Why you shouldn't have a skills section.

I know this is a controversial statement, but I don't believe skills sections on resumes have any value. Frequently you hear "They are expected" or "They will help with the ATS". But I think these are bad reasons. Let me show you why:

1. Human reviewers do not read them. You remember that "6-seconds to review" study from a few years back, right? It was actually an eye-tracking study that revealed a lot more. Reviewers looked at the name, current company, next most recent company, work dates, and education. What did they not look at? The skills section.
2. The skills section is where most people lie. Skills listed are fudged by 60% of individuals. This is usually not an outright lie. If you are applying for a PR position, and you mention you know social media... well, you have a Facebook account, so that counts, right? We all know a programmer who read a book once and thinks he "knows" a language. The HR people also know this, so who do you think is impressed by your bullets of "quick learner" and "hard worker"?
3. With ATS software, skills are estimated based on where they are placed. Put a skill in the job you held for three years? Three years of experience. Put that skill in the Skills section? Usually a default six months. Which would you rather have?
4. Skills sections are useless without context. I can add "cooking" to my skills section (I can open *and* boil a can of soup! ), but I'm not Alain Duchasse (the man has 19 Michelin Stars... you should know him!). There is a world of difference between "Microsoft Office" and "created a 23-card presentation incorporating real-time data from an Access database into a pivot table".
5. It is common for skill sections to include skills an industry professional should have. If I (as a janitor) put down "mopping" and "emptying trash", are you impressed in the slightest? How about an app programmer who lists "Microsoft Office" or "Python"? A salesman who puts down "Salesforce" and "Customer Service"? Imagine if Michael Jordan put down "dribbling" and "free throws" on his resume skill section!

I'm not the only one who thinks this.

• 5 Reasons Why People Think They Need a “Skills” Section on Their Résumé — And Why They’re Wrong
• 4 Reasons NOT To Include A Skills Section On A Resume And How To Fix It

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Should you feel exceptionally strongly about this... go ahead. Add a skills section. That's the wonderful thing about resumes... there are no strict rules. But at least take what I've said here into consideration. That's a lot of space given up on your resume for not a lot of return.