SOAP vs. REST
Both are ways for systems to talk to each other over the web, so a JD asking for 'web services' could mean either. SOAP is the older, stricter, XML-based style still found in banks, insurers, telecoms, government and SAP integrations. REST is the lighter, JSON-based style almost every modern product uses. Someone strong in one is not automatically strong in the other: SOAP work is usually enterprise integration, REST work is usually building product APIs.
How to tell them apart on a resume
SOAP
WSDL, XML, XSD, SOAP UI, JAX-WS, WCF, ESB or middleware tools like MuleSoft and TIBCO — often at a bank, insurer, telecom or services company, next to Java EE or .NET.
REST
JSON, OpenAPI/Swagger, Postman, HTTP status codes, API versioning — next to Spring Boot, Node.js, Django or FastAPI at a product company.
The question that settles it
“Were the web services you built SOAP with WSDL and XML, or REST APIs with JSON — and did you design them, or connect to ones someone else owned?”
Read the full definitions
Open the full tool for the other look-alike pairs, role profiles, and the JD decoder.