🤓 111 Smart Resume Section Headings and Titles Ideas

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The list is divided into sections or categories, just like your resume or CV, to group the related headers together for easy reference.

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Photo by Ken Suarez

Need to update a resume or start one from scratch?

You'd be surprised at how often people use nonsensical section titles that confuse proofreaders and recruiters alike.

Use this resource to pick from the most recommended CV subheadings.

You might want to bookmark this for reference later…

Does your resume include any of the following: (check all that apply)


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Category and section headings for an impressive CV or resume

Objectives, Summaries and Goals titles

Career Goal / Career Goals
Objective
Career Objective
Employment Objective
Professional Objective
Summary
Career Summary
Professional Summary
Summary of Qualifications

👉 Just keep in mind that an objective statement isn't always a good idea on a resume.

https://twitter.com/averagemewtwo/status/1418254548926230535

Work and Employment headings

Employment History
Work History
Work Experience
Experience
Professional Experience
Professional Background
Additional Experience
Career Related Experience
Related Experience
[Industry] Experience – replace [Industry] with the name of yours, such as ‘Accounting Experience’
Freelance
Freelancing
Freelance Experience
Army Experience
Military Experience
Military Background

How to turn your CV into a Resume

Education and Training titles section titles

Academic Background
Academic Experience
Programs
Courses
Related Courses
Education
Educational Background
Educational Qualifications
Educational Training
Education and Training
Training
Academic Training
Professional Training
Course Project Experience
Related Course Projects
Internship Experience
Internships
Apprenticeships
College Activities
Certifications
Special Training

resume section headings titles tweet 3

Extra-curricular subheadings

Activities and Honors
Affiliations
Professional Affiliations
Associations
Professional Associations
Memberships
Professional Memberships
Athletic Involvement
Community Involvement
Civic Activities
Extra-Curricular Activities
Professional Activities
Volunteering
Volunteer Work
Volunteer Experience

Skills, Expertise and Proficiencies headers

resume section headings titles tweet 2

Credentials
Qualifications
Areas of Experience
Areas of Expertise
Areas of Knowledge
Skills
Career Related Skills
Professional Skills
Specialized Skills
Technical Skills (or ‘Tech Skills')
Computer Skills
Computer Knowledge
Software (as in, ‘software you are familiar with’)
Technologies
Technical Experience
Proficiencies
Languages
Language Competencies and Skills
Programming Languages

👉 Notice there's no “soft skills” section. There's a better way to mention those…

resume section headings titles tweet

Achievements and Accomplishments section names

Licenses
Presentations
Conference Presentations
Conventions
Dissertations
Exhibits
Papers
Publications
Professional Publications
Research
Research Grants
Research Projects
Personal Projects
Current Research Interests
Thesis / Theses

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Awards and Recognition headings

Honors
Academic Honors
Accolades
Endorsements
Achievements
Accomplishments
Awards
Distinctions
Fellowships
Scholarships

Credibility and Proof section names

Portfolio
References
Testimonials
Recommendations
Web Portfolio
Writing Samples – as in, ‘where to find them’
Websites – as in, ‘Created’ or ‘Designed’)
Social Media Profiles

Status

Availability – as in, ‘when I will be available’ if you’re currently unavailable (e.g. student) but need to apply in advance

Alternative resume sections: what's missing

Did you notice that the following weren’t in the list?

Hobbies
Interests
Personal Interests
Talents

That’s because none of these sections should appear on your resume unless you have a very specific reason to add them, and I don’t mean ‘as filler to make it a whole page.’

If you do have such a reason, then you absolutely should include a hobbies or interests section.

Final tip: vague resume category names should never be used:

Highlights
Miscellaneous
Other

Frequently asked questions

What are the 4 main sections of a resume?

After the contact information at the top, a typical resume should contain at least these resume categories: a work experience section followed by an education section. If you have too much relevant work experience to fit in a 1-2 page resume, include a professional summary after the contact information but before the work experience section. For many people, it's also a good idea to end with a skills section to emphasize the high level of expertise you have for a given role.

READ NEXT: 35 Resume Filenames Recruiters Won’t Respond To

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This free download contains:
  • 111 Smart Resume Section Headings and Titles
  • 60 Resume Achievement Writing Ideas and Expressions
  • 500 Positive Resume Action Verbs That Get Job Interviews
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Jacob Share

Job Search Expert, Professional Blogger, Creative Thinker, Community Builder with a sense of humor. I like to help people.

This Post Has 41 Comments

  1. Sara Kmiecik February 4, 2011 Reply

    Great list! I definitely agree that hobbies and personal interests should not be included on resumes.

  2. Roy February 6, 2011 Reply

    Great work Jacob! I agree that one pager resume is more practical. Thank you.

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  26. Courteney Douglas July 12, 2016 Reply

    Interesting resume headings, Jacob! As a resume writer, I advise job seekers to use common headers to keep things simple.

    1. Jacob Share July 12, 2016 Reply

      Thanks for your take, Courteney. KISS is a good policy 👍👍👍

      1. eo September 14, 2016 Reply

        something on the resume has to be memorable. If ten resumes in the same industry are side by side, all with similar skills and experience, where do you suggest doing something that might be a little memorable? Assuming everyone has good taste in fonts, layouts and clarity. An HR professional will click thru all ten quickly, looking for the one that stands out- what makes a good resume stand out?

        1. Jacob Share September 15, 2016 Reply

          Great question!

          You actually raise a number of questions (what’s memorable? what stands out? etc.) but the all have a common thread: it’s all relative. What is memorable to you might not be so to me. What stands out to you might not stand out to me. The only way you can know is by doing some research on the targeted company, and ideally, the people who would actually see your resume and need to decide whether to interview you or not.

          https://jobmob.co.il/blog/why-target-companies-early/

          Some things that make a resume stand out are: it came recommended by someone the recruiter trusts, it’s highly targeted for the company and role in question, it has an eye-catching design (in a good way, of course), it starts with a testimonial quote from someone the recruiter highly respects, it contains highly relevant achievements and it thoroughly convinces the reader that you can succeed in the role needed without a doubt, including cultural fit.

          https://jobmob.co.il/blog/beautiful-resume-ideas-that-work/

  27. Nissar July 16, 2016 Reply

    Great list – thanks for compiling this. I agree that Hobbies should not be on your resume. The recruiter or hiring manager do not care.

  29. Antony April 20, 2017 Reply

    I have encountered numerous situations when recruiters asked to put at least a couple of items in the personal interests section. Nowadays not many people read cover letters and that’s why the focus is shifted to resumes. I don’t think that this is a universal rule, but it could be a good idea for executives to indicate some of their interests on their resume. This helps to build a picture. I agree, however, that it won’t work for entry-level professionals and recent graduates.

  33. Taonga Emily Mbuzi June 1, 2018 Reply

    this was very helpful. thank you so much

  36. Jacob Share July 29, 2021 Reply

    New update of this article for the first time in years! Enjoy 👍

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