how to write a mid career resume

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How to Write a Resume That Stands Out

• Paige Cohen

It takes hiring managers less than 10 seconds to decide if you’re qualified.

• PC Paige Cohen (they/them) is a senior editor at Harvard Business Review.

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How to Write A Mid-Career Resume

In This Guide:

What to include in your mid-career resume, mid-career resume example.

Regardless of where you are in your career, it is paramount to have a current resume that succinctly communicates your abilities and growth in your profession.

A mid-career resume uses content and form to illustrate the focus and trajectory of your professional development.

In this article, you’ll learn the following about how to develop a mid-career resume:

• Important information to include
• Information to leave out

A mid-career resume should only include an employment history related to your desired position.

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A mid-career resume distills all of your professional experience into a single document that shows employers you are focused, experienced, and dedicated.

A mid-career resume demonstrates your professional investment in a particular field by discarding superfluous details from your employment history.

Focus on your accomplishments

Accomplishments are the most valuable part of your mid-career resume because they demonstrate an applicant’s initiative and creative problem-solving abilities.

Accomplishments can be formal awards, personal milestones, or anything that communicates your ability to set and achieve goals.

Emphasize your accomplishments when you lay out your mid-career resume for a strong mid-career resume.

List skills that match the job position

Communicate all of the skills you have that relate to your desired position.

Your resume’s skills section should be brief, include technical and soft skills, and only include abilities related to your desired position.

You can format the skills section of your resume in several ways; we recommend you use a column for your skills section to optimize the layout of your resume.

Browse our collection of resume examples for creative ideas on how to format your skills section.

Focus on relevant job positions

Employers recruiting candidates for mid to senior-level positions understand you took a long path to get where you are, but they do not need information about the first job you ever had.

Your resume should concisely communicate your most impressive experience, abilities, and achievements because employers have limited time to decide if an applicant suits a job or not.

Consider making a resume outline if you are unsure about what positions to include on your resume.

De-emphasize education

Potential employers care more about concrete results than pedigrees. A mid-level career resume should emphasize your professional experience more than your education.

Briefly list your education at the bottom of your resume.

Note that recent recipients of post-graduate degrees should communicate their advanced level of expertise in a field with a more robust education section.

Here are some key details to keep in mind when writing a mid-career resume:

• Emphasize career-related accomplishments
• Include technical and soft skills
• Only list career experience related to the position you are applying for
• In most scenarios, education comes second to professional experience For help building a mid-career resume, visit our resume builder , or read more about resumes.

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4 Corner Resources

How to Write a Mid-Career Resume (With Sample)

February 2, 2024 | Career Advice

If you’ve been a diligent member of the workforce for several years, you’ve built up a substantial list of specialized skills that are highly relevant to your line of work. You’ve also achieved some noteworthy accomplishments to the benefit of your managers and employer. Your mid-career resume is the place to showcase these skills and accomplishments.

What to Focus on in a Mid-Career Resume

Specialized skills.

At this point in your career, you should have a pretty long list of technical and soft skills to your name. The ones that earn a spot on your resume should go beyond the basics, which are a given if you’ve moved beyond an entry-level job. If you’re a mid-level accountant, for example, noting your skills in advanced accounting concepts like intercompany transactions and trusts is going to be more impressive than listing QuickBooks.

Quantifiable achievements

Show how you’ve made an impact in your current and previous roles, using numbers and supporting details as much as possible. Dollar figures, growth percentages, time spans and volume are all good ways to quantify your achievements, i.e. ‘increased customer satisfaction ratings by 46% over a 12-month period.’

Career progression

When you have a few years of work under your belt, demonstrating career advancement on your resume is more important than documenting every single job you’ve ever held. Your positions and the descriptions you include for each of them should convey increasing levels of responsibility and leadership roles where applicable. 

Why Do You Need a Mid-Career Resume?

Hiring managers are more discerning when assessing mid-level candidates than they might be when considering entry-level candidates who are still learning the ropes. At this stage, employers are looking for candidates with a proven track record of making meaningful contributions in their roles. You need a resume to showcase these contributions. 

A mid-level resume is also necessary to differentiate yourself from other candidates with similar job titles and years of experience. How do you stand out? Why should a hiring manager choose you over the other applicants? Your resume should answer these questions and entice them to schedule an interview to learn more. 

When Should You Use a Mid-Career Resume?

Use a mid-career resume when:

• Applying for a job at a new company
• Seeking a lateral move or promotion within your company
• Changing careers

Common Mid-Career Resume Challenges and How to Overcome Them

Setting yourself apart from other c andidates.

While no two professionals are alike, they can appear pretty darn similar when you’re comparing them on paper. To help your resume stand out, avoid cliche words and phrases that are overused by job seekers–‘dynamic’, ‘innovative’, and ‘team player,’ to name a few. Instead, use more descriptive language that captures your actual contributions. 

For example, instead of being ‘responsible for’ an activity, maybe you ‘overhauled’ a process or ‘pioneered’ a new initiative. Focus on the results you achieved and quantify your accomplishments whenever possible using specific figures, as we mentioned earlier. 

Accurately capturing your career trajectory

One of the most important objectives of a mid-level resume is to show upward career progression. If you’re struggling to make it clear how you’ve grown and advanced, take a closer look at the descriptions listed under each job you’ve held. They should show increasing levels of responsibility–taking the lead on projects, dealing with clients, training or managing other employees, and so on. 

At this point in your career, it might also be time to expand your resume from one to two pages to accurately capture your path.

Demonstrating experience when you’re changing careers

Creating a resume when you’re changing careers can present a catch-22. You need relevant experience to get a job in the new industry, but you need to work in the industry to gain relevant experience. Instead of trying to concoct experience you simply don’t have, connect your actual skills–perhaps from unrelated experiences–to the ones the job description calls for. 

Maybe you want to move into a project management role. While you may not have had any duties with this exact title in the past, there are lots of different activities that require related skills. Helping plan a team event, coordinating different people’s schedules or even heading up a volunteer group can all be positioned as relevant experience for a project management role. 

Find ways to connect the experience you do have to the requirements of the role, using exact words and phrases from the job description, to help hiring managers see your potential.

Mid-Career Resume Format and Key Components

A chronological resume format is a good choice for mid-career professionals since it helps hiring managers clearly see your progression from one job to the next.

Here are the components to include on a mid-level resume:

• Contact information Include the basics: your name, phone number, address, and email address. Your LinkedIn profile, website, or online portfolio can be added here, as well. If you have any credentials like an MBA, put them after your name so they’re immediately visible. These titles quickly tell hiring managers you have the qualifications associated with the credentials.
• Professional summary or objective This should be highly customized and specific to both your skills and the types of roles you’re seeking. Here’s an example: ‘Technology-driven sales leader seeking a management position in a real estate firm where I can leverage my creativity and negotiation skills to exceed targets.’
• Experience The experience section is the main substance of a mid-career resume. You want it to wow hiring managers, so don’t rush through it. Spend time carefully strategizing the best way to position each job you’ve held depending on who will be reading the resume. If the companies you’ve worked at are not household names, consider adding a short blurb alongside each one that describes them, i.e. ‘The Flamingo Group – Commercial real estate development serving the hospitality field.’
• Education Once you have a few years of experience in the workforce, your education can move to the bottom of the resume, the exception being if you have an especially impressive or lengthy academic career.
• Certifications (if applicable ) Use this opportunity to list any relevant certifications you have for the position you are applying for.
• Skills These usually take the form of a bulleted list and include your strongest, most relevant skills. They’re sometimes grouped at the top of a resume with the objective statement.

Related: The Best Resume Guide to Get You In the Door

No. When you have five or more years of work experience, it’s time to start refining your resume to include only the most relevant past positions. Remove jobs that are irrelevant or unimpressive (or just old). When you’re at this stage of your career, you should think of your resume as more of a highlight reel rather than a documentary.

While an objective statement or professional summary is optional to include on your resume, they’re a useful tool for mid-career professionals to sum up their experience and convey core competencies.

Other than your contact info, do not include personal information on your resume. Details like hobbies, religious affiliations, political party participation, or birthdate should be left off your resume. Not only are these details irrelevant, but they could create unwanted bias in the hiring process.

No. While it’s a great idea to have a professional, recently updated LinkedIn profile, it doesn’t take the place of the traditional resume. Nearly all job application processes still require candidates to submit an electronic version of their resume, either via text entry or PDF.

It’s common for people with between 5 and 15 years of work experience to begin moving from a single page to two pages to document their relevant experience. That said, if your experience can fit comfortably on one page, that’s ideal for helping hiring managers review your information quickly.

Yes, but how long and how far down they read varies widely from person to person. Some recruiters merely scan resumes, preferring to rely on tools like LinkedIn or their own research to qualify candidates. Many hiring managers first put resumes through an applicant tracking system, which scans for keywords and uses other criteria to narrow the candidate pool to the strongest applicants.

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About Pete Newsome

Pete Newsome is the President of 4 Corner Resources, the staffing and recruiting firm he founded in 2005. 4 Corner is a member of the American Staffing Association and TechServe Alliance, and the top-rated staffing company in Central Florida. Recent awards and recognition include being named to Forbes’ Best Recruiting Firms in America, The Seminole 100, and The Golden 100. Pete also founded ze ngig , to offer comprehensive career advice, tools, and resources for students and professionals. He hosts two podcasts, Hire Calling and Finding Career Zen, and is blazing new trails in recruitment marketing with the latest artificial intelligence (AI) technology. C onnect with Pete on LinkedIn

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How to Write a Winning Mid-Career Resume for Mid-Level Professionals

Mid-career resumes are for mid-level professionals. Highlight your best achievements in previous roles. This shows your skills more than listing job duties.

In this article

Years of experience show you’re knowledgeable about your role. But, it’s not the most crucial factor to prove you’re an expert at what you do – it’s your track record. 

Some details are essential on a resume. Some are relevant but not necessary. How can you tell? 

Well, these are some of the challenges with writing a mid-career resume. The most common challenge is creating a resume that presents your track record in a way that resonates with the company you’re applying to. 

This guide will show you how to create a mid-career resume that wins interviews. We’ve also included examples, tools, and techniques you can use to speed up the process.

What Is a Mid-Career Resume?

A mid-career resume is for mid-level professionals with at least three years of work experience. Mid-career resumes highlight a person’s track record and achievements over the course of their most recent work history. There’s less emphasis on qualifications and more on the results you were responsible for in previous companies.

Your skills are mainly shown through your accomplishments. This is why the most successful mid-career job seekers pour a lot of effort into highlighting their areas of expertise based on the company’s needs. 

Here are a few ways to tell you’re a mid-career professional: 

• You’re capable of taking on leadership and management responsibilities such as coaching new employees
• Managers often ask for your insights before making an important decision
• Colleagues and peers often seek your advice for reassurance
• People in your industry trust your opinion, knowledge, and experience
• You have the salary of an average mid-level worker

How Long Should a Mid-Level Resume Be?

A one-page resume is ideal because it makes it easier for hiring managers to assess your track record and most recent achievements quickly. 

Two-page resumes are also appropriate for mid-level professionals. 

However, a one-page resume means prioritizing the most vital information. This means recruiters will first notice your most relevant skills and experience. Keeping your application to a single page is often more impactful because you’ll only present the essential details to employers. 

How to Write a Mid-Career Resume 

Here are the steps to writing a mid-career resume: 

1. Use quantitative data to showcase work achievements 2. Highlight the skills you applied in previous roles 3. Show career progression  4. Use job description keywords 5. List educational qualifications 6. List skills that are directly related to the role 7. Stick to a single-page resume 8. Consider a summary section| 9. Consider an additional resume section

Here’s an example of what this type of resume looks like: 

The top 3 reasons why this resume works: 

• Results-oriented: The resume includes numbers and data to showcase key accomplishments, highlighting the purpose of the skills and responsibilities carried out.
• Content-focused: Just pure content with minimal design to present the candidate’s skills because ultimately, employers care more about the actual content of your resume rather than how it looks.
• Concise: It gets straight to the point by immediately highlighting skills, tasks, and project outcomes.

1. Use Quantitative Data to Showcase Work Achievements

The most crucial aspect that makes a strong mid-level resume is how you showcase the results you were responsible for. Highlight how you made a positive difference with previous employers. 

Quantitative data means using numbers and statistics. This improves your resume significantly as it shows that you’re aware of the impact you can make and that you know what you need to do to get those results. 

Here’s how to emphasize work achievements: 

• Start your bullet point with an action verb to describe the outcome achieved 
• Include a specific number, percentage, or metric to quantify the outcome of the skills or responsibility you’re describing 
• Mention the timeframe of the result 
• Mention the skills applied or the responsibilities carried out to achieve the results

And here’s an example of what this would look like as a resume sentence: 

• Improved workflow efficiency by over 50% in 3 months through the implementation of streamlined processes, automation tools, and cross-functional collaboration

OR... Use an AI Writer to Highlight Your Achievements

Our AI Writer can generate resume bullet points that highlight your achievements. Simply enter your previous role and let AI take care of the rest. 

See the example via the screenshot below. 

Try our AI Resume Writer for free. 

2. Highlight the Skills You Applied

This time, instead of starting a bullet point with a result, start the bullet point by highlighting a specific skill you had to apply. You can also use numbers to specify your skills and responsibilities. Then, highlight the outcome you achieved by applying that particular skill. 

Here’s how it looks: 

• Start your bullet point with an action verb to describe the skill you applied 
• Follow up with the responsibilities you carried out 
• Mention how your actions led to a positive outcome 
• Executed website redesign and optimized 3 landing page variants using HTML, customer feedback, and Expression Engine as a CMS to increase leads for sales teams

OR… Use an AI Writer to Highlight Your Skills

Our AI Writer can also generate resume bullets that highlight your skills. Simply enter your previous role and let AI take care of the rest. 

Try our AI Resume Writer for free.  

3. Show Career Progression

Show career progression by writing about your work experience in reverse chronological order . List your previous and most recent roles as far back as 3-8 years ago. 

Here’s how to show career progression: 

• Highlight promotions to show that you’re increasing work responsibilities as you grow
• Add bullet points for the most recent job positions describing new skills you applied that you didn’t do as much in previous roles

However, Showing Career Progression Isn’t Always Necessary

You could even list only three of the same job titles in your work experience from the past 3-5 years. This is just as compelling, especially when the bullet points for each role have data and statistics to showcase significant achievements. 

Although career progression shows how you’ve improved your skills, listing the same professional title can give you an edge. Why? Because it shows you specialize in particular areas. In other words, it highlights your expertise, giving potential employers confidence in your ability.

4. Use Job Description Keywords 

Keywords are the words used to describe your responsibilities. You’ll find this in the company’s job description. 

Including job description keywords is essential for getting past the company’s applicant tracking system. This is hiring software a prospective employer uses to filter out qualified and unqualified candidates faster. It’s similar to how job seekers like us can use AI, such as ChatGPT, to speed up resume writing. 

Let’s say you’re applying for a marketing role. 

Keywords for a marketing job description might include “email marketing” or “social media.” So, you should have these in your resume by adding a sentence such as the following:

• Spearheaded email marketing campaigns which led to a 20% increase in click-through rates
• Oversaw social media accounts to enhance brand visibility and engagement, resulting in an 82.31% increase in followers and a 43.27% boost in website traffic

OR… Use AI Keyword Targeting

Copy and paste the job description with our AI Keyword Targeting feature to know exactly what keywords you need to include. 

Try AI Keyword Targeting for free. 

5. List Educational Qualifications

Here’s what goes in the education section: 

• University Degree 
• Institution 
• Graduation Date

This is all you need. Anything more than that is optional. As a mid-career professional, employers care more about your practical experience than formal qualifications.

6. Only List Skills That Are Directly Relevant in the Skills Section

Focus on listing your most relevant technical and leadership skills. Show that you could do the job effectively. 

You don’t need to list as many skills as possible. Most of your skills and expertise will be shown through your professional experience anyway. So, you don’t need to worry too much about listing everything you can in the skills section. Only list what’s most directly related to your job responsibilities. 

But if you do decide to list a range of skills, you can put group-related skills into categories such as “technical skills” and “communication skills.” 

Here’s an example below of a mid-level resume that categorizes skills. 

7. Stick to a Single Page

A one-page resume puts more emphasis on your strengths. Instead of presenting all things that are relevant, you’re presenting all things that are essential. This makes your job application twice more compelling. 

In other words, double down on quality rather than quantity for a more impactful job application.

