How can you make the work experience section of your resume work best for you?

The work experience section on your resume can help you to get the attention of hiring managers because it summarizes your on-the-job expertise. Employers want to know if a candidate has the training and skills that match the job description, and an ideal employment history showcases suitability for the position. You can make a positive impression on recruiters and get more interview requests by writing this section competently. Consider this article to learn about this key part of your resume and how to write it well.

What is resume work experience?

Resume work experience is the listing of your employment history, and it usually contains information on job titles, duration of each position, skills developed through experiences, duties, and achievements. This is a critically important part of your resume as most employers read it to gain an initial impression of your expertise and track record in the industry. It’s relevant for both experienced and entry-level employees, and job seekers without full-time experience can include part-time work, internships, and volunteer work. A properly structured, well-written professional history can distinguish you from other candidates and get you an interview.

Tips on writing your resume work experience

Consider using the following tips for a resume work experience section that works:

• Structure your resume to avoid gaps. Strong resumes show a consistent flow from one job to the next. Use the standard format that lists the month and year to show the start and end dates of each job, such as May 2015 – August 2020. If you have a long gap between full-time jobs, add in any part-time work, volunteering, or an explanatory note if you simply took time off work.
• Choose a chronological format. As it lists your most recent position first and shows the recruiter how you’ve progressed in your career, this format is recommended if you have at least two to three years of experience.
• List awards and achievements in the work experience. While you can create a separate section for these items, showing how your performance of job duties resulted in awards and achievements by linking these subjects can highlight how you’ve excelled in your career more persuasively.

Learn more: How to Customize Your Resume for Each Job You Apply to

How to write the resume work experience

You can write your resume work experience using the following steps:

Read the job description thoroughly

While it may be faster to apply to all the jobs that interest you with the same resume work experience, it’s best to tailor this section to suit precisely what an employer is looking for. As you read the listing, make a list of the keywords used by the employer to describe the experience requirements.

Tailor your work experience to the job description

Write a draft of your employment history using keywords from the job description to highlight each of the skills you have that match these requirements.

Choose a suitable format

Choose the format that suits you from the following resume formats:

• Chronological format: This format involves listing jobs chronologically beginning with your current job, and it’s suitable for experienced candidates.
• Functional format: In this format, you emphasize your skills and achievements instead of your job history. If you’re a graduate or returning to work after a long gap, consider this format.
• Combination format: Work experience is used to showcase skills in this format. You might want to use this format for applications for senior-level management positions if you have substantial experience, skills, and achievements in the industry.

Once you choose your format, apply it consistently throughout the experience section.

Double-check for quality

Edit your employment history, correcting any errors in grammar, syntax, or facts. Do the edit the day after you finish writing so that you can have a fresh perspective.

Want your resume to stand out from hundreds of candidates? You’ll need to give a stand-out answer to “Why should we hire you?”. In other words, prove how well you handled it instead of showing what kind of work you did.

Want your resume to land you interviews? Personalize every job description to match the requirements of the vacancy you’re applying for. Sounds difficult? There’s a step-by-step formula to do it in no time.

This guide will show you:

• How to describe work experience on a resume.

• Sample resume job descriptions you can adjust and use today.

• The best template and format for listing your work history on a resume.

• What to write in a resume for work experience to highlight your achievements.

• The easiest way to make your resume work experience section match the job offer.

Ready? Have a look at this sample resume work experience section for a customer service position made with our resume builder. What do you think makes it so special?

Want to save time and have your resume ready in 5 minutes? Try our resume builder. It’s fast and easy to use. Plus, you’ll get ready-made content to add with one click. See 20+ resume templates and create your resume here.

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Sample resume work experience section made with our resume builder.—See more resume examples here.

One of our users, Nikos, had this to say:

[I used] a nice template I found on Zety. My resume is now one page long, not three. With the same stuff.

Right, so you’ve seen a killer resume work history section. Now, let’s break down what makes it so great and how you can write equally stunning resume job descriptions yourself.

Grab this helpful table of contents to navigate through:

How to Describe Work Experience on a Resume

Frequently Asked Questions about Resume Work Experience

How to Describe Work Experience on a Resume

First things first: your resume work history section is your most valuable real estate.

