Writing a resume that highlights your skills and experience can make a significant impact on your job search. If you’re starting out or changing direction professionally, this guide explains each step of writing a focused and professional resume.
Steps to Write a Resume
Define Your Resume’s Purpose –
Before you begin writing, decide what you want your resume to achieve. It should show employers how your experience aligns with their needs and make them want to learn more about you.
- Focus on relevance; only include information that directly supports the job you’re applying for.
- Avoid listing every job or skill; prioritize the ones that show growth and capability.
- Keep in mind that most hiring managers only spend a few seconds on the initial review.
- Think ahead—write toward the job you want, not just the one you have.
Pick a Format That Matches Your Background –
Different resume formats highlight different strengths. Choose the one that lets your qualifications shine.
- Chronological resumes list your jobs in reverse order, best if you have steady experience.
- Functional resumes emphasize your skills over work history and suit career changers or those with employment gaps.
- Combination resumes do both; useful if you want to highlight both strong skills and solid experience.
- If you’re a recent graduate, consider placing your education section before experience.
Add Contact Details –
Place your name and contact information at the top. This creates your first impression and makes it easy for employers to follow up.
- Include a professional email address, phone number, and optionally a LinkedIn profile.
- Make sure the layout is neat and error-free so it’s easy to scan.
- Use font sizes around 14–16 pt for your name, and 10–12 pt for contact info.
- Skip outdated details like your full street address, birthdate, or a photo unless the job posting requests them.
- Avoid adding private details such as age, marital status, religion, or Social Security number.
Write a Focused Summary or Objective –
Start with a short introduction that quickly conveys your strengths and intent. A strong summary or objective should include your job title or profession, years of experience, top skills or achievements, and a goal that matches the job.
- A summary works well if you’ve had experience. For example: “Marketing professional with 4+ years of experience in brand campaigns and social media strategy.”
- An objective fits better for students or career changers. For example: “Recent graduate seeking entry-level accounting position to apply strong data analysis and budgeting skills.”
- If you’re applying in a people-facing or creative field, you can add personality or tone that reflects your style.
- Consider adding a headline just below your name, such as: “Certified UX Designer Specializing in Mobile Experience.” A resume title like this can clarify your specialization and catch attention quickly.
- Use the exact job title from the job description when possible—it increases your chances of passing ATS filters.
- Skip the objective entirely if you can’t make it specific and role-relevant.
Describe Work Experience with Results –
Share your job history in a way that highlights accomplishments and growth.
- Begin with your most recent job and go backward.
- For each role, list your job title, employer, location, and employment dates (preferably in MM/YYYY format).
- Limit your work history to the past 10–15 years unless earlier roles are highly relevant.
- Start each job entry with a brief line describing the overall scope of your responsibilities.
- Use bullet points that follow a neat format:
[Action verb] + [what you did] + [impact, using numbers if possible]
For example:
– Developed a content calendar that increased site traffic by 40% over three months.
– Managed a team of 6 in launching a new client onboarding process.” - If you don’t have metrics, include meaningful context: size of the team, budget managed, or competitive landscape.
- Focus on achievements rather than tasks, and keep bullets concise and results-driven.
Share Your Education –
List degrees or certifications that are relevant to the job you want. The position of this section depends on your career stage: place it earlier if you’re a recent graduate and later if you have more work experience.
- Start with your highest degree first.
- Include the degree title, school name, location, and graduation year.
- Add honors, GPA (if strong), or relevant coursework if you’re early in your career.
- Mention specialized training, relevant academic projects, or certifications when applicable.
Match Your Skills to the Job Description –
Create a skills section that directly aligns with the job you’re targeting. Use this space to highlight specific technical tools, software, or professional strengths mentioned in the job description. Personalizing the skills increases the chance of your resume passing through applicant tracking systems (ATS) and demonstrates that you understand the role’s requirements.
- Use a mix of hard skills (e.g., JavaScript, budgeting) and soft skills (e.g., collaboration, problem-solving).
- Be specific—write “Google Analytics” instead of “analytics tools.”
- Include both acronyms and full terms (e.g., “SEO” and “Search Engine Optimization”) to improve visibility in ATS scans.
- Show skill levels where helpful, e.g., “Photoshop (Advanced),” “Python (Intermediate).”
- Avoid listing skills that you’re not confident using.
Include Relevant Extras –
Add additional sections that demonstrate your qualifications beyond basic work and education. These can be specialized training, creative or technical projects, leadership experience, or relevant extracurricular achievements. Highlighting this information can provide a more complete picture of your abilities, especially when aligned with the role you’re targeting.
- Certifications: Only list those that are current and relevant.
- Volunteer Experience: Can highlight leadership or technical skills.
- Projects: Great for creatives or technical roles—mention tools used or results achieved.
- Awards or Publications: Use if they relate to the job or demonstrate excellence.
- Include links to online portfolios or personal websites if they help demonstrate your work.
- Add a “Languages” section if you’re fluent in more than one language. Specify skill level (e.g., “Spanish – Fluent,” “German – Conversational”).
Adjust Your Resume for Each Application –
Personalize your resume to each job; this will show employers that you’ve studied the role and understand what they need. It will increase your chances of getting noticed by applicant tracking systems (ATS) and make your experience feel more relevant to the specific position.
- Identify the key skills and requirements in the specific job post you’re applying for.
- Rearrange or rewrite bullet points so the most relevant experience appears first.
- Edit your summary to reflect the focus of the position.
