A resume functions as a professional marketing document designed to secure a job interview. Following a standardized structure ensures clarity for human reviewers and compatibility with automated screening tools (ATS). ATS scan documents for specific fields and keywords, so a well-organized format is necessary for a candidate to progress past the initial digital filter. Understanding the standard components allows job seekers to present their qualifications effectively.
Contact Information and Professional Header
The professional header is the first section a hiring manager sees, providing immediate identification and contact details. This area must feature the full legal name, a reliable phone number, and a professional email address. Modern standards also require including a direct link to a professional networking profile, such as LinkedIn.
Candidates should omit personal information irrelevant to the job function, such as date of birth or marital status. While a full street address is unnecessary, listing the current city and state is acceptable for geographic context.
The Resume Opening Statement
Immediately following the header, the opening statement serves as the document’s elevator pitch, summarizing qualifications and capturing the reader’s attention. The Career Summary is best suited for experienced professionals, offering two to four lines that highlight tenure, major accomplishments, and industry expertise. The Professional Profile blends this summary with a short, bulleted list of high-value skills, making it versatile for candidates across various experience levels.
The Objective statement, while historically common, is now rarely used except for entry-level candidates or those undergoing a career change. This format focuses on the candidate’s goals for the role rather than past achievements. Regardless of the chosen format, this introductory paragraph must be tailored to the specific job description by incorporating relevant keywords.
Professional Experience and Employment History
This section is the core of the resume, providing verifiable evidence of a candidate’s work history and professional impact. Entries must be presented in reverse chronological order, beginning with the most recent or current role. Each entry requires four distinct pieces of information: the company name, its location, the official job title, and the precise dates of employment.
The content beneath each job title must move beyond merely listing daily duties or responsibilities. High-impact resumes focus on achievement-based statements that quantify success and demonstrate measurable value. This requires employing the Action-Result-Metric (ARM) approach to structure bullet points effectively.
The ARM approach starts with a strong action verb, describes the task or project, and concludes with a measurable result or metric that proves the impact. For example, a statement should read, “Spearheaded new content strategy that increased audience engagement by 45% over six months.” Quantifying results with percentages, dollar amounts, or time savings provides tangible proof of capability.
Education and Credentials
The Education section details a candidate’s formal academic background and specialized training. Required information includes the full name of the degree obtained, the institution’s name, its location, and the year of graduation or expected completion date. Relevant certifications or specialized training programs should also be included here.
If a candidate is a recent graduate, this section should be placed near the top to highlight academic achievements. For experienced professionals, however, it moves toward the bottom. Grade Point Averages (GPA) should only be included if they are high and the candidate is within five years of graduation.
Key Skills and Competencies
This section is essential for ensuring the resume passes through the initial ATS screening process, as it is a prime area for keyword optimization. Skills should be presented in clear, easily scannable formats, often grouped into distinct categories.
Hard Skills represent quantifiable, technical abilities, such as proficiency in specific software programs or foreign language fluency. Soft Skills are interpersonal traits that describe how a candidate works with others. Examples include leadership ability, communication effectiveness, and problem-solving aptitude.
While soft skills are less quantifiable, they are highly valued by hiring managers for predicting workplace success. The specific mix of skills listed should always reflect the requirements mentioned in the job posting.
Optional and Supplementary Sections
Supplementary sections allow candidates to provide additional context and depth when standard experience is limited or highly specialized. They are beneficial for recent graduates, career changers, or professionals in technical and creative fields. Organizing this content into distinct sub-sections prevents the document from becoming cluttered.
Projects and Portfolios
This section is useful for demonstrating practical application of skills, detailing personal or academic work that showcases specific technical proficiency in the absence of paid experience.
Awards, Honors, and Recognition
These sections provide evidence of exceptional achievement and high performance, lending credibility to the candidate’s professional claims.
Volunteer Experience and Affiliations
These activities should be included when they directly relate to the target job’s required skills or industry. These entries help illustrate commitment and specialized knowledge outside of a traditional employment structure.