Extract the right skills from job descriptions

Instead of guessing which skills to put on your resume, let the job descriptions tell you. This prompt analyzes multiple postings for your target role and shows you which tools and technologies show up most often — so you know exactly what to feature.

Copy this into ChatGPT, Claude, or whatever you use. Paste in real job descriptions.

I want to figure out which software skills to put on my resume. I'm going to paste in several job descriptions for the type of role I'm targeting. Analyze them and tell me what to list.

**Job descriptions:**

[Paste 3-5 full job descriptions for your target role. Include the requirements, qualifications, and nice-to-haves sections. More postings = better data.]

**My current skills (optional):**
[List the tools, languages, and platforms you actually know. This helps identify gaps. Skip this if you just want to see what's in demand.]

**Instructions:**

1. Extract every software tool, programming language, platform, framework, and technology mentioned across all the job descriptions. Count how many times each one appears.

2. Give me a ranked list in three tiers:
   - **Must-have (appears in most or all postings):** These are the skills I need on my resume no matter what. List them with how many postings mention them.
   - **Strong differentiators (appears in 2+ postings):** These set me apart from other candidates. Worth featuring if I have them.
   - **Nice-to-have (appears once):** Only worth listing if I have genuine experience and space on my resume.

3. For each skill, tell me:
   - The exact terminology used in the postings (so I can match it on my resume)
   - Whether it was listed as required or preferred
   - A one-line note on what level of experience seems expected

4. If I provided my current skills, flag:
   - Skills I have that match what's in demand (feature these prominently)
   - Skills in the postings that I'm missing (these are my gaps to address)
   - Skills I have that didn't appear in any posting (consider dropping these from my resume for these roles)

5. Give me a recommended "Skills" section for my resume based on this analysis. Format it with subheadings (e.g., "Programming Languages," "Cloud Platforms," "Data Visualization") and list only the skills that appeared in the postings.

Tips

• Use postings from different companies for the same role. If you only pull from one company, you’ll optimize for their stack rather than the market.
• Include the full posting, not just the requirements section. Skills mentioned in the job description body (“you’ll use X to build Y”) are just as important as the bullet-pointed requirements.
• Run this again when you shift targets. If you start applying for a different type of role or in a different industry, the skill priorities will change. Don’t assume one analysis covers everything.
• Pair with the resume tailoring prompt once you know which skills to feature. That prompt customizes your whole resume for a specific posting using the language from the job description.