What Should I Include On My Resume?

Your resume is the first impression you’ll likely make on a potential employer.

The point of a resume is to give a quick preview of your qualifications, experience, skills, and achievements as they pertain to the specific job to which you are applying.

Many candidates forget that the goal of a resume is to show the specific employer how your background and experience matches up to the job you’re applying for, which is why there is not (unfortunately) a one size fits all resume that you can use when applying for jobs.

While it can be tiring to format and design a resume from scratch, and keeping tabs on what makes a good resume template can be time consuming, we’ve come up with a few best practices to give you the best chance at creating a job-winning resume template.

Here are the most important things that you need on your resume.

Contact information so you can get a call back

This includes your full name, phone number and email address. At a minimum, ensure that your voicemail message and email address are professional - “[email protected]” or “Heyheyheyyyyy, leave a message for your bro” are no no’s! As an option, you could include your LinkedIn profile, portfolio/website link or your address.

Resume summary/objective helps set the tone

The summary area is a place where you can highlight your skills and previous experiences in one sentence, and highlight your goals and why the specific job is a great fit for you. This section should be customized for every job you apply for.

Professional experience is critical - so make sure you show off your stuff

You should list your work experience in reverse chronological order, starting with your most recent job first. Make sure to include the job title, company name, location and employment dates (at least the year, if not the month and year). Then, add a list of key responsibilities and accomplishments in 2-3 bullet points, focusing on what you did, why you did it and what result was obtained.

Include your education

Just like with your professional experience, list your educational background in reverse chronological order, so your most recent degree first. Make sure to include the name of the school, the degree(s) you received, your major/field of study and dates of study. As an option, you can add awards or honors.

Add relevant skills - but really, only relevant ones!

A skills section should list the specific skills that you have and that align with the job you’re seeking. Again, this must be done for every job for which you apply.
It is helpful if you categorize different types of skills - for example, technical skills, language proficiencies, publications, awards, etc.

Don't worry about including references

Your resume should only be a page - at most, two - long. You can note that references are available upon request, but don’t waste valuable space listing references. Those can come later.
Customize your resume for each job application by emphasizing the most relevant experiences and skills for the specific position. Tailoring your resume to the job description increases your chances of getting past the ATS and catching your potential employer's attention.