The Ultimate Guide to Good Skills and Abilities to Put on a Resume (2025)

Meta Description: Stop guessing which skills to add to your resume. Discover 25+ good skills and abilities to put on a resume that will get you past ATS and impress recruiters. Read our expert guide now!

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Is Your Resume Getting Ignored? The Skills Section Might Be Why.

You've spent hours perfecting your resume, sending out dozens of applications, only to be met with silence. It's a frustratingly common experience for job seekers. The problem often isn't your experience; it's how you present your skills. In a world where nearly 98% of Fortune 500 companies use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to filter candidates Jobscan, listing the right skills and abilities is no longer optional—it's essential.

This guide goes beyond generic advice. We'll provide a comprehensive look at the good skills and abilities to put on a resume, complete with quantifiable examples that demonstrate your impact. We'll show you how to analyze a job description, tailor your resume effectively, and avoid common mistakes that get you rejected.

Hard Skills vs. Soft Skills: What's the Difference and Why You Need Both

To build a powerful resume, you must showcase a balanced mix of hard and soft skills. Recruiters look for both to determine if you can do the job (hard skills) and if you'll be a good fit for the team (soft skills).

Feature	Hard Skills	Soft Skills
Definition	Teachable, technical abilities that are easy to quantify.	Interpersonal qualities that define how you work and interact with others.
How to Learn	Acquired through training, education, or certification.	Developed through life and work experience.
Examples	Python, SQL, Graphic Design, SEO, Bilingualism.	Communication, Leadership, Problem-Solving, Teamwork.
How to Prove	Certifications, work portfolios, technical assessments.	Anecdotes in your cover letter and interview answers.

Top 15 Hard Skills That Will Get You Hired in 2025

Here are some of the most in-demand hard skills. Notice how each example is quantified with a metric—this is key to showing, not just telling.

Technical & Programming Skills

1. Programming Languages (Python, Java, JavaScript): Developed a Python script to automate data entry, reducing manual processing time by 80%.
2. Cloud Computing (AWS, Azure, Google Cloud): Migrated three legacy applications to AWS, resulting in a 30% reduction in annual hosting costs.
3. Data Analysis (SQL, Tableau, Power BI): Created a Tableau dashboard to track sales KPIs, providing insights that led to a 15% increase in quarterly revenue.

Project & Business Management

4. Agile/Scrum Methodologies: Led a Scrum team of 5 developers to deliver a new software module two weeks ahead of schedule.
5. Budgeting: Managed a project budget of $500,000, delivering the final project 10% under budget.
6. Business Development: Identified and secured 10 new client accounts in six months, generating $250,000 in new business.

Marketing & Sales

7. SEO/SEM: Implemented an SEO strategy that increased organic website traffic by 70% in one year.
8. CRM Software (Salesforce, HubSpot): Utilized Salesforce to manage a pipeline of 200+ leads, improving lead conversion rate by 25%.
9. PPC Advertising: Managed a $50,000/month Google Ads budget, achieving a 20% decrease in cost-per-acquisition (CPA).

General & Administrative

10. Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Word, PowerPoint): Used advanced Excel functions (VLOOKUP, Pivot Tables) to analyze survey data from 5,000+ customers, identifying three key areas for product improvement.
11. Foreign Languages (e.g., Spanish, Mandarin): Provided bilingual customer support to Spanish-speaking clients, improving customer satisfaction scores by 15%.
12. Typing Speed: Accurately type at 80 WPM, enabling efficient and rapid document creation and correspondence.
13. Graphic Design (Adobe Creative Suite): Designed marketing collateral in Photoshop and InDesign that contributed to a 40% increase in event attendance.
14. Content Management Systems (WordPress): Managed and updated a 200+ page WordPress site, ensuring 99.9% uptime and implementing a new, mobile-responsive theme.
15. Video Editing: Edited 50+ short-form videos for social media, which accumulated over 1 million views and increased follower count by 20%.

Top 10 Soft Skills Recruiters Crave

Soft skills are harder to quantify, but you can demonstrate them by framing your accomplishments.

1. Communication: Presented complex technical findings to non-technical stakeholders, leading to a shared understanding and project approval.
2. Leadership: Mentored two junior team members, both of whom were promoted within 18 months.
3. Problem-Solving: Identified a critical bug in the payment gateway and and coordinated a rapid fix, preventing an estimated $50,000 in potential lost revenue.
4. Teamwork/Collaboration: Collaborated with product, design, and marketing teams to launch a new feature that increased user engagement by 30%.
5. Adaptability: Quickly learned a new project management software (Asana) to streamline team workflows in under a week.
6. Time Management: Successfully managed 5 concurrent projects, delivering all on time and within scope.
7. Work Ethic: Volunteered to take the lead on a challenging project, working extra hours to ensure its successful and timely completion.
8. Creativity: Proposed and developed a new marketing campaign angle that resulted in a 200% increase in social media engagement.
9. Critical Thinking: Analyzed customer feedback to identify the root cause of churn, proposing a solution that reduced churn by 5% the following quarter.
10. Emotional Intelligence: Successfully de-escalated a conflict between two team members by facilitating a constructive conversation, restoring a positive team dynamic.

