Grouped, deduplicated, JD-aligned. Skills sections that work read like 'Languages: Python, Go, TypeScript', not like 'Microsoft Office, Communication, Leadership, Teamwork, Problem Solving'.
For engineers: Languages, Frameworks, Infrastructure, Tools. For data: ML/DL, Data engineering, Production, Visualisation. For marketers: Channels, Tools, Analytics, Automation. For PMs: Frameworks, Tools, Domain. Pick the categories that match how a hiring manager in your field would group skills.
Each category lists 4 to 12 items. Past 12 the line wraps and the eye loses parsing. Under 4 the category isn't pulling its weight.
Don't repeat skills that already appear in your experience bullets. If your top bullet at Acme is 'shipped a Kubernetes-orchestrated payment service in Go', listing 'Kubernetes' and 'Go' in the Skills block is noise. The recruiter has already seen them.
Skip the implicit. No engineer needs to list 'Git' in 2026. No marketer needs to list 'Microsoft Office'. No PM needs to list 'Communication'. They're assumed; listing them signals you couldn't fill the section with substance.
Engineering, data, and design CVs: after Summary and before Experience. Marketing, sales, and PM CVs: after Experience and before Education. Executive CVs: skip the Skills section entirely; the outcome bullets convey skill.
Across all categories, 20 to 40. Past 40 reads as padding. Under 20 reads as thin unless you're early-career.
Generally no. Soft skills (communication, leadership, teamwork) are inferred from outcomes, not asserted. The exception is when a JD explicitly lists a soft skill as a required keyword; then include it once, naturally.
No. List tools you'd start a project with on day one. Tools you touched briefly belong in bullets where you describe the project they were used for.
Better in their own Certifications block. AWS Solutions Architect, CSPO, HubSpot certified, CCNA, CCRN deserve their own line so they scan cleanly. Mixing them into Skills dilutes both.
Free. See which JD keywords your CV lands.
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