Standard Resume Sections You Need for a Resume

The 5 standard resume sections

When you sit down to write your resume, the first thing you need to know is what sections to include. The sections of your resume provide the structure you need to highlight all of your relevant qualifications.

Based on your level of professional experience, you may use more sections or fewer sections depending on the information you want to showcase.

Generally, however, there are five standard sections that everyone should include on their resume:

• Contact information
• Resume introduction
• Work experience
• Skills
• Education

12 optional resume categories

Additional resume categories should be included if they highlight relevant qualifications or experience and can help you stand out from other applicants.

If you’re trying to land a job at a newspaper, for example, do you have any publications to your name? If you lack professional experience, do you have volunteer experience that helps bridge the gap?

Here is a list of optional sections that you might want to include in your resume:

• Training, certifications, and licenses
• Accomplishments
• Languages
• Projects
• Volunteer work
• Awards and honors
• Conferences
• Extracurricular activities
• Publications
• Hobbies and interests
• Relevant coursework
• Fraternities or sororities

However, don’t include references on your resume. If needed, employers will request them further down the line in the hiring process.

How to organize the sections of a resume

The right order for your resume sections is always the one that highlights your strongest qualifications. This means that your level of work experience will have an impact on which sections you should include, and where to place them.

To learn more about how to organize your resume, check out our video on resume basics, where our career expert Eva breaks down each section you need to add to your resume at 1:24.

For a standard resume

For the majority of job-seekers, this resume section order works very well. It’s clear, succinct, and emphasizes professional experiences and skills.

1. Contact information
2. Resume summary
3. Experience
4. Skills
5. Education
6. Additional sections

For recent college graduates

If you’re writing a recent college graduate resume and don’t have much work experience, this is the order for you.

Your resume should focus on education, and draw on internships and volunteer experience. By using a resume objective, it draws attention to your goals and ambitions, and how you will apply your unique skills to benefit your employer.

1. Contact information
2. Resume objective/career objective
3. Education
4. Experience, internships, and volunteer work
5. Training and certifications
6. Skills

For manager level positions

Candidates with a high level of experience will want to highlight their qualifications and accomplishments. Using a qualifications summary or a professional profile is an excellent way to do this as both highlight your professional skills and expertise.

1. Contact information
2. Qualifications summary/professional profile
3. Experience and accomplishments
4. Skills
5. Education
6. Additional sections

For career changers

Looking to change industries? Emphasize your broad skills, rather than chronological work experience, with a functional resume. Here, the sections are ordered to focus on the resume introduction and skills section. This is perfect for convincing a recruiter that you have the transferable skills you need to succeed in their industry.

1. Contact Information
2. Professional profile/resume summary
3. Skills
4. Experience and accomplishments
5. Education
6. Additional sections

How to write your resume sections

The sections you include on your resume, the sequence you put them in, and the headings that you give them are essential parts of your resume’s general format.

Let’s get started with the five sections that everyone should include on their resume:

1. Contact Information

Contact information is the most basic category of any resume. After all, if an employer doesn’t know your name or how to get in touch, then they can’t offer you an interview.

At a minimum, you should include the following information in your resume header:

• First and last name
• Professional email address
• Phone number

Additionally, you might also want to include the following optional information:

• Professional title
• Mailing address
• LinkedIn profile URL

A link to a portfolio or personal website can be another useful addition. If you work as a graphic designer, animator, or in a field that relies heavily on visuals, employers will want to see samples of your work.

Here’s an example of what the contact section of your resume should look like:

2. Resume introduction

This is a short section at the top of your resume that summarizes your key strengths and qualifications. It’s also your first, best shot at grabbing a hiring manager’s attention, and you only have seconds to do it.

There are two primary types of resume introduction, and the one that you pick will depend on your circumstances.

Resume Summary

A resume summary is a brief statement that highlights your key work-related achievements and skills in a short paragraph or four to five bullet points.

Summaries are the most popular way to start a resume and are the best approach if you’re looking to take the next step in an industry that you’re already working in.

Here’s an example of a resume that highlights the candidate’s achievements:

Resume objective

A resume objective is a short statement focusing on your intent and motivation. An effective resume objective still showcases your skills and relevant experiences, but puts the emphasis on how you will help the company meet its goals.

Objectives are best if you’re an entry-level candidate writing a resume for your first job, or if you’re writing a resume for a career change.

Here’s an example of a resume objective for an entry-level candidate:

3. Work experience section

The work experience section is one of the most substantial parts of a resume. This is where your professional accomplishments should really shine.

For each position you’ve held, include the following information:

• Company name and location
• Your title
• Dates of employment
• Three to five bullet points detailing your main responsibilities and achievements

If you’re writing a chronological resume, you should list your most recent position at the top, followed by your previous positions in reverse-chronological order.

Here’s an example of how to write a strong resume experience section:

The bullet points all begin with action verbs and describe professional accomplishments, using hard numbers to quantify the achievements where possible.

4. Resume skills section

Your resume skills section should include a mix of hard and soft skills that are relevant to the job you want.

If the job you’re applying for requires specific technical skills, make sure your skills section includes as many of these as possible. You can also list other hard skills that are broadly appreciated by recruiters, such as Microsoft Office, language fluency, and computer skills.

Soft skills are also important for a positive and productive work environment. These are the character traits that determine how you approach work and interact with others, such as being adaptable, creative, or a strong communicator.

To convince a hiring manager that you’re qualified for the job, demonstrate that you have both the soft and hard skills needed to succeed in the role.

Here’s an example of a skills section that includes a combination of hard and soft skills:

5. Resume education section

Your resume education section should list your highest level of education. This could be a high school degree, undergraduate degree or graduate degree. If you’ve completed your undegraduate studies, you don’t need to include your high school information.

You should include the following information:

• Name of school
• Location
• Type of degree and field of study
• Year of graduation
• GPA (optional, and only if it’s above 3.5)

If you’re writing a recent graduate resume, you can expand your education section to compensate for a lack of work experience. In this case, list relevant coursework on your resume, as well as any awards, honors, and academic achievements. If you don’t have any work experience, you could also mention your extracurricular activities here.

Here’s an example of a properly formatted education section on a resume:

Yale University, New Haven, CT
B.A. English Literature, June 2020
GPA: 3.9/4.0