Dear JobsBlog: I've done it before, and I've seen it in virtually every resume that I come across. But let’s put the question to rest. What is your take on the famous "list of skills" like: "Programming lauguages: C#, Java, C++ Software Design: UML, Merise Services and Hosting: Web Services, WCF, OData, Windows Azure platform." Are they always good, always bad, or "it depends"? Should this list be included on a resume? If so, why? Thanks in advance!

-List of Skills

Dear List: As a Developer or Engineer, your main skill or trade is your ability to code, build, ship, optimize, test, and solve problems.  As recruiters we review a lot of resumes and  appreciate it when you include the arsenal of technical skills you have with regards to specific programming languages, database experience, and other tools/technologies.  So yes, you should include this information. With one caveat: what we don’t want to see are technologies listed you barely have experience with.  If you’ve used XML once and aren’t well versed in it, it is better to leave it off your resume. Anything you list is fair game to call out during a technical interview/screen.  It doesn’t bode well to list things you aren’t very familiar with. We know you have a lot to offer and that you have broad technical ability but we want it to be clear to us what you have done and what your areas of strengths are technically. For example, by your skills list alone we can tell if you’re a hard core Microsoft technologies engineer, someone who fully immersed in the mobile world, a UI Developer, or someone who is focused on the LAMP stack. 

Beyond technical skills, if you have a strong ability or domain expertise in an area please call that out.  Without clearly listing this, we won’t know what your expertise is in, what jobs might best suited for you, and better yet what your technical background looks like.  Also if you have special skills such as experience with R, machine learning, data mining, Hadoop, or MapReduce to name a few, we would love to be able to see these skills listed clearly.  Writing a resume is not an easy or quick task however erring on the side of simplicity, getting straight to the point about what your contribution was for each job, and clearly citing your strong ability in certain technical areas is probably your safest bet. A resume is supposed to summarize your skills and experience on paper, it’s job is to get you that phone screen and interview.  Help us understand you on paper and get you to the next step in finding your new career.

Good luck!
Eugenia