Resume sections for each type of job seeker (with examples!) | Blue green (2023)

If you want to land your next interview quickly, a stylish and professional CV is not a luxury; it is absolutely necessary. Additionally, with all the free resume builder tools at your disposal, the expectation is higher than ever that you provide personalized application materials that are tailored to the specific role, manager and company.

But with all these free tools, creating a resume is still not as easy as you might think.

Long gaps in your work history, lack of experience, education or drastic career changes can make it difficult to know which parts of your CV to focus on (and where should they be placed!).

In this article, we'll break down the question most job seekers ask when putting together a resume: "Wait, which part goes where and why?"

3 key conclusions from the post

• Which CV parts should you have on your CV
• Does the order of your resume sections matter?
• How to useTeal CV builderto create one that is tailored to your experience

Which CV parts should you have on your CV?

A resume usually has a combination of some (or all) of the following elements:

• Contact information
• Target title
• Professional summary
• Work experience
• Education
• Certificates
• Skills
• Hobbies and interests
• Project

Many of them end up in all CVs (contact, target title, professional summary, etc.). However, in some cases, you must choose whether to include some optional parts of the resume (such as certifications, projects, etc.).

The best answer to this ultimately depends on the role you are building your CV for, what your experience looks like and how much experience you have.

700+ detailed resume examples and guidelines

If you're reading this as an introduction before you start building, we recommend you explore ourExamples of CV for 2023which we manually prepared around different roles. Browse over 700 to find the right samples to help you with your resume.

Let's look at each of these sections in more detail.

1. Contact information

Your contact details must be at the top of your CV. You want employers to have easy access to your contact information to get in touch with you for an interview. This section should include:

• Full name
• Phone number
• Professional email address
• LinkedIn profile (optional)

Many people think that you have to provide your physical address, but it is not necessary. Your email address and phone number are more than enough for any hiring manager to contact you.

Adding your LinkedIn profile can be a good strategy as long as your profile is ready to be seen. If you need help, check it outTealas LinkedIn-profilanmelder. This will give your profile a new look, making you more desirable to hiring managers!

2. Target title

The target title is a short one-line description of the role you are applying for. This section helps potential employers understand your career goals and match your resume to the specific job you are applying for. It is also a quick reference for your resume objective (tj.Tell the hiring manager immediately which position you are applying for).

For example, your target title could be "Marketing Coordinator" or "Developer".

3. Academic summary

A professional summary is a short paragraph that highlights your key skills, experience and achievements. It is a snapshot of your qualifications and helps recruiters understand your potential value to their organization.

Keep this section focused on the specific job you are applying for and tailor it to the requirements listed in the job posting.

4. Professional experience

Your work experience section is the heart of your CV. This will tell hiring managers if you have the necessary experience to do the job you are applying for.

You will most likely want to list your work history in reverse chronological order, starting with your last position.

For each role, include the following:

• Jobtitel
• Company name
• Place
• Employment dates (month and year)
• A brief description of your responsibilities and your results

And when you list your accomplishments, usemeasurable achievementsto highlight your influence, such as "Increased sales by 20% by doing x"or"Reduced project completion time by 15% by implementing y."

The goal is to show your hiring manager that you can do more than just "talk the talk." Instead, you have proven in the past that you are a valuable asset to teams.

5. Education

uEducation section of your resume, state your relevant academic qualifications, including degree obtained, name of institution and date of completion. If you're a recent graduate, consider adding your GPA (if above 3.0) and any relevant courses or extracurriculars you earned while in school.

6. Certificates

Certifications are valuable to your resume. They demonstrate your commitment to professional development and expertise in specific skills or industries.

Include anyrelevantcertificates together with the organization that issued them and the date of receipt.

7. Skills

The Skills section of your CV is an opportunity to highlight your most relevant and in-demand skills for the job you are applying for. Remember to include the right mix of hard skills (such as programming languages ​​or data analysis) and soft skills (such as communication, teamwork or problem solving).

You'll want to tailor this section to the job posting, focusing on the skills most applicable to the role.

Use Teal's Skills Database for freeSkills Workbookto identify your current skills and the potential skills you wish to acquire. Once you've identified them, enter them into Teal's Skill Identifier.

8. Renter

Adding an Interests section will show your personality and set your resume apart from others. List a few hobbies or activities you enjoy outside of work, especially those that demonstrate transferable skills or align with the company culture.

However, keep this section short and avoid controversial or polarizing topics.

UseWorkbook for intereststo help you identify the things that make you happy.

9. project

If you have completed significant projects relevant to the job you are applying for, consider adding a projects section. This includes academic, freelance or personal projects that demonstrate your skills and abilities.

Be sure to include a brief description of the project, your role, and any measurable results or achievements.

Now that we know what sections to include in your resume, it's time to figure out the best way to structure them.

Does the order of the resume section matter?

