Skills sections that work for ATS and recruiters

Use a plain heading such as "Skills", then list specific skills as simple text: short lines or comma-separated groups, in the main column of the page. This is easy for software to extract and quick for a recruiter to scan.

Example:
"Skills
Accounting: IFRS reporting, accounts payable, bank reconciliations, VAT returns
Software: SAP FI, Oracle NetSuite, Microsoft Excel (pivot tables, Power Query)
Languages: English (fluent), Arabic (fluent), Hindi (native)"

Rules that help:

• Write each skill as a real term people search for, not a vague trait.
• Use the official spelling of tools: "PowerPoint", "JavaScript", "AutoCAD".
• Avoid skill bars, star ratings, charts and logos; software cannot read them.
• Avoid tables or a narrow sidebar for this section, which can be read out of order.
• Keep it to skills relevant to the jobs you are applying for.

Then make sure your most important skills also appear in your experience bullets, where you show how you used them. The skills list helps searches; the bullets make them believable.

It is better not to. Grids look tidy, but some parsers read table cells in an unexpected order or merge words from neighbouring cells, which can turn "Excel" and "SQL" into one strange term.

Safer alternatives:

• One line per category: "Data: SQL, Python, Power BI".
• A short list of bullets.

If your current template uses a table for skills, copy the contents out into plain lines. Then test by pasting the PDF text into a plain text editor and checking each skill appears whole.

Yes, use the official spelling. Recruiters may search for exact tool names, and correct spelling also shows attention to detail.

Common examples:

• "JavaScript", not "Java Script" or "javascript".
• "PowerPoint", not "Power Point".
• "QuickBooks", "WordPress", "LinkedIn", "PostgreSQL".
• "SAP S/4HANA", "Power BI".

Check the tool's own website or the job advert if unsure. Consistent spelling across your skills section and bullets matters too.

Use the specific product name, because that is what employers write in adverts and search for. You can add the general skill too, if it adds meaning.

Good:
"Microsoft Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUP, charts)"

Less useful:
"Spreadsheets"

The same goes for other tools: "Salesforce" rather than "CRM software", "Tally ERP" rather than "accounting software". If you used a tool the advert does not mention, list it anyway and add a familiar category: "Zoho CRM (customer relationship management software)".

Yes, when they matter for the role. Specific modules show depth and match more precise searches.

Examples:

• "SAP FI/CO" rather than just "SAP".
• "Excel: pivot tables, Power Query, XLOOKUP".
• "Salesforce: report building, workflow rules".
• "AutoCAD: 2D drafting, layer management".

Keep the list focused on what the job uses. Too many sub-items can clutter the section; put the most relevant two or three in brackets.

Read the advert, list the skills it mentions, and compare them with what you genuinely have. Then reorder and reword your skills section so the matching skills are easy to find, using the advert's terms where they are accurate.

Step by step:

• Highlight every skill, tool and qualification in the advert, especially those marked as required.
• Mark each one: "have and can prove", "have some experience", or "do not have".
• Put "have and can prove" skills first in your skills section, using the advert's exact names.
• Add "some experience" skills carefully, with honest wording such as "working knowledge".
• Leave out "do not have" skills.
• Make sure the top three or four appear in your experience bullets too.

Example: the advert asks for "financial modelling, Power BI and stakeholder reporting". Your skills line becomes "Financial modelling (Excel), Power BI dashboards, monthly stakeholder reporting".

This takes a few minutes per application. A job-description comparison tool can help you spot terms you missed.

It can help in technical roles where you have many tools and also important professional skills. Two clearly named sections are easier to scan than one long list.

Example:
"Technical Skills: SCADA, PLC programming (Siemens S7), AutoCAD Electrical
Core Skills: commissioning, preventive maintenance planning, HSE compliance"

For non-technical roles, one Skills section with groups is usually enough. Do not create several small sections that each have only two items.

Yes, as long as it is plain text in the main column and not a graphic, table or sidebar box. A short "Key Skills" list under your summary is a common and useful feature of Gulf CVs.

Good example:
"Key Skills: Procurement, supplier negotiation, SAP MM, tendering, contract management, inventory control"

Avoid placing it inside a shaded text box or shape, which some parsers skip. Keep it to the most important skills for the role and repeat them as evidence in your experience.

List the methodology as a skill if you have used it in practice, and list any formal certification separately in Certifications. This shows both experience and qualification.

Examples:

• Skills: "Agile (Scrum), Kanban, Lean process improvement"
• Certifications: "Lean Six Sigma Green Belt, 2024"
• Bullet: "Ran two-week Scrum sprints for a team of six developers."

Do not list a certification level you do not hold, such as "Six Sigma Black Belt", because certificates are easily checked.

In most cases, yes. The summary is part of the main text, so a search for a skill term can find it there. Many recruiters also read the summary first, which makes it a good place for your two or three most important skills.

Example summary:
"Supply chain coordinator with four years in FMCG distribution. Strong in demand planning, SAP MM and supplier coordination."

Keep the full list in your skills section, and avoid turning the summary into a string of keywords. Two or three skills that match the job are enough.

Recruiters can often search the applications in their system by words such as skills, tools, job titles and locations, and sometimes combine terms. Exact methods differ by product and employer, but the practical lesson is the same: use clear, standard names for your skills so a search can find them.

What helps:

• Standard terms: "accounts receivable", not "money collection tasks".
• Exact tool names: "Salesforce", "Primavera P6", "Tableau".
• The full term and common abbreviation once: "Health, Safety and Environment (HSE)".

What does not help: invented phrases, vague skills like "computer skills", or skills shown only in images.

They can. A slash may join two terms into one, so "Sales/Marketing" or "SQL/Python" might not match a search for either term on its own. Commas, semicolons or separate lines are clearer.

