IFRS accounting, PRINCE2 project management, GDPR compliance.
• Working qualities: communication, teamwork, attention to detail. Keep these out of the list and show them in an experience bullet, as in the example above.

How Many Skills Should You List on Your CV?

Eight to twelve suits most roles. In our CV Score, a list of between eight and fifteen skills scores best: fewer looks thin, and more starts to read as keyword stuffing. If you have a lot of relevant skills, group them into two or three categories (Technical, Tools, Languages) instead of cutting arbitrarily.

How Do You Choose Which Skills to Include?

Go through the job advert and note which skills appear more than once or sit under "essential requirements". Use the advert's own wording rather than synonyms, because keyword matching can be literal: "project management" and "managing projects" may look different to a parser, and "CRM platforms" may not match an advert that says "Salesforce". Fill the remaining slots with skills that are strong, current and easy to defend in conversation.

How Should You Organise Your Skills Section?

With ten skills or fewer, a single row or column works. Beyond that, group by type, such as Technical Skills, Languages and Tools. Keep each group coherent: putting "empathy" and "Excel" under the same heading muddles the section. The groupings should follow a logic a recruiter would recognise.

Should You Include Proficiency Levels?

Optional, but useful for languages and technical skills where the level changes what you can do. "French: C1" or "SQL: intermediate" tells the reader something real. Avoid star ratings or bar charts for general skills, because nobody agrees what three stars out of five means for PowerPoint. For languages use the CEFR scale (A1 to C2), and for tools use plain words: basic, intermediate, advanced.

Should You Tailor Your Skills Section for Each Application?

Yes, slightly. Keep a master list of all your skills and pull the most relevant eight to twelve for each application, using the language of that advert. It takes a couple of minutes, and it shows you read the advert instead of sending a generic CV.

Which Skills Should You Cut From Your CV?

Generic soft skills, as above. Tools nobody uses in your field any more. And anything you listed because it sounds impressive but would struggle to use at work: an interviewer can ask about any line on your CV, and a skill you cannot back up costs more than one you left off. If you last used something years ago, leave it off or say you would need a refresher.

Where Should the Skills Section Go on Your CV?

For technical roles where skills are the main filter (software engineering, data, design), the section often works best straight after your personal statement, before experience. For more senior roles where your track record is the main signal, after experience makes more sense, because what you have done matters more than the tools you used. There is no universal rule; follow the logic of what a recruiter in your field looks for first.

For more on how this fits together, see How to Improve Your CV ATS Score: The Five Changes That Matter Most, What Is a Tailored CV? (And Why Every Application Needs One), How to Build a CV from Scratch and How to Structure a CV. For the interests section, which is where languages do not go, see Hobbies and Interests on a CV.