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Skills for a CV or resume: the best skills, examples and how to list them

By Eliakim Anzizi, PhD · · Updated

Most CVs have a skills section. Many of them say the same things: "hard-working", "team player", "good communication skills". An employer reading fifty CVs learns nothing from those words. They want to see which skills you have and where you used them.

This guide shows the best skills for a CV, gives skills for CV examples you can adapt, and explains how to list skills on a CV so both people and ATS software can find them. If you are looking for skills to put on a resume, the same advice applies. It works whether you call the document a CV (the usual word in the UK, Nigeria and South Africa) or a resume (the usual word in the US and India).

What are the best skills for a CV?

The World Economic Forum asks employers around the world which skills they need. In its Future of Jobs Report 2025, analytical thinking is the top core skill, with seven out of 10 companies calling it essential. Next come:

  1. Resilience, flexibility and agility
  2. Leadership and social influence
  3. Creative thinking
  4. Motivation and self-awareness

The rest of the top 10 are technological literacy, empathy and active listening, curiosity and lifelong learning, talent management, and service orientation and customer service. The same report names AI and big data as the fastest-growing skills, followed by networks and cybersecurity and technological literacy.

Use this list as a guide, not a script. The skills that matter most are the ones in the job advert in front of you.

Hard skills and soft skills for a CV

Employers look for two kinds of skill.

  • Hard skills are things you can learn, test and show. Examples: Excel, SPSS, accounting software, a foreign language, driving, coding, report writing, laboratory techniques.
  • Soft skills are about how you work with people and problems. Examples: communication, teamwork, problem-solving, time management, leadership, adaptability.

A strong CV has both. Hard skills show you can do the work. Soft skills show you can do it well with other people.

Key skills for a CV: match them to the job

Your key skills for a CV change with every job. Do not use one skills list for every application. Read the advert first. Underline every skill, tool and quality it mentions. Then check which of them you can prove.

The UK's National Careers Service advises you to tailor your CV to the job and to highlight the skills the employer has asked for. Use the employer's own words where they are true for you. If the advert says "stakeholder engagement", do not write only "people skills".

Want to do this properly for one job? Our step-by-step guide shows how to check your CV against a job description, line by line.

How to list skills on a CV (and keep it ATS-friendly)

Skills belong in two places.

  1. A short skills section. List the skills from the advert that you really have. Group them if it helps, for example "Software", "Languages" and "Professional". Name tools exactly: "Microsoft Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUP)" says more than "computer literate".
  2. Your work history. This is where you prove the skills. The National Careers Service suggests 2 to 3 lines for each job using the STAR method: the situation, the task, the action you took and the result.

Here is an illustrative example. The details are made up.

  • Weak: "Excellent communication and teamwork skills."
  • Stronger: "Led a team of four volunteers to run a community health survey; trained them on the questionnaire and wrote the summary report for the project manager."

The second line shows leadership, teamwork, communication and report writing without naming any of them. That is what employers trust.

Many employers also use an applicant tracking system (ATS), software that stores applications and lets recruiters search them by keyword. To keep an ATS-friendly CV, put your skills under a plain heading such as "Skills", type them as text rather than inside images, charts or rating bars, and use the same words as the advert where they are true for you.

Skills for CV examples: a list you can adapt

Here is a list of skills for a CV, grouped by type. Pick only the ones you can back up with an example.

  • Analytical and problem-solving: data analysis, research, budgeting, spotting errors, root-cause analysis.
  • IT and technical skills: Microsoft Office or Google Workspace, Excel, SPSS, Stata, R, Canva, social media management, basic coding. Our post on data analysis in research shows what these tools are used for.
  • Communication: report writing, presentations, minute-taking, customer service, languages you speak or write.
  • People and leadership: supervising, training others, mentoring, negotiation, conflict resolution.
  • Self-management: time management, working to deadlines, working without supervision, adapting to change.

Skills for a CV with no experience (students and freshers)

If you are a student, a fresher or fresh graduate, or changing career, you still have skills to put on a CV. They come from your studies, projects, volunteering, internships, national service and part-time work.

The National Careers Service says a first-job CV can focus on skills from projects, work experience or volunteering. It adds that interests can count when they show a skill. Captaining a sports team, for example, shows leadership and organisation.

Keep interests short and relevant. A long list of hobbies such as "reading, travelling, music, football" uses space and proves nothing.

Add skills you do not have yet

If a job you want asks for a skill you lack, learn it before you claim it. A short course, a certificate or a small project can fill the gap. List completed courses under "Training" or "Certifications" with the provider and the year. Never list a course you have not finished as if it were complete.

Common mistakes to avoid

  • Empty buzzwords. "Hard-working" and "dynamic" without proof add nothing.
  • Skills you cannot prove. If the interviewer asks for an example and you have none, you lose trust.
  • One list for every job. A generic skills section matches no advert well.
  • Vague tool names. "Computer skills" tells the employer nothing. Name the software.
  • Rating bars and stars. "Excel: 4 out of 5" means different things to different readers. Show what you did with Excel instead.
  • Long hobby lists. Keep only interests that show a skill the job needs.
  • Spelling errors. A typo under "attention to detail" undoes the claim. Ask someone else to check your CV, or use our proofreading and editing service.

Is your CV ready? Check it

Before you send your next application, test your CV. Our free CV checker gives a score out of 100 and shows how well your CV fits your profession and the job. Type the job title, or paste the whole job advert for a closer check. Your CV is read in your browser and is not uploaded.

It is an automatic check, so use it as a guide. Then fix the top issues it lists, one at a time. You can find it, with any new tools, on our free services page.

Quick checklist

  • Key skills taken from the job advert, not a generic list
  • Skills typed as plain text under a clear heading, so the CV stays ATS-friendly
  • Every skill backed by an example in your work history
  • Tools and software named exactly
  • Both hard and soft skills included
  • Achievements written with the STAR method
  • Hobbies only where they show a relevant skill
  • Checked for spelling by a second reader
  • Tested with a CV checker against the advert

Sources

Frequently asked questions

What are the best skills to put on a CV or resume?

The best skills for a CV are the ones the job advert asks for and that you can prove. In the World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report 2025, employers rank analytical thinking first, followed by resilience, flexibility and agility, and leadership and social influence.

How many skills should I put on a CV?

There is no fixed number. List the skills from the advert that you really have, and back each one with an example in your work history. A short, relevant list beats a long, generic one.

Is a CV the same as a resume?

In the UK, Nigeria and many other countries, "CV" is the usual name for the document you send with a job application. In the United States, that short document is usually called a resume, and "CV" often means a longer academic record. The advice on skills in this guide applies to both.

Is your CV ready? Run it through our free CV checker. You get a score out of 100 and the top fixes to make first. Want it done for you? Our editors can rewrite your CV in one of six templates. See the CV checker page for details, or message us on WhatsApp.

Write it Right, Choose Erudite.

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