How to List Work Experience on Your Resume [20+ Examples]

In 10 minutes, you’ll know exactly how to list work experience on your resume to impress employers and get more job offers.

 

Why is it so important?

 

Your professional work experience section is the meat and potatoes of your resume.

 

Employers ask for a resume pretty much for the sole purpose of reviewing your work history. 

 

That’s why your work experience on a resume has to be flawless.

 

But it’s just a bunch of bullet points detailing duties from previous jobs, right?

 

Far from it. 

 

Employers know what you did. They want to find out how well you did it. Your professional experience section should be a shining review of all your best achievements. And on the best resumes, work experience tells a story. 

 

But that’s hard to do if you have no story to tell. It’s also hard if you’re just not a storyteller. 

 

That’s why this guide will show you: 

 

• What to put on a resume if you have no work experience. 
• How to tailor your work experience to the job on offer.
• How to list work experience on a resume so you land the job.
• The best formula for putting achievements on your resume.

 

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What is work history?

 

Your work history is all the jobs you’ve held over the course of your life. And your resume is where you give a detailed account of your work history.

 

Now, does that mean that all your work experience needs to go on your resume?

 

Not quite.

 

So, how much work experience should be on a resume?

 

 

What does “relevant experience” mean? 

 

Relevant work experience is any job you’ve held that is similar to the job you’re applying for now. Let’s say you’re applying for a position as a race car driver.

 

  

For those of you with quite a bit of professional experience, you know it’s best to ignore irrelevant positions. 

 

But where is the cut-off point?

 

• Don’t exclude jobs if it will leave gaping holes on your resume.
• Don’t exclude jobs when they support or match the job on offer.

 

If you were a belly dancer for five years, you need to add it. The point is to match the jobs, skills, and achievements to the job on offer. 

 

Do exclude:

 

• Any job you held more than 15 years ago. (Add it to a “Previous Experience” section.)
• That server job you had in high school after years of being a successful professional.
• Other brief filler gigs you had that don’t match the job on offer or any non-paid work.

 

It’s best to create and keep a master resume to keep track of everything. 

 

Your master resume is where you tell the saga of your work history. Write down every job, every duty, and every achievement on your master resume. 

 

Later, use your master resume to cherry pick the most relevant jobs and positions for your actual resume.

 

Also, your sample work experience section should only include paid work.

 

Paid work can include:

 

• Full-time Work
• Part-time Work
• Temp Work
• Internships
• Work Study
• Freelance or Self Employment
• Independent Projects

 

Now, let’s switch gears.

 

What do you put on a resume if you have no work experience?

 

If that’s true for you, you may want to add everything and anything that you can define as “work.” And that includes non-paid work.

 

For example: 

 

• Major Roles in Student Organizations
• Practicums (Student Teaching)
• Unpaid Internships
• Volunteer Work

 

Let’s say you did have a lot of internships and summer work as a student.

 

In that case, add non-paid work to a section titled:

 

• Relevant Experience
• Other Experience

 

To list volunteer experience on a resume, add a separate section titled “Volunteer Work.”

 

Remember that volunteer work and summer work isn’t professional experience. 

 

What is professional experience?

 

Professional experience is work that you do that is in line with your profession. So, if you’re a nurse, your professional experience includes all the nursing jobs you’ve had. 

 

Before you gain professional experience, it’s okay to add other work experience to your job history section. Once you gain professional experience, your other work needs to go elsewhere on your resume.

 

The thing that hiring managers are looking for in your work experience section is proof that you can do the job. So, no matter what you put as a work experience example make sure it translates.

 

Want to make sure your resume will hook every recruiter and get you that interview? Get our free checklist and learn what makes a job-winning resume: 46 Things You Need To Do Before You Send Your Resume

 

Pro Tip: Where does your work experience go on your resume? Put it under your resume summary if you’re a seasoned professional. If you’re a student, put your education section first and your job experience section second.

 

Still not sure what work experience to put on your resume? Not sure what all goes on a resume in the first place? Read our guide: What to Put on a Resume to Make It Perfect [Tips & Examples]

 

 

The first thing you’ll want to do is label your work experience section:

 

• Work Experience
• Employment Experience
• Work History 
• Employment History

 

Make the title stand out by either using bold, caps, and/or italics. Keep the resume font and font size consistent with the rest of your resume subheadings. 

 

Start with your current job or your most recent position. You will continue to add relevant jobs in reverse-chronological order to the work experience on your resume.

 

Underneath each job, you’ll add bullet points itemizing your responsibilities and achievements. How many bullet points per job? 

 

You can have up to six bullet points under each job but add more or less as necessary. Remember, it’s ideal to keep your resume under two pages. 