- Aim for around 65–80% keyword match with the job description. Use keywords naturally and avoid overstuffing.
Use a Clean, Simple Design –
Choose a minimal, modern, or neat design for your resume or keep the formatting minimal. A neat format or design will strengthen the overall presentation of your resume, increase its chances of being noticed during quick reviews, and help applicant tracking systems (ATS) properly process your information.
- Choose basic fonts like Calibri or Arial in 10–12 pt size.
- Use bold or all caps for headings and leave enough white space between sections.
- Set margins between 0.5–1 inch to maintain a balanced layout.
- Avoid graphics or complex formatting that might confuse automated scanners or overwhelm human readers.
- Format the layout to guide the reader’s eye logically from top to bottom, making key sections easy to find.
- Keep the wording smooth and natural—optimized for both ATS and human readers.
- Neat formatting is more effective than creative visuals—even in artistic fields.
Proofread to Catch Errors –
Typos and grammar mistakes can affect how professional your resume appears. Take time to review your writing carefully to ensure it is accurate for the job role and professional.
- Read it slowly and aloud to catch awkward phrasing.
- Use grammar and spellcheck tools, but also double-check manually.
- Ask a friend, mentor, or colleague to review it.
Finalize and Prepare to Send –
Before finalizing your resume, make sure every section is complete, customized to the job, and accurately formatted. Save the file as a PDF to preserve formatting and for compatibility with different devices.
- Save it as a PDF to preserve the layout unless otherwise instructed.
- Name your file professionally (e.g., “AlexMorgan_Resume.pdf”).
- Double-check that everything looks right before sending.
Tips
- Keep your resume to one page if you have less than 10 years of experience.
- Use metrics or achievements where possible to show your impact.
- Mirror keywords from the job posting to pass ATS filters.
- Avoid filler words and focus on what makes your background relevant.
- Add links to your online portfolio or personal website if it supports your application.
- Use active, specific language in bullet points; avoid phrases like “responsible for.”
- Vary your action verbs to maintain engagement. Start bullets with words like “led,” “developed,” “streamlined,” or “facilitated.”
- Use AI resume builders only as a starting point—always review, edit, and personalize the content before submitting.
Important
- Never include false information or stretch the truth.
- Avoid including reasons for leaving previous roles. These explanations are better discussed during an interview and may raise unnecessary questions when listed on a resume.
- Avoid generic phrases without proof, like “hard worker,” “team player,” or “results-driven professional.”
- Sending the same resume everywhere reduces your chances; customization matters.
- Avoid large blocks of text or narrative paragraphs; stick to bullet points for clarity.
- Don’t list soft skills without showing how you applied them. Instead of saying “strong communication,” describe how you used it to achieve results.
FAQs
No. It’s standard practice to provide references only when requested. Including them on your resume takes up valuable space and isn’t expected by most employers. If you’re asked to submit references separately, you can use a dedicated reference list document. See these reference list templates for examples.
One page is recommended for most candidates, especially those with under 10 years of experience. For senior-level professionals or technical roles with extensive project history, two pages are acceptable.
Focus on internships, freelance work, school projects, volunteer roles, and skills that transfer to the job. Emphasize learning, initiative, and accomplishments that demonstrate your potential. For detailed steps and examples, see this guide on how to write a resume with no experience.
List technical and job-specific skills mentioned in the job description. Prioritize software, tools, or certifications relevant to the role. You can also include interpersonal strengths, but focus on those that support your job performance. If space allows, note your skill level for tools or languages. For formatting examples and more guidance, see the guide to writing the skills section on a resume.
List your degree under the education section, starting with the degree title, followed by the field of study, school name, and graduation year. You can also include academic honors, relevant coursework, or GPA (if recent and strong).
Example: Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, University of Texas, Austin — May 2092 GPA: 3.8 | Relevant Coursework: Data Structures, Algorithms, Database Systems
For full formatting steps and examples, see our guide on how to list education on a resume.
List your MBA under the education section, just like any other degree. Include the full degree name (e.g., Master of Business Administration), the school name, graduation year, and any concentrations or honors. If your MBA is recent or particularly relevant to the job, place it higher in the education section or mention it in your profile summary.
Example:
Master of Business Administration (MBA), Kellogg School of Management,
Northwestern University — 2023
Concentration: Marketing | Dean’s List
Your profile should briefly summarize your professional background, strengths, and career goals. Focus on your most relevant qualifications and tailor it to the role. Mention your job title, years of experience, core expertise, and one or two key achievements or areas of focus.
Example: “Detail-oriented Financial Analyst with 4+ years of experience in budgeting, forecasting, and financial modeling. Skilled in Excel, data visualization, and cross-functional collaboration. Seeking to contribute analytical expertise to a fast-paced finance team.”
Yes, unless the job post says not to. A cover letter will help you connect your background to the role, explain transitions, or highlight accomplishments not obvious from your resume.
Keep your message brief and professional. Mention the job title you’re applying for, express interest in the role, and note that your resume is attached. If required, reference any documents included and thank the recipient for their time. You can also include a one-line summary of your background or key qualification.
Example: Subject: Application for Marketing Assistant – Resume Attached
Dear [Hiring Manager’s Name],
I’m writing to express my interest in the Marketing Assistant position at [Company Name]. I’ve attached my resume for your review and would welcome the opportunity to discuss how my skills in digital content creation align with your team’s needs. Thank you for your time and consideration.
Best regards,
[Your Name]
