Resume Layout - Understanding Each Section of the Resume

By Dan Mohander

Job Vacancy Indonesia, Employee, Vacancy

Trying to perfect your resume layout can be a very stressful task so it is very important to understand the goals and objectives of each section. The following is a breakdown of the different sections you will need to include.

Objective

The objective section needs to be short and to the point. In this section, you are telling the employer exactly what you are applying/looking for. Be sure to clearly specify the type (full time, contract, etc.) of employment you are looking in addition to the specific role. This is one of the first things the employer will see on your resume so you want it to be clear and concise.

Experience

This is likely the most critical section of your resume layout. Here you will list your past work experience that relates closely to the position you desire. You will want to start with your most recent job and work backwards chronologically from there. This section should include the following information for each position you held: name of the company, your position at the company, time period you worked there, and the responsibilities/accomplishments you performed while working there. Listing your responsibilities/accomplishments is definitely the most important part of your experience section. You will want to show the variety of tasks that you performed as well as the role you played in completing the tasks. Whenever possible, it is important to include actual numbers (sales dollars, value of projects completed, % reduction in cost, etc.) in the experience section.

Education

This section of the resume varies in terms of importance depending on the position you are applying for. If you are young and fresh out of college without a lot of work experience, you will want to put a lot of emphasis on the education section. Be sure to list every college or university you attended as well as every degree that you earned.

Skills

Depending on the position you are applying for or the field in which you are in, you will want to list additional skills that you have that will prove to be valuable to the company. This is the section of the resume where you can list all computer programs that you are fluent in that relate to the job position. Generally speaking, it is not worth noting programs like Microsoft Word or other basic programs in this section as this is taken for granted.