Here are a few tips to keep your mid-career resume to a single page: 

• Prioritize relevant skills and achievements over what’s “nice to have” 
• Focus on the most recent work experience by only going back up to 3-5 years on your resume
• If you’d like to list earlier career roles, briefly summarize them using 1-3 bullet points without the extensive details (you could even list them without writing any bullet points)
• Only use the essential resume sections: header, work experience, education, and skills
• If you’re listing a range of core competencies in the skills section, use categories to save space
• Have concise bullet points by using strong action verbs 

8. Consider a Summary Section 

When you have a resume with many different achievements, write a summary to clarify your areas of expertise. Resume summaries also allow you to have the first say. So, tailor this to the company’s needs, and you’ll set a solid first impression. 

A summary section isn’t necessary but can be helpful for professionals at all levels. If tight on space, consider leaving this section out. 

Ask Our AI Writer for a Summary 

Having trouble coming up with a compelling resume summary? Try giving our AI Summary Generator a go. Enter the job and skills you want to highlight, and then we’ll handle the rest. 

9. Consider an Extra Resume Section 

Only consider an extra resume section when you can highlight a significant achievement. 

For example, let’s say you started a business. This could be included in your resume under an extra resume section titled “Projects.” Then, write bullet points to highlight business acumen and other core skills or qualities your employers want to see. 

An extra resume section isn’t necessary. If tight on space, leave this section out because your experience, education, and skills section matter the most. 

Note: Our AI Writer also helps generate resume bullet points for other sections. If you’re having trouble coming up with ideas, you can give our AI Writer a go for free or even look at other resume examples for inspiration! 

What to Leave Out of a Resume Even When It Seems Relevant

Leave details highlighting the same skills on your resume more than twice. Not that this is a bad thing, but it’s because you’ve already mentioned something similar. Hence, it’s not entirely necessary even though it can help show your proficiency. 

Here’s the order of information to prioritize for a mid-career resume:

• Quantitative achievements 
• Skills applied that led to a positive project outcome
• Job responsibilities that directly tie into the keywords from the company’s job description 
• Other job duties and responsibilities (this goes last because what employers are more interested in is how well you can do your job, therefore achievements always go first)

How a Mid-Career Resume Is Different From Entry-Level and Senior Resumes

Mid-career resumes are different because they focus more on highlighting your practical skills, depth of expertise, and whether you align with the company’s needs. Employers will want to assess whether you’re a good fit based on not only your extensive experience. But based on past performance and what you’ve been able to accomplish during those years. 

Entry-level positions often focus on relevant experience, qualifications, and transferable skills. Senior resumes often focus on having a track record of success, leadership skills, and executive qualities. 

To be specific on the differences, see the comparisons below. 

Mid-Career Resume vs. Entry-Level Resume vs. Senior-Level Resume

We’ll compare entry-level resumes, mid-career resumes, and senior-level resumes. This will be based on what they focus on most when it comes to these five aspects: 

• Years of experience
• Achievements

Qualifications

Years of experience.

• Entry-level resume: limited employment history, hence a stronger focus on qualifications, soft skills, transferable skills, and relevant experience
• Mid-level resume: at least three years of experience in a specific role or industry, hence a stronger focus on achievements and results
• Senior resume: at least 5+ years of work experience in a specific role or industry, hence a stronger focus on having a positive track record as well as leadership skills

Achievements 

• Entry-level resume: basic job responsibilities and educational achievements or certifications
• Mid-level resume: specific project outcomes, consistent work achievements, and career progression
• Senior resume: high-impact accomplishments, major decision-making responsibilities, and a track record of delivering positive results
• Entry-level resume: focuses on transferable skills, qualifications, and knowledge from education
• Mid-level resume: highlights areas of expertise and technical skills or knowledge directly related to the role
• Senior resume: highlights executive responsibilities, management skills, and deep subject expertise
• Entry-level resume: one-page resume with multiple additional resume sections
• Mid-level resume: one-page resume (also common to have two-page resumes) highlighting project outcomes and achievements
• Senior resume: one-page resume (also common to have two-page resumes) highlighting areas of expertise and most significant accomplishments in previous roles
• Entry-level resume: education can be the first resume section after the header, but it’s also common to have other qualifications besides a bachelor’s degree, e.g. certifications 
• Mid-level resume: education comes after the work experience section and usually only lists bachelor’s degree and above qualifications
• Senior resume: education comes after the work experience section and usually only lists a bachelor’s degree and above qualifications

3 Examples of Mid-Career Professional Resumes

We’ll now share a few resume examples for job seekers applying for the mid-level position. Each is a modern resume that you can take inspiration from.  

Business Consultant

Marketing Analyst

Recruiter Resume

Results Come First—Always

It’s not about showing how many tasks you’re familiar with and how much you’ve done in the past in terms of job responsibilities. It’s more about how well you’re familiar with those tasks by showing how well you carried them out. 

When describing a role, highlight specific project outcomes: cost savings, revenue growth, improved efficiency, and so forth. 

Even if you have less experience than other applicants, you can still get chosen for an interview depending on how you communicate the impact you’ve been capable of making in the past (what we’ve discussed in this mid-career resume guide).

Use the steps in this guide to write an impressive resume as a mid-level professional.

And if you want to try any of our resume tools for free, you can sign up here . We won’t ask for any payment details – just enter your email and create a password to get started 🙂

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Your Ultimate Guide to Writing a Mid-Level Resume Effectively

• April 26, 2018

As you mature, your work experience add up and an entry-level resume doesn’t fit you anymore. Time will come when you have to shift to another career and tuck all your best assets into one. As your career grows, consider how you must organize your resume into a mid-level copy. Removing certain details in your resume that has been there for quite some time isn’t easy. As per Amanda Augustine of Business Insider, a career expert at The Ladders, you can get work experience as much as you can. However, your resume needs to stand out and present your info in an organized manner. Thus, how can you write a mid-level resume that amplifies your skills and character? Resume Prime prepared this article to give tips on mid-level resume writing and to boost your chances of expanding your career growth.

How to Write an Ideal Mid-Level Resume Format

Don’t compress your assets into a single page..

Mid-level resume doesn’t need to be lengthy; however, you shouldn’t squeeze everything into a single page. Be very careful in choosing what goes into your resume to amplify your chances. Since you’ve been working for years, it’s alright to add a page for significant details. Start with the header, place your name and contact details. Likewise, do the same for the next page. Highlight your most recent and relevant accomplishments.

Feature Your Core Competencies at the Top.

In featuring your core competencies, make sure your areas of expertise are at the top next to your target job position. Aside from helping you pass the Applicant Tracking System or ATS, it allows your employer to scan your skills and boosts your chances of landing the job.

Split Your Roles into Responsibilities and Key Achievements.

In a concise and direct manner, list your accomplishments and contributions to the success of a project. Split your mid-level resume into two sections: responsibilities and key achievements. Although it has two sections, focus on your key achievements more than your job responsibilities.

Use Quantities as Much as Possible.

Whenever possible, use numbers and figures to present information in your mid-level resume. For example, show how much the sales has increased since you took over marketing. Besides, it’s easier to scan in a mid-level resume format.

List Your Work Experience to Show Progress.

An ideal mid-level resume should have, at least, your most recent work. You can list your work experience in a reverse-chronological order and spare more effort in expounding your roles and relevant feats.

Move Your “Education” Section at the Bottom Part.

The last part of an ideal mid-level resume is the “Education” section. According to Business Insider, when you’ve been working for three years, place the education section at the bottom part of your resume.

How to Declutter Your Mid-Level Resume in 3 Simple Steps

Set a specific career goal..

In decluttering your resume, set your goal to avoid misleading your chances. Most mid-career professionals lose grip of their job prospects because their tool lacks focus. Job search keywords may be absent or they are too general for an employer to consider. So, if you’re thinking of a career shift, tailor your copy and organize the sections in your mid-level resume.

Start and End Your Mid-Level Resume with Attention-Grabbing Words.

The top and bottom parts of your resume play an important factor that amplifies your chances in landing job prospects. Choose the best skills to place in the first section of your resume. It’s best to tailor your search based on the location of the work you want.

How to Avoid Common Mistakes in Mid-Level Resume Effectively

To prevent common mistakes in writing your resume, do extensive research on the company, its nature, and current environment. Doing this will give you ideas on what to include in your mid-level resume. Besides, if you come prepared for a job interview, your chances to land the job become higher. Don’t hesitate to ask questions when you have unclear ideas in mind. You’ll lose nothing but gain more knowledge, confidence, and drive to pursue the job post.

Since you’ve worked for a few years and learned some skills, writing your mid-level resume requires effort. It must show how competent, professional, and prepared you are to join the workforce.

Do you want a resume that amplifies your skills, but don’t know how to write one? Resume Prime can help you. Visit our page and talk to one of our professional resume writers .

Source: monster.com | forbes.com | businessinsider.com | livecareer.com

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How to Write a Mid-Career Resume

It’s critical to have a polished and impressive resume that highlights your specific qualifications for the position, regardless of where you are in your career.

A hiring manager or recruiter frequently views you based only on your resume.

Therefore, your mid-career resume should highlight your experience, talents, and certifications that make you the ideal candidate for the position you’re interested in if you’ve been in your career for a while.

The definition of a mid-career resume and instructions on how to write one are both covered in this article.

SEE ALSO: How to Apply for Nesternship by Nestle Nigeria Plc 2022

Table of Contents

What Is a Mid-Career Resume?

A mid-career resume highlights the knowledge and abilities you’ve acquired throughout your years of employment in your field.

Therefore, a concise and targeted overview showing the accomplishments and duties relevant to the position being applied for would be advantageous for a mid-level professional.

Unfortunately, that mid-career resumes place significantly more emphasis on the applicant’s professional path than their prior employment history.

1. List Your Mid-Level Skills Over Any Entry-Level Ones

Avoid listing talents that you would often see on the resume of a mid-level professional on your resume.

The secret to landing a job as a mid-level professional is differentiating yourself from the competition and being able to convince the hiring manager of your value before they even choose you for an interview.

Think about dropping Microsoft Word from your list of talents and replacing it with something more sophisticated, like your understanding of Agile project management.

2. Make Sure Your Credentials Stand Out

Put post-nominal letters after your name if you have an MBA, Ph.D., or any other degree that qualifies you, such as an advanced academic degree, military decoration, recognition, or accreditation.

So that the hiring manager can see them immediately, put them after your name at the start of your resume .

As a mid-level job seeker, you’ll want potential employers to be aware of these valuable credentials and the prerequisites of the classification.

3. Remove Irrelevant Positions

Even if your first job was crucial in advancing your career, you might probably cut your resume off to make it shorter and easier to read for the hiring manager.

Remove any positions that are unrelated to the one you’re looking for.

If you’re in the middle of your career, you likely have a ton more experience than you should emphasize.

SEE ALSO: How to Use LinkedIn Company Follow

4. Place Your Education Section at the Bottom

Your education might not be as important to a hiring manager as you obtain more work experience.

They’re more likely to place more emphasis on the achievements you made after graduating.

You might also take out the year you graduated from college, depending on how much experience you have.

When you’re a recent graduate, listing your graduation year is more often.

5. Personalize Your Resume for Each Job

Create a unique resume for each position you apply for, even when your skills and expertise are the same.

Pay close attention to the job responsibilities and even the preferred qualifications so you can position the most pertinent experience closer to the top of your resume.

The hiring manager will want to know precisely why you qualify for their open position.

Things to Cut From Your Mid-Career Resume

1. a list of your responsibilities.

It makes sense for your resume descriptions to have a long list of tasks while you are just starting your career.

Your ability to perform tasks is your most valuable asset, even though you are at the bottom of the totem pole and have multiple managers above you.

2. Irrelevant Information

There is a temptation to list everything on your CV . Why not include something?

Well, too many details could be confusing to readers.

Your actual talents may not be apparent to hiring managers or interviewers, or they may miss a skill essential to the job because a sea of other bullet points overshadows it.

3. Putting Education Front-and-Center

Once you’ve been employed for a while, your educational background loses significance.

Work experience is more important than education and the most excellent approach to show that you have the skills and knowledge necessary to be successful in your area.

If you haven’t already, you can reorder your resume’s sections such that the education section is at the bottom.

4. Weak Words

Consider using a red pen if you’re using phrases like “coordinated” or “responsible for.”

You want every word on your resume to be impactful because there isn’t much room for it.

Use strong language on this list of action verbs and impact terms to highlight accomplishments effectively.

5. A Goofy Email Address

Consider getting a new email address if you still use an AOL or any other email address that isn’t based on your name.

For example, you might want a funny email address to communicate with your friends, but it’s inappropriate in a professional setting.

SEE ALSO: How to Make a Temp-To-Hire Job Permanent

Now you know that your mid-career resume should highlight your experience, talents, and certifications that make you the ideal candidate for the position you’re interested in if you’ve been in your career for a while.

As a mid-level job seeker , you’ll want potential employers to know all your valuable credentials.

We believe this piece has been enlightening and appeal to you to help share it across your social media pages.

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Your Step-by-Step Guide to Making the Perfect Resume (With Examples!)

Your resume is arguably the most valuable piece of paper for your career. But this document can be daunting for many. Maybe you’re not sure how to fit in all your information onto one page. Maybe you’re not sure about the right way to format and write your resume. Maybe you don’t even know what the heck a resume is!

Whatever your concern, we’ll break down everything you need to know about making the perfect resume, from scratch.

What Is a Resume?

What are employers looking for in a resume.

• Pick Your Format
• Start With Your Basic Information
• Add in Your Work Experience
• Consider Including Volunteer Work or Other Experience
• Don’t Forget Your Education
• Top It Off With Some Skills and Interests
• Write a Resume Summary Statement (if Relevant)
• Tailor It to the Job (and the ATS)
• Edit and Refine It

What Are Some Examples of a Good Resume?

A resume is a summary of your career, whether yours is just getting started or has been going on for years. Coming in at around one page in length (two only under specific circumstances), it showcases the jobs you’ve held and currently hold, the responsibilities you’ve taken on, the skills you’ve developed, and the qualities you bring to the table as an employee. Together, those things make it super easy for any hiring manager to see your qualifications and fit for a role.

For all the work you may put into writing one, hiring managers actually spend very little time—mere seconds in many cases—looking at your resume. But despite this sad fact, it’s safe to say that creating a great resume (rather than hastily throwing one together) still matters.

“If you miss the mark, your resume may never be read. Even worse, you might be removed from the applicant pool by a computer before a human even knows you exist,” says Muse career coach Heather Yurovsky , founder of Shatter & Shine. So you want to get it right because, as she explains, isn’t the goal to “spend less time looking for a job and more time in a role you love?”

You might be wondering if you can lean on your LinkedIn profile instead of writing a resume. The answer, sadly, is no. Most hiring managers still expect you to submit a resume, even if they also look at your LinkedIn. Even if you don’t need a resume for a job you’re applying for now, you’re going to need one at some point in your career—they’re not anywhere close to going out of style. So it’s best to always have one at the ready should an opportunity pop up.

And although LinkedIn has plenty of benefits, a resume has one clear advantage: While your LinkedIn is usually a broader picture of your career trajectory, your resume gives you the opportunity to tailor your career story to a specific role or company (more on that later).

Oh, and you’ve probably heard of something called a CV? It’s slightly different from a resume , and usually more common with academics and job seekers outside the U.S.

Hiring managers look for three things on your resume, “What did you do? Why did you do it? And what was the result?” says Muse career coach Martin McGovern , owner of Career Therapy. “If you can answer all three of these questions in...your resume bullet points, you’re going to be on the right track.”

Clear, easy-to-understand language is key. “The truth is that most resumes make no sense. They are stuffed with jargon, they are too technical, and they are filled with redundancies. Try to read a resume that isn’t yours and you will quickly realize that it feels like an alien wrote it,” McGovern adds. Put yourself in the shoes of a recruiter who has no idea how your role works—how can you make your resume accessible to them?

The hiring manager also cares about more than just you and you alone—they care about you in relation to them. “Hiring managers want to see if a candidate matches the requirements” of the role they’re hiring for, Yurovsky explains. “Your resume should paint this picture so the hiring manager not only knows what day-to-day responsibilities you can handle, but why you, above other[s], bring value to their organization.”

How Do You Write a Resume?

Whether you’re someone who’s never written a resume in your life, or you need a nice, thorough refresher on the process of creating one, follow these steps to go from a blank page to a complete—and dare I say beautiful—document.

Related: This Free Worksheet Makes It Easy to Create (or Update) Your Resume

1. Pick Your Format

Before you start typing one single thing, you have to decide what you want the overall resume to look like.

Resume builders can be helpful for this step—they’ll take all your basic information and organize it for you, eliminating some of the legwork. You can also use a pre-made outline, such as one of these free Google Docs templates .

