Which Resume Headers Are ATS-Friendly? A Standard Section-Name Guide

Writing creative section headers on your resume ("My Journey," "What I Bring to the Table") might look interesting to a human eye, but ATS systems are typically trained to recognize standard headers. An unusual header can cause that section to go unclassified. This article lists safe header choices by section.

Contact Information

Safe: Contact Information, Contact Details (or simply place it at the top without a header) Avoid: Get in Touch, Let's Connect

Professional Summary

Safe: Summary, Professional Summary, About Me Avoid: Who I Am, Me at a Glance

Experience

Safe: Experience, Work Experience, Professional Experience Avoid: My Journey, Where I've Been

Education

Safe: Education, Education Background Avoid: My Academic Adventure

Skills

Safe: Skills, Competencies, Technical Skills Avoid: What I Can Do, Superpowers

Certifications

Safe: Certifications, Certifications & Training Avoid: My Credentials, Proof Points

Languages

Safe: Languages, Language Proficiency Avoid: Languages I Speak (not wrong, just an unnecessary deviation from the standard)

Projects

Safe: Projects, Personal Projects Avoid: Things I've Built, Portfolio Highlights

Why Be This Strict?

Creative headers won't always disqualify your resume — many modern ATS platforms, and nearly every human reader, understand what "My Journey" means. But the risk isn't guaranteed to pay off: some older or simpler parsers may fail to categorize an unfamiliar header at all, which makes the information in that section effectively "lost" to the system. Standard headers eliminate that risk entirely and cost you nothing — which is why the "safe side" is always the standard header.

Conclusion

Save your creativity for the content — especially the bullet points in your experience section — not the headers. Standard section headers make your resume easier to scan for both an ATS and a recruiter skimming quickly. For your resume's overall structure, see How to Write a Resume.