What a Resume Is and How to Write Your Own

Contact information
The first section is the header with your contact information. When you use a resume builder like the one from ResumeNerd, this header is going to be part of the design scheme of your resume. The header includes your phone number and social media profiles like LinkedIn. It also includes your full name, which will typically be in a slightly larger font.

Resume summary
Next is your resume summary or resume objective. This is a 2-3 sentence paragraph at the very top of the resume that highlights your key achievements. The difference between a resume summary and a resume objective is that a resume summary simply summarizes your work history and skills, while a resume objective also puts forth an objective that you’re hoping to present to a potential employer.

Skills
Your skills section should typically be a list of bullet points describing the skills that help you fit into the job market. This should include a number of relevant skills, typically anywhere between 5-12, depending on your resume format. Remember to include both soft skills and hard skills, although the ratio between the two may vary depending on the industry you’re in.

Work experience
Most of the time, your work experience section should be the largest section on your resume. This is where you include all of your professional experience – usually all relevant experience from the last 10 years, which can include internships, volunteer work, and sometimes even academic experience as long as it’s relevant to the job you want. Regardless of your resume format, list your work experience in reverse-chronological order, with the most recent and most relevant jobs first.

Education
Last is the education section. Here, you should include any college experience you have, as well as relevant coursework and certifications. If you have no college experience, include the high school you graduated from. Most resume writing experts suggest not to include your GPA, but you can include other school honors, like cum laude or the Dean’s List if you achieved them.