Certifications on a Resume: How to Highlight Them the Right Way (+ Examples)

‍Earning certifications requires significant investment in time and resources to enhance your expertise and marketability. These credentials are especially valuable for professionals with limited experience, serving as powerful proof of your knowledge and capabilities.

While LinkedIn is one way to showcase certifications, strategically adding them to your resume can be even more impactful.

Certifications help align your qualifications with employers' requirements while demonstrating your commitment to professional growth—setting you apart in a competitive job market.

But how do you effectively present certifications on your resume, and how can you determine which ones are most relevant to your target role?

Let’s dive in and discuss what certifications are, the different types, and how you can list certifications to highlight skills to potential employers and hiring managers.

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What are certifications?

Certifications are official credentials organizations or institutions give after a person successfully completes a specific assessment, training program, or online course.

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Understanding certifications on a resume

Think of certifications on your resume as a kind of trophy or medal in the world of professional expertise. 

Across industries, having certifications on a resume can  validate competency or proficiency in specific tasks or technologies, especially where specialized knowledge is crucial (for example, IT, healthcare, finance, project management, language proficiency, etc.).

Certifications also:

• Promote career advancement 
• Align with industry standards 
• Offer job seekers a competitive advantage 
• Showcase credibility and increase trust 

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Should you add certifications to a resume?

Much like including projects in your resume, adding certifications helps highlight your skills and can significantly increase your chances of getting noticed by hiring managers, recruiters, and prospective employers as a candidate with the knowledge or skills that might be required to be successful in a particular role. 

Including certifications on your resume can also fill experience gaps and shows employers that you’re committed to learning and professional development within your field.

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When to add certifications to your resume

Add certifications to your resume when they're relevant to the job or required for the position. Adding certifications to your resume can be particularly valuable if you're early in your career or when you have limited experience, as they demonstrate to hiring managers that you possess the necessary skills and knowledge. 

To determine whether or not a role you're applying for requires a certification, read the job description carefully. Look for keywords indicating "mandatory" or "required" qualifications. 

Pro Tip: Teal's Job Application Tracker and AI Resume Builder help extract the most important keywords from a job description so you can tailor your resume with the most relevant certifications for every job you apply to.

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Types of certifications

Professional certifications 

Professional certifications are industry-recognized credentials awarded by established organizations to validate expertise in a particular occupation or industry.

Professional certifications help professionals enhance their skills, advance their careers, and build credibility within their chosen industries.

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Examples of professional certifications

• Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
• Project Management Professional (PMP), 
• Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)
• Google Analytics Individual Qualification (IQ)

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Technical certifications

Technical certifications focus on validating skills and knowledge related to specific technologies, tools, or software. These certifications vary across industries, and can be obtained in areas such programming, cybersecurity, cloud computing, database management and more.

While technical certifications are incredibly common in IT, these credentials are valuable for professionals across all industries and career levels.

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Technical certification examples

• AWS Certified Solutions Architect
• Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA)
• Microsoft Certified Azure Administrator
• Oracle Certified Java Programmer (OCP)

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Industry-specific certifications

Professionals working in specialized fields or sectors can pursue industry-specific certifications. These certifications cater to the unique requirements and standards of particular industries—like the healthcare industry has job critical certifications for medical professionals like Registered Nurses (RN), Certified Medical Assistants (CMA), and more.

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Examples of industry-specific certifications

• Certified ScrumMaster (CSM)
• Certified Digital Marketing Professional (CDMP)
• Certified Financial Planner (CFP)
• Certified Pharmacy Technician (CPhT) 
• Certified Professional in Supply Management (CPSM)

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Academic certifications

Educational institutions grant academic certifications at various educational levels (from undergraduate to postgraduate) to indicate the successful completion of a specific academic program or course. For example, Purdue University offers a postgraduate certificate in Cybersecurity.

Think of them like a minor to your major—complementing your primary focus. These credentials demonstrate proficiency in a particular subject or area of study. 

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Examples of academic certificates

• University of California, Berkeley: Data Science
• New York University (NYU): Certificate in Digital Marketing 
• University: University of Pennsylvania: Social Impact Strategy 
• University of Texas at Austin: Business Foundations 
• Georgetown University: Leadership Coaching

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Where to put certifications on a resume

The most common way to list certifications on a resume are in a dedicated "Certifications" section. However if your certifications are academic, you may choose your "Education" section.

