What Sections Should a Resume Include?
Direct answer
Five sections carry almost every resume: contact details, a short targeted summary, Experience, Education, and Skills. Certifications and licences deserve their own section whenever a posting treats them as a requirement. Projects, publications, volunteering, and languages are worth including only when they evidence something the role asks for. Use conventional headings so both reviewers and parsers find each section immediately, and drop filler such as references on request or interests unrelated to the work.
Key takeaways
- Contact, summary, experience, education, and skills are the core five.
- Certifications and licences get their own section when a posting requires them.
- Optional sections must evidence a requirement, not fill space.
- Use conventional headings, not creative renaming.
- Drop references-on-request, generic interests, and unranked soft-skill lists.
The core sections
| Section | Purpose | Keep in mind |
|---|---|---|
| Contact details | Let a recruiter reach you and locate you | In the document body; include city and region, plus a professional profile link if you have one |
| Summary | State the target role and your strongest relevant evidence | Two to three sentences, rewritten per application, never aspirational filler |
| Experience | Evidence responsibility, scope, and outcomes | Employer, title, location, dates, then outcome bullets, most recent first |
| Education | Confirm qualifications, especially where required | Institution, qualification, completion date; add coursework only when early career |
| Skills | Name tools, technologies, and methods you can evidence | Only what your experience supports — a named skill invites a question about it |
Optional sections, and when they earn space
- Certifications and licences — include whenever the posting names one, with issuer and date.
- Projects — valuable early career, or where the work evidences a requirement your paid roles do not.
- Publications, patents, or conference talks — for research, academic, and specialist roles.
- Volunteering and community leadership — when it evidences scope, leadership, or a relevant skill.
- Languages — when the role involves the language, with an honest proficiency level.
- Security clearance or work authorisation — when the posting treats it as a requirement.
What to leave out
- 'References available on request' — assumed, and it consumes a line.
- Full postal address — city and region are enough.
- Date of birth, marital status, and similar personal data, which are irrelevant to the work.
- Unevidenced soft-skill lists and skill rating bars.
- Creative section names such as 'My Journey' that hide where the content is.
What this does not mean
Frequently asked questions
- Do I need a summary at all?
- It is optional, but a short summary is one of the few places you can state, in your own words, why your evidence fits this specific posting.
- Should skills come before experience?
- For skills-heavy technical postings, placing a compact skills section directly under the summary helps. Keep the evidence for those skills in the role bullets.
- How should I handle a career break?
- State it briefly and factually as a dated entry. A short honest line answers the question the gap would otherwise raise.
- Are interests worth including?
- Only when they evidence something relevant, such as leading an organised group. Generic interests use space that evidence could occupy.
Related reading
- Best Resume Format for ATSReverse-chronological, one column, conventional headings — and when to vary.
- How to Write a Resume SummaryThree sentences that carry evidence, rewritten for each posting.
- Resume Length: One Page or Two?Length follows relevance and career stage, not a rule.
- How to Make a Resume ATS-FriendlyStructure that survives parsing, without gimmicks aimed at software.
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