To attract the recruiter's attention and stand out from the crowd, what should you put in your resume? To create a resume, there are 10 sections that you can more or less develop according to your professional experience and your background. How to make an effective and relevant resume layout? Which sections should you choose for your resume? Here are the 10 existing sections to make your resume.
The essential sections of the resume
1# The title of the resume
It often looks like this: "I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do it...";
First name
occupation / position sought
For example, if you are looking for a project manager position, you can write in the title:
Laura Simon
Project Manager
2# The resume hook
It can be taken from your LinkedIn profile! The resume teaser is a bit like the trailer for your resume. You can introduce yourself, highlight your accomplishments in a position or sector of activity similar to the one you are applying for or talk about your strengths. Here are two examples:
For a CSR project manager resume
I was in charge of the implementation of a CSR strategy for 30 stores of the XXX group. I was able to solve internal conflicts and to motivate a multitude of actors to carry out this project;
For a resume in professional reconversion
With 10 years of experience in management training, I wanted to make my first passion my profession, by following a CAP in pastry making. I am looking for a first job in this field.
3# Your professional experiences
In this section of your resume, you can present your professional experiences in chronological order. 3 or 4 are enough. And for each work experience, bring some details in 2 or 3 points about what you did.
What are your experiences most related to the position you are applying for?
If you are applying for an internship, a student job or a first job and you don't have much experience, you can dig around your associative or volunteer experiences to fill this section. You can also focus on 1 or 2 experiences if you don't have much experience and develop them well.
4# Your educational background
Here again, in order not to lose the recruiter and to bring coherence to your resume, cite each step of your academic career in a chronological manner. If you have little experience in your professional career, you can emphasize this part! You can talk about the subjects you taught and/or talk about a specific school project related to the job offer you are applying for.
5# Your contact information
If you want to give them the chance to contact you again, it is better to give the recruiters your contact information! Give them your email, your phone number and maybe your linkedin profile. They will be able to know more about you through this information and choose the means they want to contact you. You can even add your website in this section.
Cool things to have on your resume
6# Your interests
To bring more information about you, your tastes and your personality, talking about your interests in your resume will help recruiters to know you better;
👉 We'll tell you about it here
7# Your skills
By talking about your technical skills, as well as your soft skills, the recruiters will be able to make the link between your aptitudes and those useful or necessary for the position;
To find out which skills are listed on your resume, you can use the keywords in the job offer: often the skills required are written down!
👉 How do you talk about your skills in your resume and present them? Here is our dedicated article.
8# Your spoken languages
Are you applying for a position in English in France or abroad? Are you bilingual or even trilingual? Speaking several languages may be required for certain positions or be a great advantage for a recruiter! So if you speak one or more languages and you have a good level, don't hesitate to talk about it. Same thing if you make a resume in Spanish, a German resume or resume in English for that matter!
9# Your references
To get a head start, you can also include references in your resume. Recruiters often ask for references at the end of the first interview or at the end of the recruitment process, to get feedback from your former employers. By placing 2 or 3 references in your resume, you give the recruiter something to work with before they even meet you! But be careful, it is better to choose them carefully.
Including references means that you will be able to contact people who have worked with you in previous organizations and who can speak about you. Choose people you trust, with whom you have had a good professional or personal relationship and who will give a good image of you.
10# Your certifications
Depending on the profession, there are specific certifications obtained after further training. For some professions, they represent recognized qualifications and can really help you stand out!
Here are 3 examples of certifications by trade:
For a project manager, the Prince 2, Agile, and other certifications...
For a graphic designer, Illustrator or Indesign certifications.
For a public accountant, the DSCG.
And some resume info to remember!
💾 Pick up on keywords present in the job posting to build a resume tailored to the organization you are applying for.
🕵️Relire or have your resume bound to avoid spelling mistakes. Word processing tools such as Open Office and Microsoft Word can also help you catch mistakes by underlining them.
📝Work on the layout, thanks to tools like canva, photoshop, powerpoint, you can make a simple and sober resume as well as a design and creative resume! You can also download free word resumes, fill them in with your personal information and then convert them to pdf format. Be careful, to write a resume, you must include your information on one page!
👀 Make a readable resume, with delineated headings, spaces, simple fonts.
👌 Write a relevant resume by putting yourself in the recruiter's shoes and talking only about information related to the position.
💯 Be honest. Your authenticity is what will set you apart and put you in good stead for job interviews.
To go further
👉 What soft skills to put in your resume?
👉 Writing a cover letter from A to Z
👉 10 tips for a successful job interview