For most job-seekers, a good resume is what stands between a dream job and Choice D. Get your resume right, and you’ll be getting replies from every other company you apply to.
If your resume game is weak, though, you’ll end up sitting around for weeks, maybe even months, before you even get a single response.
So you’re probably wondering how you can write a resume that leads to HR managers inviting you to interviews daily.
Well, you’ve come to the right place!
In this guide, we’re going to teach you everything you need to know about how to make a resume:
So, let’s dive right in!
How to Make a Resume (The Right Way!)
Before you even start working on your resume, you need to decide how you’re going to build it.
And no – you shouldn’t use a basic text editor. While this IS the most popular method for creating a resume, it’s very far from the best.
With a basic text editor resume, you’ll need to spend hours playing with the formatting. You make a minor change and BAM! Your entire resume layout gets messed up.
Instead of using a text editor, we recommend choosing a resume builder, such as Resume.io. It is fast, easy, and to put the icing on the cake, a Resume.io looks much better and can fit more information than your average, cookie-cutter resume…
To get the most out of this guide, you can head over to the resume builder and start building your resume on-the-go as you read this guide.
How to Pick the Right Resume Format?
There are three types of resume formats: reverse chronological, functional or skills-based, and a combination of the two. The choice depends on the type of job you are applying for and your level of experience.
The 3 resume formats are:
- Reverse chronological resume format – This is the most popular resume format and is ideal for people with plenty of work experience that is relevant to the position they’re interested in.
- Functional/skills-based resume format – If you lack relevant work experience because you are a student/recent graduate, or you are looking to make a career change, the skills-based format is a better choice.
- Combination resume format – The combination resume is a great choice for job-seekers with a very diverse skill-set. It’s useful if you’re applying for a role that requires expertise in 3-4 different fields, and you want to show all that in your resume. Say, for example, you’re applying for a senior management role, and the requirements are expertise in Management, Sales, and Software Development.
So, which one do you go for?
In 90%+ cases, you’d want to stick to the reverse-chronological resume format. This is the most common one, and most HR managers are used to this. Hence, in this guide, we’re going to focus on this specific format.
What is the Best Resume Layout?
The first thing a job recruiter notices about any resume is the layout.
Does it look organized or cluttered? Is it too short or too long? Is it boring and easy to ignore, or does it scream out “Read me!”?
Here are some of the best practices when it comes to your resume layout:
- One page in length. You should only go for 2 pages if you really, really believe that it’ll add significant value. HR managers in big firms get around 1,000+ resumes per month. They’re not going to spend their valuable time reading your life story!
- Clear section headings. Pick a heading (H2, for example) and use it for all the section headers.
- Ample white-space, especially around the margins.
- Easy-to-read font. We’d recommend sticking to what stands out, but not too much. Do: Ubuntu, Roboto, Overpass, etc. Don’t (ever): Comic Sans
- Pick the right font size. As a rule of thumb, go for 11 – 12 pt for normal text, and 14 – 16 pt for section titles.
- Save your resume as PDF. Word is a popular alternative, but it has a good chance of messing up your resume formatting.
One more thing you need to consider in terms of resume layout is whether you’re going for a traditional-looking free resume template or something a bit more modern:
If you’re pursuing a career in a more traditional industry – legal, banking, finance, etc. – you might want to stick to the first.
If you’re applying to a tech company, though, where imagination and innovation are valued, you can go for something more creative.
Resume Content – What to Mention on Your Resume
Now that we’ve got the basics out of the way, let’s dive into the essentials of how to write a resume.
The most popular sections for a resume are:
- Contact Information
- Professional Resume Summary or Objective
- Work Experience (and Achievements)
- Education
- Skills
- Optional Sections – Languages, Publications, Hobbies, etc.
Below, we’ll explore each resume section from top to bottom. We’ll explain what to write and how to write it so that you stand out and get the job you deserve.
Contact Information
The most critical section in your resume is the “contact information.” Even if you get everything else right, you’re not going to go far if the HR manager can’t get in touch with you because you misspelled your email.
Make sure to double-check, and even triple-check your contact information section and make sure everything is correct and up-to-date.
Must-have Information
First Name / Last Name.
Phone Number.
Email Address.
Location – are you located in the area, or will the company have to sponsor relocation?
Optional Information
Title – Your professional title. It can be your position, word-for-word, or your desired job. Think “Digital Marketing Specialist” or “Junior Data Scientist.”
LinkedIn URL – If you have an up-to-date profile that can add value to your application, make sure to include the link.
Social Media – Do you have a published portfolio online? For developers, this would be your GitHub, for a designer Behance or Dribble and for a writer, it could be your personal blog.
Website / Blog – Do you have an online presence? Maybe a blog that positions you as an expert in your field? If you do, make sure to mention it!
What NOT to Include in the Contact Info Section
Date of Birth (unless specifically required in the job ad) – The HR manager doesn’t need to know how old you are. It’s not important for their decision-making, and at worst, it might lead to discrimination based on age.
Unprofessional Email Address – Do: name.lastname@gmail.com Don’t: player69@gmail.com
Headshot – The HR manager doesn’t need to know what you look like in order to evaluate your application, so there’s no real need to include it.
All clear? Good! Now, let’s examine what a successful example of the contact section looks like:
Resume Summary or Objective
It’s not a secret for anyone that first impressions matter, whether they’re in your personal life, or your career.
If you leave a bad first impression, chances are, it’s there to stay. After all, it’s very hard to change someone’s opinion of you.
