Resume guides
How to list skills on a resume
Group skills by kind, keep them honest, and drop the rating bars that tell a recruiter nothing.
Skills sections are read in two directions: does this person have the tool, and are they telling the truth. Design for both.
Group them
- Technical — languages, platforms, standards
- Tools — software you operate daily
- Frameworks and libraries
- Domains — the fields you know, e.g. GST, paediatrics, paid search
- Languages — with honest proficiency labels
- Soft skills — only when backed by an example elsewhere on the page
The honesty test
List what you would accept an interview question on tomorrow. A shorter list you can defend beats a long list you cannot.
Format
- Comma-separated plain words — parsers read them
- No five-star ratings or percentage bars
- No icons standing in for names
- Match the posting's vocabulary where it is true of you