Free tool · Nothing to sign up for

Find in-demand skills

Discover in-demand skills for your industry and role. Get personalized suggestions to make your resume stand out.

Recommended Skills

Your skills will appear here, grouped by category, ready to copy.

In the editor

Knowing the skills is half of it. Placing them is the rest.

The editor keeps every skill you own and pulls the right ones per application.

Keep every line you have ever written
One master resume, and the right bullets pulled per application.
Master resume
Rewrite lines in place
Select any bullet in your resume and enhance it against the job you are applying for, without retyping the rest.
Tailor to a job
A score that updates as you edit
Six categories, re-scored every time you change a line, each finding with a fix you can accept or ignore.
Resume score

See everything in the editor

On this page

How it works
Tips
Guide
Questions
More tools

How to Find Skills for Your Resume

01
Paste the Job Description
Copy the full job posting and paste it into the analyzer.
02
Get Skill Breakdown
See all skills categorized: Hard Skills, Soft Skills, Tools, Certifications—ranked by importance.
03
Match to Your Experience
Identify which skills you have, then add them to your resume using the exact phrasing.
04
Analyze More Postings
Check 3-5 similar job postings to find common skills for your target role.

Tips for Skills Section Success

Use the exact phrasing from job descriptions—ATS matches keywords literally.
Include both acronyms AND full terms: 'SEO (Search Engine Optimization)'.
Group skills logically: Technical Skills, Tools & Platforms, Languages, Certifications.
Prioritize skills that appear in multiple job postings for your target role.

Resume Skills Finder: Get the Keywords from Any Job Description

The Translation Problem

You have the experience. You can do the job. But if your resume uses different words than the job description, you might not get noticed. "Managing client accounts" and "account management" mean the same thing—but keyword matching is literal. This tool helps you speak the same language as the job posting.

Here's the thing nobody tells you: matching skills isn't about being dishonest. It's about translation. You might call it "managing client accounts." The job description says "account management." Same skill, different words. The ATS doesn't care—it just doesn't see a match.

Our skills finder extracts the exact terms from job descriptions so you can speak the same language as the hiring system.

How Many Skills Should You List on a Resume?

Short answer: 8-15 skills is the sweet spot.

But here's the nuance:

Technical roles (developer, engineer, analyst): Lean toward 12-15. These jobs have specific tool requirements, and recruiters ctrl+F for them.
Creative roles (designer, writer, marketer): 8-12 works. Your portfolio does more talking than a skills list.
Leadership roles (manager, director): Focus on 6-10 key competencies. At this level, your experience section proves your skills.

The real rule? Only list skills you can actually discuss in an interview. If you put "Advanced Excel" and can't explain a VLOOKUP, that's a problem.

Hard Skills vs Soft Skills: What's the Difference?

This confuses people more than it should. Here's the simple breakdown:

Hard Skills (Can You Do It? Yes/No)	Soft Skills (How You Work With Others)
Python, SQL, JavaScript	Problem-solving under pressure
Salesforce, HubSpot, Tableau	Cross-functional collaboration
Financial modeling, GAAP compliance	Stakeholder communication
Adobe Creative Suite, Figma	Adaptability and learning agility

The ratio that works: About 60% hard skills, 40% soft skills for most roles. Technical positions might go 70/30. Management roles might flip to 40/60.

Soft Skills Need Proof

Never just list "Leadership" in your skills section. It means nothing without context.

Weak: Skills: Leadership, Communication, Teamwork

Strong: "Led 8-person team through product launch, coordinating across engineering, design, and marketing to hit deadline 2 weeks early"

See the difference? The second one proves leadership. The first one just claims it.

How to Extract Skills from a Job Description

This is where most people mess up. They skim the job posting and guess which skills matter. Here's a better approach:

1
Identify Repeated Terms
If a skill appears 3+ times in the posting, it's non-negotiable. The company is basically yelling 'we need this.'
2
Check the 'Requirements' vs 'Nice to Have'
Requirements = must include. Nice to have = include if you have them, skip if you don't.
3
Match Exact Phrasing
If they say 'Salesforce administration,' don't write 'CRM experience.' Use their words.
4
Look for Hidden Keywords
Job descriptions mention tools in context: 'You'll use Tableau to...' That's a keyword. Grab it.

Or just paste the job description into our tool above. We'll pull out every skill and keyword automatically.

