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How much experience with a particular product/technology should you have to be able to list it as a "skill" on your resume?

For example, for my side projects I experiment a lot with various tools and server software. I wouldn't consider myself an expert with those, but if given a task and and adequate time I would most likely be able to make it work.

Is that enough to be able to list those as a "skill"? Is there some standard level of experience at which it is accepted to list a particular technology on your resume?

André Borie
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How much experience with a particular product/technology should you have to be able to list it as a "skill" on your resume?

There is no rule regarding what you can list as a "skill" nor how much experience you must have for inclusion.

List any skills that you honestly believe you possess and which will help attain the job you are seeking. But be prepared to answer questions about that skill.

If a skill is important to a job, interviewers will dig in and ask questions to probe the depth of your skill. As an interviewer, it's pretty easy to detect when someone is faking it, or doesn't possess the level of skill that would be warranted for the job at hand. And when I'm interviewing candidates, I tend to mark down anyone who is either clearly faking it or who thinks their level of skill is far above what my questions actually reveal. Sadly, that seems to happen a lot.

If you would fumble to answer even basic questions about a skill, you are probably better served leaving it off of your resume.

Joe Strazzere
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    While I agree with this answer, I'd propose more emphasis on the idea that as long as you're honest about your skill level you can mention pretty much any 'experience level' of skill you possess. Just make sure that when the interviewer asks you about the skill, you're open and honest about how much or how little you know about the subject. Someone with even the slightest familiarity with a product or technology can be preferable to someone with no familiarity at all, but as you say usually even a few cursory questions will reveal the true level of familiarity. – Cronax Apr 24 '17 at 09:08
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If you can make a technical (as opposed to sales or marketing) presentation on that skill for an hour and keep people without any skills in that area interested, then I think it is okay to write that as a skill on your resume.

Just look at YouTube videos on variety of skills. I do that for learning lot of technologies. (lately it has been IoT on Raspberry pi). The videos which have kept me engaged for an hour (or even more than 20 minutes) are people who I really think are skilled in that area. Day I can make a presentation similar to that, I would put it on my resume.

It is still possible that skill is not sufficient for your job but that is something the interviewer would have to decide. You can be just be confident from your side that you are not faking it.

PagMax
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You can list a skill on your resume when you wouldn't "mind" being called upon to perform that task.

"I experiment a lot with various tools and server software. I wouldn't consider myself an expert with those, but if given a task and and adequate time I would most likely be able to make it work."

That's good enough, IMHO.

Tom Au
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