Resume Sections

Contact Information

• This section typically includes your name, home address, and contact information (phone, email) and links to your LinkedIn profile, online portfolios, or websites (if applicable).
• Including an address is optional, however it is suggested to include your address when you’re applying for local positions and it is suggested to remove your address if you are looking for jobs in different cities or countries.
• Your phone number should lead to a voicemail message and your voicemail message should indicate to an employer what number they have reached.
• Your email address should reflect your professional image, which is usually some combination of your first and last name or initials, avoid using a humorous or inappropriate email address.

Profile

• This section is a brief 2-3 sentence summary of your qualifications and experience as they relate to your overall job goal or job posting for which you are applying to.
• The profile can be written in point form or a short paragraph or it can be a combination of both. Highlighting the number of years’ experience or the program you are studying will give you a robust introduction.
• This section can also emphasize personal skills requested in the job posting (e.g. adaptable, innovative, quick learner, positive etc.).
• Many of you may be more familiar with the Objective Statement. Although this may have been appropriate when seeking interim employment, employers seem to prefer the Profile to the Objective at a career-level search as it focuses more on what a candidate can contribute, rather than just stating what they want.

Summary of Qualifications

This section:

• Highlights related professional skills and experiences that you have gained through studies, work, and volunteer activities.
• Includes relevant soft skills, for example, interpersonal, communication, organizational, problem solving, leadership, and teamwork skills and how or where you demonstrated them.
• Includes required or asset certifications, for example, First Aid, WHMIS, Health and Safety, etc.
• Uses information from learning outcomes and course outlines to reflect professional skills gained during studies.
• Positions and prioritizes points to match the posting (order of importance from employer’s viewpoint).
• Uses keywords from the job posting and the occupation specific language/terminology.
• Lists computer skills and other technical skills relevant to your field.
• Does not include skills/knowledge that cannot be supported by examples.

Education

• In this section, include a list of your education, including Diplomas/Degrees/Certificates, the year in which you obtained them, or the dates in which you are currently completing them, the school you attended, and the locations.
• You can include information on post-secondary courses as well, even if you haven’t completed them, simply identify the start and end dates.
• Furthermore, you can continue to include your secondary school information if you have not previously completed post-secondary.
• Information on relevant courses or notable GPAs can be included as a bullet point underneath. Ensure that you indicate what your GPA is out of, for example, 3.5/4.0, as different schools have varying scales.
• Lastly, if you are in a career transition and your education is not related to your current goal or your education over qualifies you, you can consider calling this section “Related Education” and provide only the education that is pertinent to the job requirements.

Work Experience

• In this section, list your work experience in reverse chronological order (most recent information first), stating the job title, company name, and dates clearly and visibly.
• Under each entry, your job descriptions should be written effectively with the use of action verbs, emphasis on accomplishments, and with the right amount of detail, about 4-7 bullets per each job.

Additional Experience Section Considerations

• If you have relevant academic and applied projects, work or clinical placements, co-op, part-time, and summer and volunteer jobs, you can consider separating your work experience into “Related Experience” and “Other Experience.” The “Related Experience” would be presented first and would make a stronger connection to your current job goal. If you don’t necessarily have experience that relates, you can simply place all of your experience under “Work Experience.”

Other Possible Resume Sections Include:

• Volunteer Experience
• Certifications
• Professional Development or Training
• Awards
• Memberships
• Activities