But it’s often safest to start with a clean slate all on your own and eventually upgrade to a more advanced layout. (If you'd still like a place to write all the relevant information before you get started, check out our resume outline .) This allows you to course correct, edit and re-edit, and choose a resume format that best fits your particular situation (after all, not everyone has a career trajectory that’s easy to compartmentalize).

In general, you’re most likely to cover and/or include sections on the following:

• Your work experience
• Your non-work experience, including professional organizations, community involvement, or side projects
• Your education and certifications
• Your skills (specifically hard skills) and interests

So how do you format and organize all of that information?

By far the most common (and safest, if you’re not sure which route to take) option is reverse chronological order . This means you organize your experiences from most recent to least recent. So your work experiences would go above your education, and your current role would go above previous roles you’ve held. This of course has its exceptions—maybe you went back to grad school between jobs, or your most recent role is irrelevant to the job you’re applying for. So the whole page may not be exactly in reverse chronological order depending on your situation. It’s just a guideline.

There’s also something called a functional or skills-based resume . This is used pretty rarely, mainly with career changers and those with limited or complicated work histories. It gets its name because it’s primarily about listing your skills rather than experiences, and showcases them above your work history and education.

You can also opt for a combination resume , which is a mix between a reverse chronological resume and skills-based resume. It highlights your skills at the top, but allows just as much room below to cover your job and school experience.

Use caution when choosing these two formats: “Combo and skills-based [resumes] can be hard to follow, because [they force] the reader to hunt for connections between your skills and experience, and [don’t] provide the full context of your work,” says Muse Career Coach Angela Smith , founder of Loft Consulting. “I’ve also heard a lot of recruiters say that they automatically discount skill-based resumes because they feel the candidate is trying to hide something. I don’t necessarily believe that, but I think it’s important for job-seekers to know that perception is out there.”

2. Start With Your Basic Information

Your contact information should always go at the top of your resume. In this header you’ll want to include anything that could be helpful for a recruiter to get in touch with you. Usually, this means adding in:

• Your full name (preferably the name you use across the web)
• Your phone number
• Your personal email address

You might also choose to include other basic information, such as your LinkedIn or personal website URL, your GitHub (for technical roles), your social media profiles (if relevant to the job), or your address. If you’re looking to move for a job, you may choose to leave out your address or write “open to relocating” to better your chances of getting an interview.

The key is to make this part as clear as possible. If a hiring manager can’t reach you, there’s no point in perfecting the rest of your resume.

3. Add in Your Work Experience

This section will most likely be the bulk of your resume. Even if you’re changing careers, employers still want to see where you’ve worked, what you’ve done, and the impact of that work to get a sense of your background and expertise.

Your “Work Experience” might be one entire category, or you might choose to break it up into “Relevant Experience” and “Additional Experience” to highlight the jobs that are most important for hiring managers to focus on. Either way, you’ll almost always want to have your most recent experience at the top and your older experience down below.

Within your work experience, you’ll want to include each official job title, the company (and possibly its location), and the years you worked there. Below that, you’ll add in two to four bullet points explaining what you did in that job, the skills you built and exercised, the tools you used, and the results of what you did. If you accomplished a lot during your time there, focus on the responsibilities that made the most impact or you’re the most proud of, as well as the ones that best align you with the job you’re applying for (more on that in the following sections). It’s key here to list, if relevant, quantitative as well as qualitative accomplishments.

For example, you might write:

Associate Accountant, Finances and Co., Ann Arbor, MI September 2017 – Present

• Manage billing and invoicing for more than 50 clients, ensuring the deadlines and needs of our enterprise partners, including Big Company and Super Star Org, are met
• Collaborate closely with sales, account management, and project management teams on project setup, maintenance, and invoice management
• Assist in the streamlining of invoicing guidelines and procedures through documentation and the implementation of new software, resulting in an average two-week decrease in total time spent per client

Your resume bullets should be in past tense if you’re referring to past jobs and present tense if you’re talking about your current roles. In addition, your bullets should always start with a strong action verb that best describes what you did. And if you have examples of your work, consider hyperlinking them here as well.

If you have a ton of experience and this category is starting to run long (read: over one page), consider kicking out your oldest jobs unless they’re super relevant to the job you’re applying for, or extra impressive for your field.

Not sure where to start? “It’s helpful to do a brain dump and create a document that has everything and anything you consider as experience or an achievement,” says Yurovsky. From there, she explains, you can start to whittle down what is and isn’t important. And you can refer to this document later if you ever decide to update your resume for a specific role.

Need more specific advice on listing your work experience on your resume? Check out these additional resources:

• When you’ve held multiple jobs at the same company: 2 Jobs, 1 Company: How to Show Multiple Positions on Your Resume
• When you’re not sure what your accomplishments are or how to explain them: Resume Revamp: How to Turn Your Duties Into Accomplishments
• When you want to spruce up a boring or insignificant job: How to Make Your Most Boring Jobs Sound More Interesting on Your Resume
• When you’re considering fudging a job title: The Answer to “Can I Change My Job Title on My Resume to Make It More Accurate?”
• When you’ve had a bunch of short-term gigs: How to List Temporary Jobs on Your Resume

4. Consider Including Volunteer Work or Other Experience

Anything you’ve done that’s not work experience—your side gig, volunteer work, special projects—can be hosted under clearly-labeled sections (“Volunteer Experience” or “Activities,” for example). Depending on how robust your work experience is, these things may be worth including, particularly if they’ve helped you level up your skill set or better align you with your dream job. Plus, they make you look that much more well-rounded, passionate, and hardworking.

If you’re a recent grad, you might also build out a section for on-campus activities, such as clubs, organizations, or leadership experience. This can be a great supplement if you’re lacking in the jobs department. You can frame these just as you would professional jobs—including your title, the organization’s name, and bullets describing what your role was and what you accomplished.

Read More: This Is Exactly How to List Volunteer Work on Your Resume

5. Don’t Forget Your Education

If you’re still in school or just graduated, your education can go at the top of your resume, but for pretty much everyone else, this goes near the bottom. Most people include their school, graduation year (for folks less up to about a decade out of school), major, and degree. Brand-new grads might also write in their GPA, honors and awards, study abroad, thesis, or other notable achievements. But keep this section super simple, as you don’t want it to take up too much space over your work experience.

It’s possible you have unique education experience, such as taking an online course or certification. If you did this specifically as a way to boost yourself within your industry, definitely include it. Again, list everything more or less reverse chronologically—so a grad school degree would go above an undergrad degree, and a more recent relevant online course would go above that.

Learn more about the ins and outs of listing your education on your resume:

• How to (and How Not to) List Education on Your Resume
• How to List Online Courses on Your Resume the Right Way (Because Yes, There Is a Wrong Way)

6. Top It Off With Some Skills and Interests

The skills section of a resume gets a bad rap, but it’s just as important as the rest of the stuff you include. It’s a quick list a recruiter can scan to see if your skill set aligns with what they’re hiring for. And it’s super ATS-friendly (ATS stands for “applicant tracking system,” the robot that in some cases reads your resume before a human does) because it allows you to add in keywords the machine is scanning for.

Usually this section goes at the bottom of your resume, but in special cases—such as a skills-based resume or when someone’s switching fields—you may place it further up.

What exactly do you throw in here? You’ll want to list any hard skills and applications you’re familiar with (Photoshop, SEO, JavaScript, to name a few examples), and, if relevant, your level of expertise. Avoid including soft skills here, like time management or public speaking—save those for your bullet points instead.

Be strategic when filling in your skills. Don’t list things you actually couldn’t do at a high competence level (I’m looking at those of you who say you’re “great” at Excel), and maybe nix skills that are completely irrelevant to the job you want. For example, you may not even need to include Excel if you’re applying for say, a design position, unless it’s listed as a job requirement.

Maybe you’re thinking, I’m a really good volleyball player, but that’s not a “skill,” right? No, it’s not, but it is a hobby. Adding in a hobby section at the bottom of your resume is underrated, and frequently a smart choice. It can be a great conversation starter with a hiring manager, and it can show that you’re a good culture fit—or a culture add—for the company. Also, it’s just a nice way to add in some of your personality. So tack on a bullet point listing out some of your interests, such as hiking, rowing, or crafting (no more than five to seven work-appropriate verbs), and you’re all set here.

7. Write a Resume Summary Statement (if Relevant)

You may have heard of a resume summary statement . They’re not super common, but they can be useful to include near the top of your resume if you’re looking to add clarity or context to your resume. If you’re a career changer, you might find a summary statement helpful in explaining your leap and tying your experience to your new path. Or if you’re a more experienced professional, you can use a summary statement to highlight a theme that brings your career trajectory together.

Overall, you probably won’t need a summary statement if your career is pretty linear and your bullet points do a great job of emphasizing what you have to offer in terms of skills and experience. But if you think it makes sense to include one, “Take the time to think about what the person reading your summary wants to know before you write it,” says McGovern. “Good summaries explain why you do what you do and how it can help. For instance: Merging a background in ABC, I help companies improve XYZ through 123. Summaries shouldn’t be any more complicated than that.”

So, taking McGovern’s example, you might say:

Merging a background in social media marketing and PR with seven years in the consumer tech space, I help companies improve their internal and external communication and brand awareness through data-driven, quality content and strategies that align with the modern trends of the space.

Yurovsky adds that “you don’t want your summary statement to be a dense paragraph with too much information. You want it to be easy to read, concise, and memorable. Almost like a tagline.”

Read More: 3 Resume Summary Examples That’ll Make Writing Your Own Easier

8. Tailor It to the Job (and the ATS)

Once you have your resume written out—you’ve broken down your work experience, tagged on some activities and additional experiences, and listed out your skills—it’s important to go back to the job description (or multiple job descriptions, if you’re applying to several similar jobs) and make sure that what your resume says matches up with the kind of candidate the employers are looking for. In other words, tailor it .

Let’s explain further. You’ll want to begin by tackling the ATS . This means combing the job description to see if individual words and phrases line up. What skills are they asking for, and have you listed them (so long as you actually have them)? What words are they using to describe their ideal hire, and do you use similar language in your resume?

Next, take a bird’s-eye view. If you were the hiring manager for the role, where on your resume would your eyes be drawn to? And what would you be looking for? Whatever you think will be most important for the recruiter, make sure it’s near the top of your resume, or otherwise emphasized.

Finally, dig into the role and responsibilities of the job. Does your resume reflect similar experience? If not, is there a way you can spin it so that it’s clear you’re capable of doing the job (and doing it well)?

These articles can help you if the word “tailoring” makes you start to sweat:

• What It Really Means to “Tailor Your Resume”
• Your Guide to Making Unrelated Experience Look Relevant on Your Resume
• A Cool Trick: How to Spin 1 Resume Bullet 5 Different Ways

9. Edit and Refine It

Please, please don’t just write your resume and shoot it out without giving it a second glance. Hiring managers may not spend hours browsing it, but if there’s one thing that sticks out more than anything else it’s a glaring typo.

The best approach? Write a rough draft, then leave and come back to it later with fresh eyes to give it an edit.

Cover the basics: Is your contact information correct and updated? Are you using the right verb tenses? Does everything look consistent and accurate in terms of spelling and grammar?

Then do some cutting if your resume’s quite long. It’s no longer a hard-and-fast rule that all resumes must be only one page—but consider it a smart guideline for most applicants, especially if you've got less than 10 years work experience. The exception is if you’re very senior or very established in your career; in this scenario, a two-page resume isn’t completely out of the question. Everyone else, read this article for advice on how to cut your resume down.

Formatting-wise, it’s key to consider a couple things. First, what font are you using , and is it legible (for a human and a robot)? When in doubt, go with one of these simple, but sleek, options: Arial, Arial Narrow, Calibri, Cambria, Garamond, or Helvetica.

Second, are you going to save it as a Word document or PDF ? Neither option is wrong, although a PDF helps ensure that your formatting is maintained, no matter what type of computer the hiring manager uses to open the document.

Third, is your resume formatted in a way that it’s skimmable? If it’s feeling crowded or overrun with words, read this: 12 Tiny Changes That Make Your Resume Easy for Recruiters to Skim .

Once you’ve given it a few good looks, it may be worth sending it to a friend or colleague (or even a career coach ) to get a second opinion. Don’t just have them edit it for spelling and grammar—they should dig into your bullets and offer feedback on whether or not your resume is showing you in the best possible light (it’s smart to also send them the job description for something to compare it to).

Here’s the thing: Your resume won’t ever look exactly like someone else’s, nor should it. How you choose to format it, organize your information, and talk about specific experiences depends not just on your career path, but on your field, the job you’re applying for, the company that job is at, and more.

So there isn’t a universal way to do a resume. But there are common themes. To give you some context as to how yours might turn out, here are three examples of different kinds of resumes.

The Most Popular: A Reverse Chronological Resume

As previously mentioned, a reverse chronological resume is preferred by many coaches and HR experts, mainly because it’s super readable. When everything’s in a clear order, it’s easy to skim and even easier to draw lines between experiences.

Who it’s good for: Just about everyone—from students applying to internships all the way up to senior-level executives (with an optional resume summary statement)

Download an Example Chronological Resume for a Software Engineer

The Unorthodox Route: A Functional or Skills-Based Resume

Rather than listing out your experience in reverse chronological order, a functional or skills-based resume has bullet points that reflect how each of your skills is demonstrated by the work you’ve done over the course of your career. At the bottom, you’ll include everything else, such as your education, job history, professional achievements, community involvement, and other technical skills. This is a good option if you have a somewhat all-over-the-place work history and want to tie everything together neatly.

Who it’s good for: Career changers whose work experiences may not appear to be relevant and people with an abundance of temporary jobs or gaps in their work histories.

Download an Example Functional Resume for a Project Manager

The Creative Angle: An Infographic Resume or Resume Website

This resume type is characterized by how it’s formatted visually. You may choose a reverse chronological order or skills-based style to organize your information, but also use graphics, colors, unique fonts, and even multimedia elements to help that information pop. Keep in mind that any creative resume is still likely subject to an ATS—and certain elements may be unreadable by a robot. So consider going this route only if you know a human will be reading your resume (and that said human might enjoy it).

Who it’s good for: People applying to creative roles (designers, editors, writers, marketers, video producers, for example), startups, or fun companies, or to jobs where a creative resume is encouraged, if not required.

Download an Example Infographic Resume for a Designer

Not a designer but want your resume to look just as pretty as this example? Check out these articles:

• 5 Sites to Create an Awesome Infographic Resume (Even if You’re the Least Creative Person Ever)
• How to Build a Resume Website That Will Impress Every Hiring Manager Who Sees It
• 5 Digital Tools That Will Make Your Resume Infinitely More Beautiful

Your resume is a living, breathing document. So while you won’t go through this whole process every time you apply for a job, you should be thinking about all these things as you go to update your resume for your next career step. You might decide later on to switch up the order, or remove or add things, or even get creative and try out a whole new format. If you’re not getting the calls back you expect, you may decide to scrap it and start over —and that’s totally OK.

Regardless of where this piece of paper goes and how it grows, when you give it the care and attention it deserves, you set yourself up for success. And you’ll make it that much more likely that you’ll land an interview and get the chance to prove to the hiring manager—over the phone or in person—what you’ve got to offer.

How to Make a Resume in 2024 | Beginner's Guide

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 gets you an interview straight up.

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, including:

• The 8 Essential Steps to Writing a Resume
• 11+ Exclusive Resume Tips to Up Your Resume Game
• 27+ Real-Life Resume Examples for Different Professions

….and more!

So, let’s dive right in.

How to Make a Resume (The Right Way!)

Before we go into detail about how you should make a resume, here’s a summary of the most important steps and tips to keep in mind:

• Choose a resume format carefully. In 99% of cases, we recommend the reverse-chronological format .
• Add the right contact details. Leave your headshot out and make sure to include your job title , a professional email address, and any relevant links. (E.g.: your LinkedIn profile , online portfolio, personal website, etc.).
• Write an impactful resume summary. Unless you’re an entry-level professional, always go for a resume summary. If you do it right, it’s your chance to get the hiring manager to go through the rest of your resume in detail.
• Pay attention to your work experience section. Take your work experience section from OK-ish to exceptional by tailoring it to the job ad, making your achievements quantifiable, and using action verbs and power words.
• Add the right skills for the job. Keep this section relevant by only including the hard and soft skills that are required for the position.
• Keep your education short and to the point. Your most recent and highest degree is more than enough for a strong education section. You only need to add more details here if you’re a recent graduate with barely any work experience.
• Leverage optional resume sections. Optional sections like languages, hobbies, certifications, independent projects, and others can set you apart from other candidates with similar skills and experience.
• Include a cover letter. That’s right, cover letters matter in 2024, and the best way to supplement your resume is by adding an equally well-crafted cover letter to your job application. To make the most of it, check out our detailed guide on how to write a cover letter .

