Skills on a Resume: How to List Hard and Soft Skills in India

Last updated: 21 September 2026 · By the Asuraa Team

How do you list skills on a resume?

Choose skills from the job posting that you can prove, group them under clear headings and put the most relevant first. Naukri Campus advises grouping them into categories such as Technical Skills and Soft Skills and placing the most relevant near the top of the list.

This guide covers how to pick the skills, how to format the section, how to show proof and how to keep it readable for hiring software. The examples are illustrations, so replace them with your own true facts.

What is the difference between hard and soft skills on a resume?

Hard skills are specific, teachable abilities, and soft skills are interpersonal traits. UGA's Career Center defines hard skills as abilities for completing specific tasks, such as languages, technology and lab techniques, and soft skills as abilities such as communication, collaboration, problem-solving and leadership.

Both matter, according to Naukri Campus. Hard skills usually get more space because they are easier to check.

How do you choose which skills to list?

Start with the job posting and keep only what you can back up. UGA suggests two questions for each skill: does the experience appear elsewhere on your resume, and does it relate to the opportunity you are applying for?

Follow these four steps.

1. Read the posting. Highlight the tools, methods and qualities it asks for, and note which ones repeat.
2. Match them to your evidence. Tick each skill that you have used in a project, course, internship or job.
3. Use the posting's wording where it is true. UGA advises mirroring the language of the posting, and Columbia Career Education advises using keywords and exact phrases from the job description.
4. Drop the rest. A skill you cannot discuss in an interview should not be on the page.

If you are unsure which keywords a role expects, our guide on ATS resume keywords shows how to find them.

How should you format a skills section?

Give it a clear title, group related skills, and list the most relevant first. Naukri Campus's technical-skills guide suggests titling the section Skills, Core Competencies or something similar.

UGA recommends a bold category followed by a comma-separated list, with the skills ordered from most to least relevant. It also says to use short phrases, and it prefers nouns such as "organisation" over verbs such as "organising".

Here is an illustrated skills section for a fresher applying for a junior data analyst role.

• Technical: SQL (Intermediate), Excel (Advanced), Power BI (Intermediate), Python basics (Beginner)
• Analysis: Data cleaning, dashboard design, descriptive statistics
• Communication: Report writing, presenting findings
• Languages: English (Fluent), Hindi (Fluent)

Should you add proficiency levels?

Yes, where it helps a reader judge you fairly. UGA says parenthetical levels such as Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced clarify your expertise, and that leaving them out implies proficiency.

That last point matters for freshers. If you list Python with no label, a reader may assume you are strong, so label anything you are still learning. Naukri Campus makes the same point for languages, suggesting labels such as fluent, intermediate or basic.

How do you show skills instead of only listing them?

Repeat your strongest skills inside project and experience bullets, with what you did and the result. Naukri Campus warns against listing skills without demonstrating proficiency and against failing to connect skills to measurable outcomes.

UGA adds that soft skills work best as evidence in your bullets. Its example is that "drafted marketing emails" demonstrates written communication.

How do you keep the skills section ATS friendly?

Use a standard heading, plain text and the wording of the posting. Columbia Career Education advises using conventional headings such as Education, Work Experience and Skills, and avoiding tables, headers, footers and unusual fonts.

Naukri Campus notes that many companies use applicant tracking systems that scan for specific keywords. Our guide on how to make an ATS-friendly resume covers layout, and the AI resume reviewer can show keyword gaps against a job description.

What do most guides on skills on a resume get wrong?

Many guides give a long list and stop. These are the usual gaps.

• They give a list, not a method. A list of 100 skills cannot tell you which five belong on your resume, and only the posting can.
• They treat all skills as equal. A skill listed with no proof carries less weight than one shown in a project.
• They skip proficiency. Without a label, a beginner skill can read as an expert one, and the interviewer will find out.
• They encourage keyword stuffing. Adding every term from a posting that you have not used may pass a filter but fails the interview.
• They ignore the fresher case. Freshers can list skills from coursework and projects, provided they are labelled and backed up.

FAQ

What skills should a fresher put on a resume?

List the skills the job posting asks for that you can prove through coursework, projects or internships. Group them as technical skills, then soft skills, and put the most relevant first. Label your level, and skip anything you could not discuss in an interview.

Should I list hard skills or soft skills first?

Put whichever is more relevant to the role first. For most technical roles that means hard skills, grouped under a clear heading, followed by soft skills. UGA advises ordering skills from most to least relevant and showing soft skills as evidence in your bullets.

How many skills should I put on a resume?

No source sets a fixed number. UGA advises keeping the section uncluttered and relevant, and Naukri Campus stresses tailoring to the job. Start with the skills the posting asks for that you can prove, and remove the rest.

Should I add skill levels like beginner or advanced?

Yes, where they help. UGA says parenthetical levels such as Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced clarify your expertise, and that leaving them out implies proficiency. Naukri Campus suggests fluent, intermediate or basic for languages, so label yourself accurately.

Does a skills section help with ATS?

It can, when it uses a standard heading, plain text and the keywords from the job posting that are true for you. Columbia Career Education advises conventional headings and avoiding tables and headers. Also repeat key skills in your bullets, not only in one list.

Can I list skills I am still learning?

Yes, if you label them accurately and can discuss what you have done with them. Use a level such as Beginner and support it with a course project. Do not list a tool you have only read about, because interviewers may ask you to demonstrate it.

Final thoughts

A strong skills section is short, matched to one job and backed by evidence in the rest of your resume. Choose from the posting, group and label accurately, and show your strongest skills in action.

To see which keywords your resume is missing for a specific role, try the AI resume reviewer on asuraa.in. For the whole page, read our guide to a resume for freshers in India.