How to actually use this list
Match the posting, don't paste the list.
The skills below are the most common ones for this role family across thousands of postings. Cross-reference with the specific job description and use the ones that genuinely apply to you. A skills section that lists every keyword on the page reads as filler — recruiters see right through it.
Use ATS keywords verbatim from the posting.
Applicant tracking systems do exact-string matching. If the job says "experience with distributed systems," put that exact phrase on your resume, not "worked on backend services." This is the single most overlooked optimization in resume writing.
Action verbs go on your bullet points, not your skills section.
Lead each experience bullet with a strong verb from the action-verbs list. "Shipped X" beats "worked on X." "Decomposed monolith into 6 services" beats "responsible for refactoring." Verbs signal the level you operated at.
Prove every skill with evidence in your experience.
Every skill in your skills section should show up at least once in your bullet points. A skill listed without evidence reads as aspirational. If you can't write a one-line bullet that proves you used the skill, take it off.
Frequently Asked Questions
What skills should I put on my resume?+
The skills on your resume should match the job you're applying for. For a software engineer, that means concrete technical skills (Python, distributed systems, AWS) plus the soft skills hiring managers actually look for at this seniority. Generic skill lists like "team player" or "detail-oriented" add no signal and waste space. The keyword optimizer above gives you the exact short list for 25 common tech and AI roles — pick your title, copy the skills that genuinely apply to you.
What are ATS keywords?+
ATS (applicant tracking system) keywords are the specific phrases that hiring software scans your resume for — usually pulled from the job description. If the posting asks for "experience with distributed systems" and your resume says "worked on backend services," the ATS won't match you, even if you did the same work. Include the exact phrases from the job posting when they honestly apply. Each role on this page lists the most common ATS phrases for that title.
How many skills should I list on a resume?+
For most tech roles, 8–15 hard skills and 4–6 soft skills is the sweet spot. Fewer and you look thin; more and the list becomes noise and recruiters skim past it. Pick the ones that match the job description, that you can talk about confidently in an interview, and that have actual evidence in your bullet points.
What are good action verbs for a resume?+
Strong action verbs are specific and signal ownership: shipped, architected, scaled, automated, decomposed. Weak verbs are vague or passive: helped, worked on, assisted, was responsible for. Each role above has 6 power verbs that work well for that title's bullet points. The rule: if the verb could describe an intern's work or a director's work, it's too vague.
Are these skills calibrated to real job data?+
Yes — the freshness signal on each role (e.g., "1,692 software engineer roles open across JBC right now") comes from a live count of our 13,720 active job listings, refreshed daily. The skill and keyword lists themselves are curated by role family, not auto-extracted, because most ATS feeds don't expose job description text reliably. You get the convenience of a curated short list with the credibility of knowing the role is genuinely in demand right now.