What to Put on a Resume: The Essential Sections (and What to Leave Off)

A resume has a standard anatomy. Once you know which sections are essential, which are optional, and which don't belong at all, building one stops being guesswork. This is the map — what to include, what to cut, and where each piece goes.

The Essential Sections

Every resume needs these, in roughly this order:

• Contact information — name, phone, professional email, LinkedIn, and city (no full street address required).
• Headline and/or summary — a one-line title and a 2–3 line pitch at the top. See how to write a resume headline and resume summary vs. objective.
• Work experience — reverse-chronological, with achievements and metrics, not just duties. This is the core of most resumes.
• Skills — relevant hard skills and tools, mirroring the job description.
• Education — degree, school, and year; details depend on your stage. See how to list education.

If you have to cut for space, cut from everything except a strong experience section.

Optional Sections (Add When They Help)

These earn a place only when they support your candidacy:

• Certifications — especially when they're a job requirement. See how to list certifications.
• Projects — valuable for students, career changers, and technical roles.
• Languages — a real asset for global and customer-facing roles. See how to list languages.
• Volunteer experience — fills gaps and shows skills. See how to list volunteer work.
• Interests — only when specific and relevant. See hobbies and interests on a resume.

The test for each: does it help you get this job? If not, leave it off.

What to Leave Off

Some things actively hurt a resume in most markets (US/UK/Canada/Australia):

• A photo — invites bias and breaks ATS parsing.
• Date of birth, age, marital status, gender — irrelevant and risky.
• References — "available upon request" isn't needed; provide them when asked.
• Every job you've ever had — keep it to the last 10–15 years.
• Current or expected salary — that's a negotiation, not a resume line.
• Generic objectives and buzzwords — see resume buzzwords to cut.

(Norms differ internationally — some countries do expect a photo or personal details. Match the local convention.)

How to Order the Sections

Order signals what you want read first:

• Students / recent grads: contact → summary → education → experience/projects → skills.
• Experienced professionals: contact → summary → experience → skills → education.
• Career changers: contact → summary → skills/transferable strengths → experience → education.

Lead with whatever is your strongest evidence for the target role.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the must-have sections on a resume?

Contact information, a headline or summary, work experience, skills, and education. Work experience is the core; everything else supports it. Optional sections like certifications, projects, and languages are added only when relevant.

What should you not put on a resume?

A photo, date of birth or age, marital status, references, salary expectations, every old job, and generic buzzwords. In most Western markets these add risk or clutter without helping (local norms vary).

What order should resume sections go in?

Put your strongest evidence first. Recent grads often lead with education; experienced professionals lead with work experience. A summary and headline go at the very top, with skills and education positioned by relevance.

Do I need an objective on my resume?

Usually a summary serves you better than an objective. Reserve an objective for cases where your goal needs explaining — an entry-level pivot or relocation. See our guide on summaries vs. objectives.

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A resume is only as strong as its structure — the right sections, in the right order, with nothing wasting space. PrismResume gives you a clean, correctly-ordered template with exactly the sections you need (and none you don't), then exports an ATS-readable PDF — so you can focus on the content while the structure takes care of itself.

Prefer starting from a ready layout? Browse the resume templates on PrismResume and edit one online.