A resume is more than a list of jobs—it’s a strategic document designed to get you past Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) and convince recruiters you’re worth interviewing. But with limited space and only 7 seconds of a recruiter’s attention, which resume sections actually matter?
In this guide, you’ll learn:
Other Useful Resources:
Here are some other articles that you might find helpful
The 5 Essential Resume Sections Every Resume Must Have
These sections are non-negotiable. Skip any of these, and your resume will likely be rejected by both ATS and human reviewers.
1. Header (Contact Information)
Your header should appear at the top of your resume and include:
Required elements:
Optional elements:
What to skip:
Good Header Example:
Gavin Belson
New York, NY | (206) 555-0147 | gavin.belson@email.com | linkedin.com/in/gavinb
ATS consideration: Use standard header formatting. Avoid text boxes, headers/footers, or tables for contact information. Many ATS systems can’t parse these correctly.
2. Professional Summary or Objective
This 3-4 line section appears directly below your header and serves as your elevator pitch.
Use a Professional Summary when:
Use an Objective when:
Professional Summary structure:
Copied![Job title] with [X years] experience in [industry/function] | [2-3 key skills or specializations] | Proven track record of [quantifiable achievement] | Committed/ seeking to [relevant goal aligned with target role]
Professional Summary Example
SUMMARY
Senior Product Manager with 8+ years driving B2B SaaS growth in fintech | Expert in roadmap strategy, cross-functional team leadership, and data-driven prioritization | Delivered products generating $12M ARR and improved user retention by 34% | Committed to driving product innovation at a high-growth Series B company
Career Objective Example
OBJECTIVE
Marketing professional with 5 years in content strategy transitioning to UX writing | Completed Google UX Design Certificate and 3 freelance UX projects | Strong foundation in user research, information architecture, and stakeholder communication | Seeking UX Writer role to combine storytelling expertise with user-centered design
ATS consideration: Include 5-7 keywords from the job description naturally within your summary. This section has significant weight in ATS scoring algorithms.
3. Work Experience
This is the most important section on your resume. Recruiters spend 80% of their review time here.
Standard format:
Copied![Job Title] [Company Name] | [Location] | [Start Date] – [End Date] • Achievement-focused bullet point with metrics • Achievement-focused bullet point with metrics • Achievement-focused bullet point with metrics
Best practices:
| Element | Recommendation |
|---|---|
| Order | Reverse chronological format (most recent first) |
| Date format | Month Year (e.g., “Jan 2020 – Present”) |
| Bullet points | 3-5 per role (for more recent/ relevant roles); 1-3 per role (for older/ less relevant roles) |
| Tense | Past tense for previous roles; present for current |
| Metrics | Include numbers in 70%+ of bullets |
| Length | More detail for recent roles; less for older positions |
Achievement-focused bullet formula:
Copied![Action verb] + [what you did] + [how you did it] + [quantifiable result]
❌ Weak Bullet Example
• Responsible for managing social media accounts
✅ Strong Bullet Example
• Grew Instagram following from 12K to 47K in 8 months by implementing data-driven content calendar and influencer partnership strategy, increasing engagement rate by 156%
How far back to go:
ATS consideration: Start bullets with strong action verbs that match the job description. ATS algorithms prioritize resumes that mirror the language used in job postings.
4. Education
For most professionals, this section should be brief and appear near the end of your resume. For recent graduates and entry-level professionals, place it after your summary.
Standard format:
Copied![Degree Type] in [Major] [University Name] | [Location] | [Graduation Year]
What to include:
| Career Stage | Include | Skip |
|---|---|---|
| Recent grad (0-2 years) | GPA (if 3.6+ on a 4.0 scale), relevant coursework, honors, academic projects | High school, graduation month |
| Mid-level (3-10 years) | Degree, institution, year | GPA, coursework, high school |
| Senior (10+ years) | Degree, institution | Graduation year (optional), GPA, coursework |
Recent Graduate Examples:
EDUCATION
Bachelor of Science in Computer Science University of Washington | Seattle, WA | 2024
GPA: 3.8/4.0 | Dean’s List (6 semesters)
Relevant Coursework: Machine Learning, Data Structures, Cloud Computing
Experienced Professional Examples:
EDUCATION
Master of Business Administration (MBA)
Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management | 2018
Bachelor of Arts in Economics University of Michigan | 2012
Certifications in education section:
If you have 1-2 certifications, you can include them here. For 3+ certifications, create a separate “Certifications” section.
ATS consideration: Use standard degree abbreviations (B.S., M.A., MBA) in addition to spelled-out versions. Some Applicant Tracking Systems search for abbreviations, others for full names.
5. Skills
This section serves two critical functions: passing ATS keyword filters and giving recruiters a quick snapshot of your technical capabilities.
How to list skills on your resume:
There are 2 popular approaches for listing skills:
1. Categorized skills (recommended for technical roles):
Copied!Technical Skills: Python, SQL, Tableau, AWS, Docker, Git Design Tools: Figma, Adobe XD, Sketch, InVision Soft Skills: Stakeholder management, Agile methodology, Cross-functional leadership
2. Simple list (for non-technical roles):
Copied!Project Management • Budget Forecasting • Salesforce • Data Analysis • Team Leadership • Strategic Planning • Microsoft Excel (Advanced) • Contract Negotiation
Best practices:
What NOT to include:
Optional Resume Sections That Can Strengthen Your Application
The following sections aren’t required, but they can differentiate you from other candidates when used strategically:
- Licenses & Certifications
- Projects
- Volunteer Experience
- Languages
- Awards & Honors
- Publications & Speaking Engagements
6. Certifications and Licenses
When to include a separate section:
Format:
Copied![Certification Name] | [Issuing Organization] | [Date Earned or "Valid through Date"]
Example:
CERTIFICATIONS
- Project Management Professional (PMP) | Project Management Institute | 2023
- Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) | Scrum Alliance | 2022
- AWS Certified Solutions Architect | Amazon Web Services | Valid through 2025
ATS consideration: Many ATS systems specifically search for certification keywords. If a certification appears in the job description, include it prominently.
