One client was dead-set against a skills section. They felt it was filler. Sometimes they are right. A Skills/Expertise block is not required for every resume.
It is useful when the person is changing fields, or when most applications will go through an applicant tracking system. In those cases, keywords are not decoration. They are how the document gets seen.
Coach clients away from subjective soft-skill labels such as team player, well-organized, or effective leader. Those phrases mean different things to every reader. Turn the trait into a knowledge category the posting actually uses:
- Effective leader becomes team supervision, staff training, or program leadership
- Team player becomes cross-functional coordination or partner outreach
- Creative problem-solver becomes process improvement, case troubleshooting, or product operations
Pull keywords from the posting and from work they have already done (tools, populations, credentials, and outcomes), then place them in bullets first. The skills section should only repeat what the rest of the resume can already support.