Additional Information You Can Include on Your Resume

Your resume is a concise document that describes the work experience, professional skills and education that qualify you for a job. However, some employers may be interested in additional data that can help them understand your personality and ambitions. An additional information section on your resume can include activities and pursuits outside of work that will help a prospective employer know you better.

In this article, we review the different types of additional information you can add to your resume to help hiring managers better assess your qualifications.

Related: How To Write a Resume Employers Will Notice

What is additional information on your resume?

Additional information is any relevant skills, qualifications or characteristics that can round out your work experience with life experience and shows you are an inquisitive and curious person who pursues outside passions and can show unique energy at work. The sections and items you include may also help you stand out from other job applicants.

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Types of additional information to include on your resume

It’s useful to tailor additional information to the job you are applying for so it appears both relevant and interesting to an interviewer. Here are some additional information categories you might include on your resume:

• Certifications and licenses

• Training or continuing education

• Skills

• Special awards or commendations

• Publications

• Testimonials from clients

• Job performance reviews

• Hobbies

• Languages spoken

• Charity or volunteer work

Certifications and licenses

Some industries mandate current certifications to even be considered for employment. If that is your field, a separate certification category can make it easy for an interviewer to scan your resume and find your current licenses and certifications quickly. If you have a non-mandatory certification as part of your personal professional development, you can explain the organization issuing the certification and what coursework and testing it required.

Example certifications section

Certifications

• CPCE: Certified Professional in Catering and Events, 2019

• BSI Catering Certification, 2019, issued by BSI America

• ServSafe Food Handler Certification, 2019

Example licenses section

Licenses

• Massachusetts State Bar, 2015

Related: Impress Recruiters With These Desirable Professional Certifications

Training or continuing education

Over the course of your career, you may take on new roles and responsibilities as part of your job. Your company may offer on-the-job training, but you can also pursue continuing education or training seminars to show initiative. For example, if you have taken classes at your local community college to learn new software or completed a human resources seminar over a weekend, you can list those to show your willingness to stretch your abilities and learn as much as you can.

Example training or continuing education section

Continuing Education Credits

• Advanced Workshop for IT Managers, IT Institute of America, July 2019, Minneapolis, Minnesota.

• Notary Public Course, City Community College, April 2019, Chicago, Illinois: Certificate of Completion.

Skills

Some of your skills will be covered in your work experience, but it may be worth listing out skills like proficiency in common specific computer software programs, task management, design or software specific to your field. In this section, you could also highlight your soft skills like management, leadership or business administration.

Example skills section

Skills

• Proficient in Office Suite, Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop
  
  Daily use of each program to create task-managing spreadsheets for projects, letters and training documents, company literature and informational documents
  

• Excellent event-planning skills
  
  Planned and facilitated a leadership training seminar for 50 colleagues over the course of two days, including team-building activities, breakout sessions, catered meals and a keynote speaker.

Related: 10 Best Skills To Include on a Resume

Special awards or commendations

Many industries motivate job performance with awards and commendations. You can show your diligence and hard work by listing your awards and possibly a brief description of how you earned them in case the description is not clear to someone outside your company. Recent awards are likely to have more impact than those from years ago, especially those that directly correlate to the job description. 

You may cite awards within your work experience or in a separate section, particularly if you have a sizable list. If you have a professional portfolio, you may include a copy of any certificates or awards to show if called upon.

Example awards section

Awards

• Top Regional Salesperson for 1st Quarter 2019

• Employee of the Month, July 2019, Green Marketing Company: for consistently meeting deadlines and bringing a yearlong project to its completion

Example awards included in work experience

Marketing Coordinator — Green Marketing Company, 2018-Present

• Lead a team of marketing specialists to plan and execute quarterly marketing campaigns for clients in the retail industry

• Conducted market research, including customer surveys and consumer panels

• Awarded Employee of the Month, July 2019, for consistently meeting deadlines and bringing a yearlong project to successful completion

Related: Listing Accomplishments on Your Resume (With Examples)

Publications

A list of your publications can show a particular work ethic. Many industries have respected journals and publications catered toward the professionals in the field, and your published works can help a hiring manager learn a lot about your writing style, interests, academic research or technical skills. 

You can include links to relevant work in an electronic version of your resume. On a paper resume, type your name, the title of your piece, date or volume of issue and the URL if it is not too long. You may keep copies of the work in your portfolio for easy access.

Example publications section

Publications

• Smith, Jane A. “Home Away From Home.” The California Review, August 2019.

• Smith, Jane A. and Harold Jones. “A Study of Workplace Ethics.” Business Journal, Volume 15, Summer 2019.

