If you’re wondering what sections to include on a resume, you’re in the right place…
We’re going to go step-by-step through the most important resume sections, titles, and how to write each section.
I will share a few extra tips and reveal a couple of optional sections you can use to get even more interviews, so keep reading until the end.
Let’s get started…
The Most Important Resume Sections and Titles:
1. Name and Contact Info
This isn’t really considered a section of your resume – more like a header. But it’s essential. Keep it simple and just include your name, address (if you want), and email address. You can include a phone number too if you’d like.This usually requires no title at all, but if you need to include a section title, your best option is “Contact Information”
Now let’s get into the main resume sections to include…
2. Career Summary
This is the summary at the top of the document, immediately following the header. It should be a 3-4 line summary that gives a high-overview of your career thus far, while naming several of your key accomplishments.It’s also important to potentially list one or two of the job titles you are targeting, as this is a key area scanned by an Applicant Tracking System.
Resume section titles to use:
You can jump right into your summary without a title, or you can use either, “Career Summary” or “Professional Summary” for this section.3. Professional History
If you have any work history at all, employers are going to want to see it near the top of the first page of your resume.In fact, you should even consider positioning it before your skills section.
Why? Most hiring managers prefer to see the dates and jobs where you performed each task (and built each skill), instead of just seeing a general list of all your skills.
This is especially true if you plan on listing 15, 20 or even 30 skills. A long list, with no reference to where each skill was used, isn’t going to impress very many employers.
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How to Answer “Why Are You Applying for This Position?" So including a general “Skills” section at the very top of your resume often leads to the reader skimming over it and continuing down the page. Not good.
When writing this section of your resume, remember that you don’t have to include every single job that you have ever had.
In fact, you should only include the most relevant information or the last 10-15 years of job history. If there is relevant job history prior to this, it can be included in a section called Earlier Career History and dates should be removed to avoid any possibility of age discrimination.
Resume section titles to use:
Use either “Employment History,” “Work History,” “Work Experience,” or “Experience.”
4. Core Competencies/Skills
The next area that should be highlighted are your skills and abilities. This area can be called several different names; however, the purpose is the same. When you are reading a job advertisement, there will be a part that lists the qualifications or skill-sets required. These are the same words that should be listed in your resume.As an example, if the job requires “Management Abilities,” and you currently have “Supervisory Skills” listed in your skills section, then change yours to reflect “Management Abilities.” This will allow you to better pass the ATS process. If you want more information on how to tailor your resume for the specific job to get more interviews, this article will reveal how.
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Note that some people recommend swapping sections #3 and #4 above. So if you’d like, you can place the Skills section above the Work Experience section.
Or, at least include a small area highlighting your KEY skills (maybe 5-10 skills) that are most relevant to the specific job you’ve applied for. That could be a good small piece to add before your work experience section.
Resume section titles:
You can label this section as either, “Skills,” “Core Strengths,” or “Core Competencies.”
5. Education
Education should typically follow your Professional History and Skills sections. Remember that you do not need to include a graduation date with your education.In fact, I discourage clients from including a date, as this could begin to “date” you at some point in the future. The only time that Education should be placed prior to Professional History is when someone recently graduated from college and has little to no professional experience.
For everyone else, stick to the order.
Resume section titles:
Use the header, “Education.”
Those are the main sections of a resume with recommended section titles. Now let’s look at some optional resume sections.
6. Community Engagement
This is a section that can be utilized to outline any volunteer activities, leadership positions, or significant impacts that you have made within the community. While this section is not a requirement for a resume, it is often a way to develop talking points or showcase your interests outside of work.Resume section titles:
Use either, “Community Involvement” or “Community Engagement.”
7. Optional: Technical Skills Listed in Separate Resume Section
All of resume sections 6-10 are optional, but I want to be super clear here that this tip in particular is optional and not required for everyone.However, some job seekers split their skills into two sections of their resume.
They have technical skills, and all other skills.
If you are in a highly-technical field like software engineering, this may be a good way to organize everything. Here’s an example of what it would look like. Notice the two separate sections and unique titles.
8. Certifications or Continuing Education
If you have an important certification (i.e. a CPA or PMP) or have attended numerous seminars in your field, it’s vital to show that you are a continuous learner and are willing to go above-and-beyond with bettering yourself and your career goals.The title for this resume section can be:
“Certifications” or “Continuing Education.”
9. Testimonials
If you are looking for a way to really differentiate yourself and want to provide a third-person perspective, you can even include snippets of testimonials from customers, team members, or managers. This is another way to highlight your core competencies and what you can offer to a potential employer.Titles for this resume section:
“Testimonials” or “Endorsements.”
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10. Languages
If you speak more than one language and think it might be relevant to the employer, definitely include that. It’ll set you apart and they’ll probably ask you about it in the interview, so it’s a good conversation-starter too.Creating a resume is both a science and an art. There is no one “right” way to outline your professional background; however, following this list of must-have resume sections and including each one will help you get the attention of hiring managers so you can get more interviews.
Keep this section title simple and choose one of the following:
“Languages” or “Languages Spoken.”