Unfortunately, there is no "one-size-fits-all" answer to how your CV should be structured. It all depends on the job, your personal experience, education and the role you are applying for.

In many cases, a reverse chronological resume format will work. This typically distributes the information as follows:

1. Contact information
2. Target title
3. Professional summary
4. Work experience
5. Education
6. Certificates
7. Skills
8. Project
9. Interest

But sometimes there can bebetter options than reverse chronological order.

You can come back from a long career break, just leave school or change careers completely, so your professional history is not irrelevant to your desired roles.

In these cases, you may need to change the format of your resume.

Now let's focus on what resume sections to include when the traditional format won't work.

What parts should you put in a CV (without experience)

Resume sections for career pivoters

If you plan to change industries or jobs, your resume should be tailored to highlight yourtransferable skillsand experiences that are relevant to your new position.

This means that instead of a traditional business CV, you need onefunctionalor a hybrid resume format. This will allow you to group your experience by skill or subject, making it easier for potential employers to identify your relevant qualifications.

These CVs contain the following sections:

• Contact information
• Professional summary
• Skills
• Certificates
• Work experience
• Education

Here's a good example of what your resume might look like when you change careers:

Note that it places the Professional Summary, Skills, and Certification sections before any relevant volunteer or internship experience you may have in your field.

Bonus: Remember, the structure of your CV is important, but so is the content. Try these tips to better highlight your transferable skills on your resume:

• Personalize your professional resume:Use a professional resume to demonstrate your transferable skills and experience. Be sure to communicate how these transferable skills directly apply to the position you are applying for.

• Present relevant projects or side gigs:If you've completed projects, side gigs, or volunteer work related to your new career, include a projects section on your resume. Briefly describe each project, your role and any measurable results or achievements.

• Include professional development and certification:Include any relevant professional development courses, workshops or certifications you have completed in a separate section of your resume. This demonstrates your commitment to staying current with industry trends and developing new skills.

The trick is to convey how relevant skills from your previous work experience can be applied to your future professional challenges.

With Teal, you can actually write the main parts of your resume using generative artificial intelligence:

This allows you to break through the blank page and create better resumes in less time.

Sign up for your free Teal account today!

CV sections for new students

As a recent graduate, you may be concerned about yourlimited work experiencewhen entering the labor market. But your CV can still effectively showcase your skills, education and achievements to help you land your first job.

For this, you will probably want to use a functional resume format. They focus more on your overall skills and experience rather than a timeline of your work history.

Functional resumes often have the following sections:

• Contact information
• Professional summary
• Education
• Skills
• Work history (if applicable)
• Volunteering

Feel free to list relevant courses, academic projects or other activities that demonstrate your skills and knowledge relevant to the job.

For more information on creating a functional resume, check out this helpful guide:Functional vs. chronological resumes.

But applying for new jobs can be daunting, especially when you're just entering the workforce and have never been through the application process before.

Consider the following tips to help you create a resume that will at least make you question it:

1. Focus on your education:As a recent graduate, your education is one of your most valuable assets. Place your education section at the top of your resume, right after your professional summary.

2. Internship and part-time jobs:If you have completed or held part-time jobs during your studies, include them in the work experience section.

3. Voluntary work and leisure activities:Volunteering and extracurricular activities can help you demonstrate your industry commitment, leadership and teamwork skills.

4. Part of skills:As a recent graduate, you may have acquired a variety of skills through classes, internships, or extracurricular activities.

5. Recognitions and awards:If you received any academic honors, scholarships, or awards during college, include a section on your resume to highlight those accomplishments.

Although you may not have spent much "time in the trenches" in your field, you may find yourself at an advantage. Some hiring managers are happy to bring in new talent that they don't need to retrain.

What parts should you put in your CV (various experiences)

Resume sections for entry-level job seekers

You may be wondering how to put together a resume that effectively showcases your skills and potential to employers as an entry-level job seeker. Even with limited work experience, a CV can help you stand out in the job market.

Let's start with the type of resume you're likely to want.

If you have some work experience (even just a year or two), you will probably choosehybridCV format. This combines your limited work history with functional skills to show you have what it takes to work for the company.

A hybrid resume is likely to have the following sections:

• Contact information
• Professional summary
• Skills
• Work history (include internships or volunteer work here)
• Education
• Certificates (if applicable)

Here's an example of a hybrid resume format with someone who has a few years of experience but may need to take on an entry-level role if they change companies:

In some cases, you may have no work experience. To that, afunctionalorbased on skillsa CV would be appropriate (as we have seen for recent graduates).

But when putting together your first CV, keep the following in mind:

• Get started with a professional summary:A professional resume is a great way to introduce yourself to potential employers and express where you are in your career. Use it to explain your passion for the industry and how you hope to contribute to the company in a few sentences.