Testimonials from clients

Thoughtful testimonials show how clients perceive your work and what makes you a uniquely qualified candidate. Careers in service industries may benefit most from a client testimonial since their happiness is one of the criteria by which you measure your success. You can put an “Endorsements” section or add testimonials as a part of or after job descriptions.

Example testimonials section

Client Testimonials

• Recognized by a recent bride for providing “interesting and delicious” menu recommendations that fit her budget.

• “I never had to wait over two hours to get a response to my questions. It helped me cross things off my wedding planning checklist quickly and easily.” – former bridal client on timely and effective communication

• “Everyone at my wedding said the food was the best they had ever tasted, and I agree! She packed up a basket with leftovers that my husband and I took on our honeymoon. She provided many thoughtful touches and we are thrilled we hired her for our wedding.” – formal bridal client on local caterer expertise

Job performance reviews

When you receive compliments or praise for work in a performance review or from managers upon the completion of a project, you can implement their words into the bullet points in your work experience section. Their language gives you specifics to help with your descriptions.

Example performance review section

Performance Review Feedback

Bounce Creative, May 2017

• Used excellent team leadership and adhered to strict deadlines to make the company’s annual conference successful

• Demonstrated consistent high-quality work per client surveys

• Achieved perfect attendance and punctuality for three consecutive quarters

Hobbies

You can describe hobbies when they show a good fit for the work culture of the company. Start by studying the job description and then decide if your interests would enhance your work. If you are applying for a position as an art educator for children at a community center, hobbies like photography or pottery will show you spend your free time on artistic endeavors. Listing how you take part regularly in a community sports league shows teamwork and cooperation skills. 

Example hobbies and interests section

Hobbies

• Coach for my son’s team in a community basketball league

• Freelance wedding photographer

• Member of a weekly fiction writing workshop, I love to write fiction, sharing my work and providing fellow writers feedback

Related: Interview Question: “What Are Your Hobbies and Interests?”

Language proficiency

If you are bilingual or speak another language reasonably well, it can be a valuable asset for serving the clients of that business and show your capacity for learning. Be honest in describing your fluency level. This data could fit well under the Skills field or you could highlight it independently, especially if you speak multiple other languages and fluency is especially relevant to your job. Choose one rating scale and describe your proficiency relative to the others.

Example language proficiency section

Languages

• Spanish, Full Professional Proficiency

• Chinese, Limited Working Proficiency

or

Languages

• Arabic, Fluent

• French, Intermediate

Charity or volunteer work

Volunteer work can help show skills you have developed outside work that make you a good fit for a job, particularly in industries where outreach and empathy are valued. They also can help fill any employment gaps on your resume with meaningful experiences. You can list these experiences in your professional experience section if they are ongoing or separately if you have done multiple one-time events.

Example volunteer experience section

Volunteer Work

• Helped build three Habitat for Humanity Houses over the past year

• Coordinated a canned food drive through my children’s elementary school

• Organized an annual blood drive at my church for the last three years

Related: Guide To Listing Volunteer Work on a Resume (With Examples)

How to list additional information on a resume

After you have assembled the most vital parts of your resume—your objective, your professional summary, your job experience and your education—decide what other aspects of your life you want to mention on your resume. Some reasons you might add additional information include to:

1. Fill gaps in employment history

If you have any periods of time where you were not employed, consider adding volunteer experiences, certifications earned or training and continuing education completed showing you remained dedicated to your professional development. Hobbies or additional pursuits may also help you show continued personal development.

2. Add more to a limited experience resume

You may have limited work experience if you are a student, entry-level candidate or transitioning from one career to another. You can lengthen your resume with additional information to ensure prospective employers understand the many elements that make you a qualified candidate regardless of years of experience.

3. Demonstrate personal characteristics and qualities

Some positions may warrant including hobbies, volunteer work and other professional development to show qualities such as commitment, dedication, loyalty, empathy and compassion.

4. Highlight qualifications required by an employer

Review the job description to find any specific skills, qualities or experiences the employer prefers or requires. You can use your additional information sections to include that information. Those may include certifications and licenses and opportunities where certain skills were used.

5. Expand on work experience

Other aspects of your life may prepare you for employment, like volunteer work for a non-profit job or tutoring if you want to be a teacher. Additional information like these and others may show additional training and qualifications that other candidates may not possess.

6. Show additional relevant qualifications

Even if a job description does not mention a specific qualification, some elements of a work environment or role may be improved with certain additional skills. These may include language skills that equip you for work in a specific geographical area or training in specific software.

7. Demonstrate workplace excellence

Though some employers may require you to submit references, including performance reviews, client testimonials and awards can quickly show an overview of your accomplishments to complement what your references can say about you.

8. Show professional development

While work history can show a progression of personal and professional growth, including training, awards and other additional information can further show how you’ve refined your skills.