Technical Skills for a Resume (How to List + Examples)

4 Tips for Listing Technical Skills on Your Resume

1. Read the Job Listing Closely to Identify Relevant Skills to Add to Your Resume

You know you need to highlight your technical skills, but which ones? We suggest starting with the job ad.

A good job listing will always include a job description and requirements. Comb each line carefully, highlighting or underlining every skill you encounter. As you start writing your resume, you’ll return to this keyword list again and again for ideas on how to properly phrase and present your skill set.

Building your skills section around keywords from the job listing is a smart move because it demonstrates how well your qualifications align with the role. Even better, a resume that’s custom-made to match the job listing is better-positioned to pass through the applicant tracking systems (ATS) that many employers use to screen candidates.

2. Include Key Skills in Your Work Experience Section

Once you have a list of keywords, you need to add them to your resume. The best place to start is the work history section.

Most resume formats showcase work experience, starting with the most recent position and working backward. Each position should include bullet points to highlight notable achievements — see our resume-formatting guide for a concrete example. Keep your skills list handy as you detail your work history, inserting keywords where appropriate.

Don’t forget to show the result of your skills by including quantifiable achievements. For example, instead of saying you served customers, say something like, “Served 50+ customers daily with a 95% satisfaction rate in follow-up surveys.” Specific numbers like these will help employers visualize your impact on previous roles.

3. Insert Skills Throughout Your Resume

Work experience isn’t the only place where your skills can shine. Review the rest of your resume for keyword opportunities.

The most obvious place to promote your skills is the skills section. Whether you’re using a chronological resume that’s focused on professional experience, or a combination or functional resume that emphasizes skills, you will have ample opportunity to promote your talents.

The next sections to address are: resume objectives and professional summaries. These sections include two to four sentences summarizing your career and goals to convince an employer you’re the best fit for the job. Since this section is so prominent — often at the beginning of the resume, serving as an introduction to the candidate — you should hone in on your top skills and achievements rather than stuffing it with a long list of secondary skills.

4. Use Action Words and Strong Verbs

Companies like to hire engaging, motivated workers, and you can show them your drive by including strong action words in your resume.

What are action words? These are verbs that describe physical or mental actions. They can take your personal skills to the next level by showcasing how active you are in applying them.

Here are a handful of the verbs that frequently appear in resumes:

• Planned
• Executed
• Implemented
• Oversaw
• Drove
• Designed
• Proposed
• Launched
• Managed
• Trained
• Acquired

Including these in your professional summary and work experience section will make your resume stronger and allow you to highlight plenty of specific professional skills throughout your resume.

How to Articulate Your Level of Proficiency With Technical Skills

Technical skills fall on a spectrum from basic to advanced. To make the most of your skill set, you will need to convey to the hiring manager how skilled you are at each one. Some resume templates even include visuals to emphasize skill proficiencies.

Here are the four skill levels to consider and what each one means.

Beginner

You have a baseline understanding of the technical skill or tool, but have very little practical experience using it. Beginners need some practice until they can move on to the next level.

Intermediate

You possess the skills needed to finish tasks competently. At this stage, you are usually capable of employing the skill independently but may, on occasion, require some support to finish more challenging or complex assignments.

Advanced

You know the skill as well as anyone and require very little or no support, even using it to finish complicated tasks. Your colleagues see you as a strong, reliable resource whenever they’re working on assignments that involve the skill.

Expert

You are seen as a leading practitioner of this technical skill inside and outside your organization. People in the industry, including fellow experts, may consult you on complicated problems related to the skill. You’re considered a genuine expert.

How to Improve Your Technical Skills

If you want to be more than a beginner, technical skills require practice and persistence. Outside of the workplace, it can seem challenging to get the experience you need. The good news is there are more ways than ever to develop these skill sets if you put your mind to it.

Take Free Online Courses

Sign up for a free course on the technical skill of your choice on Udemy, Coursera or edX, where you can find free classes from expert sources, such as the esteemed Harvard University. When you finish a course, make sure to add it to your LinkedIn profile so recruiters know you’ve acquired the skill set.

Consider Enrolling in an In-person Class

If you’re the type of person who needs face-to-face instruction, then an in-person class may be the right answer for you.

Enter the technical skill of your choice in your favorite search engine and add the nearest city or town to guarantee you’re narrowing it down to local classes. This approach may not work for all skills in every part of the country, but its worth a try, especially for skill-building that requires a lot of communication, like learning a foreign language.

Watch Online Tutorial Videos

YouTube has become an invaluable learning resource for millions who search the platform every day seeking tutorials on everything from tying a necktie to fixing computer code. Any technical skill you can think of, you’ll find a video addressing exactly that.

But don’t limit yourself to YouTube. TikTok is another platform that’s rapidly becoming a go-to archive of tips and tricks to bolster any skill set.

Put Your Technical Skills Into Practice

Ultimately, classes are great, but a skill wont be truly advanced until you have the opportunity to put it in practice. If its feasible, tell your current manager about the skills you’re trying to develop and ask for an opportunity to apply them. When that’s not possible, seek projects outside of work, like building a portfolio site or creating a useful tool with JavaScript. Keeping an eager, open mind will give you more chances to build your skills.