To get the most out of our tips, you can head over to the resume builder and start building your resume on the go as you read this guide.

New to resume-making? Give our ‘7 Resume Tips’ video a watch before diving into the article!

#1. Pick the Right Resume Format

Before you start filling in the contents of your resume, you have to make sure it’s going to look good. 

After all, the first thing hiring managers notice is what your resume looks like, and then they start reading it. So, this is your best chance to make a great first impression.

Start by choosing the right resume format.

There are three types of resume formats out there:

• Reverse-chronological. This is by far the most popular resume format worldwide and, as such, it’s the best format for most job-seekers.
• Functional. This resume format focuses more on skills than work experience. It’s a good choice if you’re just getting started with your career and have little to no experience in the field.
• Combination. The combination resume format is a great choice for experienced job-seekers with a very diverse skill set. It’s useful if you’re applying for a role that requires expertise in several different fields and you want to show all that in your resume.

So, which one should you go for?

In 99% of cases, you want to stick to the reverse-chronological resume format . It’s the most popular format and what hiring managers expect to see. So, in the rest of this guide, we’re going to focus on teaching you how to make a reverse-chronological resume.

Fix Your Resume’s Layout

With formatting out of the way, let’s talk about your resume’s layout , which determines the overall look of your resume. 

Does it look organized or cluttered? Is it too short or too long? Is it boring and easy to ignore, or is it reader-friendly and attention-grabbing?

Here are some of the best practices you should apply:

• Stick to one page. You should only go for a two-page resume if you have decades of experience and you’re sure the extra space will add significant value. Hiring managers in big companies get hundreds of applications per job opening. They’re not going to spend their valuable time reading your life story!
• Add clear section headings. Pick a heading and use it for all the section headers so the hiring manager can easily navigate through your resume.
• Adjust the margins. Without the right amount of white space, your resume will end up looking overcrowded with information. Set your margins to one inch on all sides so your text fits just right on the page.
• Choose a professional font. We’d recommend sticking to a font that’s professional but not overused. For example, Ubuntu, Roboto, or Overpass. Avoid Times New Roman, and never use Comic Sans.
• Set the correct font size. As a rule of thumb, go for 11-12 pt for normal text and 14-16 pt for section titles.
• Use a PDF file. Always save your resume as a PDF file, unless the employer specifically requests otherwise. Word files are popular, but there’s a good chance they’ll mess up your resume’s formatting.

Another thing you need to consider in terms of your resume’s layout is whether you’re going for a traditional-looking resume template or something a bit more modern :

If you’re pursuing a career in a more traditional industry, like law , banking , or finance , you might want to stick to the first.

But if you’re applying to a tech company where imagination and innovation are valued, you can pick a more creative resume template .

Want to Save Time? Use a (Free) Resume Template

Anyone who’s ever tried creating a resume from scratch knows how boring the formatting can be.

Before you can even start filling in the contents, you need to tweak the margins, adjust font sizes, and make sure everything fits into one page while still looking good.

What if you could skip past all that and still create a compelling resume?

Try one of our free resume templates . They’re pre-formatted, so all you have to do is fill in the contents.

They’re also created in collaboration with recruiters from around the globe, ensuring that the templates are visually appealing and ATS-friendly!

See for yourself how one of our templates compares to a resume created in a standard text editor:

#2. Add Your Contact Information

Now that we’ve got all the formatting out of the way, let’s get into what your resume is all about— the information you put on it .

The first thing you want to do when filling out the contents of your resume is to add your contact information .

This section is pretty straightforward but crucial. Your contact details belong at the top of your resume in a designated resume header , so the hiring manager can easily find them.

Even if everything else about your resume is perfect, that all flops if you misspell your email address or have a typo in your phone number. If the hiring manager can’t contact you, it’s a missed opportunity.

So, double-check, and even triple-check your contact information section and make sure everything is factually correct and up-to-date.

Must-Have Information

• Full name. Your first and last name should stand out at the top of your resume.
• Email address. Stick to an address that’s professional and easy to spell, like a combination of your first and last name. (E.g.: [email protected])
• Phone number. Add a reliable number where the hiring manager can easily reach you.
• Location. Add your city and state/country. If you plan to relocate for the job or want a remote position, specify it on your resume.

Optional Information

• Job title. Add your professional title underneath. Write it down word for word, whether it’s “Digital Marketing Specialist” or “Junior Data Scientist.” Just don’t make up job titles like “Marketing Wizzard” or “Data Manipulator.” They’re not quirky; they’re just unprofessional. 
• LinkedIn profile . We recommend that you include a link to your updated LinkedIn profile since over 77% of hiring managers use the platform when evaluating a candidate. 
• Relevant links. Include links to personal websites or any social media profiles that are relevant to your field. For example, a developer could include a Github profile, while a graphic designer could link their Behance or Driblle account, and so on.
• Date of birth. Unless this is specifically required in the job ad, the hiring 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 age-based discrimination.
• Unprofessional email address. Your quirky, old high school email address doesn’t belong on your resume. Instead of [email protected] , go for a [email protected] type of address.
• Headshot. (USA, UK or Ireland) Depending on the country where you’re applying, it might even be illegal to include a picture of yourself on your resume . While it’s the norm to include a picture in most of Europe and Asia, always check the regulations for each specific country or industry you’re applying to.

All clear? Good! Now, let’s look at what a great example of a resume's contact information section looks like:

#3. Write a Resume Headline (Summary or Objective)

It's no secret that recruiters spend an average of less than seven seconds on a resume .

When you receive hundreds, if not thousands, of applications daily, it's physically impossible to spend too much time on each.

So, what the hiring managers do to go through resumes more effectively is to skim through each resume and read it in depth only if it piques their interest.

This is where the resume headline comes in.

Placed right next to (or underneath) your contact information, this brief paragraph is the first thing the hiring manager is going to read on your resume.

Now, depending on how far along in your career you are, your resume headline can be either a resume summary or a resume objective.

So, how do you choose between a resume summary and a resume objective? Here’s all you need to know:

Resume Summary

A resume summary, as the name suggests, is a two to three-sentence summary of your career so far. If done right, it shows that you’re a qualified candidate at a glance and gets the hiring manager to give you a chance.

Here’s what your resume summary should include:

• Your job title and years of experience.
• A couple of your greatest professional achievements or core responsibilities.
• Your most relevant skills for the job.

Here’s an example of a well-written resume summary: 

Experienced Java Developer with 5 years of experience in building scalable and efficient applications. Contributed to a major project that enhanced application performance by 25%. Strong background in Spring Framework and microservices. Aiming to apply robust coding skills to develop innovative software solutions at XYZ Tech Solutions.

Unless you’re a recent graduate or amid a career change, we recommend you stick to a resume summary. Otherwise, a resume objective might be a better option for you.

Resume Objective

A resume objective is supposed to express your professional goals and aspirations, academic background, and any relevant skills you may have for the job.

It communicates your motivation for getting into a new field, so it’s the go-to headline for recent graduates and those going through a career change. As with a resume summary, a resume objective should be brief—around two to four sentences long.

So, here’s what it would look like if you’re a student:

Hard-working recent graduate with a B.A. in Graphic Design from New York State University seeking new opportunities. 3+ years of practical experience working with Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, creating illustrations and UX/UI design projects. Looking to grow as a designer and perfect my art at XYZ Design Studio.

Or, on the other hand, if you’re going through a career change, it might look more like this:

IT project manager with 5+ years of experience in software development. Managed a team of developers to create products for several industries, such as FinTech and HR tech. Looking to leverage my experience in managing outsourced products as a Product Owner at Company XYZ.

#4. Prioritize Your Work Experience

The most important part of your resume is your work experience.

This is where you get to sell yourself and show off your previous accomplishments and responsibilities.

If you manage to master this section, you’ll know most of what’s there to know about how to make a resume.

There are plenty of good practices for writing your work experience . But before we dive into all the nits and grits, let's start with the basics.

The standard format for each work experience entry is as follows:

• Job title/position. Your job title goes on top of each work experience entry. When the hiring manager looks at your resume, you want them to know, at a glance, that you have relevant work experience for the job.
• Company name/location/description. Mention the name of the employer and the general location, such as the city and state/country where you worked. In some cases, you may also want to briefly describe the company, like when the organization isn’t particularly well-known.
• Dates employed. Add the approximate timeframe of your employment at each company. You don’t need to give exact dates since the standard format for this is mm/yyyy.
• 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. List them in bullet points instead of paragraphs, so they’ll be easier to read.

Here’s a real-life example:

Your work experience entries should always be listed in reverse chronological order , starting with your most recent job and working your way back into the past.

Now that you know how to list your experience, we’re going to show you how to write about it in a way that makes you stand out from the competition, starting with: 

Are you a student with no work experience? We’ve got you covered. Check out our guide to writing a resume with no experience here.

Focus on Achievements Whenever Possible

One of the most common resume mistakes is only listing responsibilities in your work experience section.

Here’s the thing—in most cases, the hiring manager knows exactly what your job responsibilities are.

For example, if you’re a sales manager, your responsibilities would be:

• Reach out to potential clients over the phone or email.
• Maintain relationships with existing company clients and upsell relevant products.
• Tracking and reporting on leads in CRM.

Coincidentally, this is also the same list of responsibilities for every sales manager out there. So, 90% of all other resumes probably mention the same thing.

To stand out from the competition, you want to focus on writing achievements in your resume instead. These can be how you helped your previous company grow, reach quarterly quotas, and so on.

Let’s compare how responsibilities hold up next to achievements for the same job:

• Exceeded sales team KPIs by 30%+ for 3 months straight.
• Generated over $24,000 in sales in 1 month.
• Generated leads through cold-calling
• Managed existing company clients

Keep in mind, though, that in some fields, there just aren’t that many achievements you can mention. Let’s say you’re a warehouse worker .

Your day-to-day responsibilities probably include:

• Loading, unloading, and setting up equipment daily.
• Packaging finished products and getting them ready for shipping.
• Assisting in opening and closing the warehouse.

In fields like this, it’s pretty hard to distinguish yourself through achievements, so it’s okay to stick to responsibilities instead. You can still make them shine by following the rest of our advice about listing your work experience.

Keep in mind, though, that in some fields, there aren’t that many achievements you can mention. Let’s say you work in a warehouse. Your day-to-day responsibilities probably involve:

• Loading, unloading and setting up equipment on a daily basis.
• Package finished product and get it ready for shipping.
• Assist in opening and closing the warehouse.

In such fields, it’s pretty hard to distinguish yourself, so it’s totally OK to stick to responsibilities instead.

Tailor Your Resume to the Job

Tailoring is what sets an amazing resume apart from an okay one.

Hiring managers don’t need to know about every single job you’ve ever worked at or every single skill that you have.

They only want to know about your jobs, experiences, or skills that are relevant to the role you’re applying for.

For example, if you’re applying for a job doing Google Ads, you don’t need to talk about your SEO internship from eight years ago.

By focusing your resume on whatever is important for the specific role, you’re a lot more likely to stand out and catch the hiring manager’s attention.

Let’s take a look at an example of a job ad:

As you can see, we’ve highlighted the most important requirements.

To tailor your resume accordingly, you just need to mention how you meet each of these requirements in your resume.

You can highlight your relevant achievements and qualifications in different parts of your resume, such as:

• In your resume summary, where you should recap your years of experience.
• Throughout your work experience section, where you should list achievements and responsibilities that reflect your social media marketing experience.
• In your education section, where you can let the hiring manager know you have the degree that they’re looking for.

Include the Right Amount of Work Experience

If you’ve got over a decade’s worth of work experience, you’re probably wondering whether all of it belongs on your resume. In most cases, you’d end up writing a novel if you listed everything you’ve ever done, and that’s not how long a resume should be .

If you’re new to the job market, on the other hand, you probably don’t have any experience, and you’re wondering what you could even add to this section.

So, here’s how much information your resume should include, depending on your level of experience:

• No experience. If you’re looking for your first job , you won’t have any work experience to fill this section with. So, you can either keep it empty and focus on all the other sections or fill it up with any experience gained in student organizations, extracurricular activities, volunteering, and other projects.
• Entry-level. List all your work experience so far. While some of it won’t be relevant, it can still show the hiring manager that you do have some actual work experience.
• Mid-level. Only mention relevant work experience to the position you’re applying for. There’s no need to waste space on jobs that aren’t related to what you’re after.
• Senior-level. List up to 15 years of relevant work experience, tops. If your most recent experience is as a marketing executive , the hiring manager doesn’t care how you started your career as a junior marketing specialist 23 years ago.

Consider Applicant Tracking System (ATS) Software

Did you know that over 70% of resumes don’t even make it to the hiring manager ?

Most companies these days use ATS to evaluate hundreds of resumes instantaneously and automatically filter out the ones that don’t meet their criteria.

For example, if a resume doesn’t mention a specific skill or isn’t formatted correctly, the ATS will automatically reject it.

Fortunately, there are some easy ways to make an ATS-friendly resume .

Here are a couple of tips to help you get past those pesky robots:

• Stick to one page. Sometimes employers set a limit on how long a resume should be. This means that if your resume is longer than one page, it might get automatically disqualified.
• Incorporate keywords. Tailoring your resume to the job helps a ton with beating the ATS. Just carefully read the job description to find hints for what the ATS will be looking for. Then, whenever you find keywords related to your responsibilities and achievements, make sure to include them in your work experience section.
• Use an active voice. Passive voice is too vague and unclear, so make sure to use active voice as much as possible when describing your previous jobs. (E.g.: “Managed a team of ten people,” instead of “ A team of ten people was managed by me.” )
• Leverage powerful action words. Instead of starting each of your sentences with “was responsible for," make your work experience impactful by using words that can grab attention. Saying that you “spearheaded” or “facilitated” something sounds a lot more impressive than “helped.”

Want to make sure your resume formatting passes the ATS test? Choose one of our tried and tested ATS-friendly resume templates , and you’ll be good to go! 

#5. List Your Education

The next section on your resume is dedicated to your academic qualifications. Let’s start with the basics!

Here’s how you should format the education section on your resume :

• Program Name. Your major and degree type should be listed. (E.g.: “B.A. in Business Administration” )
• University Name. Add the name of the institution. (E.g.: “New York State University” )
• Dates Attended. Use a mm/yyyy format for the dates you attended. (E.g.: “08/2008 - 06/2012” )
• Location. If your university is less well-known, you can also add the location. (E.g.: “Stockholm, Sweden” )
• GPA. Use the appropriate grading system for the country you’re applying to work in. (E.g.: In the USA, it would be “3.9 GPA” )
• Honors. Add any honors and distinctions you’ve been given. (E.g.: Cum Laude, Magna Cum Laude, Summa Cum Laude )
• Achievements. You can mention interesting papers you’ve written, projects you’ve done, or relevant coursework you’ve excelled in.
• Minor. “Minor in Psychology”

Pretty simple, right? Now let’s see what an education section looks like in practice:

This example includes all the necessary information, plus an eye-catching award and relevant classes this candidate has taken.

Resume Education Tips

Now that you know how to list your education on your resume, let’s take this section to the next level.

Just follow these expert tips:

• If you’re making a resume as a student and don’t have any work experience yet, you can list your education section at the beginning of the page instead of work experience.
• You can add your expected graduation date if you’re still pursuing your degree.
• If you already have relevant work experience, just keep this section short and sweet. Recent graduates can expand on their education more and add optional information like projects, classes, academic achievements, etc.
• Always list your degrees in reverse chronological order, starting with your highest degree on top. Your highest and most recent degree is usually enough, so if you have a Master’s degree that’s relevant to the job, there’s no need to mention your earlier degrees.
• Don’t add your high school degree to your resume if you already have a university degree. It doesn’t have as much weight, and you can use the space for something else.
• Only mention your GPA if you had an impressive academic career. Anything below a 3.5 GPA doesn’t need to be on your resume.

Are you in the process of applying for college? Check out our guide to writing a college application resume to wow that admissions officer!

#6. Emphasize Your Know-How in the Skills Section

After your work experience, your skills are the first thing the hiring manager is going to look for. In fact, together, work experience and skills make up 90% of the hiring decision .

So, this is the place where you want to mention all the know-how that makes you the perfect candidate for the job.