 

So, your current job should have the most bullet points and the most detail. 

 

As you start to add older jobs, you can limit the number of duties and details. Hiring managers care most about what you’re doing now and not what you were doing five years ago. 

 

So, go into detail in the beginning. Only add the most relevant duties and best achievements as you go back in time. 

 

Whatever layout you decide, keep it consistent. If you left align dates - left align all dates.

 

For example:

 

 

Consistency in the layout is key. Don’t make recruiters search and guess. Send them the message that you’re organized and that you pay attention to detail. 

 

Also, avoid the first person and pay attention to your tenses. If it’s your current job, use the present tense. If it’s a past position, use the past tense.

 

Pro Tip: You may want to consider adding a company description for companies that are not well known. Did you work for Jujulolo? No one knows what that is. Add a brief description.

 

Have a lot of work experience? Need to write a resume with no work experience? Don’t know which resume format to use in either case? Read our guide: “3 Resume Formats: How to Choose the Best One [Examples]”

 

 

Now that you know where things go, you’ll need to know how to write each bullet point. 

 

The first thing you’ll want to do is start with an action verb. Next, make a quantifiable point. Finally, follow up with a specific task. 

 

For example:

 

Action Word: Negotiate

 

Quantifiable Point: Saved the company $5,000 annually on office supply costs.

 

Specific Task: Order office supplies for the company.

 

  

Sometimes it’s not possible to quantify achievements. Sometimes you need to list regular duties. At the same time, ask yourself:

 

• Did I save the company money?
• Did I earn the company money?
• How many people did I train or manage?
• How many people worked on my team?
• Did I increase user engagement?
• Did I impact sales targets? 
• Did I break any records? 

 

Anything you can show in numbers, do it. Numbers will attract the attention of the reader.

Now, let’s see a real life example of professional work experience on a resume. Let’s say you want to be a hair stylist. 

 

First, read the job description to find out what work experience to include.

 

Job Description for a Hair Stylist:

 

• One year of previous hair styling experience.
• Ability to work in a fast paced environment.
• Greet all guests using courtesy words.  
• Initiate and engage in conversations that are professional and friendly. 
• Prepare hair stations before and after each service. 
• Provide hair style needs such as haircuts, styles, updos, coloring, perms, and highlights. 
• Ensure cleanliness and stock of guest and professional supplies in the salon.

 

If you’re applying for this job, you have to have at least one year of work experience as a hair stylist. So, what would that entry look like on your resume? 

 

WORK EXPERIENCE

 

Hair Stylist (May 2015 - Present)

Pardon My French Manicure and Hair Salon 

Neptune, OH 

 

• Provide cuts, styles, coloring, and highlights to a set of 20+ regular clients.
• Design updos for all weddings, proms, and formal events in Neptune, resulting in an award for the Best Prom and Wedding Hairstyles for 2016.
• Engage in conversation with customers of Pardon My French, resulting in a 100% customer satisfaction rating on surveys.
• Stock and sell curated hair and beauty products, resulting in a 50% upswing in the salon’s overall sales for 2016.
• Maintain and prepare hair stations before and after each service, ensuring cleanliness.
• Style and dress hairpieces, extensions, and wigs.

 

Notice how the candidate leads with a title and working dates instead of the name of the company. The result? The hiring manager notices the candidate has the required work experience.

 

The candidate starts every bullet point with an action word, some of which show up in the job offer. For example, “engage,” and “provide.” It’s a good idea to use keyword phrases from the employment description. 

 

The candidate also used “prepare hair stations before and after each service” and “engage in conversations” among other things. 

 

Repeating the hiring manager’s language will make you sound familiar. Also, it helps Applicant Tracking System (ATS) software read your resume.

 

Next, notice that the candidate has not only listed duties: 

 

• Provide cuts, styles, coloring, and highlights.

 

But the candidate has also listed achievements: 

 

• Curation of beauty products resulted in a 50% increase in sales. 

 

Finally, notice that the candidate uses the present tense. The formatting is consistent, and the number of bullet points is six. What more could the candidate do? 

 

Some of the bullet points are a bit long. If the candidate’s resume spills over one page, it will be best to cut a point or two. You can also rewrite points to make the entry more concise. 

 

Pro Tip: You should base your choice of duties and achievements on what you find in the job offer. Start your list with your highest quantifiable achievement.

 

Now that you have your work experience on your resume, how do you add everything else? Check out our complete guide on how to write a resume for every profession: “How to Make a Resume: A Step-by-step Guide (+30 Examples)” 

 

Our resume builder (you can create your resume here) will give you tips and examples on how to list work experience on your resume while you’re writing it. You can easily copy them straight into your resume - it will save you a ton of time.

