List your jobs in reverse-chronological order, newest first. Give each one a header with your job title, the employer, the location and the dates, then three to five bullet points that start with an action verb and show what you accomplished, with the most relevant first.
Use the same layout for every entry, the past tense for past jobs and the present tense for your current one. Show a promotion by listing the employer once with each title and its dates underneath.
Key takeaways
- Every entry has four parts: job title, employer, location and dates. Keep them in the same order throughout.
- Put your current or most recent job first and work backward.
- Bullets describe accomplishments, not duties, with the most relevant one first.
- For promotions, list the employer once and stack the titles so the progression is obvious.
- Leave out reasons for leaving, supervisor names, salary and routine duties.
01
What goes in each work experience entry?
Purdue’s writing lab and the career offices at Stanford and the University of Wisconsin–Madison list the same core elements.
| Element | How to write it | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Job title | Your actual title, spelled out | Senior Accountant |
| Employer | The name people know the organization by | Ridgeline Outdoor Co. |
| Location | City and state, or “Remote” | Boise, ID |
| Dates | Month and year, start to end | Apr 2021 – Present |
| Employer description (optional) | One line, when the organization is not widely known | Outdoor gear retailer with 40 stores |
The optional line comes from the University of Virginia’s Darden School, which suggests a brief description of any employer that is not nationally recognized and aims to limit it to one line.
Senior Accountant Ridgeline Outdoor Co., Boise, ID | Apr 2021 – Present Outdoor gear retailer with 40 stores and $90M in annual sales. - Own month-end close for three entities; cut the close from 9 business days to 6 - Built the lease schedule used for 40 store leases during the move to the new lease accounting standard - Trained two staff accountants who now run accounts payable without review
You can lead with the employer instead of the title. Choose whichever is more impressive for the jobs you are applying to, and use that order in every entry.
Ridgeline Outdoor Co., Boise, ID Senior Accountant | Apr 2021 – Present
02
What order should jobs go in?
Newest first. Your current job is the first entry, the one before it is second, and so on. If you hold two jobs at once, put the more relevant one first.
When your most relevant experience is not your most recent, you can split the section in two. Stanford’s career center notes that you may divide experience into two or more sections with headings such as “Research Experience” or “Leadership Experience.” “Relevant Experience” followed by “Additional Experience” works the same way. Inside each section, the order is still newest first.
03
Should you use months or just years for dates?
Month and year is the safe default, and it is what Stanford’s career center specifies. Pick one style, such as “Apr 2021” or “04/2021,” and use it everywhere. Write “Present” for a job you still hold.
Years alone can work for long tenures well in the past. For anything short or recent, years alone look vague, and online application forms usually ask for the months anyway.
Federal applications are stricter. The US Office of Personnel Management says each relevant work experience on a federal resume should show the job title and employer, start and end dates with month and year, and the number of hours you worked per week.
04
How do you show a promotion or several roles at one employer?
List the employer once. What goes under it depends on whether the work changed. Darden’s template shows both layouts. The candidates below are invented.
When the duties changed, give each title its own dates and bullets.
Cedar Point Medical Center, Tacoma, WA Charge Nurse, Medical-Surgical Unit | Jun 2023 – Present - Lead 9 nurses and 4 aides on a 30-bed unit - Cut average discharge time by 50 minutes by starting discharge planning at admission Staff Nurse, Medical-Surgical Unit | Aug 2019 – Jun 2023 - Precepted 7 new graduate nurses and served on the unit's falls-prevention committee
When the work stayed similar, stack the titles and write one set of bullets.
Larkspur Insurance Group, Hartford, CT Senior Claims Adjuster | Jan 2024 – Present Claims Adjuster II | Mar 2022 – Jan 2024 Claims Adjuster I | Jul 2020 – Mar 2022 - Promoted twice in four years; now handle complex property claims up to $250,000 - Close an average of 38 files a month against a team average of 29
If the employer was acquired or renamed while you were there, say so beside the company name or in its description line: “Brightwell Analytics (acquired by Corvan in 2024).” Darden’s guide recommends noting the new name or status.
05
How do you list overlapping jobs, part-time work and contract roles?
Two jobs at once. List both with their true dates and label the smaller one so the overlap makes sense.