There are two types of skills you can include when writing your resume:

• Hard Skills. These are measurable abilities. What you can list here can be anything from coding in Python to knowing how to cook Thai cuisine.
• Soft Skills. Also known as personal skills, these are a mix of communication skills , personal traits, career attributes, and more. They can include leadership, critical thinking, and time management , just to name a few.

Your resume should always cover both hard skills and soft skills . Here’s an example in action:

Now, let’s discuss how you should list your most important skills on your resume.

There are a few essential steps you need to follow:

Always List Hard and Soft Skills Separately

Your resume should be easy and neat to navigate. The hiring manager shouldn’t have to waste time looking for a specific skill because you didn’t separate it into the appropriate subsection.

So, just create separate categories for your hard and soft skills.

Depending on your field, you could customize the name of your “hard skills” subsection to something like “technical skills," “marketing skills," or something else related to your field.

Let’s look at an example of what skills look like on a project manager’s resume :

Methodologies & Tools

• Agile Methodology
• SCRUM Framework
• Waterfall Project Management
• Microsoft Project
• Critical Path Method (CPM)
• Earned Value Management (EVM)
• Risk Management

Soft Skills

• Team Management
• Conflict Resolution
• Negotiation

Tailor Your Skills to the Job

You might have some awesome skills, but the hiring manager only needs to know about the ones that are relevant to the job.

For example, if you’re applying for a job as an accountant, your gourmet chef skills shouldn’t be on your resume.

Look at the job ad and list at least two to three essential skills you have that are required for the role. Remember—there’s no need to list every skill you have here; just keep it relevant.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Graphic Design or a related field.
• Tech-savvy, with some background in CMS systems such as WordPress.
• Thrives in a stressful environment and juggles multiple tasks and deadlines.
• Strong organizational and time management skills.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Self-reliant, with the ability to manage their own work.
• A can-do attitude and an outside-the-box thinker.
• Proficient in Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Keynote, and Pages.
• Basic understanding of Office software such as Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.

So, the must-have hard skills here are Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Keynote, and Pages. Other good computer skills to have are WordPress or similar CMS systems.

While you can also mention Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, it’s pretty much assumed that you know how to use them since they’re required for most office jobs.

List Hard Skills with Experience Levels

For each hard skill you list on your resume, you should also mention your proficiency level. This tells employers what they can expect from you and how much training you might need.

• 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 good understanding.
• Advanced. You’re the go-to person for this skill in your office. You can coach other employees, and you understand the skill at a high level.
• Expert. You’ve applied this skill to more than a handful of different projects and 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.

Just make sure to never lie about your actual skill level. Even if you get the job, once you need those skills you exaggerated, it will be pretty awkward for both you and your employer.

Include Transferable Skills

These are the types of skills that are useful for almost any job out there.

Transferable skills can be both soft skills (e.g.: teamwork, creativity, problem-solving skills, and others) and hard skills (MS Office Suite, HTML, writing, etc.)

Whatever job you’re applying to, chances are you have transferable skills from your experience that can come in handy one way or another. So, feel free to include them, even if they’re not specifically required for the position.

Not sure which skills to mention on your resume for your specific field? Check out our list of 101+ essential skills for inspiration!

#7. Leverage Optional Resume Sections

The sections we’ve covered so far are must-haves for any resume. They’re the bread-and-butter for any job application, and if you get them right, you’ll land any job you apply to.

But if you have some leftover space, there are a few optional sections you can choose from to give your resume a boost!

Are you bi-lingual? Or even better  – multi-lingual? You should always mention that on your resume!

Even if the position doesn’t require you to know a specific language, it can still come in handy at some point. At the end of the day, it’s always better to know more languages than less.

To list languages in your resume , just write them down and assign them the appropriate level:

• Intermediate

You can also use the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL) or the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) proficiency scales.

As a given, you should never lie about your language skills. You never know—your interviewer might turn out to be fluent in the language or even be a native speaker!

Hobbies and Interests

If you want to spice up your resume, hobbies and interests could be just what you need.

While this section isn’t a game-changer, it can help the hiring manager see who you are as an individual.

For example, if you listed “teamwork” as one of your skills, hobbies like team sports can back up your claim.

And who knows? Maybe you and your interviewer have some hobbies or interests in common!

Volunteering Experience

If you’re the type of person who devotes their free time to helping others while expecting nothing in return, chances are that you’re the type of employee who’s in it for more than just the money. 

Seeing volunteer experience on your resume tells hiring managers that you’re a loyal employee who’s after something meaningful.

Several studies show that listing your volunteer experience can boost your chances of getting hired, especially if you have little to no work experience.

Certifications

Hiring managers love candidates who invest in themselves, and that’s exactly what they see when you list certifications on your resume .

If you value continuous learning and strive to expand your skill set, that’s always a plus.

Certifications can also show employers how much expertise you have.

For example, if you’re a Microsoft Cloud Engineer and you specialize in Microsoft Technologies, you should definitely include all essential certifications on your resume, such as the Azure Solutions Architect Expert one.

Awards and Recognitions

There’s no harm in showing off a little on your resume. After all, you want to be a candidate that shines above the rest.

So, if you’ve received any awards or recognitions that make you stand out in your field, make sure to add them.

For example, if you’ve been recognized for your contributions to data science or received a hard-to-come-by scholarship , mention it in your resume. Just keep your entries here relevant to the field you’re applying to.

Publications

Whether you’re a freelance writer or a distinguished academic, publications are always impressive.

If you have any published works (online or in an academic journal), you can add them to your resume. Just make sure to include a link so the hiring manager knows where to check your work!

Are you looking for a career in academia? Check out our guide to writing the perfect academic CV to get started!

Working on side projects can show off your passion for your field. Whether they’re university class projects or part-time entrepreneurial endeavors, they’re relevant.

For example, if you worked on a mock software product as part of a university competition, it shows you went through every step of product creation, from ideation to creating a marketing strategy.

This project also shows off your organizational skills , and if you mention it in your resume, you stand a better chance of landing the job you had your sights set on.

But projects can also be personal, not academic. For example, you might manage an Etsy store where you sell hand-made arts and crafts to customers online. This is a great opportunity to highlight your creativity, management, and customer service skills .

Overall, hiring managers love employees who do cool work in their free time, so projects are always a great section to add to your resume.

Looking to kickstart your career? Check out our guide on how to get an internship for useful tips and real-life examples!

Extracurricular Activities

Every college freshman knows that extracurricular experience can make a difference in their application.

Especially if you don’t have a lot of experience outside of school, extracurricular activities are a great way to show potential employers your skills and give them insight into you as a person. Different clubs and after-school projects can help you gain real-life skills and considerably increase your chances of landing your first job after college.

For example, joining a student government organization can hone your leadership skills and teach you how to work as part of a team.

For example, if you’re part of a student government or public speaking club, these activities can help you hone your leadership and presentation skills.

11+ Expert Resume Tips

You’ve got the gist of how to make a resume. Now, it’s time to make it really stand out from the crowd!

Follow these exclusive resume tips to take your resume game to the next level:

• Match the professional title underneath your name to the job title of the position you’re applying for. Hiring managers often hire for several roles at once, so giving them this cue about what role you’re after helps things go smoother.
• Mention any promotions from your previous jobs. Use the work experience entries for them to focus on the achievements that helped you earn them.
• Describe your achievements using Laszlo Bock’s formula : accomplished X as measured by Y by doing Z . This way, your work experience can go the extra mile and show the hiring manager what you can bring to the table.
• Always list your achievements and responsibilities in concise bullet points. This makes your resume more reader-friendly, and it’s more likely that the hiring manager will see your impressive achievements at a glance.
• Don’t use personal pronouns like “I” or “me,” and don’t refer to yourself by name. Stick to a slightly altered third person, like “managed data integrity at XYZ Inc.” instead of “he managed data integrity at XYZ Inc.”
• Name your resume sections correctly, or it might get rejected by the ATS. Swapping out quirky names like “career history” or “expertise” for “work experience” and "skills" makes it easier for the hiring manager to find what they’re looking for, too.
• Prioritize important keywords instead of adding all of them. Make sure the relevant skills, qualifications, and experiences you add all make sense in context, too. Your goal is to get past the ATS and impress the hiring manager.
• Focus on transferable skills if you don’t have a lot of relevant work experience. Any extracurricular activities or personal projects can help you stand out here.
• Add a strategic pop of color to headings, bullet points, or key elements you want to highlight. It can help your resume stand out, but don’t overdo it—you want the information to be more impressive than the color palette.
• Don’t include the line “references available upon request.” Hiring managers already know they can request a list of references from you, so there’s no need to waste valuable space on it.
• Make sure your resume is optimized for mobile viewing. Most hiring managers use their mobile phones as often as desktop computers, so save your resume to a PDF file and make sure your formatting stays intact across any device.
• Rename the resume file you plan to send so it includes your name and the name of the position you’re applying for. It’s a small detail that can turn into a crucial mistake if you forget it.
• Read your resume out loud when you’re done. This is a great way to catch awkward phrases or spelling mistakes you might have missed otherwise.
• Use a tool like DocSend to track your resume. You’ll get a notification any time someone opens your resume, and you can see how long they spend reading it.

FREE Resume Checklist

Are you already done with your resume? Let’s see how it holds up!

Go through our checklist for perfecting your resume and see where you stand!

If you missed some points, just go through your resume one more time and perfect it.

And if you ☑’d everything—congrats! You’ve learned all there is to know about writing a resume, and you’re good to go with your job search.

Need to write a CV instead of a resume? Check out our step-by-step guide on how to write a CV with dozens of examples!

9 Resume Templates for Different Industries

Looking to create an effective resume without dealing with the formatting hassle? Just choose one of the templates below.

#1. Traditional Resume Template

Good for traditional industries like finance, banking, law, and manufacturing.

#2. Modern Resume Template

Good for both contemporary and forward-looking industries, including entrepreneurship, medical technology, and engineering.

#3. Creative Resume Template

Good for creative industries, including entertainment, design, and architecture. 

#4. Minimalistic Resume Template

Good for experienced professionals in basically any industry who want to let their achievements do the talking. 

#5. IT Resume Template

Good for any IT-related profession like software development, cyber security, and DevOps engineering.

#6. Tech Resume Template

Good for the tech industry and everything it encompasses.

#7. College Resume Template

Good for college students and recent graduates alike.

#8. General Resume Template

Good for multiple industries, including HR, education, and customer service.

#9. Executive Resume Template

Good for senior professionals across different industries, including hospitality, marketing, and logistics.

17+ Resumes for Different Jobs

Knowing how to write a resume is one thing, but making a resume that stands out is something entirely different. Without inspiration, even top career experts might stumble on a roadblock or two.

Check out the following effective resume examples for specific jobs to get a better sense of what a good resume looks like:

#1. Nurse Practitioner Resume Example

Check out our full guide to writing a nurse resume here.

#2. Data Scientist Resume Example

Check out our full guide to writing a data scientist resume here.

#3. Business Analyst Resume Example

Check out our full guide to writing a business analyst resume here.

#4. Digital Marketing Resume Example

Check out our full guide to writing a digital marketing resume here.

#5. Software Engineer Resume Example

Check out our full guide to writing a software engineer resume here.

#6. Construction Project Manager Resume Example

Check out our full guide to writing a construction project manager resume here.

#7. Customer Service Resume Example

Check out our full guide to writing a customer service resume here.

#8. High School Resume Example

Check out our full guide to writing a high school resume here.

#9. Student Resume Example

Check out our full guide to writing a student resume here.

#10. Server Resume Example

Check out our full guide to writing a server resume here.

#11. Actor Resume Example

Check out our full guide to writing an actor resume here.

#12. Web Developer Resume Example

Check out our full guide to writing a web developer resume here.

#13. Engineering Resume Example

Check out our full guide to writing an engineering resume here.

#14. Computer Science Resume Example

Check out our full guide to writing a computer science resume here.

#15. Architect Resume Example 

Check out our full guide to writing a data analyst resume here.

#17. Remote Job Resume Example

Check out our full guide to writing a remote job resume here.

#18. Sales Associate Resume Example

Check out our full guide to writing a sales associate resume here.

#19. Receptionist Resume Example

Check out our full guide to writing a receptionist resume here.

Want to see more examples? Check out our compilation of 80+ resume examples for different fields .

• Administrative Assistant Resume
• Bartender Resume
• DevOps Engineer Resume
• Executive Assistant Resume
• Flight Attendant Resume
• Graphic Designer Resume
• Paralegal Resume
• Pharmacist Resume
• Recruiter Resume
• Supervisor Resume

Next Steps After Your Resume

Now that we’ve covered everything you need to know about how to make a resume, it’s time to talk about the rest of your job application.

After all, your resume is only the first step in your job search. To land the job you deserve, you also need to write a captivating cover letter and ace that upcoming interview. Here’s how:

#1. How to Write a Convincing Cover Letter

The companion piece to every resume is the cover letter.

Most job-seekers flinch when they hear that they have to write a cover letter. What do you even mention in a cover letter, anyway? If you were good at writing cover letters, you’d be applying for a job as a writer !

In reality, though, writing a cover letter is very simple once you know its purpose.

Think of your cover letter as a direct message to the hiring manager. It’s your chance to briefly explain why you’re such an awesome fit for the position. And with a few cover letter tips to point you in the right direction, you’ll write the perfect cover letter for your job application.

Just follow this structure:

• Add the contact details. Include the same contact information as on your resume, plus additional contact details for the hiring manager, including their name, job title, the company’s name, and location.
• Introduce yourself. Start your cover letter by mentioning who you are, what your work experience is, and why you’re interested in the position. Mention a standout achievement or two, relevant skills, and what you’d like to do for the company you’re applying for.
• Explain why you’d excel at the job. Find the requirements in the job ad that you meet, and elaborate on how you fulfill the most important ones. Research the company so you know what you like about it, and mention it in your cover letter. Make sure to convey your enthusiasm for the job and confidence that you’ll be a great fit for their team.
• Wrap it up politely. Conclude your cover letter by recapping your key selling points and thanking the hiring manager for their time. Then add a call to action, such as “Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at the provided phone number so that we can discuss my application in greater detail.” Then, add a closing line and follow it with your full name.

Sounds easy, right? Here’s a real-life example to drive the point home:

Do you need more help perfecting your cover letter? Learn what the most common cover letter mistakes are and check out cover letter examples for all professions here.

#2. How to Ace Your Next Interview

Once you’ve perfected both your resume and cover letter, there’s only one thing left.

It’s time for the final step—the dreaded job interview.

Whether you’re an extrovert or an introvert, you probably hate the interviewing process. No matter how experienced you are, it can be nerve-wracking. Sitting there while someone’s prodding into your past experiences and judging you isn’t fun.

But did you know that most interviewers ask the same questions?

That’s right—all you have to do is learn how to answer some of the most common interview questions, and you’ll be an interview away from landing your dream job!

Just check out our complete guide to the 35+ Job Interview Questions and Answers and learn how to ace your next interview.

FAQs on How to Make a Resume

Do you still have some questions about making a resume? Check out the answers to the most frequently asked questions below!

#1. What does a good resume look like in 2024?

For your resume to look good in 2024, make sure it’s organized and clean and isn’t longer than one page.

Be sure to include information that adds value to your application—leave out the focus on your relevant work experience and skills that you can back up, and list as many achievements as possible. 

If you’re using a resume template, choose one based on your industry. Conservative industries like law, banking, and business require more traditional resume templates. But if you’re going for an industry like design, architecture, or marketing, you can go for a creative resume template . 

Remote work is also big in 2024, so if that’s what you’re after, tailor your resume to match the job you want.

#2. How do you make a resume in Word?

The best way to create a resume in Word is to use a pre-designed Microsoft Word template. To access them, you should: 

• Open MS Word
• Click “file” from the menu bar 
• Select “new”
• Type “resume templates” in the search bar 

That said, Word resume templates are generic, hard to personalize, and overall not very stylish.

Want a resume that looks good and is extremely easy to make? Check out resume templates to get started!

#3. How do I write a resume for my first job?

If you’re writing your first-ever resume for an entry-level position, the hiring manager won’t expect you to have any work experience.

However, you can make up for your lack of experience with your skills and academic achievements.

For example, you can take advantage of extracurricular activities, internships, volunteering experiences, and other non-professional experiences. You can use them to highlight the skills you’ve gained and what you’ve achieved so far.

So, your first job resume should have a resume objective, emphasize your education, and replace your work experience with any internships, volunteering, independent projects, or other experiences.

#4. How to make a resume on Google Docs?

You can make a resume on Google Docs by choosing one of their templates and filling it in on the go.

All you have to do is go to your Google Drive’s template gallery, choose your preferred template, fill in your information, and your Google Docs resume is ready to go! 