7. Projects
Who should include this section:
Format:
Copied![Project Name] | [Your Role] | [Date] Brief description of project scope and your contribution • Key achievement or outcome with metrics • Technologies/methods used
Example:
PROJECTS
Customer Churn Prediction Model | Personal Project | 2024
- Built machine learning model to predict customer churn for subscription businesses
- Achieved 87% accuracy using Random Forest algorithm on dataset of 50K customers
- Technologies: Python, Scikit-learn, Pandas, Matplotlib
- GitHub: github.com/username/churn-prediction
8. Volunteering and Community Involvement
When to include:
Format: Use the same structure as work experience, but be selective—include only volunteer roles where you made measurable impact.
Example:
VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE
Marketing Committee Chair Habitat for Humanity, Seattle Chapter | 2022 – Present
- Increased volunteer recruitment by 43% through social media campaign reaching 120K people
- Managed $15K annual marketing budget and coordinated team of 6 volunteers
What to skip: Generic volunteer activities without measurable outcomes (“volunteered at food bank”) unless you’re early in your career and need to fill space.
9. Languages
When to include:
Format:
Copied!Languages: English (Native), Spanish (Professional proficiency), Mandarin (Conversational)
Proficiency levels:
10. Awards and Honors
When to include:
Format:
Copied![Award Name] | [Issuing Organization] | [Year] Brief context if the award isn't self-explanatory
Example:
AWARDS
- President’s Club (Top 5% of Sales Team) | Salesforce | 2023, 2024
- 40 Under 40 Rising Stars | Tech Industry Association | 2023
What to skip: Academic awards if you’ve been working for 5+ years, participation awards, or honors that don’t demonstrate achievement.
11. Publications and Speaking Engagements
Who should include this:
Format:
Copied![Title] | [Publication/Event] | [Date]
Example:
PUBLICATIONS & SPEAKING
- “The Future of AI in Healthcare Diagnostics” | Journal of Medical Innovation | 2024
- Keynote: “Scaling Data Infrastructure” | DataCon 2023 | Attended by 2,000+ professionals
Resume Sections to Skip (They’re Wasting Your Space)
Personal Information
Skip unless: You’re applying for o roles in countries or industries where including personal details is customary or required.
This section provides personal details that may be relevant to the role or required for the application process. In some countries or industries, cultural norms or legal requirements make including personal details mandatory.
Why it’s usually unnecessary: Including personal information like a photo, complete address, marital status, immigration status etc. are not only unnecessary for jobs in the US, including these can actually hurt your chances, as US employers avoid this information to prevent discrimination claims.
Hobbies and Interests
Skip unless: The hobby directly demonstrates a skill relevant to the job (e.g., “Competitive chess player” for a strategy role, “Marathon runner” for a role requiring discipline and goal-setting).
Why it’s usually unnecessary: Recruiters care about what you can do for the company, not your personal interests. With limited resume space, every line should strengthen your candidacy.
References
Always skip. The phrase “References available upon request” is outdated and wastes valuable space. Employers assume you have references and will ask for them if needed.
Objective Statement
If you have 3+ years of experience, replace an objective with a professional summary. Objectives focus on what you want; summaries focus on what you offer- which is what employers care about.
Irrelevant Work Experience
Remove any experience that isn’t relevant to what is required at the target role. Including irrelevant experience might incorrectly communicate to recruiters that you don’t have sufficient relevant experience. Additionally, these can lower your ATS score because the additional words lower the relative frequency of the job-specific keywords an ATS looks for.
For example: If you worked retail in college but you’re now a senior software engineer, you can remove it. Focus your resume on the last 10-15 years of relevant experience.
Exception: Keep seemingly irrelevant experience only if it demonstrates transferable skills for career changers or fills employment gaps.
How to Order Your Resume Sections by Career Level
Here’s a quick summary of how to order the different sections in your resume based on your career level and whether you’re changing careers:
For additional break down by role type (technical vs non-technical), refer to our complete resume writing guide.
Entry-Level Professionals (0-2 years)
Recommended order:
Focus: Emphasize academic projects, internships, and transferable skills. Use your education section to showcase relevant coursework and achievements.
Mid-Level Professionals (3-10 years)
Recommended order:
Focus: Your work experience should dominate. Quantify achievements and demonstrate career progression. Education moves down unless you recently completed an advanced degree.
Senior Candidates (10+ years)
Recommended order:
Focus: Demonstrate strategic thinking and leadership impact. Consolidate early-career roles. Consider adding custom sections like “Board Positions” or “Advisory Roles” if relevant.
Career Changers
Recommended order:
Focus: Use a combination resume format that emphasizes skills and relevant projects over chronological work history. Your objective should clearly articulate your transition and what you bring from your previous career.
AI Resume Builders For Faster Resume Creation
While this article can guide you how to create your resume- what sections to include, what content to include in each section, how to order each section- we understand that the overall process of creating a resume takes significant time and effort. The good news is that there are several good resume builders available in the market today that can significantly speed up your resume creation process. You can check out this article where we compare popular resume builders on multiple criteria important to job seekers.
AI resume builders like Upplai are especially useful in automatically incorporating ATS and recruiter best practices into your resume. And they not only update the contents of your resume, they also show you exactly what was changed and why.
Quick Checklist
Use this checklist to ensure that your resume has all the required sections and any optional section that can improve your selection chances:
Essential sections (must have all 5):
Optional sections (include if relevant):
Formatting check:
ATS optimization:
