All You Need to Know About Resume Headers

I am sure that by now you have heard that recruiters spend an average of 7 seconds on a resume before deciding if it moves onto the next round or stops being a candidate.

Because of this, having the right sections in your resume, and knowing how to organize it can be very important to your resume’s success.

Keep in mind that the top third of your resume is where the recruiter spends the bulk of those 6 seconds!

Mandatory Resume Sections

There are four main sections that every resume should have and all recruiters are scanning for.

1. Heading with contact information

A heading should always be the first thing on your resume, and should include your most up to date contact information.

The contact information on your heading must include your full name, a professional email and your phone number. Yet, you are encouraged to add your Linkedin profile information as well as any website that you have with more information about yourself and your experience.

You also may add a mailing address, but as this is optional and usually takes up a lot of space in your header I would advise against it if you have more important information to share.

2. Work Experience

This section is probably the one an employer is going to focus on the most, as they want to find someone who has some experience doing what the job needs.

If you have a lot of experience make sure to highlight any relevant experience.

Write your work experience section in reverse chronological order. Meaning that your most recent experience should come first and your oldest experience should come last.

Your experiences should ideally show some type of progression, and show that the job you are applying for is a reasonable ‘next step’ in your career.

3. Education

The education section of your resume is meant to be the shortest of all.

What recruiters are really looking for here is that you have the degree to match the job requirements. Be that a High school degree, a specific major you are graduating with from college, and MBA degree, etc.

Therefore all the information you really need in this section is the school you attended, and under what program. Where is your school located, and what is your graduation date.

Don’t forget to include any minors you may have gotten, as well.

There has always been debate on whether or not you should include your GPA in your resume, and most experts believe that if you have anything under a 3.4 you should not include your GPA.

If you were to include your GPA, you would most commonly include your general GPA not your major specific one. Unless otherwise specified!

4. Skills

The skills section of your resume is extremely important, as it is the perfect place to add some of the ‘keyword’ skills that appear in job postings.

Make sure to match as many skills that appear in the job posting as possible without sounding like you are keyword stuffing.

Aside from that there are several websites that have lists of skills that you can add to your resume.

Add a combination of both soft and hard skills.

For example:

How to Organize Your Resume Sections

How you organize your resume section when you build your resume depends on where you are in your career. If you are a college student or a recent graduate, your resume will look different than if you have had several years of professional experience.

This is mainly because, if you have had professional experience in the workforce you will want to highlight that more than your education.

If you are a college student or recent graduate this is how your resume should look like:

Heading
Summary Section (optional)
Education
Work Experience/ Internships
Skills and Activities
Additional Sections if applicable

Additional sections could range from relevant course work or projects that you want to highlight to certifications that you have obtained.

If you have been in the workforce for a year or more, an employer would prefer to see your resume looking more like this:

Heading
Summary Section (optional)
Work Experience
Certifications
Education
Skills and Activities
Additional Sections if applicable

The difference in these layouts help you tell the employer what it is that you want to highlight from your resume.

If you are a recent grad it is more likely that your education will be more relevant to the position to which you are applying than internships you have had in your high school or early college years. Especially if you were unsure of your major until recently, and you were exploring different types of internships.

Yet, after years working you probably have learned a lot of valuable skills, have more relevant experience and maybe have worked towards getting certified in some way. That information will be more valuable to the potential employer and should be put first.

In Conclusion

Aside from the four main resume sections of a heading, work experience and education, you should use whatever sections you believe will make you a more attractive candidate to the company.

Now, knowing what sections to add to your resume is just a small part of resume writing.

For more information on how to put a resume together check my free e-book on how to create the perfect resume that will get you one step closer to your dream job!