How to List Skills on Your Resume: A 3-Step Guide

Step 1: Identify the Right Skills from the Job Description

The most important skills are the ones the employer explicitly asks for. Scan the "Requirements" or "Qualifications" section of the job description.

Step 2: Weave Skills into Your Work Experience

Don't just list skills; prove them. Use the bullet points under your work experience to tell a story of your accomplishments using those skills.

• Before: "Responsible for managing social media."
• After: "Grew Instagram followers by 300% in 6 months by creating and executing a data-driven content strategy."

Step 3: Create a Dedicated Skills Section

This is a scannable, bulleted list that gives recruiters a quick overview of your qualifications.

Pro Tip: This is where a tool like JobSeekerTools becomes invaluable. Our platform can instantly scan your resume against a job description, identify the critical skills you're missing, and help you tailor your application to beat the ATS.

Conclusion: Skills Are Your Currency

In today's competitive job market, your skills are the currency that gets you noticed. By focusing on a balanced mix of hard and soft skills, quantifying your achievements, and tailoring your resume for every application, you move from being just another applicant to being the ideal candidate.

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Visual Guides

The Anatomy of a Perfect Resume Skills Section

This guide breaks down how to strategically place skills on your resume to catch the eye of recruiters and Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS).

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1. The Summary Statement: Your Elevator Pitch

Your resume summary is the first thing a recruiter reads. Integrating top skills here can make an immediate impact.

• What to include: Showcase 2-3 of your most impressive and relevant skills.
• Good Example: "Results-driven Project Manager with over 10 years of experience in Agile methodologies, leading to a 30% increase in team efficiency."
• Statistic: Recruiters spend an average of 6 seconds scanning a resume. A powerful summary makes them want to read more.

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2. Work Experience: Show, Don't Just Tell

Instead of just listing your duties, demonstrate your skills in action.

• What to include: Weave skills into your accomplishment-oriented bullet points.
• Good Example: "Managed a portfolio of 15+ client accounts, utilizing Salesforce and data analysis to increase client retention by 25% year-over-year."
• Statistic: 75% of large companies use an ATS to filter resumes. Using keywords from the job description in this section is crucial.

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3. The Dedicated Skills Section: Your Technical Toolbox

This is where you list your hard skills and technical proficiencies.

• What to include: Use clear headings to categorize your skills (e.g., "Programming Languages," "Software," "Certifications").
• Good Example:
  • Programming Languages: Python, JavaScript, SQL
  • Software: Tableau, Microsoft Excel (Advanced), Jira
  • Certifications: Certified ScrumMaster (CSM)
• Statistic: Job postings that list specific skills are 50% more likely to attract qualified candidates. Make sure your skills section is easy to scan.

An infographic showing good skills and abilities to put on a resume, with examples for the summary, work experience, and skills sections.

The Ultimate Skill-Tailoring Checklist

Follow this checklist to tailor your resume for any job application.

• Analyze the Job Description: Pinpoint keywords in the "Requirements" and "Qualifications" sections.
• Create a Keyword List: List all essential skills, tools, and qualifications.
• Update Work Experience: Weave keywords into your accomplishments, using metrics to show impact.
• Refine Skills Section: Add relevant hard skills and organize them for clarity.
• Tailor Resume Summary: Place 2-3 top skills in your summary for immediate impact.
• Proofread Everything: Check for consistency, spelling, and grammar errors.

A checklist outlining how to find and list good skills and abilities to put on a resume to match a job description.

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Frequently Asked Questions

1. How many skills should I put on my resume? Aim for 10-15 of your most relevant skills in a dedicated skills section. However, the entire resume should be infused with skills demonstrated through your work experience bullet points. Quality and relevance always beat quantity.

2. Should I include skills I'm not an expert in? Be honest. You can categorize skills by proficiency level (e.g., "Advanced," "Intermediate," "Basic") or use phrases like "Familiar with" for skills you have some exposure to but aren't an expert in. Never lie about your abilities.

3. Are 'abilities' and 'skills' the same thing for a resume? Yes, for all practical purposes in a resume context, the terms 'skills' and 'abilities' are used interchangeably. Focus on showcasing your capabilities, regardless of the specific term used.