A good resume sections is all about ensuring that your most important skills, experiences, and qualifications can be easily understood by the recruiter or hiring manager. These days, this means that sections of your resume should make it easier for both human readers and the Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) that they use. To do both, your resume sections and titles should follow best practices.
You may have heard that one of the best ways to get a recruiter’s attention is to customize your resume for each position you apply to. For a lot of people, this is a scary idea – after spending a lot of time creating a great first resume, the thought of repeating the process for each new job you apply seems like a waste of time. But the truth is, customizing your resume for every job you apply to is critical if you want to prove that you are the right person for the job.
The goal of your CV is to make them want more and win a job interview. Focus on the importance of the content for both the target industry and the potential employer (more on the latter in a little while). Don’t focus on coordination at this point. Just get the right content and organize it using the strategies below to build your resume sections.
Your resume format will tell a story in a concise and thoughtful way. What you put in a CV is determined by the content that will tell a unique story to get you that interview. Most of this content was created when you were looking for and getting started with your resume.
What are the basic sections of a resume?
At a minimum, you’ll need three main sections on your resume: contact information, employment history, and education. Your contact information section is critical because without it, you will most likely not be contacted for an interview. Your employment history shows recruiters and hiring managers your track record of work, and your education shows the basic educational demographics and advanced degrees that may be requirements for a position.
Everything else is optional and can be crafted to help make your resume stand out when you make it specific to the situation. There are several optional sections that you can add to your CV to make it individual and specific for each job application.
The recruiter will notice if your CV is standard: the same piece of paper loaded on each application. Adding different resume sections depending on the application shows that you spent time making your resume specific to the job. By demonstrating effort in the application process, you are also showing potential employers a peek into your work ethic as a potential employee.
ALSO CHECK: JOB POSTINGS
Standard resume sections
Each resume template includes these 3 resume sections:
- Name and contact information
- Work experience
- Education
Name and contact information section in resume
When writing your resume, include the first and last name you use in professional contexts. Make it stand out and easy to read so that the reader can memorize your name. Include your location, primary phone number, and email address below your name.
Consider adding links to related profiles here as well – keywords: relevant. Update your LinkedIn profile and include the link in this section. Add any other profiles and links that match the industry you’re applying to, such as a Github profile if you’re a software engineer or a portfolio website if you’re a visual designer.
Should I include my home address on my resume?
Traditionally, your home address will go to the Contact section. This is no longer required by most employers as it may lead to discrimination and privacy concerns. However, employers are still interested in knowing the general location. One reason may be to filter forecasts by distance to assess commuting times or traffic obstacles that may affect your satisfaction in the future. At least include your city and state. Adding your zip code gives a better idea of your location and allows your CV to be found based on location within ATS or other source platforms.
What if you are ready to move to a new city?
If you live in San Antonio and are trying to move to Seattle, then just having “San Antonio” on your resume can lose interest. Meanwhile, having only “Seattle” in your communication department despite all of your work experience in San Antonio might be a red flag.
Be transparent by listing each of your resume with something along the lines of “Seattle, Washington (moving from San Antonio, Texas)” or “San Antonio, Texas (moving to Seattle, Washington)”. Explain your situation in more detail in your cover letter.
Work Experience section in resume
The core of any resume, Work Experience section will occupy most of the page. Include your company name, location, title, and tenure for each position. You may need to be creative when it comes to coordinating your campaigns and address changes.
Under the heading of each job, include the duties and accomplishments most relevant to the job you are applying for. This is not a place to detail each of your daily tasks. Briefly include your most important primary responsibilities, but use this space to focus more on the skills and duties that best match the new job description.
For recent graduates
- Education
- Experience
- Leadership
- Awards and Activities (Optional)
- Skills
The fresh graduates are in a slightly unique position. While there are many supposed “entry-level” jobs that require two to three years of experience, there are also many opportunities specifically geared towards recent graduates. With this in mind, it makes sense to indicate that you are new to a full-time job by keeping your education on top.
However, you don’t want to short sell yourself by not including your extracurricular activities. There are a lot of transferable skills learned through club leadership positions – and you need to make sure they are highlighted in a separate section. Read this for a step-by-step guide on your post-college resume.
For career changers
- Goal (optional)
- Relevant experience
- Additional experience
- Professional organizations / community involvement (optional)
- Education
- Skills and Certifications (upgrade option)
As if changing careers is not difficult enough! The most difficult CVs to craft are the ones that need to show the relevance and transferability of expertise in one area to another. There are several ways to do this effectively.
You can present a goal that explains your career change and the strengths it will bring to your new field. (More on that here.) Or, you can divide your experience into “relevant” and “additional” in order to highlight specific experiences. (Professional tip: instead of “related experience,” label this section as “editorial experience,” “sales experience,” or whatever makes sense for your new area.) Or finally, if you have limited relevant experience, you can simply demonstrate your skills and your certifications and put this section above your experience section as a way to lead that home.
For Senior-Level Candidates
- Summary statement
- Experience
- Professional organizations / community involvement (optional)
- Education
- Skills and certifications
You will notice that a high-level resume is very similar to a standard resume layout. You are not wrong; just because you are at a higher level doesn’t mean you can get rid of complex coordination. How easy it is to empty your qualifications matters, regardless of how advanced you are in your career.
Of course, there are some differences. If you are applying for a senior position, you are usually in a position to submit a two-page resume. Also, with a lot of experience and double pages, it is absolutely essential that you have a brief statement at the top. This is not negotiable anymore.
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