Parts of a Resume: 5 Main Resume Components

The five most important parts of a resume are:

• Header with contact information
• Resume introduction
• Work experience
• Education
• Skills

1. Header

Your resume’s header should feature your name in a large, clear font, and include the following information:

• First and last name
• Current or target job title
• Email
• Phone number
• City and state (optional)
• LinkedIn profile URL (optional)
• Portfolio or personal website (if applicable)

For example:

2. Resume introduction

Your resume introduction is a quick 3–4 sentence summary that details your experience, most relevant skills, and other key qualifications.

You can think of your introduction as an elevator pitch. As the first section the employer reads, your introduction should grab their attention immediately.

A resume summary is the standard introduction choice for most job seekers, particularly those with previous work experience and notable career achievements.

Here’s an example of a resume summary from an electrician resume:

Skilled journeyman electrician with more than 6 years of experience installing, repairing, and maintaining low-voltage electrical systems. Have personally worked on and repaired 500+ houses during my tenure. Skilled in interpreting blueprints and schematics, and possess a Journeyman Electrician License issued in California.

3. Work experience

The work experience section is the central part of a resume, and for most candidates will make up the bulk of the content.

When listing work experience, include the following information for each entry:

• Your job title
• Employer or company name
• Location (city and state)
• Employment dates
• Three to five bullet points describing your responsibilities and accomplishments

Begin each bullet point with an action verb, and use hard numbers to back up your accomplishments to give employers a clearer picture of what you achieved at your previous jobs.

For example, instead of “Responsible for client complaints,” write something like “Resolved recurring client complaints, improving retention from 30% to 55% by introducing a feedback and resolution process.”

Here’s a work experience example from a virtual assistant resume that includes action verbs and hard numbers:

4. Education

The level of detail you add to your resume education section can vary based on how much work experience you have and the number of degrees you have.

For example, if you’ve just graduated from college and don’t have much work experience, the education part of your resume can be more detailed and include information that’s relevant to the job you want.

At minimum, your resume education section should include the following four items:

• School name
• Location
• Degree
• Graduation year

If you’re applying for grad school or have limited work experience, consider adding relevant coursework, extracurricular activities, academic awards, or even sororities or fraternities you were in to help demonstrate skills you developed while in school.

Here’s a properly formatted education section on a grad school resume, complete with relevant coursework and academic awards:

5. Skills

The skills section of your resume provides a quick overview of your areas of expertise in a short, easy-to-read list. Choose your most marketable skills, and list any skills you have that are mentioned in the job description at the top of the list. For example:

Optional resume sections

There are other optional sections you can add to your resume to showcase your unique background and qualifications.

While none of these sections are required, they show your full qualifications and the value you’ll bring to the organization.

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Training, certifications, and licenses

Many professions, such as personal trainers, coaches, or teachers, require specific training, so it makes sense to include a certifications section on your resume.

Here’s an example of a license on a registered nurse (RN) resume:

Language skills

Language skills are an asset in many professions that require you to work with international customers and clients.

Typically, listing your foreign language abilities in your resume’s skills section will suffice, but if you really want to draw attention to it, consider making a dedicated “Languages” section.

Note your proficiency level (native, fluent, proficient, etc.) next to each language you include.

Here’s how you might list language skills on a resume:

Projects & freelance work

Put personal projects or freelance work on your resume to showcase any nontraditional work experience you have.

Consider making a dedicated section for projects if you have both traditional and freelance work experience.

If you’re a full-time freelancer, putting all of your projects or freelance work under your work experience section is fine.

Whichever method you choose, include the name of the project or client, the duration, and three to five bullet points detailing your responsibilities.

Volunteer work

List volunteer work on your resume to highlight leadership and community involvement.

When listing volunteer work, there are two methods. First, if your volunteer experience is highly relevant to the position you’re applying for, treat it the same as professional experience by listing it in your work experience section with three to five bullet points describing your responsibilities.

If your volunteer experience is less relevant to the position, but still worth highlighting, list it in a dedicated section toward the bottom of your resume with one or two bullet points describing what you did.

Here’s an example from a high school student’s resume:

Awards and honors

List awards on your resume to add credibility to your qualifications and expertise.

When listing awards and honors, you’ll want to display the award name, date received, and purpose.

Academic awards should be listed in your education section in a bullet point underneath your degree. All other professional awards can be listed in a dedicated “awards” section.

Take a look at how to format awards on a resume:

Hobbies and interests

Lastly, list hobbies and interests on your resume to show additional skills and give your resume a personal touch.

However, hobbies and interests are less relevant to the job compared to other resume sections, so leave them off if your resume is already full.

Here’s how you might format hobbies and interests on your resume: