How to write the Professional Experience section of a resume

Your Professional Experience or Career History is the most important section of your resume. It's where you show the skills, accomplishments, and impact that you had in previous jobs. Getting this section right is crucial to landing job interviews.

We'll show you how to write about your work experience and what to include in this section to get the most interviews.

What is a Professional Experience section?

The Professional Experience section or employment history is a detailed summary of your work experience. It gives hiring managers an overview of the jobs you've done and what you did in those jobs.

A well-written Professional Experience section is key to showing that you have the qualifications and skills to perform the job that you're applying for.

This can include full-time jobs, part-time positions, internships, and voluntary roles.

You will see this section given different names. Professional experience, work experience, career history, or employment history. They're all perfectly valid.

Where to put your Professional Experience on your resume?

For most people who've started their career, the Professional Experience section should come after your contact information and personal statement.

Contact info > Personal Statement > Professional Experience > Education

For students, recent graduates, or PhD researchers, the answer is more nuanced. If you have internship experience that is relevant to the jobs you're applying for, then the Professional Experience section should be above your education.

Otherwise, I'd recommend putting your education section above your career history. Basically, you should pick whichever section is more likely to impress the hiring manager.

Contact info > Personal Statement > Education > Work experience

What to include in the Professional Experience section of your resume

The natural instinct when writing your work experience section can be to list every job you've ever had, and everything you did in each role. Unfortunately, this can make your resume difficult to read.

Knowing what experience to include, how much detail to provide, and which jobs deserve the most space on your resume is important.

In the professional experience section, you should include the following key info:

• Names of your previous employers

• Locations of the offices you worked at

• Job titles you held

• Dates of employment

• Your responsibilities and achievements in each role

You should highlight your main achievements in each role and provide specific examples.

The structure of this section should be your current or most recent job at the top, followed by your previous roles in chronological order (newest to oldest).

The more recent the role, the more detailed the information you should provide. There is one caveat here, which is that if older jobs were more relevant to the role you're applying for, then you should include more information for those older but more relevant jobs.

How to write a Professional Experience section

When you have added the basic details like company name, office location, and job title, it's time to flesh out your professional experience.

Here are some guidelines to make your career history section organized and easy-to-read:

1. Start each bullet point with an action verb. Do not start with "I built v1 of the app…" or "We delivered supply chain savings…". Instead start with "Built v1 of the app…" or "Delivered supply chain savings…". Action verbs make your experience sound concrete.

2. Tailor your experience to the job advert. Highlight achievements and responsibilities in your previous jobs that the advertising company needs. This is the easiest way to land a job interview. Read the job advert carefully. You can also look at the LinkedIn profiles of existing employees.

3. Use keywords from the job advert. Recruiters will often try to match up your experience with the job advert for the role they're hiring for. Using keywords from the job description makes this matching process easier for them.

4. Use numbers to quantify your achievements. Employers want proof of what you achieved so they can understand how much responsibility you had. For example, saying "Boosted sales by 14%" is much better than saying "I boosted sales".

5. Make sure each job is easy to scan. Using bullet points to outline your experience helps a lot. Limiting each job to 1-5 bullet points also makes your resume easier to read. You want to avoid large blocks of text.

Here are some common mistakes to avoid in the professional experience section:

• Don't copy and paste the job description. You should tailor your experience to the job description rather than copying large chunks of text directly from the job advert.

• Avoid using buzzwords. Words like "dynamic" and "team player" sound insincere and don't tell the hiring manager much. Focus on the responsibilities you held and what you achieved.

How to list professional experience if you're an experienced professional

To help recruiters and hiring managers navigate the professional experience section of your resume, list your career history in reverse chronological order. Put your most recent job first.

For recent roles, don't just state where you worked and your job title. Use 1-5 bullet points for each job to describe what you did and what you achieved.

If you have a lot of experience, it is acceptable just to list your employer and job title for the roles at the start of your career.

Professional Experience section example:

eBay (03/2024 - 08/2026)

Senior Android Engineer

• Rebuilt the home screen in the Android app using Kotlin and Jetpack Compose. Home feed interaction increased 6%

• Implemented a new crash reporting tool, Sentry, which helped reduce the Android app's crash rate by 11%

Hiring managers will spend most of their time reviewing your resume on the Professional Experience section. This is therefore where you should also focus most of your time when writing your resume.

When writing this section, keep in mine that your resume should not exceed 2 pages unless you're applying for an executive position.

How to list professional experience if you’re a student or recent graduate

It's likely that you have limited experience at this stage in your career. Do not fear, how you present yourself can have a big impact on being invited to interviews.

Should I list my education or work experience first on my resume?

The key decision is whether to list your education or your professional experience first on your resume. This depends on your background and the roles you're applying for.

If you have internships or work experience that is relevant to the job you're applying to, then you should list your work experience section first. Employers will be impressed that you have already explored their field of work.

If your degree is relevant to the job you're applying for, then you should list your education section first. For example, if you have a law degree and you're applying for a job as a trainee lawyer.

Otherwise, you should pick whichever is more impressive. If you studied at a top university, list your education first. If you have done multiple internships, list your professional experience section first.

What to include in your work experience section

• Internships. Paid or unpaid internships are one of the best ways to gain experience while you're studying. You should try to complete at least one internship in the field of work you intend to enter.

• Part-time jobs. If you've just finished school, or you're still studying, part-time work is probably your main type of experience. Even if the work isn't relevant to the jobs you're applying to, there are transferable skills you can highlight.

• Volunteering. Most graduate recruiters will look at volunteer experience in a similar light to paid experience. You can describe your responsibilities and achievements during your volunteering in the same way that you would for a paid role.

• Extracurricular activities. A good example would be if you're applying for a journalism job or a copywriting role, listing articles you've written for a student newspaper.

• Leadership roles. Anything from captaining a sports team to organizing a charity event. Employers like to hire people who have shown they can take initiative.

Build it instantly with CV Engineer

If you’re using the CV Engineer app, you can fill out your Professional Experience in seconds. Our templates automatically format your experience, ensuring your resume looks polished and ATS-friendly.

Open the app and tap "Professional Experience" on the main menu. Your changes update instantly across all our resume templates.