For most jobs, a resume should include your name and contact details, a short summary or headline if it adds something, a reverse-chronological work experience section with specific bullets, education, and a skills section matched to the job post. Optional extras such as certifications, projects, volunteer work and languages belong only if they help for this role. Photos, reference lists and hobbies can usually stay off, though norms vary by country and industry.
Many resume problems are really structure problems: missing basics, buried strengths or too many low-value sections. This checklist covers what to include, what goes first and what to leave out, so you have a solid base before tuning the wording.
The core sections
A typical order for someone with work experience:
| Section | Include? | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Name and contact line | Always | Lets the reader reach you |
| Summary or headline | Often, if it adds value | Positions you for the target role |
| Work experience | Almost always | Shows what you have done |
| Skills | Usually | Shows tools and abilities relevant to the post |
| Education | Usually | Shows degrees, training and credentials |
| Certifications and training | If relevant | Shows required or useful credentials |
| Projects, volunteering, publications | If relevant | Fills gaps or adds proof |
Students and recent graduates often put Education before Experience, then move it down as their work history grows.
Contact details
- Full name at the top, larger than the body text.
- A phone number you answer or check voicemail for.
- A professional email address, usually a variation of your name.
- City and region. A full street address is generally unnecessary, though norms vary by country.
- A profile link if it is complete and relevant, and matches your resume.
Age, marital status and photos are typically left off in the United States. Customs differ elsewhere, so check what is standard where you apply.
Summary or headline
A summary is optional, and its value depends on your situation. When it works, it is two or three lines that name your role, strengths and a proof point: “Accounts payable specialist with 6 years of experience processing 400 to 500 invoices monthly, with strengths in vendor reconciliation and month-end close.” When it does not, it is a paragraph of self-description. Read what a resume summary should actually do and when to skip a summary to decide.
Work experience
This is usually the heart of the resume and takes the most space.
What each entry needs
- Job title as it appeared in your records, with a short clarifier in parentheses if the title was unusual and the clarifier is accurate.
- Employer name and, optionally, location.
- Dates in a consistent format.
- Bullets describing what you did, with specifics.
How many bullets
A common pattern: 4 to 6 for the most recent or most relevant role, 3 to 4 for the previous one, 1 to 3 for older roles, and often a single line or nothing for roles beyond about 10 to 15 years ago that are not relevant. These are guidelines, not rules.
What good bullets look like
Each bullet should show an action, a scope and, ideally, a result.
- Weak: “Responsible for scheduling.”
- Better: “Scheduled shifts for 14 staff each week, balancing time-off requests with peak coverage.”
The figure is an example; use accurate ones. For technique, see writing resume bullets that do not sound generic.
Order
Use reverse-chronological order, most recent first. This is the standard layout career centers describe and the one readers expect. If you have gaps or an unusual history, other formats may help; see which resume format is best if your work history is not perfect.
Skills
A skills section lets a reader see tools and abilities quickly.
- List a focused set relevant to the target job rather than everything you know.
- Name specific tools, systems, methods and languages, such as “spreadsheet pivot tables,” “invoice reconciliation” or “Spanish (conversational).”
- Group them if you have many: “Software,” “Technical,” “Languages.”
- Put the ones named in the post first, if you truly have them.
- Skip vague soft skills like “hard-working.” Show them through bullets.
- Be honest about level. “Conversational” and “fluent” are different claims.
Education
- Degree or program, institution and year (or expected year if in progress).
- Honors or GPA only if strong and recent. Many people drop GPA a few years after graduating.
- Relevant coursework only for recent graduates or career changers with little work history.
- High school only if it is your highest level of education.
If you did not finish a degree, list the program and years attended, or “coursework toward” the degree, as long as it is accurate.
Optional sections that sometimes earn a place
- Certifications and licenses: full name, issuer if useful, and date or status. Required credentials should be easy to see.
- Projects: useful for students, career changers and technical roles.
- Volunteer work: helpful if it shows relevant skills or fills a gap.
- Publications or presentations: relevant for research, academic and communications roles.
- Languages: valuable if the job benefits from them.
- Awards: recent and meaningful to the reader.
What to leave off
- Objective statements that say you want a job.
- “References available upon request.” Employers assume it.
- Reference contact details. Keep a separate list for when it is requested.
- Hobbies, unless they directly support the job.
- Salary history or expectations, unless the application specifically asks. Rules about pay questions differ by location, so check local guidance if unsure.
- Personal details that are not standard in your region.
- Outdated skills that suggest you are behind.
- Every job you have ever had. See deciding what to cut from a resume.
Length, layout and the ATS question
Many university career centers recommend one page for students and early-career candidates and allow two for people with substantial experience. Treat it as common practice: a clean two-page resume beats a crammed, tiny-font one-pager.
On software, career-center guidance commonly suggests a simple single-column layout, standard section headings and a common font, and caution about tables, text boxes, graphics and headers or footers. Applicant tracking systems differ, and it is not true that a plain layout guarantees a result, but it removes avoidable risk. Save in the file type the employer asks for. For layout that helps people skim, see making a resume read faster.
Before you send
- Name and contact details are correct and professional.
- The top third of page one shows your target role and strongest proof.
- Every job has a title, employer and consistent dates.
- Bullets start with specific verbs and include scope, tools or results.
- Skills match the post and are honest.
- Education and credentials are accurate.
- Tense is consistent, with no typos.
- The file name is clear, for example your name plus the word resume.
Keep a master version with every role, project, certification and skill, and build each submitted resume by deleting from it. Choosing from a complete set is easier than remembering what to add.
When your draft is done, run it through the resume final check.
Where this comes from
This checklist is based on resume guidance published by university career centers on standard sections, length and applicant-tracking formatting, plus common resume-writing practice. Conventions differ by country, field and employer, and they change, so follow the instructions in each application and check local norms for details such as photos and personal information. Prices, rates and limits change, so anything time-sensitive should be checked at the source.