Operations resume keywords

We counted the skills in 2,008 open operations job postings from 260 employers, including ALO, Gopuff and DoorDash USA. The ones employers ask for most are compliance (34% of postings), sales (31%) and automation (26%). 50% of the postings mention AI, though often in the company's description rather than as a skill the job needs.

Top skills and tools in operations postings

#	Keyword	Share of postings
1	compliance	34%
2	sales	31%
3	automation	26%
4	inventory management	23%
5	retail	21%
6	process improvement	20%
7	logistics	16%
8	audit	15%
9	marketing	14%
10	dashboards	13%
11	onboarding	13%
12	go-to-market	13%
13	analytics	13%
14	KPIs	12%
15	product roadmap	12%
16	sales operations	11%
17	customer experience	11%
18	supply chain	10%
19	budgeting	10%
20	customer service	10%
21	manufacturing	9%
22	forecasting	9%
23	Salesforce	9%
24	business operations	8%
25	communications	8%
26	warehouse operations	8%
27	SQL	8%
28	visual merchandising	8%
29	troubleshooting	7%
30	HR	7%

Share of the 2,008 postings whose description names the skill (plurals and common spellings, such as “JS” and “JavaScript”, count as one).

Soft skills employers mention

reporting · 22%leadership · 22%cross-functional · 18%communication · 11%ownership · 9%documentation · 8%attention to detail · 8%analytical skills · 5%collaboration · 5%

Show these through results in your bullets (“led a team of six”) rather than listing them as adjectives.

How to use these keywords on your operations resume

Start with the posting, not this list. These are averages across 2,008 jobs; the one you're applying for has its own priorities. Use this page to spot common gaps, then match the specific posting.
Name skills the way employers do. If you use “compliance”, “sales” and “automation”, write those exact words. Applicant tracking systems and recruiters search for them, and a close synonym can be missed.
Put each skill in a bullet that shows a result. Naming inventory management inside a bullet about what you achieved with it, with a number where you can, is stronger than listing it alone in a skills section.
Add only what's true. If you've worked with “inventory management”, “retail” and “process improvement” but your resume doesn't say so, add it. If you haven't, leave it out: interviews expose padded resumes quickly.

More about operations jobs

Resume keywords for other jobs

How these numbers are calculated

Every figure comes from open operations job postings on MANY Hired, imported from employers' own career pages. For each posting we pick out the skills, tools, certifications and qualifications its description names, then count how many postings ask for each one. A job counts as operations by its title. Updated November 8, 2026.