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RE: Where exactly do certifications go on a resume — and which ones are even worth listing?

FutureTechie — Sat, 28 Mar 2026 22:37:31 +0000

okay wrapping this up with my final decisions based on everyone's advice:
Keeping on my resume:

AWS Cloud Practitioner (In Progress, Expected April 2025) — own dedicated Certifications section
Google Data Analytics Certificate — same section

Moving to Skills mention only:

CompTIA A+ — just noting "CompTIA A+" in my technical skills list since it's older and not directly relevant to my target roles

Removing entirely:

Udemy Python certificate — redundant since i'm listing Python as a skill with project evidence anyway

placing the Certifications section right after my Skills section, before Experience, since i'm entry-level and need these to do some work for me.
thanks everyone — this was way more nuanced than i expected. how to list certifications on resume sounds simple but there's actually a lot of strategy in it 🙏

RE: Where exactly do certifications go on a resume — and which ones are even worth listing?

UXDesigner415 — Sat, 28 Mar 2026 21:34:56 +0000

for design / creative roles — slightly different rules for certifications on resume.
nobody in UX/UI hiring cares much about generic business certs. what they DO care about:

Nielsen Norman Group UX Certification — very high signal
Google UX Design Certificate — decent for entry level
Interaction Design Foundation memberships/certs — recognised in the community
Adobe / Figma specific skill badges — useful but not game-changers

for creative roles, your portfolio link is doing 90% of the work. the certifications on resume section is secondary — keep it short and only include things a UX hiring manager would nod at. resumewritinglab.com helped me figure out which of mine were worth keeping vs. cutting — had 6 listed before, trimmed to 3, actually looked more confident.

RE: Where exactly do certifications go on a resume — and which ones are even worth listing?

Counconect — Sat, 28 Mar 2026 21:15:34 +0000

one thing i got wrong for ages: listing certifications that had expired without flagging them.
had my PRINCE2 certification from 2019 on my resume in 2024. recruiter asked me about it in a screening call, i admitted it had lapsed — awkward silence. lesson learned.
options when a cert expires:

Remove it entirely if it's no longer relevant
Add "(Expired 2022)" if the knowledge still signals something
Add "(Renewal in Progress)" if you're actually renewing it

also: some certs don't expire (Google Analytics, most Coursera certs). some do with a fixed window (AWS recertifies every 3 years, PMP every 3 years). know which category yours falls into before you put it on your resume.

RE: Does a LinkedIn profile writing service actually help, or should I just mirror my resume?

Shilpi — Sat, 28 Mar 2026 20:01:00 +0000

okay this thread convinced me lol. went with resumewritinglab.com — they had a bundle for resume review + LinkedIn rewrite that was actually cheaper than buying separately.
the writer asked me for: 3 target job titles, 5 companies i'd love to work at, and what i want recruiters to feel when they land on my profile. never thought about LinkedIn that way before.
final verdict from me: a proper linkedin profile writing service is worth it if you're actively job hunting, especially if you want inbound recruiter interest and not just applying cold. DIY is fine for maintenance, but for a proper launch — get help.
will update when the recruiter messages start rolling in 🤞

RE: Where exactly do certifications go on a resume — and which ones are even worth listing?

Shilpi — Sat, 28 Mar 2026 19:55:32 +0000

as a hiring manager i want to add: the position of your certifications section on the page matters depending on your career stage.
Entry-level / student: Certifications should be near the top — after summary and skills, before or alongside experience. They're doing heavy lifting to compensate for thin experience.
Mid-level: After your experience section. Your work history is the main story, certs are supporting evidence.
Senior / executive: At the bottom or folded into a brief "Professional Development" line. Nobody hiring a VP wants to read a list of Coursera badges.
this is the part that confuses most people about where to put certifications on resume — there's no single right answer, it shifts with seniority.

RE: Where exactly do certifications go on a resume — and which ones are even worth listing?

Mandien — Sat, 28 Mar 2026 17:34:14 +0000

here's the format i use for my resume certifications section — clean, ATS-friendly, easy to scan:
CERTIFICATIONS
──────────────────────────────────
AWS Cloud Practitioner — Amazon Web Services (2024)
Google Data Analytics Certificate — Coursera (2023)
PMP — Project Management Institute (2022, renewal 2026)
CompTIA Security+ — CompTIA (In Progress, Expected Aug 2026)
one line per cert. issuer in there. year in brackets. in-progress flagged clearly.
i used craftresumes.co when i was building my first proper resume and they specifically restructured my certs section this way — before that i had them randomly mixed into my skills list which apparently confuses ATS parsers.

RE: Where exactly do certifications go on a resume — and which ones are even worth listing?

EngineerInTraining — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 21:49:40 +0000

@8Rookie yes, list in-progress certs — but format matters:
✔ AWS Solutions Architect — Associate | In Progress (Expected June 2025)
✔ Google Project Management Certificate | Coursera — Currently Enrolled
this is completely standard and actually signals to recruiters that you're actively upskilling. i got asked about my in-progress AWS cert in two separate interviews — both times it was a positive conversation starter, not a red flag.
what you should NOT do: list it without the "in progress" note. if someone asks and you haven't passed yet, that's awkward.

RE: Does a LinkedIn profile writing service actually help, or should I just mirror my resume?

EngineerInTraining — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 20:35:27 +0000

one thing nobody mentions: LinkedIn and your resume need to be consistent but not identical.
if a recruiter sees your resume and then checks LinkedIn and it's word-for-word the same — it reads as copy-paste lazy. but if they're wildly different it looks suspicious.
the way craftresumes.co handled mine: resume = formal, achievement-focused, ATS-optimised. LinkedIn = same facts, more conversational, more searchable headline, longer About with actual personality.
same story, different format. that's the goal. if you're doing it yourself without a linkedin profile writer, at least make sure your headline isn't just your job title and your About doesn't start with "I am a hardworking professional".

RE: Does a LinkedIn profile writing service actually help, or should I just mirror my resume?

Mandien — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 20:16:23 +0000

@Shilpi here's my actual before/after from resumewritinglab.com if it helps:
Headline before:

"Business Administration Graduate | Looking for opportunities"

Headline after:

"Business Analyst | SQL · Tableau · Process Improvement | Open to Entry-Level BA Roles"

About before:

"I am a recent graduate with strong communication skills and a passion for business..."

About after:

"I turn messy data into decisions people actually act on. Over three years of university projects and two internships in finance and marketing, I've learned that the best analysis is useless if it can't be explained clearly..."

recruiter response rate went from ~0 to 3 inbound messages in the first two weeks. worth every penny of the linkedin profile writing service cost (paid around £110 bundled with resume).

RE: Where exactly do certifications go on a resume — and which ones are even worth listing?

8Rookie — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 19:38:01 +0000

okay what about certifications that are in progress? do you list them on your resume before you've finished? feels weird to claim something you don't have yet 🤔