Math Teacher Lincoln Middle School, Tulsa, OK | Aug 2020 – Present - Teach five sections of seventh-grade math to 140 students Private Math Tutor (part-time, self-employed) Tulsa, OK | Sep 2021 – Present - Tutor 8 to 10 students a week in algebra and SAT math
Contract and agency work. Name the arrangement in the title or the employer line, for example “Data Analyst (contract)” with the client or the staffing agency as the employer. Several short contracts can share one heading. Freelance and contract work on a resume has the formats.
Unpaid work. Internships, volunteering and military service all belong here when they are relevant. Stanford’s list of what counts as experience includes paid jobs, internships, volunteer community service and academic or extracurricular projects involving teamwork or leadership. Give them accurate titles, such as “Volunteer Tax Preparer.”
Gaps. Do not stretch dates to cover one. Purdue’s writing lab suggests listing what you were doing during that period. Employment gaps on a resume shows how.
06
What should the bullets under each job say?
Each bullet should show something you accomplished, not a task you were assigned. Stanford’s guidance is to begin descriptions with action verbs, avoid phrases such as “duties included,” and give believable, verifiable accomplishments.
| Duty | Accomplishment |
|---|---|
| Responsible for the front desk | Checked in 60 to 80 patients a day and cut average wait at the desk from 9 minutes to 4 |
| Duties included managing social media accounts | Grew the company’s LinkedIn following from 2,100 to 9,400 in 18 months with a weekly customer-story series |
| Worked on the loading dock | Loaded 14 trailers a shift with zero damage claims over two years |
Three rules keep the section readable:
- Most relevant first. Purdue recommends at least three bullets per job, with the most relevant duties listed first. Recent jobs get three to five. Older ones can have fewer.
- Parallel form. If one bullet starts with a past-tense verb, they all do.
- Consistent tense. Use the past tense for jobs you have left and the present tense for the one you hold now.
The formula and many more examples are in resume bullet points.
07
What should you leave out of the work experience section?
- Reasons for leaving. If it matters, it comes up in the interview.
- Supervisor names, phone numbers and salary. An application form may ask for them. A resume does not need them.
- Pasted job descriptions. A list of duties describes the position, not you.
- Every job you have ever held. How far back a resume should go explains what to shorten or drop.
- Internal jargon. Darden’s guide advises using acronyms sparingly and spelling out anything specific to one company.
- Confidential details. Describe a client you cannot name: “a national grocery chain.”
- Titles you did not hold. If your official title is misleading, can you change a job title on your resume covers the honest ways to clarify it.
Where this section sits relative to education and skills is covered in how to write a resume.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Should the job title or the company name come first?
Either is acceptable. Lead with the job title if your titles show a clear progression or match the job you want. Lead with the employer if its name carries weight in your field. Whichever you choose, use the same order for every entry.
How do you show a promotion on a resume?
List the employer once, then each title with its own dates, newest first. If the duties changed with the promotion, give each title its own bullets. If the work stayed similar, stack the titles and write one set of bullets, starting with one that mentions the promotion.
What tense should the work experience section use?
Use the past tense for jobs you have left: “Managed,” “Built,” “Reduced.” Use the present tense for your current job: “Manage,” “Build.” A finished project in your current job can stay in the past tense. Do not use “I,” and do not use “-ing” forms such as “Managing.”
Do internships and volunteer work count as work experience?
Yes. Internships, volunteering, military service and substantial school or community projects can all appear in the experience section when they are relevant to the job. Give each one an accurate title, the organization, the location and the dates, and write bullets the same way you would for a paid job.
How many bullet points should each job have?
Three to five for recent, relevant jobs, with the most relevant first. Older or less relevant jobs can have one or two, or a single line. If a recent job has only one bullet, look again for results, scale or responsibilities you have left out.
Sources
- Purdue OWL: Work Experience Section: what each entry includes, parallel form, a minimum of three bullets with the most relevant first, and handling gaps.
- Stanford Career Education: Resumes/Cover Letters (PDF): entry elements including month and year, what counts as experience and dividing experience into sections.
- UVA Darden Alumni Career Services: Resume Style Guide, Traditional (PDF): the employer description line, two layouts for multiple titles at one employer, acquired employers and acronyms.
- University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Education Career Center: Writing a Resume: the parts of an experience entry and three to five bullets per role.
- U.S. Office of Personnel Management: Applicant Guidance on the Two-Page Resume Limit (PDF): what each work experience entry on a federal resume must include.
Published by Jobbie and last updated on October 6, 2026. This guide is general information for job seekers, not legal, tax or financial advice. Spotted something wrong? Tell us.