CV Skills Section: What to Include, Where to Put It, and How to Format It
The skills section is the most frequently misused part of a CV. Recruiters see lists of generic phrases — "good communication skills," "team player," "hard working" — that tell them nothing. Done correctly, a skills section becomes one of the most powerful parts of your application.
Hard skills vs soft skills: what belongs on a CV?
Hard skills are specific, measurable, and teachable. Examples:
- Python, SQL, Tableau
- Adobe Premiere Pro, Lightroom, After Effects
- PRINCE2 Practitioner, PMP
- Sage 50, Xero, QuickBooks
- 18th Edition Wiring Regulations
- Google Ads, Meta Business Manager, Semrush
Soft skills are interpersonal and behavioural. The problem with listing them is that everyone claims them and no one believes them. "Excellent communication skills" appears on the majority of CVs and convinces nobody.
The rule: demonstrate soft skills through your achievement bullet points, not by naming them in a list.
Instead of listing "leadership" — write "Managed a team of 12 across two sites, reducing staff turnover by 18% in 12 months."
That bullet proves leadership. The word "leadership" in a skills list proves nothing.
What to include in your skills section
Include:
- Software tools and platforms specific to your field
- Technical certifications and accreditations (with year if current)
- Programming languages, frameworks, databases
- Industry-standard methodologies (Agile, Lean, ITIL, PRINCE2)
- Languages (with proficiency: fluent, conversational, business level)
- Specialist equipment or systems (CAD software, EHR systems, CNC machinery)
Exclude:
- Microsoft Office (unless specifically required)
- Generic claims: "hardworking," "motivated," "excellent communicator"
- Skills you cannot back up in an interview
Where to put the skills section: three formats
Format 1: Skills after experience (standard format)
Best for: most mid-career and senior candidates whose work history tells the strongest story.
Structure: personal statement, experience, education, skills, additional information.
The skills section here acts as a supplement — a quick-reference list that supports the evidence in your experience bullet points.
Format 2: Skills before experience (hybrid format)
Best for: career changers, candidates returning from a break, or applicants whose job titles do not immediately signal relevant expertise.
Placing a well-organised skills summary near the top ensures the recruiter sees your relevant competencies before encountering job titles that might appear unrelated.
Format 3: Inline skills (skills embedded in experience)
Best for: technical roles where tools and technologies are core to every bullet point.
"Built and deployed a REST API using Node.js and Express, with PostgreSQL for data persistence and Jest for unit testing — reduced query response time by 40%."
Skills section by career stage
No experience / entry level
Include:
- Relevant tools from university projects or coursework
- Software from part-time or voluntary roles
- Certifications earned independently (Google Analytics, HubSpot)
- Languages at accurate proficiency levels
Keep it honest — if you have used Excel for basic data entry, do not list "Advanced Excel."
Mid-career
By this stage, your experience bullets should do the heavy lifting. The skills section becomes a concise reference list: 6-10 tools or platforms, grouped by type, certifications with renewal dates, languages if relevant.
Senior / director level
At senior level, skills sections should be minimal. What differentiates a senior hire is strategic impact — evidenced in the experience section, not listed in a skills box. Retain only genuinely differentiating skills.
ATS and your skills section
Applicant Tracking Systems scan for keyword matches. If the JD specifies "Salesforce CRM," write "Salesforce CRM" — not "Salesforce" alone, and not "CRM systems." Exact match matters.
Read the job description, extract the tool and technology names, and ensure the ones you genuinely have appear verbatim in your skills section.
Frequently asked questions
Should I include Microsoft Office in my skills section?
Only if it is explicitly listed in the JD. The exception is advanced Excel skills (VLOOKUP, Power Query, pivot tables, macro writing) — those are worth specifying.
How many skills should I list?
Between six and twelve for most candidates. A list of eight precisely targeted skills is more impressive than twenty generic ones.
Can I group skills into categories?
Yes — particularly useful if you have technical skills, platforms, and languages to separate. Keep category headings short and consistent.