That said, Google Docs templates aren’t the most user-friendly choice. You don’t have much flexibility with the layout and formatting isn’t that easy. For example, you tweak a section to the slightest, and the whole resume becomes a mess.

If you want an easier option, check out our resume builder !

#5. What kind of resume do employers prefer?

Typically, employers prefer one-page-long resumes that follow the reverse chronological format. 

Hiring managers receive hundreds of resumes every day, so they don't have the time to read three-page resumes. Try one of our one-page resume templates so you don’t go over the recommended resume length.

Meanwhile, the reverse-chronological format is the most popular because it draws attention to your most recent jobs and professional achievements, which is the #1 most important thing hiring managers look at when evaluating a resume.

#6. How many jobs should you put on your resume? 

You should only include relevant job positions on your resume.

This means that your work experience section should be tailored to the job you are applying for. If you’ve worked five different jobs and they can all add value to your current application, then you should include all five. 

If, on the other hand, you’re applying for, say, a customer service position and some of your past jobs don’t have anything to do with customer service, you should skip them.

#7. Should I put my address on my resume? 

You can put your location (city, state, or country) on your resume, but you don’t need to put your entire physical address.

Putting a physical address on a resume was the norm back when companies would contact you via mail. In today’s world, everyone communicates via email, which is why adding a correct and professional email address to your contact information section is far more important than putting your physical address. 

So, just include your location or-–if you’re a remote worker—specify you prefer to work remotely by writing “working remotely from [location].”

#8. What information should I leave out of my resume?

As a general rule, you shouldn’t include your birthday or your headshot on your resume. This norm varies from country to country but it applies to the USA, Canada, and UK.

If you have plenty of achievements to list under your work experience, then you can leave your basic work responsibilities out of your resume. 

In your education section, you should only include your highest and most recent degree. So, if you hold a Ph.D., you can list that and your Master’s degree and leave your Bachelor’s degree and high school diploma out.

Finally, leave out any skills that aren’t relevant to the job you’re applying for.

#9. Is a resume a CV?

Depending on where you are, a CV (Curriculum Vitae) and a resume might be completely different things.

In most of the world, though, including Europe and Asia, they are used interchangeably for the same document. Both CVs and resumes are one to two pages long, and list skills and experiences relevant to the position you’re applying for.

Sometimes more detailed resumes that go over one page are referred to as CVs. These are typically only used by senior professionals, executives, CEOs, etc.

In the USA, however, a CV is a completely different document. Typically, CVs are detailed and comprehensive documents that highlight your entire academic and professional history. They’re often used for academic, scientific, or research positions, which is why this type of CV can also be referred to as an academic CV.

You can create your CV using one of our CV templates !

#10. Should I write my own resume?

Yes, you should always write your own resume.

Your resume is your opportunity to show the hiring manager your communication, writing, and presentation skills . Employers also evaluate you based on how effectively you can convey information about yourself, and there’s no one that can represent you better than yourself.

Writing your own resume lets you introduce yourself authentically. You have the best understanding of your skills and experiences, and you can personalize them to make your resume stand out.

And, as a bonus, the experience of writing your resume yourself can be reflective and insightful, so it might help you understand your professional journey and career goals better.

#11. Can a resume be two pages?

Generally, we strongly recommend that your resume stick to one page.

Hiring managers go through hundreds of resumes every day, and keeping your resume to one page increases the odds that they’ll see your qualifications faster.

In some cases, like when you have a lot of relevant experience, your resume can go over two pages. But this exception is reserved for senior professionals with over a decade of relevant experience and tons of skills and achievements that simply can’t fit on one page.

#12. Is a simple resume okay?

Absolutely, a simple resume is often more than okay—it's preferable.

Before your resume even gets to the hiring manager, a complicated layout could get it rejected by the applicant tracking system (ATS). A simple resume template can help get your application straight to the hiring manager.

A clean layout can also make sure that your resume is easily readable and looks professional. This can focus the hiring manager's attention on your work experience and skills without excessive clutter or flashy colors to distract them.

Key Takeaways

And that’s a wrap!

If you’ve followed all of our advice until now, congrats! You’re probably an expert on how to make a resume.

To recap, let’s go through some of the most important lessons we’ve learned so far...

• Use the right resume builder to make the process as smooth as possible. You don’t want to mess around with formatting for hours before even starting to work on your resume!
• Focus on your achievements over responsibilities. This can help you stand out from all the other applicants, especially if you back your claims up with data.
• Include all the must-have sections, like the resume summary, work experience, education, and skills. Then leverage optional sections if you have leftover space.
• Tailor your resume for the job you’re applying for. Everything listed on your resume should be relevant to the specific job you’re applying for, and you should write a new resume for every new job application.
• Take the time to perfect your cover letter. It’s just as important as your resume, so make sure you pay as much attention to it!

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• Career Planning
• Leaving a Job

Tips for a Successful Mid-Career Change

How to Successful Implement a Career Transition

Madeleine Burry writes about careers and job searching for The Balance. She covers topics around career changes, job searching, and returning from maternity leave, and has been writing for The Balance since 2014.

The Best Way to Pivot Your Career

• Why Do You Want to Transition?

Create a Transition Action Plan

• Tactics for Mid-Career Candidates

Have you been feeling bored or frustrated at work lately? Or, do you work in an industry with falling job opportunities or wage stagnation?

Perhaps you've recently been furloughed or laid off, and are considering going in a totally new direction. 

If you're a mid-career worker considering switching careers for whatever reason, here's good news: Transitioning to a new career and industry doesn't mean that you will need to begin from the bottom of the career ladder.

Even if it's not in the same field, your experience still counts and can help you skip over entry-level positions.

If you're considering making a  change to your career path , start by evaluating what you want to be doing, and what job would make you happy . Take a look at this advice on how to know if you should switch jobs—or switch careers.

If you're changing industries, you'll likely want to examine the new industry's prospects, too. Then, see how to create a transition plan to ensure a successful career switch.

Why Do You Want to Transition—And to What?

If you've reached the mid-career level, you've worked for around 10 years, if not longer. It's not unreasonable that you may feel a desire for change. The question is, what's the right change for you?

Here are some of the possibilities to consider:

A New Job in the Same Field

If you fundamentally enjoy your work and are engaged by your industry, you may just want a new job. In this scenario, it may just be your particular job—the co-workers, the hours, the culture, etc.—that isn't a good fit, rather than this type of job or career in general. 

Often, mid-career professional workers are promoted into management positions that are less personally satisfying than when they worked directly on projects. If that's the case for you, you may want to  move down the career ladder  within your field.

A New Career in Different Industry, Using Similar Skills

If your industry is contracting or growing obsolete, or you feel ready for a significant change in focus, a job that utilizes your same skills, but with a twist, might be your best option. For instance, a journalist might want to switch to public relations, still using storytelling and communications skills, but in a different arena.

A Total Pivot

Sometimes, a  complete change is necessary . At mid-career, many people want to reinvent their work-life (and themselves!) entirely. Think of the corporate worker who yearns to leave the city entirely and work on a farm. That's a big transition—but it's doable. 

For a strong, successful transition, you'll need to identify what is currently making you unhappy, and what will make you happy in the future.

Take a look at these tips for evaluating whether your career needs a makeover. Speak with co-workers and friends, and get their take. These conversations may help clarify how big a move you should make.

Consider all the jobs you've ever held, stretching back to after-school and summer jobs as a teen, for more insight into what you do well, and what you enjoy most. If your first job was in retail, for instance, was it helping customers find what they wanted that was most satisfying, or leaving the shelves orderly at the end of the day?

If you're struggling to figure out what you want or are overwhelmed with the possibilities, take a look at some of these  free career quizzes, aptitude tests, and self-assessment tools .

Once you identify your ideal job, your next step is to come up with a plan for how to get it. You'll need to engage with real-world considerations (think: monthly bills, your kids' schools, etc.) to ensure that your dream career is realistic based on your existing responsibilities.

You'll need to evaluate which skills you have, and which skills you'll need to add.

In some cases, you'll be able to  change careers without going back to school .

Identify Your Current Skills:  List out all your skills and abilities. What skills and talents do you possess, and how could they be applied to your new field? 

Remember, as a seasoned worker, you're in luck. Many of  the skills employers seek out the most  are transferable. Unlike an entry-level employee, you're not starting from scratch. If you have worked in television production, for instance, but want to move to human resources, your interpersonal skills, as well as problem-solving abilities, and a knack at juggling tasks and managing personalities, can be tremendously helpful.

Identify the Skills You Need to Have:  Next, look at job postings for the position you want to have. What requirements are listed? Remember, you don't need to have every requirement listed on a job posting to apply—but there are some that are often deal-breakers:

• You may need to take a class or get a degree.
• You may need to take a salary cut and start at a lower-level position than the one you're at currently.
• Or, you may need to think of creative ways to add experience to your resume, such as taking on a volunteer position that allows you to learn new skills.

Use all of this information to create a timeline and to-do list for your transition to new work—this may involve taking classes, volunteer work, informational interviews, or other steps. 

Transition Tactics for Mid-Career Candidates

You've identified the transferable skills that you can bring to your new career, as well as the skills you need to add on. Now, here are a few strategies to make your job search in a new industry a success:

• Update Your Resume:  Lean heavily on the  summary statement  or  objective section  to express your story and show how your current skills and abilities are transferable. Also, check out  tips for what to cut from a mid-career resume , and  how to write a powerful career change resume . Be sure, as well, to  target your cover letters  to the new jobs for which you're applying.
• Use Your Existing Network:  Don't feel like you need to start a whole new network, just because you're switching gears. Inform close friends and trusted confidants that you're considering a move, and share the details on what you're looking for. You never know what jobs will come into people's inboxes. Here's more  information on how to use networking in your job search .
• Look Within Your Current Company:  Who knows you better than your current company? Even if you are making a big switch—from HR to sales, for instance—your current workplace may be willing to work with you to make this transition. Because management knows your skills and accomplishments, they may be more willing to take a risk and try you out in a new position.
• Expand Your Network:  Start going to networking events in the field you want to work at. Prepare an  elevator pitch , and use it while you take classes, socialize with friends, etc. Let everyone know the type of position you want, and how it logically fits with your work history, even if it seems like a bit of a leap.
• Do Informational Interviews:  One easy way to expand your network, and learn the lingo of the new field you want to enter, is to do  informational interviews .
• Prepare for Job Interviews:  When you are changing careers, you'll need to convince the interviewer that you've got the right qualifications for the job. These tips will help you sell your skills and  ace a career change job interview .
• One Last Tip:  Consider going slowly, especially with drastic changes. If you have a marketing position but yearn to do something with hands-on creativity, consider starting an Etsy store, or creating a website selling your wares. Work on this during evenings and weekends, until you have a clear sense if it's financially sustainable and fulfilling. Also, there are strategies you can implement at your current job to  help ensure your next job change will be successful .

At every step of your career transition, think of your years of experience as an advantage, and not an impediment. Your experience is still meaningful and can inform your future career, even if it's a departure from what you were working on previously.

Career Transition , Resumes

26 September 2017

When and How to Transition to a Mid-Career Resume

O ne of the most common reasons that alumni contact us in Alumni Career Services is to update their resumes. Many times post-graduation, alumni take the resume they developed with the Career Development Center while on Grounds and add each new job on to it. However, MBA alumni should be transitioning their resumes to the mid-career format after graduation.  Earlier this year, we unveiled a new resume style guide that leads alumni through the key components of a resume.

Before getting into the tactical pieces of the mid-career resume, the most important thing to remember about your resume is that its purpose is to gain a meeting or an interview with a decision maker. While it seems obvious, try to remember that a resume is a marketing material and not an autobiography.  It can be very difficult to part with the 20 bullets that you had prior to Darden about your jobs in wealth management, but if you are now a consultant turned hospitality executive then it’s time to shave down the wealth management experience to the few bullets that are now relevant.

As you will see on the resume style guide , all mid-career resumes also start with a career summary. This is probably the most important piece of the resume because it’s often the only part of your resume that someone reads. The career summary is usually 3-5 sentences and highlights the experiences and skills that you bring to the target job that the person reading would feel are important. Generally, people will give themselves a title either above the career summary in bold or in the first sentence that marries your current position and experience with the target role.  For example, if you have been a strategy consultant specializing in health care and retail clients and you have decided to transition to an internal role in the health care industry then your title would likely be something like Health Care Strategy Executive (leaving out your retail expertise because it’s not relevant to the target role).

If you are applying for roles that request specific “hard” skills, then underneath the career summary, a table of bullets that lists the specific skills that you bring is also very helpful to the reader.

Other major changes you’ll notice from your CDC on-Grounds resume when you transition to the mid-career resume include:

• Education shifts to the bottom
• Length often stretches to a second page (aim to fill at least one-third of the second page)
• City/state moves to the right margin, dates shift into the role (rather than in the margin)
• Experience becomes left justified freeing up more space

Some of the most common questions we receive about resumes are:

• I am applying to positions in two different target areas — what do I do with my resume? Most people in this situation develop two versions of their resume. Sometimes, it only requires two different career summaries. In the example above, if this person instead is looking at internal roles in health care and retail, they’d have one for Health Care Strategy Executive and one for Retail Strategy Executive. Sometimes, it does require tweaking the experience section to highlight experiences that are more relevant to the target job.
• When should I transition to two pages? Ten years of experience (including the two years at Darden) is often a good rule of thumb. However, sometimes adding the career summary and several jobs under experience is too voluminous and a second page becomes necessary. As long as you are being judicious in what you are including and you have relevant post-Darden experience, then it’s fine to stretch on to the second page.
• Do you have any sample resumes? Yes, in Alumni Career Services, we’ve had over 50 alumni generously donate their resumes to us to share with other alumni in the job search process (we always request that our alumni keep them confidential and for their job search only). We are generally able to share two resume samples with our clients.
• I just graduated. When do I move to the mid-career format? In the first six months post-graduation, you can continue to leave your resume in the Darden CDC format.  However, after that point, the mid-career format becomes more appropriate.

As always, please feel free to reach out to us anytime in Alumni Career Services if you are looking to update your resume or want to have a conversation about your career.

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26 February 2024

46 Must-Know Resume Phrases That Earn Interviews

3 key takeaways

• Resume phrases highlight your skills, knowledge, and experience on your resume.
• There are three different types of resume phrases: action phrases, power phrases, and descriptive phrases.
• Teal’s AI Resume Builder can help you put these phrases to work and create your most impressive resume.

An impressive resume isn’t just about what you say— how you say it matters too. You can have a strong work history, relevant responsibilities, impressive accomplishments, and undeniable expertise under your belt. But none of those matter if you can’t summarize them in a way that captures the attention of potential employers.

That’s why it’s helpful to familiarize yourself with some of the best resume phrases and action words. While your resume content will be as unique as you are, these reliable phrases can give you some new ideas, help you write about your qualifications and abilities, and impress recruiters.

Ready to beat the blank page and put some sentences down on paper? This detailed guide (and long list of resume power phrases) will get you started.

Struggling to land interviews with your resume? Sign up for Teal to create a free resume .

Understanding resume writing phrases: What they are and why they matter

Resume phrases are specific words or combinations of words used to highlight your skills, abilities, knowledge, and achievements on your resume.

Understanding the job market can help you choose the right phrases that align with industry expectations and employer needs.

It’s tempting to think the language you use on your resume doesn’t carry much weight, but choosing the right phrases and verbs can make or break your resume in the eyes of a potential employer. For example, take a look at this comparison:

• Handled customer questions and complaints
• Resolved customer inquiries and complaints with a 95% satisfaction rate, resulting in a 20% increase in customer retention

It’s not hard to see that the second option is far more impressive. And though there are other creative strategies and resume best practices at play in that example (such as quantifying accomplishments), the resume writing itself also makes a world of difference. The second bullet includes several powerful phrases and action words:

• Resulting in an increase
• Satisfaction rate

What are the different types of resume phrases?

There’s no shortage of ways you can categorize these phrases, but this guide covers three common types of resume phrases:

• Action phrases: Describe specific actions you took
• “Implemented a new inventory system…”
• Power phrases: Describe results you achieved or an impact you made
• “Reduced costs by…”
• Descriptive phrases: Describe your role and responsibilities
• “Managed a team of 10 customer service representatives”

There’s a lot of overlap between those categories—especially between action phrases and descriptive phrases. The main difference is that action phrases highlight what you actually did while descriptive phrases focus on your responsibilities.

Especially if you opt for using the STAR method on your resume , many of your bullet points will incorporate all three types of phrases at once.

