Additional Information on Your Resume: What Details to Include + How

You’ve covered your skills, work experience, and education in your resume. But what about your certifications, language skills, or volunteer work?  

Extras like these can help give your resume an edge—if they’re relevant. It’s all about striking the right balance: highlighting what adds value without overwhelming your resume or distracting from the essentials.

In this article, you’ll learn what additional information is worth including, when to include it, and how to format it so you can build a resume that stands out for the right reasons.

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What is additional information on a resume? 

Additional information refers to anything that doesn’t fall under your standard resume sections—like Skills, Work Experience, and Education—but still brings value.

It can include:

• Certifications
• Volunteer experience
• Languages
• Awards
• Projects
• Publications

These extras can add personality to your resume, help fill gaps in your professional experience, and highlight your fit for a position with a potential employer.

📌 Resume myth: “I need to include references in my resume as extra information.”
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Nope, you can skip adding references unless the job posting specifically requests them. Save that precious space for more impactful additions!

When to include additional information 

You don’t want to throw in everything just because you can. Include extra information if:

• It’s directly related to the job. For example, if you’re applying for a project manager role, mentioning an Agile certification makes sense. But if you’re targeting a content strategy position, it might not matter as much. 
• The job requires it (think licenses, certifications, or language proficiency).
• You’re a recent graduate or early in your career, and this info helps show your potential.
• You’re switching careers or industries and want to showcase transferable skills and qualifications.
• Your volunteer work or personal projects spotlight your commitment, suitability for leadership positions, or skills you can’t showcase elsewhere.
• You have awards or accomplishments that reflect your expertise and impact.
• Your certifications or training show initiative, ongoing learning, or technical skills related to your target job or industry. 
• You speak other languages, and the job involves communication or global teams.
• You’re explaining a career gap and want to show how you stayed active or kept learning.
• Your job application is for a mission-driven or nonprofit organization that values volunteer work.

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💡 Pro tip: Figuring out what’s most relevant to your desired role can be tricky, and it’s easy to overthink things. Teal’s Resume Builder helps you prioritize what strengthens your resume—from certifications to projects—so it matches what the job requires.

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6 examples of additional resume sections

Depending on your background and the role’s requirements, different types of additional information will make sense to include. Here are six common sections that can add depth and relevance to your resume:

1. Certifications, licenses, and training

Certifications and licenses are especially important in regulated or technical industries, such as IT, finance, healthcare, and construction. Even in more general fields, recent training can show you’re proactive about your professional development.

Include only certifications that are relevant to or required for the position. For each entry, include:

• Name of the certification or course
• Certifying body or institution
• Completion date (and expiration date if relevant)

Examples:

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💡 Pro tip: If a certification is required or listed in the job posting, mention it here and at the top of your resume. For example, you could note in your professional summary that you’re a “Certified AWS Cloud Practitioner with experience in scalable infrastructure.”

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2. Awards and scholarships

Awards can show excellence, leadership, or recognition by others in your field—and they’re not just for students or those early in their careers. You can list academic, professional, or even community honors.

List the name of the award or scholarship, the organization that awarded it, and the date you received it. 

Examples:

3. Volunteer experience

Volunteer work can help demonstrate initiative, leadership, and soft skills like teamwork and communication. It’s especially useful for career changers, students, or anyone with employment gaps.

For each entry, include your role or title, the organization’s name, the dates of your involvement, and your key contributions or achievements. 

Examples:

4. Publications

This section is especially relevant in academic, research, journalism, or content-focused roles, but it can also benefit many others. You can list articles, blogs, white papers, or any other publications in academic journals, industry magazines, or reputable online platforms. 

The key is to make sure each entry is relevant to your target role, industry, or professional brand.

5. Languages

Multilingual skills can be a huge asset, especially in customer service, healthcare, hospitality, and global roles. (According to research by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages, 90% of US employers rely on workers with language skills beyond English, and 56% say their demand for foreign languages will increase in the next five years.)

Keep this information short and sweet by stating your language and, if necessary, proficiency level (use the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) scale or the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) scale). You can add them in your Skills section, or create a standalone 'Languages' section.

Above all, be honest about your abilities so you don’t set unrealistic expectations. 

Examples:

6. Projects

Projects can be a great way to show off real-world skills relevant to your dream role, especially if you’re early in your career, switching industries, or want to highlight hands-on experience outside of traditional work.

Here’s what to include for each project:

• Project name
• Your role
• A short description of what it involved (including skills and tools)
• Measurable results or impact (if any)
• Dates or timeframes (optional but helpful)

Examples:

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How to format additional sections on your resume 

Keep these sections easy to scan for both hiring managers and ATS software by following these tips:

• Place them after your main sections (Skills, Work Experience, Education), unless something is especially relevant to the role, like certifications or publications.
• Use clear, simple headings like Certifications, Projects, Volunteer Work, or Awards to group similar items.
• Stick to simple bullet points or non-numbered lists. They’re easier to read than long paragraphs and help your key info stand out.
• Skip graphics, images, bright colors, and fancy fonts. These often don’t format correctly in ATS tools and can prevent your resume from being parsed correctly. Plus, they can distract from your content.
• Leave white space between items and sections so your resume doesn’t look cluttered.

💡 Pro tip: You can do this manually by updating your resume section by section, or you can use Teal’s Resume Builder to format everything cleanly and consistently—without worrying about spacing, structure, or ATS compatibility.

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What not to do with additional information on your resume

When adding extra information to your resume, you want it to count, so avoid making these common mistakes: 

❌ Including inconsistent information. For instance, if your resume focuses on community-driven work, but you include a side hustle in luxury sales without explanation, it can feel off.

✅ Make sure any extra details support your overall career story. 

❌ Adding random hobbies. While it might feel like a way to show personality or initiative, unrelated interests—like listing your passion for knitting when applying for an HR role—can take up space that’s better used for more relevant details. 

✅ Skip hobbies and interests altogether. If you do add them, focus on those that reflect skills or qualities aligned with the role or company culture. Applying to a vet clinic? Mention your hobby of fostering animals for adoption!

❌ Ignoring cultural context for international roles. For instance, mentioning volunteer work in activist organizations might be seen positively in one region but raise concerns in another.

✅ If you're applying for a job overseas, take a moment to understand what’s considered appropriate or sensitive in that country’s hiring culture.

❌ Overstating. For example, saying you’re a member of the “North-Eastern Human Rights Lawyers Association” when you just get their newsletter isn’t a great look.

✅ Be honest and specific when including additional information.