What to Include on a Resume: Complete Section-by-Section Guide

Building Your Resume Section by Section

A resume is not a list of everything you have ever done. It is a curated marketing document designed to convince one specific employer that you are worth interviewing. Every section should earn its place by directly supporting your candidacy.

Here is exactly what to include in each section, what to leave out, and how to make every element work hard for you.

Contact Information (Required)

Include:

• Full name (as you want to be addressed)
• Email address (professional -- firstname.lastname@email.com, not partyguy99@email.com)
• Phone number
• LinkedIn profile URL (customized, not the default string of numbers)
• City and state (full street address is no longer necessary)
• Portfolio or personal website URL (if relevant to the role)

Leave out:

• Full home address (privacy concern, and employers do not need it at the application stage)
• Date of birth or age
• Marital status
• Social media accounts (unless relevant to the role, like a social media manager)
• Multiple phone numbers

Tip: Put your contact information in the main body of your resume, not in the header or footer. Some ATS systems cannot read header and footer content.

Professional Summary (Strongly Recommended)

A 2-4 sentence overview positioned directly below your contact information. This is the first thing a hiring manager reads and the best opportunity to hook them.

Include:

• Your professional title and years of experience
• Your area of specialization
• One or two quantified achievements that match the job requirements
• The type of role you are targeting (optional but helpful)

Example: "Full-stack engineer with 6 years of experience building high-traffic web applications. Led the development of a payment platform processing $50M monthly, reducing checkout abandonment by 28%. Seeking a senior engineering role at a fintech company where I can combine deep technical skills with product thinking."

Leave out:

• Vague buzzwords with no proof ("results-driven," "passionate," "innovative")
• First-person pronouns ("I am a...")
• An objective statement (unless you are a recent graduate or career changer)
• Anything longer than 4 sentences

Work Experience (Required)

This is the most important section of your resume. For each role, include:

Include:

• Job title
• Company name
• Location (city, state)
• Dates of employment (month and year, or year only)
• 3-6 bullet points describing your achievements

How to write great bullets:

Each bullet should follow the formula: Action verb + task + quantified result

• "Built a real-time analytics dashboard in React and D3.js, reducing executive reporting time from 4 hours to 15 minutes weekly"
• "Managed a cross-functional team of 8 to deliver a product launch 2 weeks ahead of schedule, resulting in $1.2M in first-quarter revenue"
• "Reduced customer support tickets by 35% by designing and implementing a self-service knowledge base"

Leave out:

• Jobs older than 10-15 years (unless highly relevant)
• Generic duty descriptions ("responsible for," "helped with," "assisted in")
• Bullets without measurable results
• Every single task you performed -- focus on the top 3-6 achievements per role

Skills Section (Strongly Recommended)

A dedicated section listing your relevant hard skills and, selectively, soft skills.

Include:

• Hard skills that match the job description (specific tools, technologies, methodologies)
• Certifications relevant to the role
• Languages (both programming and spoken, if relevant)
• Industry-specific terminology from the job posting

Format options:

• Simple list: "Skills: Python, SQL, Tableau, A/B Testing, Agile, Stakeholder Management"
• Categorized: Technical Skills / Tools / Methodologies, each on its own line

Leave out:

• Basic skills everyone has (Microsoft Word, email, internet research)
• Skills you cannot demonstrate if asked about them in an interview
• An overwhelming list of 30+ skills with no prioritization
• Soft skills without evidence (save these for your experience bullets)

Education (Required for Most)

Include:

• Degree type and field of study
• University name and location
• Graduation year (or expected graduation)
• GPA if it is 3.5 or above and you graduated within the last 3-5 years
• Relevant honors, awards, or Dean's List (for recent graduates)

Leave out:

• High school (once you have a college degree)
• GPA below 3.5 (unless the employer specifically requests it)
• Irrelevant coursework (unless you are a recent graduate applying for a role where specific courses matter)
• Graduation year if it reveals an age you prefer not to disclose

Optional Sections (Include When Relevant)

Certifications and Professional Development

Include current certifications relevant to the target role: PMP, AWS Solutions Architect, Google Analytics, CPA, Scrum Master, and similar. List the certification name, issuing organization, and date earned.

Projects

Especially valuable for engineers, designers, and recent graduates. List 2-3 significant projects with the tech stack used, what you built, and the outcome or impact.

Volunteer Experience

Include when it demonstrates skills relevant to the target role, fills an employment gap, or shows leadership. Format the same as work experience with achievements and outcomes.

Publications and Speaking

Include if you are in a field where thought leadership matters: academia, research, consulting, or senior technical roles. List the title, publication or event, and date.

Languages

Include spoken languages and proficiency levels if the role involves international work or the company operates in multiple markets.

What to Always Leave Off

Regardless of your level or industry, these items do not belong on a modern resume:

• "References available upon request" -- this is assumed and wastes a line
• An objective statement (for experienced professionals -- use a summary instead)
• Personal hobbies (unless directly relevant to the role or company culture)
• Salary history or expectations
• Reasons for leaving previous jobs
• Personal information: age, gender, religion, nationality, marital status, photos
• Fancy graphics, icons, or images that ATS cannot parse

Build a Complete Resume Quickly

Deciding what to include and how to present it for each application is time-consuming. ResumeSnap analyzes the job description and your background to generate a complete, properly structured resume with exactly the right sections, keywords, and emphasis for each role. Check the result with our free ATS checker to verify it scores well before you submit.