Here’s some additional resume sections where listing certifications can be beneficial:

• Certifications section: Creating a dedicated certifications section keeps your resume organized, making it easy for hiring managers and recruiters to see your credentials.
• Education section: Adding certifications to the education section of your resume is best for academic certifications.
• Professional summary: It’s not uncommon for professionals to start off their professional summary with their credentials, for example: “Certified PMP with 7 years of experience”. If you choose to incorporate your credentials in your professional summary, you’ll want to make sure to also include the certification in a dedicated Certifications section as well.

Using one of these dedicated sections presents your credentials in a scannable format, making it easy for a hiring manager, recruiter, and prospective employer to get a high-level overview of your additional qualifications.

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How to list certifications on a resume

When it comes to adding certifications on resumes, it's slightly different than listing your projects or extracurricular activities to your resume. there are a few ways to draw attention to your credentials while keeping a clear, concise, and organized resume structure.

Here are three steps you want to take to ensure you include the necessary information as you add certifications to your resume:

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Step 1: Add the name of the certification, and in parentheses, use any common acronyms or abbreviations it may be known by (such as CPA, CFA, or CISSP). 

Step 2: List the certifying agency using the complete business, institution, or organization name. (For example, use "Indiana University" rather than "IU," and "Project Management Institute" rather than "PMI.")

Step 3: Include the start date and end date or date of completion. Be sure to follow the same date format for each. So MM/DD/YEAR, Month, Date, Year, etc.

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How to format certifications on a resume

How you format your certifications is up to you, but be mindful that each certification you add should follow the same format throughout your resume.

Resume certifications format example:

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Certifications on resume examples

To get a clear picture of the best methods for adding certifications to a resume, check out the these resume examples across roles, industries, and seniority level below. 

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Resume "Certifications" section example

Here are three examples of how to list certifications in a dedicated "Certifications" section on your resume.

Certifications on resume example - DevOps Engineer

• Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) | Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) | June 2023
• AWS Certified DevOps Engineer - Professional | Amazon Web Services| October 2022
• Certified Jenkins Engineer | CloudBees, Inc. | August 2021
• Docker Certified Associate (DCA) | Docker, Inc. | March 2022

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Certifications on resume example - Copywriter

• Google Ads - Search Advertising Certification

Google - 5/23

• HubSpot Content Marketing Certification

HubSpot Academy - 7/22

• Copyblogger Certified Content Marketer

Copyblogger - 11/21

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Certifications on resume example - Administrative assistant

• Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) - Word/Excel/Outlook

Date of Completion: September 2022

Issued by: Microsoft

• Professional Administrative Certificate (PAC)

Date of Completion: December 2021

Issued by: International Association of Administrative Professionals (IAAP)

• Certified Administrative Professional (CAP)

Date of Completion: August 2023

Issued by: IAAP

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Examples of certifications in the "Education" section

If you have academic certifications to add to your resume, listing them in the Education section of your resume can help keep your resume organized, and make it easy for hiring managers to review the full scope of your qualifications.

Resume certification example - Brand strategist

Education

• Master of Marketing and Communication New York University (NYU), New York City
• Graduation Date: December 2020
• NYU School of Professional Studies Branding Certificate
• Date of Completion: August 2021
• Issued by: New York University (NYU) School of Professional Studies

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Resume certification example - Graphic designer 

Education

• Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) | 2019
• Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) Advanced Graphic Design Certificate | Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) | 2020 
• UI/UX Design Certification | Interaction Design Foundation (IDF) |2021

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Resume certification example - Data analyst

Education

• Bachelor of Science in Statistics University of Texas at Austin, May 2022
• University of Texas at Austin Data Analytics Certificate - University of Texas at Austin, December 2022

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Resume certification example - Backend engineer 

Education

• Bachelor of Science in Computer Science Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Anticipated Graduation Date: May 2024

• MIT Professional Education Software Development Certificate

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) 

Date of Completion: May 2023

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Examples resume certifications in a professional summary

Adding your certifications to your professional resume summary can help you catch the attention of hiring managers, recruiters, and prospective employers quickly.

