Resume Headings:

Hello and welcome to the third installment of our Writing Effective Resume series.  Today we�ll discuss Resume Headings, what to include and what not to include. 

The headings, or sections that comprise the resume, outline the job seekers professional capabilities and qualifications to perform a job.  The resume is a marketing tool and its purpose is to secure a job interview. Therefore, the headings you decide to include in your resume must be chosen carefully, keeping in mind how you can best feature your qualifications to a prospective employer. 

Some headings are standard and employers expect to see them when they review a resume.  The required headings include your contact information, work experience and skills, education and training.

      1.  The first heading on your resume is your contact information. 
      Your contact information consists of your:
      Name
      Address
      Phone #, Cell Phone # if you have one
            E-mail address
      Web page hyperlink, if you wish
	
This information can be centered, or arranged on the far right, or far left on top of page one.  Remember to bold your name. 

2. After the contact information, you would list your Career Objective.  The experts� opinion is split on whether to use an objective.  We recommend, if you are applying for a specific position, you are best served by including an objective.  If you decide to use an objective, the entire resume must be built to support the objective.  To write a dynamite objective, listen to our podcast.

3. Summary, Professional Profile or Highlights of Qualifications appears after the career objective.  This section is also optional and can be included if you have an impressive list of skills, achievements, or accomplishments.  If you include a summary section keep the statements concise, using action verbs and be results oriented.  Think of it as a headline in an effective print advertisement.  For more information listen to our podcast on Summary of Qualifications. 

4. A required heading is the work (professional) experience, or skills section which can be presented based on a chronological, functional, or hybrid style format.  To see which style works best for your situation listen to our podcast on Resume Styles.  

5. The Education heading is another required section of the resume.  It highlights your most recent degree, and the college or trade school you attended.  
In this section, you must include the name of the institution, location, graduation date, or dates attended, the major enrolled, or degree awarded. 
In the Education section you may include any special recognitions, achievements, awards and scholarships.  If you have a GPA above a 3.2 list it as well.  

Any professional training, workshops and seminars related to your objective can be mentioned in this section. Recent graduates, with little work experience, may decide to list some of the relevant course work they�ve completed which directly relate to their career objective.

Recent graduates should consider moving the Education section to the top of the resume, immediately following the Summary of Qualifications.  Due to their limited professional experience, recent graduates want to place extra emphasis on education as it relates to their career objective.  

6. Other headings you may decide to include are:
a. Volunteer Work
b. Community Service
c. Clubs and Organizations
d. Military Service
e. Honors and Awards
f. Certifications, licenses

7. Never include the following information on  your resume:
a. Race
b. Religion
c. Marital Status
d. Political affiliation
e. Salary requirements
f. Reason for leaving past job
g. References

8. Close the resume with the following statement:  References Furnished Upon Request