This study proves that 91% of recruiters want candidates to have professional experience. Another report has shown that more than two out of three recruiters find the work experience section the most vital.

This means you need to organize your resume so that this section:

• Is easy to spot within a split second.
• Allows the hiring manager to grasp your value immediately.

So, here’s how to list work experience on a resume, step by step:

1. Make the Section Heading Stand Out

Label your work experience section with one of the following titles:

• Work Experience
• Experience
• Employment History
• Work History

Make the section title larger than the rest of your job descriptions. Write it in bold or with ALL CAPS.

2. Put Your Work Experience Section in the Right Spot

• Just below your resume summary if you have a lot of professional experience.
• Below your education section if you’re a fresher without extensive work history.

Pro Tip: Bullet points or paragraphs? Bullet points are a better choice 99% of the time. They help you save space and make it easier to be brief and to the point. Use paragraphs instead of bullet points only if you’re writing an academic CV, not a resume.

3. List Job Descriptions on Your Resume in Reverse-Chronological Order

• Start with your current or most recent job.
• Follow it with the previous one, then the one before it, and so on.

This way, you’ll put your best foot forward—the pinnacle of your career, your most recent job, will get the most attention.

In general, listing your jobs chronologically descending is the cornerstone of the classic reverse-chronological resume format. It’s ideal for most job seekers, with very few exceptions. Still, do explore other resume format examples to make an informed choice. 

Pro Tip: Use the past tense (“managed,” developed,” “supervised”) for descriptions of your past jobs. For your current job description, stick to present tense.

4. Make Each Entry Clear and Legible

At the top of every job description, put:

• Your job title
• Company name and location
• Dates worked

Like this:

Resume Work Experience Example—Heading

Administrative Assistant

Boston Consulting Group, Philadelphia, PA

2011–2018

Pro Tip: You can start each entry with either your position or the company name. That’s of little consequence. Just remember to be consistent with your layout. The same goes for dates of tenure. If you choose to left-align dates, left-align all of them. Don’t make recruiters search and guess.

5. Use Relevant Job Description Bullets for Each Job

• Your current job should have the most bullets and the most detail. As you go back in time, limit the number of job description bullet points to 3–4.
• In each bullet point, focus on describing your achievements, not just duties and job responsibilities. Don’t write about every task you’ve performed. Make sure each resume bullet pointearns its place by focusing on quantifiable results.
• Utilize the most out of action verbs and power words to make every entry more persuasive.
• Make sure your descriptions support the skills you put on your resume.

WRONG

• Responsible for buying office supplies.
• Significantly increased online sales.

RIGHT

• Negotiated (action verb) with office supplies vendors (specific duty), saving the company $12,000 annually (quantified achievement).
• Redesigned the e-commerce sales funnel through A/B testing, resulting in increasing monthly revenue by 112%.

Add only the most relevant duties and achievements, tailoring every job description to the responsibilities listed in the job ad. What do I mean by tailoring? 

• When reading the job description included in the ad, look for keywords related to your responsibilities. Mark them or note them out.
• If you see duties that you’ve performed, include them in your resume job description bullet points.

Relevance is key. Research has shown that almost 40% of recruiters automatically dismiss resumes that are generic and not tailored to the position.

Have a look at how this works in practice. Let’s say there’s a job ad for a programming position that requires candidates to:

• Provide mobile application project design and development (1)
• Meet with members of technical staff, business owners, and other stakeholders (2)
• Design and communicate project requirements (3)
• Review test results and direct further development (4)
• Mentor less experienced staff (5)

Now, let’s see a customized example of a work experience section for a resume:

Java Programmer

Black Knight Financial Services, Jacksonville, FL

2010–2018

• Designed and developed up to 10 applications projects per year (1).
• Designed project requirements (3) in cooperation with data analysis teams.
• Participated in project meetings (2) with technical staff members, business analysts, and external stakeholders. 
• Trained and mentored (5) over 15 junior programmers and developers.

Key achievement: 

• Developed a test automation (4) tool that reduced testing time by 55%.