Better:

• "Sales, marketing" instead of "Sales/Marketing".
• "SQL, Python" instead of "SQL/Python".

Keep slashes only where they are part of the official name, such as "SAP FI/CO" or "TCP/IP". Test by copying your skills section into a plain text editor and checking each term stands on its own.

Most systems handle these common names, but symbols are a known weak spot for some text extraction and search tools. Write them in their standard form and, where it helps, add a plain version once.

Tips:

• Use standard forms: "C#", "C++", ".NET", "Node.js".
• Make sure the symbols are typed characters, not icons or special font glyphs.
• You can add a plain alternative in your experience: "Built APIs in C# (.NET 8)".

Copy your PDF text into a plain editor to check that the symbols came through correctly.

No. Logos are images, so software cannot read them, and a recruiter searching for "Figma" or "Python" will not find a logo. Write each tool name as text.

If you like the visual look:

• Use the names in a clean list, and let the typography carry the design.
• Keep a designed version with logos for portfolios or presentations, separate from the version you upload to portals.

Example text version: "Design tools: Figma, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Miro".

It can be. Even inside a single-column layout, a skills list arranged in two or three columns using tabs, tables or text boxes may be read across the columns line by line, mixing unrelated terms.

Safer layouts:

• One category per line with commas.
• One skill per line, in a single list.

If you want to save space, use the comma-separated approach: it is compact and reads in the correct order. Test by copying your resume text into a plain editor and checking that each line still makes sense.

From where it appears in your experience. A skills list has no dates, so a recruiter looks at your job entries to see when you used each skill. That is why it helps to mention key skills in your recent roles.

Ways to show recency:

• Mention tools in bullets under your current or last job.
• Add a short "Tools used" line to recent roles.
• Remove or move down skills you have not used for a long time.

Example: "Tools used: Power BI, SQL Server, Excel" under your current role makes those skills clearly current.

Delete the wrong items and add the real ones before submitting. Automatic skill extraction sometimes misreads words or picks up terms from hobbies, company names or course titles.

Steps:

• Review every extracted skill tag.
• Remove anything you do not have or that is not a skill.
• Add your real key skills using standard names.
• Check that your hobbies or interests were not turned into skills.

If the same misreading happens often, consider rewording: "strong", "skilled" or "very good" instead of "excellent" near skill names can avoid odd matches.

List the real name and add what type of tool it is, so recruiters who do not know it still understand the skill. This also helps searches for the general category.

Examples:

• "Tally ERP (accounting software)"
• "Zoho Books (cloud accounting)"
• "Opera PMS (hotel property management system)"

If the job advert names a different tool of the same type, mention your tool honestly and show you can transfer: "Experienced in Tally ERP; quick to learn other accounting systems."

Translate general skill terms into the resume's language, but keep product names, programming languages and certification names in their official form, which is usually English. Employers search for those names exactly.

Examples in an Arabic resume:

• Keep "SAP", "Excel", "AutoCAD", "PMP" as they are.
• Translate general skills such as "financial reporting" or "customer service" into Arabic.

If the employer may search in English too, consider an English version of your resume as well. ResumeBuilder.ae lets you set the resume language on the Design tab, including Arabic right to left and French.

Yes. If you answer yes to a screening question about a skill, your resume should show where you used it. Recruiters often compare the two, and a "yes" with no evidence can look doubtful.

How to keep them consistent:

• Read the screening questions before finalising your resume for that job.
• Make sure each skill you claim appears in your skills list and in at least one bullet with context.
• Answer honestly; if your experience is limited, say so in any comments box.

Example bullet: "Posted vendor invoices and ran payment runs in SAP FI for 18 months."

Yes. Function names are some of the most common search terms, and listing them makes your main area of work clear even if your job title is unusual.

Examples:

• "Payroll processing, end-of-service calculations, WPS"
• "Procurement, vendor evaluation, tendering, purchase orders"
• "Recruitment, onboarding, HR policies"

Use specific sub-areas where you can, rather than a single broad word. "Accounts payable" is more useful than "Accounts" alone.

Convert each task into the skill behind it, using a noun phrase, then show the task itself in a bullet. This gives you a searchable skill and evidence together.

Examples:

• "Prepare monthly reports" becomes the skill "management reporting".
• "Handle customer complaints" becomes "complaint resolution".
• "Maintain stock levels" becomes "inventory control".

Bullet: "Prepared monthly management reports on sales and margins for the regional director."

Only add skills you have actually used. If the advert's task is new to you, leave it out.

Yes, when the job involves that type of equipment. Specific names show real experience and match searches by employers who use the same machines.

Examples:

• "Forklift (counterbalance and reach truck)"
• "CNC milling (Haas VF series)"
• "Siemens S7 PLC programming"
• "Caterpillar excavator operation"

Add any operator certificate or licence in your Certifications section with its expiry date if it has one. Do not name machines you only watched others use.

Use the standard name and abbreviation for each technique, and group them by type. Lab recruiters often search for specific methods.

Example:
"Molecular: PCR, qPCR, gel electrophoresis
Analytical: HPLC, UV-Vis spectroscopy
Microbiology: culture and sensitivity, aseptic technique
Quality: GLP, sample documentation"

Write the full name once if it is less common: "Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)". Show your most important techniques in your experience bullets with the context, such as sample volumes or the type of testing.

Yes. Software reads the text in your resume, not the work in your portfolio, and recruiters may search for tool and skill names before ever clicking a link. Your portfolio proves the skills; your resume needs to name them.

What to include:

• Tools: "Figma, Adobe XD, Illustrator".
• Methods: "user research, wireframing, prototyping, usability testing".
• A link to your portfolio in the contact line.

Mention your best portfolio projects briefly in your experience or projects section too.