How to Write a Resume That Gets Interviews
Create a compelling resume that showcases your skills and experience. Learn formatting, content strategy, keyword optimization, and how to beat applicant tracking systems (ATS).
Resume Resources: The U.S. Department of Labor and Government of Canada provide resume writing resources.
Resume Basics
What Is a Resume?
A resume is a concise document (typically 1-2 pages) highlighting your professional experience, skills, education, and accomplishments. Its purpose is to get you an interview, not to tell your entire life story.
Resume vs. CV (Curriculum Vitae)
- Resume (US & Canada): 1-2 pages, focused on relevant experience for specific job
- CV (US academic): Comprehensive, multi-page document for academic positions listing all publications, research, teaching
- CV (Canada, Europe): Term often used interchangeably with resume in non-academic contexts
Length Guidelines
- Entry-level / Recent grad: 1 page
- Mid-career (5-10 years): 1-2 pages
- Senior professional (10+ years): 2 pages maximum
- Executive/C-suite: 2 pages, sometimes 3
Resume Format Options
1. Reverse-Chronological (Most Common)
Structure: Lists experience starting with most recent, working backwards
Best for: Traditional career progression, stable work history, staying in same field
Pros: Familiar to recruiters, shows career growth, ATS-friendly
Cons: Highlights employment gaps, may emphasize outdated experience
2. Functional/Skills-Based
Structure: Emphasizes skills and accomplishments over work history chronology
Best for: Career changers, employment gaps, diverse experience, freelancers
Pros: Highlights relevant skills, downplays gaps
Cons: Recruiters may be suspicious, harder to verify employment, poor ATS performance
3. Hybrid/Combination
Structure: Skills summary at top, followed by reverse-chronological work history
Best for: Career changers with some relevant experience, highlighting transferable skills
Pros: Showcases skills while providing employment verification
Cons: Can be longer, requires careful organization
Recommendation: For most job seekers, reverse-chronological format is safest choice. It's what recruiters expect and performs best with ATS systems.
Essential Resume Sections
1. Contact Information (Header)
Include:
- • Full name (larger, bold font)
- • Phone number (professional voicemail)
- • Email address (professional: firstname.lastname@email.com)
- • City, State/Province (full address not necessary)
- • LinkedIn URL (optional but recommended)
- • Professional website/portfolio (if relevant)
Don't include: Photo (unless required in your country), age, marital status, social security number, full street address
2. Professional Summary or Objective (Optional)
2-4 sentence overview of your background, key skills, and career goals. Use for career changes or when applying to specific roles.
Example:
3. Work Experience (Most Important Section)
For each position include:
- • Job title
- • Company name, location (City, State/Province)
- • Dates employed (Month Year - Month Year)
- • 3-6 bullet points describing accomplishments and responsibilities
Bullet Point Formula:
Examples:
- • "Increased sales revenue by 35% ($500K) through implementation of targeted email marketing campaigns"
- • "Managed cross-functional team of 12 to deliver software project 2 weeks ahead of schedule, saving $50K"
- • "Reduced customer support response time by 60% by developing automated ticketing system"
4. Education
Include:
- • Degree type and major (e.g., Bachelor of Science in Computer Science)
- • University name, location
- • Graduation year (or expected graduation)
- • GPA if 3.5+ and recent grad (optional)
- • Relevant coursework, honors, or awards (if space permits)
Note: If you have 10+ years experience, education can go at bottom. For recent grads, put education near top.
5. Skills
List relevant technical and soft skills. Tailor to job posting keywords.
Examples:
- • Technical: Python, SQL, Salesforce, Adobe Creative Suite, project management software
- • Soft skills: Team leadership, stakeholder communication, problem-solving, data analysis
- • Certifications: PMP, CPA, AWS Certified Solutions Architect
Optional Sections (If Relevant)
- Certifications & Licenses: Relevant professional credentials
- Projects: Freelance, academic, or personal projects demonstrating skills
- Publications: Articles, research papers, books (academic/research roles)
- Volunteer Experience: Significant volunteer work, especially if career-relevant
- Languages: Fluency levels if multilingual and relevant to position
- Awards & Honors: Recent, relevant professional recognition
Beating Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS)
75%+ of resumes are screened by Applicant Tracking Systems before human eyes see them. ATS scans for keywords, proper formatting, and relevant experience.
ATS Optimization Tips
Do:
- • Use standard section headings (Work Experience, Education, Skills)
- • Include keywords from job description naturally throughout resume
- • Use standard fonts (Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman, 10-12pt)
- • Save as .docx or PDF (check application instructions)
- • Spell out acronyms first time: "Search Engine Optimization (SEO)"
- • Use simple formatting: bullets, bold, standard margins
- • List skills exactly as mentioned in job posting
Don't:
- • Use tables, text boxes, headers/footers, or graphics
- • Use fancy fonts, colors, or creative formatting
- • Put important info in headers/footers (ATS may not read)
- • Use images or logos
- • Save as JPEG or PNG
Keyword Strategy
How to find keywords:
- Read job description carefully
- Identify required skills, qualifications, and experience
- Note exact wording of technical skills, certifications, and tools
- Incorporate these keywords naturally into your resume
- Don't keyword stuff - maintain readability for humans
Resume Writing Best Practices
Strong Action Verbs to Start Bullets:
Leadership:
- • Directed
- • Managed
- • Spearheaded
- • Led
- • Coordinated
Achievement:
- • Achieved
- • Increased
- • Improved
- • Reduced
- • Generated
Communication:
- • Presented
- • Collaborated
- • Negotiated
- • Facilitated
- • Communicated
Quantify Everything Possible
Numbers make accomplishments concrete and impressive:
- Team sizes managed
- Revenue generated or costs saved
- Percentage improvements
- Number of clients/customers served
- Project budgets
- Deadlines met ahead of schedule
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Typos and grammatical errors: Proofread multiple times, use spell-check, have someone else review
- Generic resume: Customize for each application, don't send same resume to every job
- Passive language: Use active voice and strong verbs
- Listing duties instead of accomplishments: Show impact, not just what you were responsible for
- Including irrelevant information: Keep it focused on qualifications for this specific role
- Inconsistent formatting: Be consistent with fonts, spacing, bullet styles, date formats
- Lying or exaggerating: Be honest - claims will be verified
Resume Checklist
Before Submitting, Verify:
- ☐ Contact information is current and professional
- ☐ Tailored to specific job posting with relevant keywords
- ☐ Quantified accomplishments with numbers/percentages
- ☐ No typos, grammatical errors, or formatting inconsistencies
- ☐ Reverse-chronological order for work experience
- ☐ Fits on 1-2 pages maximum
- ☐ Uses action verbs to start bullet points
- ☐ ATS-friendly format (simple, standard fonts, no graphics)
- ☐ Saved with professional filename (FirstName_LastName_Resume.pdf)
- ☐ Someone else reviewed it for feedback
Official Resume Resources
- U.S. Department of Labor - How to Write a Resume
- CareerOneStop - Resume Guide - U.S. Department of Labor resource
- Government of Canada - Job Opportunities and Resumes
Your Resume Opens Doors
A well-crafted resume is your ticket to the interview. Invest time in making it clear, compelling, and tailored to each opportunity. Remember: your resume's job is to get you an interview - once you're in the room, your skills and personality take over. Our AI Career Coach can provide personalized resume feedback.
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