How To List Publications on a Resume With Examples

Listing publications on your resume can help you stand out and show thought leadership in your field. But you may find it hard to organize them on your resume, especially if they include many co-authors, long article titles, or endless URL addresses. Knowing how to format items clearly and succinctly can ensure you don’t clutter up your resume or overshadow your other accomplishments. Below is a step-by-step guide to how to list publications on a resume.

1. Develop a Master Publications List

When deciding how to put publications on a resume, first draft a complete overview of those you’ve written or co-written to date. By gathering this list (and updating it as needed), you can more quickly list publications on your resume for any current or future job application.

To keep your list clear and organized, follow a consistent citation style. Here’s an overview of common citation styles and the academic/professional areas where they generally apply:

• American Psychological Association (APA): Academic and scientific research
• Chicago Manual of Style: Journalism and publishing
• Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE): Science and technology
• Modern Language Association (MLA): Humanities

Determine if your field requires you to write publications on a resume in a certain style (this is more common if you work in science or academia). When in doubt, use MLA.

2. Use a Bibliography Tool

If you’re one of the many who find citation guidelines tedious, a bibliography tool like the one in Microsoft Word (MS Word) lets you organize your items and shows you how to write publications on a resume. It may take you a few minutes to learn this feature, but once you do, you can quickly add to your publications list going forward.

You’ll find MS Word’s bibliography tool on the “References” tab. Look for the “Citations & Bibliography” section of ribbon commands, then follow these five steps:

1. Click the “Style” dropdown menu and choose the citation style you’d like to use.

2. Click the “Manage Sources” command. Toward the middle of the Source Manager menu that appears, click “New…” to open the “Create Source” form.

3. Choose your publication category at the top (such as Book, Book Section, and Journal Article). Then, enter details such as the Title, Year, and Publisher.

4. Click “OK” and then “New…” again as needed to enter your other publications. When you’re done, click “Close” on the bottom right to exit the Source Manager menu.

5. Click the “Bibliography” ribbon command to generate your full publications list, auto-formatted in your chosen style.

Check out MS Word’s bibliography help page for more details. Once you have a bibliography list, this shows you how to put publications on your resume, and you can just copy and paste.

If you don’t have access to MS Word, there are a variety of citation generators and bibliography tools available on the market as well. Tools like Scribbr, Citation Machine, and EasyBib make the process of including your publications on your resume or CV much easier. Just make sure to always go over it with a human eye, as these tools do make mistakes sometimes.

3. Choose Relevant Publications for Your Job Search

After setting up a master publications list, you can use it as the basis for listing publications on your resume. Simply review the list and copy any relevant items into your latest resume or CV publications list.

Leave out any publications that don’t pertain to your current job search. (The only exception to this rule is if they include dates that help you account for a gap in your career history.) Assuming you don’t use every item on your list, name the resulting resume or CV publications section “Select Publications” or “Publication Highlights” for accuracy.

Under each citation, feel free to add more details or a brief description of the subject matter. This can be especially useful if the title of the publication is somehow vague or misleading or is in a different field than the position you’re applying for.

4. Streamline Your Publications on a Resume

How to list publications on a resume depends on how many items you have. If you have many relevant publications and you’re drafting a CV publications list, you can include them all because readers of a CV expect to see the full scope of your background.

If you’re preparing a resume, a more streamlined approach helps hiring managers quickly scan your top publications and look up any they’d like to know more about. You can also expound on your publications in the interview or even in your cover letter. Try these steps to streamline the publications section of your resume.

Pare back to your top five items

One key tip for writing publications on your resume is not to overwhelm the hiring manager. Narrowing down to your top five keeps your publications section brief so it won’t overshadow your work experience or education details. Consider which publications are the most recent, the most prestigious, or the most relevant to the job you’re applying for.

Plug in the URL

If you have the URL to a publication’s full text or citation online, include the link at the end of its entry. Adding the URL lets you remove other citation details that hiring managers would need to find an article, such as volume, issue, or page numbers. For a long URL, you can enter the word “Link” as your hyperlink to the web page.

Check these links regularly to ensure they are still accurate and leading to the right page. Websites often change things, and if your link leads to a 404 Not Found error, it could result in automatic disqualification for the position. You can also download PDFs of your publications and add them to Google Drive or a similar platform and link directly to the piece there.

Categorize by role

To list publications on your resume in which you were one of multiple authors, you can omit the names of your colleagues without taking undue credit. Just divide your publications into “Author” and “Co-Author” categories, as in the following APA-style example:

Examples of How To List Publications on Your Resume

Frequently Asked Questions About How To List Publications on Your Resume or CV

Jacob Meade

Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW, ACRW)

Jacob Meade is a resume writer and editor with nearly a decade of experience. His writing method centers on understanding and then expressing each person’s unique work history and strengths toward their career goal. Jacob has enjoyed working with jobseekers of all ages and career levels, finding that a clear and focused resume can help people from any walk of life. He is an Academy Certified Resume Writer (ACRW) with the Resume Writing Academy, and a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) with the Professional Association of Resume Writers & Career Coaches.