Skills by Industry (Real Examples)

Generic advice doesn't help. Here's what actually matters in different fields:

Software Engineering

Must-have hard skills: At least one primary language (Python, JavaScript, Java, Go), version control (Git), cloud platform (AWS, GCP, Azure), database knowledge (SQL, NoSQL)

Differentiators: System design, CI/CD pipelines, containerization (Docker, Kubernetes), specific frameworks relevant to the role

Soft skills that matter: Code review feedback, documentation writing, cross-team collaboration

Marketing

Must-have hard skills: Analytics platform (Google Analytics 4, Mixpanel), marketing automation (HubSpot, Marketo, Mailchimp), content management, social media tools

Differentiators: SQL for data analysis, A/B testing frameworks, attribution modeling, paid media platforms (Google Ads, Meta Ads)

Soft skills that matter: Storytelling, stakeholder management, creative briefing

Healthcare (Nursing)

Must-have hard skills: EMR systems (Epic, Cerner), patient assessment, medication administration, specific certifications (BLS, ACLS)

Differentiators: Specialty-specific skills (telemetry, wound care, IV therapy), quality improvement, patient education

Soft skills that matter: Patient communication, crisis management, interdisciplinary teamwork

Finance & Accounting

Must-have hard skills: Excel (advanced), ERP systems (SAP, Oracle, NetSuite), financial modeling, regulatory knowledge (GAAP, IFRS)

Differentiators: BI tools (Power BI, Tableau), automation (Python, VBA), FP&A methodologies

Soft skills that matter: Executive presentation, cross-departmental communication, attention to detail

Where to Put Skills on Your Resume

Location matters more than people realize:

Skills Placement Strategy

**Technical roles:** Dedicated skills section near the top, right after your summary. Recruiters ctrl+F for specific tools.
**Non-technical roles:** Skills section after experience. Your achievements matter more than a keyword list.
**All roles:** Weave your top 2-3 skills into your professional summary. 'Marketing manager with expertise in demand generation and HubSpot automation.'
**The key rule:** Skills in your experience bullets > skills in a list. 'Built dashboards using Tableau' beats just listing 'Tableau.'

The landscape shifts. Here's what we're seeing across industries:

AI & Automation Literacy: Knowing how to use AI tools (not just "I've tried ChatGPT") is becoming table stakes. Prompt engineering, AI-assisted workflows, and understanding when to use (and not use) AI are valuable.

Data Fluency for Everyone: Even non-technical roles benefit from basic data skills. Reading dashboards, understanding metrics, making data-informed decisions—this isn't just for analysts anymore.

Remote Collaboration: Asynchronous communication, documentation skills, and proficiency with tools like Notion, Slack, and project management platforms matter for any distributed team.

Adaptability & Learning Velocity: This sounds soft and fluffy, but companies are hiring for people who can learn new tools quickly. If you've picked up new software or skills recently, that's worth mentioning.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Skills Section Mistakes

Listing 'Microsoft Word' or 'Email' — these are assumed, not skills
Using acronyms the ATS might not recognize (write 'Search Engine Optimization (SEO)' at least once)
Spelling skills differently than the job description ('Javascript' vs 'JavaScript' can matter)
Padding with skills you barely know — interviews expose this fast
Forgetting to update for each application — one-size-fits-all resumes underperform

The Bottom Line

Finding the right skills for your resume isn't magic. It's pattern matching. Job descriptions tell you exactly what companies want—you just need to listen and mirror it back (honestly).

Use our tool above to extract keywords from any job description. Then build a skills section that includes the terms employers are actually looking for.

Keyword Scanner - Check if your resume includes the skills you found
Bullet Point Generator - Write bullets that demonstrate your skills with examples
Job Matcher - See how well your skills match a specific job

Frequently Asked Questions

Paste any job description, and our AI extracts every skill mentioned—hard skills, soft skills, certifications, and tools. It ranks them by importance based on how frequently they appear and their position in the posting.

Yes. We extract the exact phrasing from the job description because ATS systems match keywords literally. 'Project Management' is different from 'Managing Projects' to most ATS systems.

Yes, 100% free. No signup, no credit card, unlimited job descriptions. Analyze as many postings as you need.

Our AI analyzes thousands of job postings to identify skill patterns. It categorizes skills as Required (must-have), Preferred (nice-to-have), and Bonus (differentiators) with 95%+ accuracy.

Yes. Our AI recognizes skills across 30+ industries from tech to healthcare. It adapts to role-specific terminology and industry jargon automatically.

Complement your resume building with more tools

When the pieces are ready, assemble them.

The builder scores, tailors and formats the whole resume in one place. Everything you made here pastes straight in.

Build the full resumeSee templates