See? The candidate didn’t cram the work experience section with all the previous duties. Instead, they listed only those that show they’ll handle prospective responsibilities with ease. It's a sure-fire way of making your resume stand out.

Want more? Here’s a piece that will help you become a resume tailoring pro in 5 minutes: Resume Tailoring: The Easiest Way to Customize Each Resume You Send

6. Add a “Key Achievement” Subsection

• It will work like a magnet for recruiters’ eyes.
• In it, mention something you cannot afford your prospective employers to miss.
• Use the Problem-Action-Result (PAR) method to describe your success.

Here’s how the PAR formula works. Remember the sample job description above?

Key achievement: 

• Developed a test automation tool that reduced testing time by 55%.

Problem? Testing took too long.

Action? Developing a new tool.

Result? Testing time cut in half.

You can use this formula for every bullet point in your resume job description. Have a look:

• Implemented new training programs for circulation and access services librarians, which resulted in cutting the full training time by over 40%.

Problem? Training librarians took too much time. 

Action? Implementing new programs. 

Result? Training time cut almost in half.

• Commended for creating the in-house newsletter to communicate management’s vision. Reduced email back-and-forth by 35%.

Problem? Poor internal communication. 

Action? In-house newsletter. 

Result? Back-and-forth emailing reduced by over one-third.

Having a hard time coming up with your achievements, not just listing duties? We’re here to help. See this article: Spice Up Your Resume With Achievements: Here's How

Alright. You’ve learned the basics. Do it our way, and you won’t have to sweat what to include on your resume or whether a two-page resume will backfire. Before we move on, here’s a quick recap of how to list your work experience on a resume the right way.

Work experience resume section step by step

How to list work experience on a resume?

Section title

“Work Experience,” “Work History,” or “Employment History”; In bold or ALL CAPS; Larger font size

Where to put your work experience

Below your summary of qualifications/resume profile if you’re experienced; Below your education section if you’re a fresher

Order of jobs on a resume

Reverse-chronological: start with your current or most recent job, follow it with the one before it, and so on

Information in each entry heading

Job title, company name, dates worked

Resume bullet points to describe your job

Up to 5 bullet points outlining your verifiable achievements and responsibilities; Match your bullet points with employers’ requirements

Key achievement subsection

Highlight your most impressive win; Use the Problem-Action-Result method

When making a resume in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building a professional resume template here for free.

When you’re done, Zety’s resume builder will score your resume and tell you exactly how to make it better.

Frequently Asked Questions about Resume Work Experience 

1. How Many Years of Work Experience Should Go on a Resume?

How far back your resume should go depends on how experienced you are. Have a look:

How much work experience to put on a resume?

Senior-level candidates

List up to 15 years of relevant work experience

Junior- to mid-level candidates

Include detailed job descriptions of relevant positions in your field. You can also mention temporary gigs and internships on your resume to give it more weight, as well as freelancing experience. 

Entry-level candidates

List and describe experiences from all paid work you’ve ever done, including internships, part-time or temporary work, and freelancing. Worked on something independently? Put those projects on your resume, too.

Candidates with no professional work experience

Include all paid and unpaid work experience: roles in student organizations, practicums, unpaid internships, and volunteer experience

2. How to Make a Resume Without Work Experience?

Your work experience section is not the only thing that matters on your resume. If you’ve just graduated or have very little professional experience, put your resume job descriptions below your education section. This will help you put your best foot forward. Focus on important but relevant coursework, publications, or relevant academic achievements on your resume. 

Also, make use of our dedicated comprehensive guides to write a job-winning resume: 

3. Employment Gaps on Resume—Do They Matter?

You might have been told that employment gaps are always “red flags” for recruiters, or that you should try to camouflage them in the work experience on your resume.

It’s not true. Especially after the 2010s rise in unemployment, employers realize that it takes more time to find a perfect match between a job seeker and an organization than it used to 20 years ago.

This study published by the American Economic Review has shown that contrary to what most experts believed back in the 90s:

• Even long-term spells of unemployment or irrelevant experience don’t matter for employers if they have been followed by professional experience in your field.
• Current employment gaps have no impact on the success of your job application if you’ve been unemployed for no longer than 9 months.
• Contemporary employment gaps over 9 months can hamper your chances only if you’re seeking medium/low-skill jobs.

