If you are filling a resume template and someone keeps asking you to "add more details", you might not know what detail belongs where. This guide walks through every common field and tells you exactly what goes in it — and what to leave empty.
Contact Header
The minimum: full name, phone with country code, professional email, city and country. Optional but useful: LinkedIn URL and portfolio link. In South Asian markets a clean headshot in the header is common; in North America and the UK it is usually omitted. Full street addresses and personal details like religion or marital status do not belong here — the header guide explains what fits.
Summary or Objective
The summary field wants two or three lines: your level, your top skills, and one proof. If you have no experience, write an objective that names the role you want and your strengths. Do not write "hardworking, seeking a challenging position" — it describes nothing. Use the summary guide patterns instead.
Work Experience
For each job, fill: company, title, location (optional), month–year start and end dates, and 3–5 bullets. Bullets are the hardest field to fill well. Use the action-verb, result pattern shown in the action verbs guide and the experience section guide. If you have no paid work, use projects and volunteering here the way the no-experience guide does.
Education
Degree, institute, year, and grades when they are strong. Add relevant coursework for freshers. If you never finished a degree, write what you completed honestly. More format guidance is in the education section guide.
Skills
Group your list: technical skills (software, tools, languages) first, then soft skills — six to twelve items total, only what you can discuss in an interview. Match the top items to the jobs you are applying for. The skills section guide covers grouping, and our keyword guide explains how skills double as ATS search terms.
Extra Sections
Certificates, projects, languages, achievements, and custom sections belong here — each an optional field that earns its place only when it supports the role. List them with dates and outcomes, not titles alone. For niche needs, the custom sections guide shows how to add your own headings in a builder.
Frequently Asked Questions
What goes in the header, exactly?
Name, phone with country code, professional email, city and country, and optional LinkedIn or portfolio link. No photo required in most global roles; in South Asia a headshot in the header is common.
How do I fill education if I'm still studying?
Write it honestly: degree, "B.Com (pursuing)", current year, and expected graduation year.
What if a field doesn't apply to me?
Leave it out rather than inventing content. A missing optional section is fine; gibberish or padding is not.
Fill it once, fill it right — use the ResumeTop editor where every common field is built in and the PDF exports clean.
Frequently Asked Questions
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