Resume Headings for Listing Your Experience

Writing a resume can be challenging, especially when choosing the most appropriate headings for your resume sections. The headings you choose should adequately reflect the information that is included in the section, and there are many resume headings that you can use to title each section.

Additionally, you can use more general resume headings, or you can title your sections with more role-specific or job-specific headings.

In this article, we explain what resume headings are, how to write them, what sections to include in your resume and a list of resume headings to help you format your own.

What are resume headings?

Resume headings are the titles of each section you include in your resume. The header of your resume acts as a title at the top of your resume and should contain your name and contact information. Depending on your experience, skills and other aspects of your professional background, your resume may contain several standard sections. These sections are what your headings are used for, and the way you choose to present these sections can influence the overall impact your resume has on an employer.

How to write resume headings

When writing your resume, you can create each heading to match the information that you include in the section. For instance, an entry-level candidate's resume may have an education section as the first heading rather than work or employment history. An experienced professional may have their professional summary as the first heading of their resume, especially if their work history is extensive. You can use the following steps as a guide when writing your resume headings:

1. Format your resume header.

2. Lead with your overall goal or summary.

3. Title your work or educational background.

4. Highlight your skills with a professional heading.

5. Include relevant activities or additional experience.

6. Title any additional accolades last.

1. Format your resume header

The first step to writing your headings is to format your resume header. Choose a professional font and title your first and last name with a font size that makes your name stand out. Follow your name with your contact information underneath.

2. Lead with your overall goal or summary

Next, lead with your resume objective, professional profile or career goals with an appropriate heading. For instance, recent graduates may opt for a career objective in place of a professional summary. Similarly, a veteran employee may choose to use a summary to highlight an extensive employment history.

3. Title your work or educational background

Under your objective or summary, title your work or educational background. If you are just starting in your career, you might choose to list your education first with a heading such as 'educational background' or 'education and training'.

4. Highlight your skills with a professional heading

Then, follow your educational and professional backgrounds with your relevant skills. Depending on your career field, you might choose to use a resume heading that reflects the industry you work in. For instance, a software developer might use the resume heading 'software development skills' for their resume heading.

5. Include relevant activities or additional experience

If you have relevant projects, publications, additional experience in your field or other evidence that further highlights your skills, you can choose a resume heading that details this section. For instance, if you are an active volunteer for a specific organization, you might include a 'volunteer work' section.

6. Title any additional accolades last

Finally, include any awards, professional accolades and other formal recognitions last. Depending on the nature of the award, you might choose a common resume heading such as 'awards' or 'professional accomplishments'. However, if your award is irrelevant to the job, you might omit this heading entirely.

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Related: How to Write a Resume Headline

What to include in a resume

When you write your resume, you should be sure to include several important sections. Typically, resumes include at least four crucial elements that you can use to highlight your fit for the job. The following sections are commonly included in a resume:

Introductory header

Your resume should start with an introductory header with your first and last name, your phone number and your email address. Be sure to use an appropriate email address that looks and sounds professional. You can use your name in a variety of formats, like your first initial and last name.

You might even consider creating a new email account with a professional name if you don't already have one. Additionally, you can also include your website if you have one and if it showcases your skills that relate to the job you're applying to. Otherwise, your basic contact information is enough in the header.

Resume section headings

You should also format the headings of your resume to include your objective or professional profile, your work history, education, skills and any awards, volunteer participation or other accolades. Depending on the position you are applying to, it can be a good idea to include only the most relevant sections in your resume. These headings include your objective, employment history, education and skills.

Read more: 6 Universal Rules for Resume Writing

Commonly used resume headings

When you write your resume, you can use several different heading options to label each section. For instance, some resumes may label the work section as "Employment history", while others say "Work experience". The way you word your headings should be clear and follow the general resume outline of providing information about your employment, academics and relevant skills.

You might also choose to include a resume objective rather than a resume summary, as a resume objective can show what you bring to a job while a summary simply sums up what's included in your resume. The following section headings and titles can give you an idea of how to label each section of your resume:

• Headings for resume objectives, profiles, summaries and goals

• Headings for employment, work and professional experience

• Academic, education and training resume headings

• Resume headings for highlighting skills and expertise

• Additional resume headings and titles

Headings for resume objectives, profiles, summaries and goals

The following resume headings can be used for your resume objective, career goals, summary or profile:

• Objective

• Resume summary

• Resume objective

• Career objective

• Career goals

• Personal statement

• Professional profile

• Professional summary

• Professional objective

Headings for employment, work and professional experience

You might consider the following resume headings for the professional experience section of your resume:

• Work history

• Employment history

• Work experience

• Employment experience

• Employment

• Professional experience

• Professional background

• Military background

• Military experience

• Internships (for job internships)

• Paid internships

• Work internships

• Professional internships

• Employment background

Related: Listing Professional Experience on Your Resume

Academic, education and training resume headings

The following academic headings can help you title this section of your resume:

• Academics

• Academic experience

• Education

• Educational background

• Degrees

• Major

• Minor

• Honors, awards, scholarships or accolades

• Internships

• Student internship

• Apprenticeships

• Educational training

• Education and training

• Certifications

• Professional development

• Academic training

• Academic achievements

• Academic coursework

• College activities

• Practicums

Learn more: How to List Education on a Resume

Resume headings for highlighting skills and expertise

Depending on the skills you highlight, the following resume headings can be used for this section:

• Skills

• Professional skills

• Computer skills

• Technical skills

• Administrative skills

• Job-specific skills

• Soft skills

• Hard skills

• Additional skills

• Skills and expertise

• Areas of expertise

• Additional experience

• Related experience

• Related skills

• Academic skills

Related: The Best Job Skills to Make Your Resume Stand Out

Additional resume headings and titles

The following resume headings can be used for including additional information that's relevant to the job:

• Activities

• Extracurricular activities

• Organizations

• Volunteer experience

• Volunteer work

• Professional groups

• Professional organizations

• Publications

• Presentations

• Professional presentations

• Credentials

• Research projects

• Research grants

• Fellowships