• Focus on internships, part-time jobs and voluntary work:Any internships, part-time jobs, or volunteer work you've completed can help you demonstrate your ability to apply your skills in real-world situations. Be sure to frame each of these experiences in a way that relates them to the role you are applying for.

• Skills section:Your skills section is an opportunity to highlight your technical and soft skills relevant to the job.

And remember: this is the hardest resume you'll ever have to write. As you progress in your career, you will add more experience to strengthen your application in the future.

Resume sections for mid-level professionals and experienced professionals

At this stage of the game, you have some professional experience with concrete results for it. For mid-level and experienced professionals, a traditional reverse chronological format is typically used to show their career path and relevant work experience.

This format highlights your recent positions and achievements and highlights your growth and expertise. Here are the sections you will need:

• Contact information
• Professional or CV summary
• Work experience
• Education
• Skills
• Certificates and professional development
• Projects or results

Here is an example of a resume in reverse chronological order:

But applying for roles at higher levels can get competitive. Therefore, you should follow these three tips when putting together your CV:

1. Emphasize management and management experience

As a mid- to senior-level professional, emphasize your leadership and management skills. Demonstrate your experience leading teams, leading projects and driving strategic initiatives.

2. Quantify results and impact

To demonstrate the tangible results of your work, quantify your achievements wherever possible. Include metrics in percentages and concrete numbers to show your impact in previous roles.

Name e.g. the percentage of sales increase you achieved, cost savings you implemented or the number of clients you managed. Quantifying your performance helps recruiters and hiring managers understand the value you can bring to their organization.

3. Emphasize strategic thinking and problem solving skills

Employers are looking for experts who can think strategically and solve complex problems at middle and higher levels. Highlight your ability to analyze situations, develop innovative solutions and make data-driven decisions. Include examples of critical projects or challenges you have successfully tackled and demonstrate your problem-solving skills and strategic thinking.

4. Demonstrate industry knowledge and thought leadership

As a seasoned professional, it is important to demonstrate your industry knowledge and thought leadership. List any industry-specific certifications, publications, or presentations you've attended. Highlight your involvement in professional associations or conferences. This demonstrates your commitment to following industry trends and your expertise in the field.

So far, we've seen the resume sections you need for career leaders, graduates, and professionals at all stages of their careers.

Now let's turn our attention to the nuts and bolts of the problem:how to revive that resume.

How to create a resume that is structured for your career

The best way to create a CV structured according to your job is withTeal's resume builder.

Step One: Sign up for Teal

Signing up for Teal is a simple and quick process. To start a free trial, justclick this link and start now (free).

Step two: Write your resume

Go to the "Crew Resume" icon on the left and click on it. From there, select "New Resume" at the top.

If you prefer to create your CV from scratch, you can import content from your LinkedIn profile with just one click:

You will now be ready to shape your resume based on where you are in your career.

Step 3: Determine the format of your resume

Throughout this post, we have talked about the importance of choosing the right resume sections for you. The format of your resume will change depending on whether you are a recent graduate, a recent employee, or an experienced professional working your way up the ranks.

Teal does thisletwith ready-made templates.

Teal's templates

Click directly on the dashboard on the "Formatting" icon on the top menu bar:

You can then choose which of the four templates you want to start with:

You can then change the following template settings:

• Font (great for editing headlines and descriptions of main resume sections)
• Accent color
• Margin
• Place
• Matching data
• Date format
• Grouping of work experience
• Range of work experience

Each of these settings can be changed using a clickable drop-down menu:

Finally, you can rearrange everything using the drag and drop editor:

As you can see, Teal gives you full control over how you format your resume sections, so you can choose the right structure! This makes it an ideal tool for job seekers at all career stages.

Step 4: Edit each of the resume sections

With Teal's intuitive resume builder, you can build and format any of your resumes in minutes (end timer).

You want to verify that the information is accurate, but using AI can save you significant time on your professional resume, accomplishments, and more!

The important thing to remember is that Teal will help with more than just structuring and formatting your resume; it starts the entire sequence of generating impactful content tailored to the specific job you want.

For more guided tips on customizing your resume, check out the following resource: "How to create a customized CV and find your dream job."

Step 5 [Bonus]: Generate your cover letter

At this point, you should have a solid, well-structured resume ready to "wow" your hiring manager.

But remember that every resume must have a cover letter that is just as impressive. We recommend running Teal's generative AI feature (mentioned in the last step). With a single click, you can send a cover letter with your application that is tailored to the job description you are looking for.

click on"private letter" icon at the top of the dashboard:

And Teal creates a cover letter for you:

This will strengthen your application and allow you to show hiring managers why you are perfect for the job.

And just like that, in five easy steps you have the CV and cover letter you need for your next interviewquickly.

Are you ready to get started? Don't let opportunities slip away from your grasp!

Sign up for Teal todayand start creating the application materials you need to advance your career.