Your resume is one of the most crucial things you need to prepare when applying for your next job. It helps you land jobs when crafted carefully. Thus, you must understand how you will highlight the different sections of your resume. In this article, we’ll dive deep into perfecting your resume headings for better structure. Knowing the different headings to include will make your resume easier to read and comprehend.
What are resume headings?
Resume headings are the individual titles of each section in your resume. It serves as the title of each section, dividing them for good structure. The number of headings may vary depending on the number of sections you want to include in your resume. So long as you intend to emphasize a specific detail about yourself, you ought to add this information under one heading.
Putting the correct resume headings can influence the overall look of your resume. This implies that how you present your career details in your resume influences how the recruiters will perceive you at one glance. Thus, strategic use of resume headings matters if you want to book that job interview.
How to write resume headings
Here are some tips in writing effective resume headings:
1. Choose the correct format.
The format you chose sets the mood of your resume. With this in mind, you should pick the suitable color scheme, fonts, and font size in your headers. Use a professional font that you will use in writing your resume. The first title in your resume is your name, so make the size bigger to emphasize it in your resume. The successive titles will be significantly smaller but still recognizable.
2. Place your career summary or professional objective.
Your career summary or professional objective will be the next section of your resume. Pick a heading—professional objective or career summary works fine depending on your level of expertise or years working.
3. Add your skill section.
Ideally, the skill section should be at the top part of your resume. Thus, putting it right after your career summary gives you the advantage to showcase your skills immediately. In picking the skill heading, think of your niche and the kind of work you do. For instance, if you are a project manager, you may add “project management skills” as the header.
4. Add a heading for your work history.
The next section is your work history. This section contains the previous work experiences and background you have. You can use “work history” as your resume heading here.
5. Follow with your educational background.
The next resume heading to have is about your educational background. You may use “educational background” or “education and training” as a header for your academic information.
6. Include a section for relevant projects or experiences outside work.
This section may vary to what kind of relevant experiences or credentials you have. You may add your certification, publication, volunteer work, and more. This information usually provides additional credentials that are relevant to your career.
7. Lastly, feature your remarkable achievements and recognition that are relevant to the job.
In this section, you can use “awards” or “professional accomplishments” as the resume heading. This section contains the recognition, professional accolades, awards, and more you can share with your potential employer. These things are usually placed at the end of your resume.
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What should you include in your resume headings?
Now that you have an idea of the structure of your resume, it’s time to know what you should and what you shouldn’t include in the resume headings.
1. Contact information section
As previously mentioned, this is the first section of your resume.
What to include:
This section should include the following information in the following order:
- Name
- Address
- Contact number
- Email address
- LinkedIn URL
- Online portfolio link
What to avoid:
- Personal information like age, gender, marital status, nationality, and more.
- Your photo, unless stated in the job posting
2. Career summary
Ensure your career summary or professional objective is concise yet compelling. You may know more about writing an effective career summary here. Two to three sentences may do the work here.
3. Skill summary section
The skill summary section must be in bullet form to make it readable and easy to break down.
What to include:
- Hard skills
- Soft skills
- Relevant skills to the position you’re applying for
What to avoid:
- Common and generic skills
- Skills that are not relevant to the position
4. Work history
This section succeeds the skill summary section. It contains the relevant experience you have in taking on the role.
What to include:
- Job, position, and project title
- Company name
- Location
- Start and end dates
- List of accomplishments
What to avoid:
- Not related work experience
- Volunteer work
5. Education background
In the education background, you’ll list your education information. For fresh graduates, it’s recommended to have this section after the skill summary.
What to include:
- Degree
- Institution
- Minors, specialization, or concentrations
- Location
- Program start and end dates
- GPA average
What to avoid:
- High school details
6. The additional headings
The additional headings mentioned above are the relevant projects done outside work and the related accolades you have. Some of the titles you may add here are:
- Scholarships, honors, and awards
- Certifications earned
- Professional affiliations
- Publications
- Additional training
What to avoid:
- Not related information to the position
These are the resume headings you need in writing a compelling resume. Knowing these will help you better structure your resume that lands you interviews. For more insightful lessons in writing an effective resume, here’s the perfect course for you: Unlocking Resumes: Your Keys to Getting Hired.
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