Resume certification example - Backend engineer 

Highly skilled Back-end Engineer with 5 years of experience designing and developing robust and scalable back-end systems. Proficient in Java and Spring Framework. AWS Certified Developer with a proven track record of deploying and managing microservices architecture for cloud-based applications.

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Resume certification example - Customer service

Customer-centric Remote Customer Service Specialist with 3 years of experience providing exceptional customer support. Certified in Zendesk Support and skilled in resolving complex inquiries across multiple communication channels. Demonstrated ability to maintain high customer satisfaction levels while working remotely.

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Resume certification example - Data Analyst

Data Analyst with a strong analytical mindset and 4 years of experience in data manipulation and visualization. Proficient in SQL and Python. Google Analytics Certified with a history of generating actionable insights to optimize business performance and drive growth.

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Certification examples

Here’s a list of certifications for professionals of various career levels. The example certifications include various certification types including professional, technical, and industry-specific credentials.

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Certifications for entry-level roles:

• Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) - Word/Excel/PowerPoint
• CompTIA IT Fundamentals+
• Google Ads - Fundamentals
• HubSpot Inbound Marketing Certification
• Salesforce Certified Administrator
• Certified ScrumMaster (CSM)
• Hootsuite Social Media Marketing Certification
• Google Analytics Individual Qualification (GAIQ)
• Amazon Web Services (AWS) Certified Cloud Practitioner
• ITIL Foundation Certification

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Certifications for mid-level roles:

• Project Management Professional (PMP)
• Google Ads - Search Advertising Certification
• Microsoft Certified Azure Administrator Associate
• Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)
• Certified Data Professional (CDP)
• Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH)
• Tableau Desktop Specialist
• AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Associate
• Certified Agile Project Manager (IAPM)
• Google Analytics Advanced Certification

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Certifications for senior-level roles:

• Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP)
• Certified Information Security Manager (CISM)
• AWS Certified Solutions Architect - Professional
• Project Management Professional (PMP)
• Certified Scrum Professional (CSP)
• Google Ads - Display Advertising Certification
• Microsoft Certified: Azure Solutions Architect Expert
• Certified Business Continuity Professional (CBCP)
• Data Management Association Certified Data Management Professional (CDMP)
• Certified Chief Information Security Officer (CCISO)

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Mistakes to avoid when listing certifications on a resume

Now that you understand the significance of resume certifications let's take a look at some things you should avoid when listing certificates on a resume. 

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Listing irrelevant certifications

Even if you have minimal work experience, don't list certifications that aren't relevant to the job you're applying for. Including irrelevant certifications can clutter your resume and distract from the qualifications that matter.

The only caveat is that if a certification demonstrates a transferable skill or an area of knowledge that might interest a prospective employer, it may be worth including.

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Not providing enough information

Neglecting to include essential details like the certifying organization, year received, and what skills or knowledge the certification covers can hurt your credibility. This additional information also helps employers understand the relevance of (and the effort you put into) your credentials.

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Misrepresenting or exaggerating certifications

Honesty is vital on a resume. Don't say you've obtained a professional certification or completed a course if you're still in progress or only partially completed it (unless explicitly stated). Also, you should never list certifications you don't have, as misrepresenting your qualifications can have negative consequences on your professional reputation and career.

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Not tailoring your certifications to each job application

The certificates you list on your resume might change depending on the job you're applying for. Make sure to highlight the credentials that are most relevant to each specific job description.

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How to add certifications to your resume with Teal

Teal's AI Resume Builder offers intuitive features that make creating and updating your resume seamless. With Teal, you can easily add your certifications, create a dedicated "Certification" section, format your resume, and more—helping you highlight your qualifications to prospective employers.

Here's what it can look like using Teal:

Before you get started, make sure you list certifications that align with the role you're applying for. 

Pro Tip: Want to know if the job description requires specific certifications? Teal's Job Application Tracker automatically highlights the important keywords and skills from the job description, making it easy to determine which certifications are worth emphasizing on your resume.

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Highlight your certifications on your resume today

Your certifications represent your expertise and commitment to professional growth.

And regardless of your experience or where you're at in your career, showcasing them on your resume grabs the attention of the hiring manager or recruiter—drawing attention to the time you've spent honing your skills and investing in your career.

With Teal's suite of tools, you can ensure your certifications are highlighted and tailored to the specific job you're applying for—helping you land your dream job sooner.

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