Good resume phrase example

“Led a cross-functional team of 10 to develop and launch a new customer relationship management (CRM) system, resulting in a 30% increase in customer satisfaction and a 20% boost in sales within six months.”

• Action words or phrases: Led, develop, launch
• Power phrase: Resulting in a 30% increase in customer satisfaction and a 20% boost in sales
• Descriptive phrases: Cross-functional team of 10, new customer relationship management (CRM) system, within six months

That example illustrates the importance of the right phrases for your resume, but choosing them involves more than opening up a thesaurus while you’re writing. The best resume phrases are:

• Concise: Your document shouldn’t be stuffed with resume buzzwords and cliches . Get to the point and cut out fluff or unnecessary words.
• Specific: It’s tempting to over exaggerate your responsibilities, but big words aren’t always better. Phrases should clearly describe your role and achievements and increase understanding.
• Action-oriented: Particularly in your work experience section, each of your bullet points should start with a strong resume action verb to demonstrate how you achieved results.
• Relevant: Your resume isn’t intended to be a rundown of all of your tasks and positions throughout your career stages. Relevance is key. The job description will provide helpful clues and valuable insights to guide your resume writing.
• Quantified: Resume phrases are intended to kick start your writing process and not be copied and pasted exactly as they are. Customize them to your experience and supplement them with metrics and real-world examples to add extra impact. 

Where should you use resume phrases?

Wondering where to use these short snippets on your document? Most resume phrases are incorporated in two different sections of your resume:

• Your resume summary (sometimes called your resume personal statement )
• Your work experience section

These phrases can also be effectively used in your LinkedIn profile.

In your summary, these phrases can call attention to your overall career highlights, relevant skills, and the success you’ve achieved. In your job history bullet points, they’ll better describe your contributions and achievements in previous roles.

46 resume phrases you need to know

Now that you have the lay of the land, it’s time to look at some resume power words and phrases you can lean on during your resume writing process to effectively convey the skills, value, and solutions you can bring to a job. 

The best resume phrases start with action verbs—words that describe an action while emphasizing your contributions and achievements. Need help coming up with some? Check out this comprehensive guide to resume action verbs before you get started.

Action phrases for resumes

Use resume action verbs and phrases to describe the specific actions you took and contributions you made in a previous position.

• Assisted clients
• Created reports
• Designed and executed
• Developed a process
• Developed content
• Drafted documents
• Facilitated meetings
• Generated ideas
• Identified opportunities
• Implemented a new system
• Monitored progress
• Organized events
• Prepared resources
• Resolved issues
• Spearheaded an initiative
• Streamlined operations
• Trained staff

Power phrases for resumes

Use strong power words and phrases in your resume to describe the impact you made and the results you achieved (including specific metrics).

• Achieved top performance
• Boosted customer satisfaction
• Drove significant growth
• Elevated team performance
• Enhanced product quality
• Exceeded targets
• Expanded service offerings
• Improved accuracy
• Improved efficiency
• Improved retention rates
• Increased market share
• Increased revenue
• Maximized resources
• Minimized downtime
• Optimized processes
• Reduced costs
• Reduced turnaround time
• Strengthened client relationships

Descriptive phrases for resumes

Use these to describe what you were responsible for in a previous position.

• Collaborated cross-functionally
• Conducted research
• Coordinated efforts
• Coordinated team activities
• Ensured compliance
• Handled customer inquiries
• Maintained relationships
• Managed projects
• Oversaw operations
• Provided support

Resume phrase examples by job

The phrases above are flexible enough to be used in a variety of career paths. But it’s helpful to get a little more specific and look at phrases that apply to a certain job. Here are five different types of roles and examples of key phrases to use for each. 

1. Project manager resume phrases

• Achieved organizational goals
• Determined cost-saving initiatives
• Developed project plans
• Ensured smooth project execution
• Identified and mitigated project risks
• Implemented streamlined processes
• Led cross-functional teams
• Monitored project budget and timeline
• Reduced project costs
• Successfully managed multiple projects

2. Administrative assistant resume phrases

• Assisted in preparation of reports
• Coordinated office operations
• Handled correspondence and communications
• Managed schedules and appointments
• Maintained confidential files and records
• Prepared and organized meetings
• Provided administrative support
• Responded to client inquiries and requests

3. Data scientist resume phrases

• Analyzed datasets
• Automated data collection processes
• Cleaned and processed data
• Communicated data findings
• Created data visualizations
• Developed predictive models
• Extracted insights and trends
• Identified opportunities for improvement
• Implemented algorithms

4. Sales representative resume phrases

• Attended industry events
• Cultivated relationships
• Developed and implemented sales strategies
• Exceeded monthly targets
• Managed a pipeline
• Negotiated contracts and sales
• Prospected and generated leads
• Provided tailored solutions

5. Marketing professional resume phrases

• Analyzed market trends
• Conducted market research
• Created compelling content
• Drove brand awareness
• Executed marketing strategies
• Increased customer acquisition
• Monitored campaign performance
• Planned and executed events
• Reduced customer acquisition cost

Ready to write your own? Check out this guide to resume bullet points to make your snippets short and strong.

5 Essential tips for crafting effective resume phrases

The above phrases will get your creative juices flowing as you start writing your resume. But as you continue getting your skills and accomplishments down on paper, here are a few best practices to keep in mind when using common phrases.

1. Refer to the job description

Think your next best step is to pick out a few of the above phrases that sound the best to you? Not quite. Your goal is to use phrases that are the most relevant to the role you’re applying for to demonstrate how your qualifications and expertise match the position’s requirements. Understanding the job market can help you select the most relevant phrases.

Return to the job description and stay focused on finding key skills and words. Then, select words and phrases that are the best fit. For example, if the job posting mentions leadership several times, then you’ll choose phrases that use words like “led,” “managed,” “supervised,” “owned,” and “spearheaded.”

Struggling to figure out which words get a lot of importance in the job posting? Attach a job description in Teal’s AI Resume Builder to see your match score and determine how well your resume aligns with the language and skills from the job description.

2. Quantify your achievements

If you only rely on common phrases, your resume likely won’t stand out from the crowd—after all, everybody will describe themselves as a “go getter” or a “team player” on paper.

Employers want to see proof not only of the work you’ve done, but why it mattered. Adding metrics to your accomplishments and bullet points shows recruiters the results you’ve achieved in your past jobs.

This is another area where Teal can help with its resume bullet point generator . In your resume, click “add an achievement” and then the “write with AI” button. Teal will automatically come up with three options for metric-driven bullet points you can customize and use on your resume.

3. Use time-based statements

Reducing costs? That’s impressive. But reducing costs in only three months? That’s sure to get a hiring manager’s attention.

That’s why it’s helpful to use time-based statements that describe a certain period of time (for example, “in five weeks or within six months”). These also count as descriptive phrases on your resume.

In Teal’s AI Resume Builder, use the Analysis Score to see a detailed breakdown of issues on your resume—including where you’re missing time-based statements.

4. Check your verb tense

Most of the best phrases start with strong verbs, but don’t get so caught up in the language that you forget about using the right verb tense. On your resume, use:

• Present verb tense (e.g. “manage”) for jobs you currently work
• Past verb tense (e.g. “managed”) for jobs you worked previously

It’s a small change that can make your resume clearer and more polished.

5. Rely on tools to help you

Even with the best phrases to guide you, developing your resume can still feel daunting. Fortunately, you don’t have to start from scratch.

Use Teal’s AI Resume Builder to get over your fear of a blank page and create your strongest resume yet. It can help you:

• Automatically generate metric-rich achievements and contributions
• Compare your resume to the job description and identify keywords
• Provide suggestions to make strategic improvements to your content

Additionally, these tools can also help improve your LinkedIn profile, which complements your resume.

Something as simple as a prompt or an example bullet point can spark your creativity and ease the burden of writing your own resume. With Teal in your corner, you’ll feel more confident throughout the writing process so you can craft a resume that does your experience justice and makes a positive impression on an employer.

Ready to put these phrases and best practices to work on your own resume? Get started with Teal for free today .

Frequently Asked Questions

What are good lines for a resume.

Good lines for a resume effectively highlight your skills, achievements, and contributions. Examples include "Implemented a new inventory system, reducing operational costs by 15%" and "Led a cross-functional team to launch a new product, resulting in a 20% increase in sales."

What are key phrases in a resume?

Key phrases in a resume are specific words or combinations of words that highlight your skills, abilities, knowledge, and achievements. They fall into three categories:  strong verbs and phrases (e.g., "Implemented a new system"), power phrases (e.g., "Increased revenue by 20%"), and descriptive phrases (e.g., "Managed a team of 10").

What are some good words to use in a resume?

Good resume words are strong verbs that demonstrate your contributions and achievements. Action verbs include "Led," "Developed," "Implemented," "Achieved," "Optimized," and "Streamlined." These words help to clearly and concisely communicate your impact in previous roles.

Kat Boogaard

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Best Resume Format for 2024: Tips + Examples

Sudarshan Somanathan

Head of Content

July 25, 2024

You’ve been eyeing a company for months, and they’ve just posted the job opening you’ve been waiting for. 

But as you start the application process, you notice that over 500 people have already applied! How can you make your application stand out and secure that interview?

The key lies in crafting a powerful resume that grabs attention, passes through applicant tracking systems [ATS], and effectively showcases your professional experience and skills. 

Choosing a good resume format is crucial for presenting your strengths. Whether you want to highlight your career progression with a reverse chronological resume format , emphasize your skills with a functional resume , or take a balanced approach with a combination resume , the proper format can make all the difference.

If you’re unsure how to format your resume, don’t worry. This guide on the best resume formats will help bring you closer to your dream job. 💼 🚀 

Chronological resume format

Skill-based or functional resume format  , combination or hybrid resume format, factors to consider when choosing a career format , key elements to include in your resume, 1. professional resume template example by resume builder, 2. combination resume template example by myperfectresume, 3. creative resume template example by indeed, 4. modern resume template example by enhancv, 5. freelancer researcher resume template example by template.net, streamlined resume drafting, targeted resume optimization, organized resume management, efficient resume collaboration, simplified job search, tips to improve your resume format, craft effective resumes for various industries with clickup .

Understanding Different Resume Formats for Job Seekers

The average time a recruiter spends screening a resume is 7.4 seconds . With such limited time to grab their attention, you must have a visually appealing resume. 

But every job seeker is unique, and your personal preferences, background, and circumstances play a role in your final resume format. So there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to drafting a resume.

For instance, a reverse chronological format might not be the best choice if you’ve had a long career break between jobs. On the other hand, if your skills, technical or otherwise, are your strongest asset, a functional resume could be more effective. The key is to highlight your strengths and minimize any gaps.

Let’s explore different resume formats and resume format examples to help you pick the one that suits you best.

The most common format for writing resumes is chronological. This format primarily focuses on your work experience , listing the positions you’ve held in reverse chronological order , with the most recent ones at the top.

It’s a conventional choice for most job seekers, as it provides a clear and detailed account of your career progression, making it a safe bet when choosing a resume format.

When to choose the chronological resume format: This format might be ideal if you’ve had a steady career trajectory within a specific industry, such as ten years in marketing, where you’ve progressed from a marketing executive to a marketing manager.

Recruiters are accustomed to and prefer this format, so this is the best choice if you have a standard, traditional career path.

Resume example:

Rather than focusing on your professional experience, this format highlights your skill set . It begins with a comprehensive skills section positioned upfront, preceding the details of your work experience.

Since the central focus is on your skills, each skill is typically introduced as a heading, supported by bullet points showcasing its relevance and demonstrating your proficiency in that area.

When to choose a functional resume format : This format is ideal if you have gaps in your employment history or are transitioning to a new career . 

It allows you to effectively highlight your relevant skills and abilities, making it a strategic choice for those navigating career changes or periods of employment gaps.

Functional resume example:

Are you a seasoned professional with solid skills and career progression to showcase? 

Opting for a combination or hybrid resume might be your best approach. 

This format begins with a substantial skills section highlighting your key competencies upfront, followed by a comprehensive work experience section detailing your career trajectory and achievements.

This resume format is particularly favored by professionals with extensive experience and a diverse skill set, as it allows them to present their skills and work history cohesively.

When to choose a hybrid resume format: This format is ideal for seasoned professionals with over seven years of experience. It is tailored to highlight a combination of skills and relevant experience. 

It’s particularly beneficial for professionals starting a new job in a different industry where their existing skills and expertise are valuable.

Hybrid resume example:

How to Choose the Best Resume Format

Choosing the proper resume format based on your career level, industry, and experience is half the battle won. Let’s break down the key factors to help you make this decision.

There are two factors you must take into account: your career level and the type of industry.

Career level     

Applicants at different career levels must choose different resume formats. 

• Entry-level applicants: Chronological or functional

Reason: A chronological format highlights your education, internship experiences, and part-time work in a structured timeline. A functional format emphasizes your skills since you have limited professional work experience. 

• Mid-level applicants: Chronological or combination 

Reason: A chronological resume showcases steady career progression and relevant job experiences, while a combination format allows you to highlight work habits and skills and provide a detailed work history for career advancement.

• Senior-level applicants: Chronological or combination

Reason: A chronological resume demonstrates extensive experience in a clear timeline, while a combination format accommodates significant accomplishments and a robust work history. These factors make them ideal for showcasing the expertise of seasoned professionals.

Industry type

The type of industry you presently work in or aim to work in also determines your resume format choice. Let’s look at ideal resume formats for different industries: 

• Corporate (finance, consulting, management) : Chronological

Reason: A chronological format resume emphasizes steady, consistent career progression, showcasing stability and growth, which is highly valued in these industries.

• Technology (IT, software development) : Chronological or combination

Reason: The chronological format is ideal for professionals with stable career growth and solid industry experience who wish to showcase their skills in a structured timeline. 

On the other hand, the combination format is great for listing technical skills and significant projects while providing a clear and detailed career history.

• Healthcare (medicine, nursing, research) : Chronological

Reason: Demonstrates a clear progression of roles and responsibilities, crucial in the healthcare industry where experience and tenure are critical.

• Creative (design, marketing, media): Functional or combination

Reason : A functional format emphasizes skills and abilities essential to the creative industry, particularly for freelancers or individuals working on multiple projects. A combination format allows you to highlight creative skills while maintaining an easy-to-read structure.

Certain elements must be present regardless of your resume format to ensure its effectiveness. Here’s a checklist you can rely on: 

• Personal information: Include details such as name, phone number, and email address. Add a (clickable) link to your LinkedIn profile and professional website or portfolio to add to your credibility
• Professional summary: Highlight your career goals, key skills, and what you bring to the role within a couple of lines. Tailor this summary to the role you’re applying for by emphasizing relevant skills and experience
• Key skills: Write pointers on your most relevant hard and soft skills for the job. Soft skills may include problem-solving, leadership, etc., whereas examples of hard skills (or technical skills) include web development, data analytics, search engine optimization (SEO), etc
• Education: Mention your degrees, the name of the college or university, location, and graduation year. You should also mention relevant diplomas, associate degrees, apprenticeships, and other coursework to highlight your formal education
• Certifications and licenses: Emphasize your expertise and stand out by showcasing verified skills and professional credibility by adding details of relevant licenses and certificates

💡 Pro tip: Leverage a career map template to identify the skills required for future roles. Compare these with your current skills to spot gaps and plan your development.

5 Resume Examples and Templates

Feeling overwhelmed about where to begin or how to format your resume? 

Here are five resume templates to inspire and help you build your resume quickly.

Designed with technical professionals in mind, this resume template perfectly presents your skills and experience. 

It allows you to seamlessly input personal information, education qualifications, and work experience. A standout feature is its unique presentation of skills, designed to capture the recruiter’s attention immediately.

These technical resume template examples show a high level of professionalism and organization. They feature a personal objective statement, a dedicated section for educational qualifications, and professional fonts for a polished look.

This combination resume template divides the resume into two vertical sections, enhancing readability and visual appeal for potential hiring managers and employers. It provides a balanced approach, allowing you to highlight your skills and work history concisely and comprehensively.

A well-planned color scheme visually separates these sections and adds to the aesthetic appeal. 

Plus, the chosen font style and size ensure clarity and professionalism throughout the document, making it particularly suitable for technical fields where detail and precision are crucial.

This modern resume template features a minimalist style. It’s perfect for professionals looking to showcase their individuality, creativity, and succinctness. 

It follows a chronological format, prioritizing work experience initially and briefly listing skills towards the end.

Key section titles stand out in blue, enhancing visual appeal and navigation ease. This blend of minimalism and practical functionality makes the template an excellent choice for job seekers who want to present their relevant qualifications effectively.

