The skills section of your CV should list eight to twenty specific, verifiable capabilities — the tools, languages, systems and methods you would be comfortable being questioned on in an interview. Group them by type, write them as plain text, and leave out anything you would panic about being tested on.
Why this section matters more than it looks
Recruiters search their applicant database by keyword. When someone types “Power BI” or “IELTS” or “phlebotomy” into that box, the search runs against your CV text. A skills section is the densest, most reliably parsed place for those terms to live. Leave it out and you drop out of searches for things you can genuinely do.
Hard skills belong here. Soft skills do not.
Hard skills are specific and checkable: Python, Xero, SolidWorks, IELTS 7.5, forklift licence, Arabic, IV cannulation, Google Ads. These belong in the section.
Soft skills are dispositions: communication, leadership, problem solving, attention to detail. Listing them proves nothing, because the candidate who cannot communicate also writes “excellent communicator”. Demonstrate them in your experience instead — “Presented quarterly results to a board of nine” says more about communication than the word ever will. Our guide to CV bullet points covers how.
Group them
A flat list of twenty items is a wall. Three labelled groups of six read instantly:
- Languages: Python, JavaScript, SQL, Go
- Frameworks: React, Django, Node.js
- Tools: Docker, AWS, PostgreSQL, Terraform, Git
Set your groups by what the job cares about. A marketer might use Channels, Analytics and Design. A nurse might use Clinical, Systems and Certifications.
Delete these
- Microsoft Word, email, internet. Assumed since roughly 2005. Listing them signals you had nothing else.
- Star ratings and progress bars. Four stars out of five means nothing to a reader and nothing at all to a parser, which sees an image where your skill should be.
- Skills you cannot defend. If “advanced Excel” gets you a live test with INDEX/MATCH and pivot tables, only list it if that is a good day for you.
- Skills irrelevant to the role. Your photography is interesting and does not belong on an accounting CV.
Match the advert’s exact wording
If the posting says “stakeholder management” and you have written “worked with different teams”, a keyword search does not connect the two. Where the claim is true, use their words. Where it is not true, leave it out — being interviewed on a skill you invented is a worse afternoon than not being interviewed.
Levels, done properly
For languages, use recognised frameworks: “Urdu (native), English (C1), Arabic (B1)”. For software, let context do the work — “Python (5 years, production)” is more useful than five stars.
How many is right
| Count | How it reads |
|---|---|
| Under 5 | Thin. You will miss keyword searches. |
| 8–20 | Right for most roles. |
| 20–30 | Acceptable for technical roles with genuine breadth. |
| Over 30 | Padding. A reader assumes half are exaggerated. |
A useful sense check: could you talk for two minutes about each one? If not, cut it.
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Frequently asked questions
How many skills should I list on my CV?
Between eight and twenty. Fewer than five looks thin to keyword filters; more than thirty reads as padding and invites a question you cannot answer in the interview.
Should I include soft skills on my CV?
Not as a list. ‘Communication’ and ‘teamwork’ asserted in a skills box carry no weight because everyone claims them. Demonstrate them inside your experience bullets instead.
Should I rate my skills out of five?
No. Star ratings and progress bars are subjective, carry no meaning to a reader, and are invisible to screening software, which sees a graphic rather than text.
Where should the skills section go on a CV?
Below your experience for most people, since experience is stronger evidence. Move it above experience if you are a career changer, a graduate, or applying for a role where a specific tool is a hard requirement.