Just be honest with your justification—maybe what you’re writing is actually a resume for a career change, and the gap was used for studying? Don’t be afraid to reveal that.

4. Should I Include Irrelevant Work Experience on a Resume?

What if, at some point in your life, you’ve had a job that had literally nothing in common with the career you’re aiming to pursue now? 

If you can find features in the “unrelated” past job that match the currently desired position—do list it. It's all about choosing the right words to describe yourself.

Remember the candidate from our example above? She’s looking for a job in customer service, but at the beginning of her professional career she worked as a waitress for 4 years. Even though they’re not the same, these two jobs have a lot in common.

That’s why our candidate included that job in her resume and listed only duties and achievements relevant to the customer service position in the job description. 

Have a look at a sample entry for a customer service rep:

Waitress

Pizza Hut, Newark, NJ

2005–2009

• Worked passionately in customer service in a high-volume restaurant.
• Completed the F.A.S.T. customer service training class.
• Maintained a high tip average thanks to consistent customer satisfaction. 

5. Can I Put Volunteer Work Under Work Experience

• If you’ve currently got at least 5 years of paid work experience, omit job descriptions of your volunteer gigs. You can add them in an additional section of your resume.
• Don’t have an extensive work history to showcase on a resume? Include volunteering in your main experience section.

6. How to Show Promotion on Resume

If you’ve been promoted or held multiple positions within the same company, how do you show the promotion on your resume? 

Well, you don’t necessarily have to create separate entries for each position. If your duties for these two positions were similar, stack your job titles and add one set of bullet points. Like this:

Company Inc.

January 2012–Present

Store Manager

January 2013–Present

Assistant Manager

January 2012–January 2013

• Mention Promotion
• Responsibility
• Achievement

Were your duties vastly different? Add each title as a separate subheading followed by a list of bullet points.

7. How to Measure Job Performance for Jobs That Are Harder to Quantify?

“That looks great and all, but I just don’t work with hard numbers that much.” You do! More than you think. Even if you can’t give exact figures to describe your work, you can rely on one of the following ways to quantify your accomplishments:

How many people were on your team? How many employees have you supervised? How large were the budgets you handled? All these things are super important to employers. And you can use numbers to better present them. See this example from a marketing manager resume:

• Collaborated with business development and sales teams (18 colleagues in total) to ensure company-wide branding consistency for our clients.

• Trained and mentored 10+ marketing interns to reach permanent junior marketing positions.

• Supervised all creative and technical aspects of national marketing campaigns with budgets over $300,000.

How much work were you able to complete in a given period of time? How often did you perform certain tasks? These things can and should be quantified. Have a look at another sample taken from a customer service resume work experience section:

• Resolved 150+ user tickets weekly.

• Designed social media posts: 4 per week on Facebook, 6 per week on Instagram, 1 per week on LinkedIn.

• Coordinated the daily newsletter sent out to our 50,000+ subscribers.

Can’t figure out the exact number? Estimate. It will grab attention. But keep in mind that you’ll probably be asked about the reasoning behind your statement during a job interview, so don’t hazard some wild guesses. Make your estimates well-informed:

• Introduced new data security procedures, resulting in no data breaches for 29 weeks, saving $5,000–8,000 monthly. 

Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:

See more cover letter templates and start writing.

Key Takeaway

Work experience is the experience an employee gains while working in a job, particular field or profession (for example, Four years of hands-on experience in online marketing). The work experience section on your resume is the thing that can make or break your chance of landing your dream job.

This is how to write your resume job descriptions step by step:

• Start with your current or most recent job.
• Follow it with the one before it, then the previous one, and so on.
• Include your job title, the company name, and the dates worked.
• Add up to 5 bullet points that summarize your achievements.
• Tailor your work experience section to the job opening—focus on your most relevant responsibilities and duties.
• Use action words and quantify whenever possible.

All check? Then you’re already well on your way to landing your dream job.

Got any more questions? Need further help crafting a stunning resume job description? Drop me a line in the comments. Can’t wait to hear your thoughts!

How to write an effective work experience section for your resume?

Why does work experience section important in resume?