 

Inside the Zety resume builder, you will find tips and examples for your resume experience section.

 

 

Were you ever guilty of writing this on your resume at some point: 

 

Professional Person

 

• Responsible for working.
• Responsible for doing stuff.
• Responsible for doing other stuff.
• Responsible for being responsible. 

 

Look familiar? If you’re starting every bullet point with “responsible for,” you need to stop.

 

Yes, it’s a hard habit to ditch. 

 

But that’s where action words save the day.

 

Let’s say that your job offer calls for leadership skills. 

 

 

Again, don’t forget to use the correct tense.

 

Pro Tip: Try to pick precise action words. Let’s say you were in charge of organizing an event. Instead of “organized event” maybe you “hosted” or “orchestrated.” 

 

Want a complete list of action words for your resume? Still not sure how to use them? Read our guide: “+80 Examples of Resume Action Words for Every for Every Profession”

 

 

The first thing you’ll need to do is identify your achievements. And that may be a bit harder than it sounds. 

 

Ask yourself: 

 

• Did I ever do anything that had a direct impact on costs or revenue? 
• Is there anything I did that I can illustrate with facts and figures?
• Can I think of a time when I used a skill to the best of my ability?
• Was there ever a time when my boss praised me for something? 
• Did I ever finish a project before deadlines or under projected cost?
• Did I ever win an industry award or receive a promotion? 

 

Now, you’ll want to use the PAR (Problem Action Result) approach when you write down your achievements. 

 

In situation P (Problem), I did A (Action) which led to R (Result).

 

So, let’s say you’re a bartender. 

 

Problem: Dip in number of customers coming to the bar.

 

Action: Developed a set of 6 new concept cocktails.

 

Result: The new cocktails got media attention resulting in a 50% surge in brand awareness and 120% surge in the number of people coming to the bar.

 

Designed 6 concept cocktails generating media coverage, a 50% surge in brand awareness, and a 120% increase in patronage for The Bang Bang Bar.

 

Another thing you’ll want to do is have a look at your job offer. Do you notice any skills that repeat or any keywords like “outgoing,” or “innovative?” 

 

You’ll want to add these to your bullet points in your work experience section as well. 

 

Pro Tip: Not every bullet point needs to be an achievement. Mix it up with your duties that show off your best skills. Plus, make sure you add duties that prove you can handle the new job.

 

Want to see examples of achievements for every profession? Still not sure how to add them to your resume? Read our guide: “Achievements to Put on a Resume - Complete Guide (+30 Examples)”

 

 

Here is where things may get a bit tricky. 

 

Let’s say you were promoted. Congratulations! 

 

But how do you put that work experience on a resume? Especially if it happened a few times over many years. 

 

Do you create a new entry for every new position? 

 

Not exactly. 

 

Start by naming the company. 

 

Next, decide if your duties were the same or different after your promotion. The same? Then you’ll want to stack your job titles and add one set of bullet points. 

 

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? Then you’ll want to add each title as a separate subheading followed by a list of bullet points. 

 

Company Inc. (March 2010 - Present)

 

Store Manager (January 2013 - Present)

 

• Mention Promotion
• Responsibility
• Achievement

 

Assistant Manager (January 2012 - January 2013)

 

• Mention Promotion
• Responsibility
• Achievement

 

Cashier (March 2010 - January 2012)

 

• Responsibility
• Achievement

 

The bullet point describing your promotion should show what led up to you receiving it. That way the person reading your resume knows that you weren’t promoted because there was no one else to do the job.  

 

Here’s an example: 

 

Earned promotion following superior performance during six months of management training.  

 

Remember that showing your career progression impresses hiring managers. So, you need to make it neat and easy for them to read. 

 

Pro Tip: Let’s say that you had a break between roles at the same company and worked someplace else in the meantime. In that case, you’ll want to add the name of the company twice. 

 

Still not sure how to list promotions on a resume? Want to see how add multiple positions to your work experience section? Read our guide: "How to Show Promotions & Multiple Positions on Your Resume"

 

 

The work experience you put on your resume is the thing that can make or break your chance of landing your dream job. 

 

This is how to put work experience on a resume step by step:

 

1. Start with your current or most recent job.
2. Follow it with the one before it, then the previous one, and so on.
3. Include your job title, the company name, and dates worked.
4. Add up to 6 bullet points that summarize your achievements.
5. Tailor your work experience section to the job opening—focus on your most relevant responsibilities and duties.
6. Use action words and quantify whenever possible.

 

 

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