Most CVs get the skills section wrong in the same way: a row of generic words that prove nothing. 'Communication', 'team player', 'hardworking', 'Microsoft Office'. Every applicant writes them, so they carry no weight and tell a hirer nothing they can act on. The skills that actually get you shortlisted are specific, relevant to the advert in front of you, and backed up somewhere in your experience. This guide covers how to choose them, prove them and place them, and which ones to cut.
What a skills section is actually for
A skills section is a quick reference, not a personality test. It lets a hirer, and the recruiter's software, confirm at a glance that you have the specific capabilities the role needs. That is the whole job. It is not the place to describe who you are as a person, and it is not a wish list of everything you have ever touched. Used well, it reinforces the evidence already in your experience. Used badly, it becomes filler that pushes your real selling points further down the page.
Hard skills carry more weight than soft ones
Hard skills are the concrete, teachable, role-specific abilities: SQL, financial modelling, CIPD-level knowledge, AutoCAD, prescribing, contract negotiation, a named CRM. Soft skills are the harder-to-measure ones like communication, leadership or problem-solving. Both matter, but hard and role-specific skills carry more weight on a CV because they are checkable and less easily claimed by anyone. 'Leadership' means little on its own; 'managed a team of eight across two sites' shows it. Lead with the technical and industry-specific skills the role names, then add a small number of soft skills you can genuinely demonstrate.
Pick skills straight from the job advert
The advert is your shortlist. It tells you, often in plain language, which skills the employer will screen for. Read it closely and note the capabilities that come up more than once or sit in the essential criteria. Those are the skills to feature, provided you actually have them. This is not about copying the advert word for word; it is about matching your real skills to what the role asks for, so the fit is obvious rather than something the reader has to work out.
Prove skills, don't just list them
A skill claimed but never evidenced is worthless. Anyone can type 'project management' into a list. What earns trust is seeing it play out in your experience: 'ran a £150k system migration to deadline across three departments'. Wherever you name a meaningful skill, make sure your experience bullets carry an example of you using it and, ideally, the result. Treat the skills line as a set of promises and the experience section as where you keep them. If a skill appears in the list but nowhere in the story of what you have done, either evidence it or take it out.
Where to place your skills
Two placements work, and the best CVs use both. A concise skills line or small box near the top gives a fast, scannable summary of your core, role-relevant capabilities. The experience section is where those skills are proven in context. Avoid the sprawling standalone 'Key Skills' page that lists thirty items with no evidence behind them; it delays the reader getting to your track record. Keep the summary tight and let your roles do the heavy lifting.
Keywords and ATS: mirror the advert honestly
Many employers use applicant tracking software that scans for relevant terms, so it helps to use the same wording the advert uses, for instance 'stakeholder management' rather than a personal synonym for it. This is about matching genuine skills to the language the employer chose, not gaming a system. Never add a keyword for a skill you do not have; it fails the moment a human reads it or you are asked about it at interview. Mirror the advert where it is honest to do so, and leave the rest.
Skills to cut
Cut the tired clichés that every CV carries and no hirer believes: 'hardworking', 'team player', 'good communicator', 'works well under pressure', 'thinks outside the box'. Cut the obvious basics that are assumed for the role, such as 'email' or 'internet research' for an office job. And cut anything you cannot back up in your experience or defend in an interview. Removing weak entries makes the strong ones stand out; a shorter, sharper list reads as more credible, not less.
A worked example
Before: 'Skills: communication, teamwork, hardworking.' That is three claims, none of them provable and all of them generic.
After, for a management accountant role: 'Skills: management accounts and month-end reporting, advanced Excel (pivot tables, lookups), budgeting and forecasting, stakeholder reporting, Sage 50, variance analysis.' Each item is role-relevant, drawn from the advert, and can be evidenced in the experience section. The point is not more words; it is the difference between empty labels and a set of skills a hirer can check and trust. Examples here are illustrative; use your own real skills and figures.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Listing generic clichés that every candidate uses and no hirer believes
- Naming skills that appear nowhere in your experience
- Padding the list to twenty-plus items so nothing stands out
- Ignoring the advert and using your own wording instead of the employer's
- Featuring assumed basics like 'Microsoft Office' as if they were selling points
- Adding a keyword for a skill you cannot defend at interview
Common questions
What skills should I put on my CV?
Start from the job advert and list the role-specific, technical and industry skills it asks for that you genuinely have, followed by a small number of well-chosen soft skills. Prioritise anything you can prove with a concrete example in your experience. Cut generic filler you cannot back up.
How many skills should a CV list?
A focused set of roughly eight to twelve relevant skills is usually enough. A long list dilutes the strong entries and signals padding. It is better to name fewer skills and evidence them in your experience than to list twenty and prove none.
Should I list Microsoft Office as a skill?
Only if the role specifically calls for it, and then name what matters, such as advanced Excel with pivot tables and lookups. Basic Office use is assumed for most desk roles, so listing it as a headline skill takes up space without telling a hirer anything they did not already expect.