The same applies to your job search – the HR manager spends around 6 seconds scanning each resume. Yep, your carefully-worded, hand-crafted resume only gets 6 seconds of attention. Unless, of course, you manage to leave an amazing first impression.
The way you accomplish this is through either a good resume summary or objective. Both are placed at the top of your resume, right around the contact information section:
In your resume summary, you need to mention:
- Your job and years of experience. E.g.: Customer support representative with 5+ years of experience in the IT industry.
- 1 or 2 top achievements (or core responsibilities). E.g.: Specialized in technical support, customer care, and user retention.
- Desired goal (generally, passion for working at a specific company). E.g.: Looking for new opportunities as a support lead for a SaaS company.
Work Experience
The most important part of your resume is your work experience.
This is where you really sell yourself, displaying your past accomplishments and responsibilities.
If you manage to master this section alone, you’ll know 80%+ of all there is to know about how to make a resume.
There are a lot of best practices for writing your work experience. Before we dive into all the nits and grits, though, let’s start with the basics…
How to List Work Experience in a Resume
The standard format for your work experience is as follows:
- Job Title/Position – Your job title goes on top of each work experience entry. When the HR manager scans your resume, you want them to know, at a glance, that you have relevant work experience for the job.
- Company Name / Location / Description – Then, you mention the name of the relevant employer, as well as the location of the office you work/have worked in. In some cases, you may also want to briefly describe the company, if the organization is not a famous household name.
- Achievements and Responsibilities – This is the core of each work experience entry. Depending on your field, you want to list either your achievements or responsibilities. We’ll get more into the how’s and why’s of this in a bit.
- Dates Employed – The timeframe of your employment in each company. Not sure about the exact dates you worked somewhere? Don’t worry – you don’t have to be accurate by the day, as long as it’s close. The standard format expected by recruiters and employers is mm/yyyy (this is especially important when your job application will be parsed by an Applicant Tracking System).
Here’s a real-life example:
How much work experience do you include in your resume?
If you’ve got over a decade’s worth of work experience, you’re probably confused about how much of it you mention in your resume. After all, If you had to list everything you’ve ever done, you’d end up writing a mini-novella.
Or, on the other hand, if you’re a newcomer to the job market, you probably don’t have ANY experience and are wondering what could you even mention.
Here’s how much information you’d mention in your resume depending on your level of experience:
- Job hunters with no experience – If you don’t have any experience, it might be a bit hard to fill in your work experience section. You can either keep it empty and focus on all the other sections, or fill it up with work experience in student organizations, non-profits, etc.
- Entry-level candidates – List all the work you’ve done up to now.
- Mid-level professionals – ONLY mention work experience relevant to the position you’re applying for.
- Senior professionals – List up to 15 years of relevant work experience MAX. If your recent experience is as a CEO, no one cares about how you started your career as a cashier in your teenage years.
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How to List Skills in Your Resume
When mentioning skills in your resume, there are 3 essential steps to follow:
Step #1 – List Hard Skills with Experience Levels. For each hard skill you list, you want to mention your proficiency level:
As a rule of thumb, you can divide them by:
- Beginner – You have some experience with the skill, whether it’s from some entry-level practice or classroom education.
- Intermediate – You’ve used the skill in a work environment with a good level of understanding.
- Advanced – You’re the go-to person for the skill in your office. You can coach other employees, and understand the skill on a high level.
- Expert – You’ve applied this skill in more than a handful of different projects & organizations. You’re the go-to person for advice about the skill, not just in your office, but even amongst some of the best professionals in your field.
Make sure to NEVER lie about your skill levels. Otherwise, it’s going to be pretty awkward both for you and your employer.
Imagine your first task at work as an Illustrator – to create a graphic vector to go nicely with an article. If you end up delivering a hastily drawn stick figure colored with a paint bucket tool in Microsoft Paint, you’ll be out of the job before your probation period ends.
Step #2 – Tailor Your Skills to the Job. You might have some super rare, awesome skills, but they’re not always going to be useful. For example, it’s awesome that you know accounting, but would you really need it at your new job as a line cook? Exactly!
Take a look at the job ad and list 2-3 essential skills required for the job.
Step #3 – Include Some Universal Skills – “Universal Skills” are the type of skills useful for almost any job out there. These are both soft skills (leadership, teamwork, critical thinking, etc.) and hard skills (Excel, Powerpoint, Photoshop, writing, etc.). Whatever job you’re applying to, chances are, these skills will in one way or another come in handy, so feel free to include them, even if they’re not specifically required for the position.
Perfecting Your Resume – FREE Checklist
Already done with your resume? Interested in seeing how it holds up? Go through our checklist for perfecting your resume and see where you stand!
- Does your contact information section have all the must-have information?
- Is your contact email professional? E.g.: firstname+lastname@email.com
- Are you using the right resume format?
- Is your resume 1-2 pages?
- Did you include all the must-have sections in your resume?
- Did you list only the most relevant work experiences?
- Did you list achievements instead of responsibilities?
- Did you tailor your resume to the job ad you’re applying for?
- Did you mention the right amount of work experience in your resume?
- Did you list your education in your resume?
- Did you list all the right skills for the position you’re applying for?
- Did you add any other important resume sections?
- And finally, did you proof-read your resume? We’d recommend asking a friend or using software like Grammarly.
If you ☑’d all the points? Congrats! You’ve mastered all there is to know about how to write a resume, and you’re good-to-go to move on with your job search! If you missed some points, though, just go through your resume one more time and perfect it as much as possible.