Resume skills section: we tested 4 versions against an ATS
The advice on how many skills to list contradicts itself everywhere you look. So we stopped reading advice and ran the test. Short answer: the number of skills you list barely matters. What matters is whether the words in your skills section are the same words that appear in the job posting. We ran four versions of one resume — the only difference between them was the skills section — through our…
The number of skills listed on a resume seems to confuse recruiters and job seekers alike. Various sources suggest anywhere from eight to eighteen skills, with conflicting advice on the ideal ratio of hard to soft skills. However, a recent test of four different resume versions with varying skill sections revealed that the number of skills listed is less important than their presence in the job posting.
Four resume versions were created for a marketing analyst role, with only the skills section differing. Version A contained eight generic soft skills, Version B had twenty-seven skills including every tool and technique mentioned in the posting, Version C mirrored ten skills from the posting, and Version D had no skills section at all. All resumes had identical work history, education, and contact information.
The ATS parser measured keyword coverage against the job posting. Version A achieved only 22% coverage, missing key hard skills like SQL, Tableau, and Excel. Version B had 89% coverage, matching eight of the nine required terms. Version C was identical to Version B in coverage, but it demonstrated those skills through work history bullet points. Version D had 88% coverage, matching seven of the nine required skills through experience descriptions.
The findings show that merely listing a large number of skills does not guarantee better ATS matching. The parsing mechanism cannot differentiate between generic, overstuffed skill lists and those demonstrated through actual job responsibilities. Simply adding unrelated tools and techniques, such as Python and Photoshop, to an otherwise relevant resume will not improve the chances of passing the ATS filter.
The optimal approach is to focus on including skills that are actually listed in the job posting, using the exact terminology from the posting. This ensures that both the ATS parser and human recruiters recognize the relevant skills. Adding a small number of high-quality, job-specific skills, supported by concrete examples in the work history, is the most effective strategy for a strong skills section.
Written by urgent.news from Dev.to's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