The template is designed for those who want to inject creative design into their resume. It lets you briefly define yourself in a single line beneath your name, emphasizing your unique qualifications and suitability for the job.

One standout feature is the donut chart, which visually depicts how you manage and allocate your time through a diagram. 

This resume format template also includes dedicated columns for languages, passions, and achievements and a focused section for relevant technical skills crucial to the role.

With the basic resume layout divided into two clear sections, this template ensures you can provide comprehensive information about yourself without overwhelming the page.

💡Pro tip: Customize project management resume templates (like the one above) to focus on your achievements rather than just listing responsibilities. Quantify your impact where possible, such as increases in product adoption rates, revenue growth, or successful product launches.

You might need to extend your resume to two pages if you’re a freelancer or a seasoned professional with over ten years of experience. 

This visually striking resume template features a background color theme that immediately draws attention. It begins with a focused skills section followed by your job experience, following the functional resume format.

The resume is structured in clear sections. It utilizes a three-color scheme to distinguish and organize different aspects of your background. This approach enhances visual appeal and ensures clarity and emphasis on crucial details.

How to Create and Format a Resume

Drafting just one resume won’t cut it. What opens doors is tailoring your resume to fit specific job descriptions and roles.

And for that level of customization, you need more than just a basic resume template.

That’s where ClickUp steps up.

ClickUp is a powerful productivity platform that can be leveraged to create and manage the entire resume-building process.

Below are the key benefits of using ClickUp to craft the perfect resume:

ClickUp Docs with ClickUp Brain can be used to write and refine your resume.

ClickUp Brain, the platform’s AI feature, provides intelligent suggestions and prompts to help you craft compelling resume content highlighting your skills and experiences. This allows you to create a living document that is easy to edit and update as your background changes.

ClickUp’s AI-driven insights can analyze your resume and provide personalized recommendations to optimize it for specific job postings. 

This helps ensure your resume is tailored to the requirements of each role, increasing your chances of getting noticed by recruiters.

ClickUp’s robust project management capabilities allow you to stay on top of your job search. 

The Docs Hub allows you to store resume versions and manage all your job-related documents and assets in one centralized location.

ClickUp makes it easy to collaborate with others on your resume. 

Within the platform, you can invite colleagues, mentors, or certified professional resume writers to review and provide feedback on your resume drafts.

ClickUp offers many pre-built templates that streamline your professional life, including job search management. These templates help you start quickly and provide a structured framework to organize your work.

The ClickUp Job Search Template enables you to track job openings, application status, company ratings, and more, all within the ClickUp platform. 

With this template, you can:

• Create tasks for each job opportunity you’re interested in, complete with details like the job title, company, and application deadline
• Update the status of your job applications as you progress through the hiring process, from initial submission to final decision
• Assign ratings to companies based on factors like culture, benefits, and growth potential to help guide your decision-making 

💡Pro tip: Use skills management software to create a comprehensive inventory of your skills, including technical, soft, and industry-specific competencies.

Looking to take your resume to the next level? These tips to improve your resume format will help you differentiate yourself from the competition and highlight your skills and unique value add.

• Formatting: Keep a 0.5 to 1-inch margin on all sides for neat resume formatting. Use easy-to-read and professional fonts with sizes between 10 and 12. Use a professional, well-structured format
• Bullet points: Divide your resume into sections and use bullet points to add details about your job experience, skills, and certifications to make it easy to read for the recruiter 
• Length: Keep the resume length restricted to one page unless you have over ten years of experience or need to list your publishing history. Try not to exceed the length of a two-page resume in any case
• File type: Ensure your resume is in a PDF format to preserve its structure and layout. Name your resume file as ‘Name_Resume’ for easy identification
• Objective statement: Begin your resume with a concise personal statement or career summary outlining your professional goals and strengths
• Keywords: Customize your resume for each job application by incorporating relevant keywords from the job description. This strategy improves your resume’s chances of passing through applicant tracking systems

Crafting a well-structured resume in a suitable format is essential for standing out in a competitive job market and advancing to the next stage of the hiring process.

Ensure your resume format and structure are tailored to match the job role, your career level, and your target industry. Try out the resume format examples listed above and see what works for you.

Use ClickUp Docs and ClickUp Brain to help you draft an impactful resume tailored to different job titles and roles, incorporating the necessary keywords and ideal format type.

Sign up for ClickUp and take the first step towards securing your dream job with a polished and effective resume.

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More From Forbes

10 interpersonal skills to put on your resume in 2024.

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Interpersonal skills are a non-negotiable for your resume, regardless of the job or its level of ... [+] people exposure

When it comes to deciding what to include and what to omit from your resume, skills are a non-negotiable.

Especially if you are applying for a promotion, making a career pivot, or transitioning into a different industry, skills are what make your resume count and hold weight in the eyes of employers, even more than merely listing out your education and experience.

"Over 40% of companies on LinkedIn globally explicitly rely on skills to search and identify job candidates on LinkedIn (up 20% year-over-year)," says Rohan Rajiv, LinkedIn's product lead on jobseeker, employer brand, and skills for LinkedIn Talent Solutions, speaking of the skills research tools that recruiters on LinkedIn use.

According to Rajiv, "showcasing your skills can give you a leg up in your job search." And this applies, even if you're entering the workforce for the first time, or re-entering after a lengthy hiatus.

You can have all the experience in the world and yet lose out on valuable career opportunities simply because you took the skills you gained through those experiences for granted, failed to mention them, and therefore no one knew that you possessed them at all.

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Google confirms play store update, app deletion starts in just 5 weeks, elon musk suddenly breaks his silence on bitcoin after issuing a shock u.s. dollar ‘destruction’ warning that could trigger a crypto price boom, what skills do you need to include on your resume.

So what skills exactly should you be including on your resume (and LinkedIn profile)?

First, let's answer a preliminary question: What are the different types of skills that one should put on their resume?

Skills can be broadly divided into two core categories: soft skills, also more recently coined as power skills; and hard skills, also known as technical skills.

We can separate these two groups further, by classifying skills according to groups such as job-specific skills and competencies, interpersonal skills, high-income skills, and transferable skills. (Some of these entities will overlap.) Today, let's dig into interpersonal skills and why they are necessary in your resume.

Why Interpersonal Skills Should Be Included In Your Resume

Interpersonal skills, a subset of soft skills, is a set of strengths that are essential if you are to work and collaborate well with people. The thing about interpersonal skills is that, regardless of what job you're after, no matter how technical, they matter. This is because there is a 99% chance that you will be engaging with people at some point in your job—even if it an autonomous back-office role.

Whether engaging with your co-workers, building partnerships, closing a sale, voicing your suggestions in a meeting, or liaising with a stakeholder via email, interpersonal skills are the skeleton of authentic, trusting, and lasting work relationships. They enable all the gears of communication at work to run smoothly, reducing delays and misunderstandings.

Smart hiring managers know that assessing one's interpersonal skills through analyzing a candidate's resume, LinkedIn profile, interview answers, and overall presence and engagement throughout the entire recruitment process, can provide solid indications of whether a candidate would make a good culture fit for the company.

This is even more the case when applying for a remote job, as you are forced to use your interpersonal skills even more—online—and if you haven't developed them, it will show.

10 Interpersonal Skills To Include In Your Resume In 2024

Here are a few of the most essential interpersonal skills you need to include and list examples of, throughout your resume, LinkedIn profile, and job application. This data has been compiled from a range of sources, including recent reports, surveys, and data from LinkedIn's research team, the World Economic Forum, and Coursera.

And of course, remember to only include these interpersonal skills throughout your resume if you feel that they truly reflect you, and are relevant (which in most cases, they are):

• Communication skills
• Emotional intelligence
• Leadership skills
• Conflict resolution
• Problem-solving
• Active listening
• Negotiation
• Networking skills

Smart hiring managers know that how a candidate displays their interpersonal skills throughout the ... [+] recruitment process, is a strong indicator of how they will fit in with the company culture and ethics

Don't forget, when listing these interpersonal skills in your resume, or when answering a culture-focused interview question, provide some context to demonstrate how you applied them in prior roles. This real-world experience that showcases these skills as being your strengths is one of your greatest assets when applying for a role—and especially on LinkedIn.

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Home » Career Advice » Job Search » How to Pass a Pre-Employment Personality Test

How to Pass a Pre-Employment Personality Test

Imagine this: you’ve just landed an interview for your dream job, but there’s one more hurdle to clear—a pre-employment personality test. These tests are becoming more common in the hiring process. In fact, according to a survey by the Society for Human Resource Management , around 22% of employers use personality tests as part of their hiring strategy.

So, why do employers use these tests? They want to ensure that candidates not only have the right skills but also fit well with the company culture and work environment. Personality tests help employers assess traits like teamwork, leadership potential, and how you handle stress.

In this blog post, we’ll explain what pre-employment personality tests are, why employers use them, and the common traits they assess. We’ll also give you tips on how to prepare for and succeed in these tests.

What are Personality Tests?

Personality tests are tools that measure various aspects of your personality. They come in different forms, such as multiple-choice questions or situational judgment tests. Some of the most popular types include:

• Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) : Categorizes individuals into 16 personality types based on preferences in how they perceive the world and make decisions.
• Big Five Personality Test : Assesses five major dimensions of personality—openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism.
• DISC Assessment : Focuses on four personality traits—dominance, influence, steadiness, and conscientiousness.

Why Employers Use Them

Understanding these aspects of pre-employment personality tests can help you see why they matter to employers and how you can approach them with confidence.

• Assessing Cultural Fit : Employers want to ensure that your personality aligns with the company’s culture. A good cultural fit can lead to higher job satisfaction and better teamwork.
• Predicting Job Performance : Certain personality traits can indicate how well you might perform in a job. For instance, a high level of conscientiousness often correlates with strong job performance.
• Reducing Turnover : By hiring candidates whose personalities match the job requirements and company culture, employers can reduce the likelihood of turnover. Happy employees are more likely to stay with the company long-term.

Common Traits Assessed in Pre-Employment Personality Test

• Conscientiousness : This trait indicates how reliable, organized, and hard-working you are. Employers look for high conscientiousness as it often means you’ll be diligent and dependable.
• Agreeableness : This measures how cooperative, kind, and friendly you are. High agreeableness can be crucial for roles that require teamwork and customer interaction.
• Openness to Experience : This trait shows how open-minded, creative, and curious you are. Jobs that involve problem-solving or innovation often look for high openness.
• Emotional Stability : Also known as neuroticism, this trait assesses how well you handle stress and pressure. High emotional stability is desirable for roles that are high-stress or require quick decision-making.
• Extraversion : This measures how outgoing, energetic, and sociable you are. Jobs that involve a lot of interaction with others, such as sales or customer service, often seek high extraversion.

Preparing for the Test

Before taking a pre-employment personality test, it’s essential to research the company and the specific role you’re applying for. Start by understanding the company culture. Visit their website, read their mission statement, and check out their social media profiles. Look for clues about their values, work environment, and what they prioritize in employees. Are they a highly collaborative team, or do they emphasize individual initiative?

Next, identify the key traits that are important for the job. Carefully read the job description and note any specific qualities mentioned, such as attention to detail, teamwork, or leadership. Knowing what the company values in a candidate can help you understand which traits might be assessed in the personality test.

Self-Assessment

Take some time to reflect on your traits and behaviors . Think about your strengths and areas for improvement. Consider how your personality aligns with the traits that the company is looking for. This self-awareness can help you answer test questions more confidently.

To get a better sense of your personality, use free online personality tests for practice. CareerReload offers a free personality test that can give you insights into your personality traits. Practicing with these tests can also help you get comfortable with the format and types of questions you might encounter.

Review Sample Questions

Familiarizing yourself with the format and types of questions on personality tests can give you a significant advantage. Many personality tests use similar question styles, such as multiple-choice or situational judgment scenarios. Look for sample questions online and practice answering them. This practice can help you understand what to expect and reduce any anxiety you might have about the unknown.

Strategies During the Test

When taking a personality test, it’s crucial to be honest. Authenticity is important because employers use these tests to get a genuine sense of your personality. Trying to game the test by giving answers you think the employer wants to hear can backfire. Not only can inconsistencies be flagged, but you might also end up in a job that’s not a good fit for you. Remember, there are no right or wrong answers—just be yourself.

Stay Calm and Focused

It’s normal to feel some anxiety before taking a test, but there are techniques you can use to stay calm and focused. Practice deep breathing exercises or mindfulness techniques to help reduce stress. Make sure you’re in a quiet environment free from distractions. Take your time and don’t rush through the questions. Maintaining your concentration will help you provide thoughtful and accurate responses.

Understand the Questions

Take the time to read each question carefully to understand what is being asked. Avoid overthinking or second-guessing yourself. Often, your first instinct is the most accurate reflection of your personality. If you try to read too much into the questions, you might end up giving answers that don’t truly reflect who you are.

Consistency is Key

Consistency in your answers is crucial. Personality tests often have built-in mechanisms to check for consistency, so make sure your answers align throughout the test. For example, if you rate yourself highly on a question about enjoying teamwork, ensure that your responses to related questions also reflect this trait. Being aware of this can help you stay consistent and avoid any red flags that might arise from contradictory answers.

Post-Test Actions

After completing the test, take some time to reflect on your experience. Consider what went well and what you could improve next time. Did you feel prepared? Were there any questions that caught you off guard? Reflecting on these aspects can help you perform better in future tests and interviews.

Following up with the employer after the test shows professionalism and genuine interest in the position. Sending a thank you note or email expressing your appreciation for the opportunity can leave a positive impression. Mention something specific you learned about the company or the role during the process to show your engagement.

Personality test results might influence the questions you get during the interview. For example, if the test highlighted that you are highly detail-oriented, the interviewer might ask you to provide examples of how you’ve demonstrated this trait in your previous roles. Be ready to discuss any strengths or weaknesses identified by the test. This preparation can help you address potential concerns and highlight your suitability for the job .

Personality tests are just one part of the hiring process. They help employers get to know you better, but they don’t define your entire worth as a candidate. View these tests as an opportunity for self-discovery and a step toward finding the right job for you. Practice and preparation will boost your confidence and help you showcase your true self.

Sara has been in the career development field for over 10 years and has a wealth of knowledge to share. She covers topics such as resume writing, job search strategies, interview techniques, career planning, and more. You can connect with her on LinkedIn . She has curated our free downloadable resume templates for Word  and  resume templates for Google Docs .

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Last Published 7/25/24

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Career Center Career Center

Resumes & Cover Letters

Creating a dynamic resume and cover letter can set you on the right path in acquiring your dream job. Learn how to create documents that will make you stand out to potential employers.

Resume Webinar

Learn Tips and Strategies on developing a successful resume by watching this video!

Cover Letter Webinar

Gather information and tips on creating a cover letter by watching this video!

Resume Writing Tips

What is a resume

What is a Resume?

Your resume is a concise summary of your qualifications that relate to the position for which you are applying. It serves as an advertisement of what you have to offer and creates a prospective employer’s first impression of you. Employers screen resumes in between 2.5 and 10 seconds, so your resume should quickly capture the reader’s interest.  A resume distills to one page all of your education, training, leadership, and work experience in relationship to your potential value to an employer or an opportunity.

Brainstorm a list of experiences and skills that you might want to include in a resume. Consider your academic background, paid and volunteer work or internships, research projects, awards, and special skills. Once you have compiled your list, you can start organizing this information to the position or industry that you are targeting.

Gathering Career Information

After you have completed your personal inventory and have developed your career goals, you will then want to research these career areas and those employers that are active in them. For each potential position you need to know the qualifications, duties, and skills required for the job, and any special talents or personal characteristics sought by the employer.

Organizing Your Resume

Your name, address, telephone number, and email address are centered at the top of the page or placed to one side. Do not use headings such as "name," "telephone," "resume." This information is self-evident and the headings are unnecessary.

If you state a career objective, it should be brief, concise and address the current job only, not future career plans. This category should be used only when your job objective is clear or definite.

Your educational history should be placed near or at the top of the page if it is your most important qualification. Under this heading include the names of schools, degrees, major, minor or concentration and dates received or expected graduation.

These areas can be titled "Work Experience," or "Professional Experience,”  “Volunteer Experience,”  Internship Experience" or "Related Experience.” In describing your work experience, use action words which will show your strengths and skills.

This category can include club and professional memberships, awards, honors, volunteer experience, and community service.

Skills included should be hard skills, technical experience, or knowledge of another language. Academic or work accomplishments can be included.

Choosing a Format

There is no single prescribed resume format but the two basic styles of resumes are chronological and functional. Some resumes use features of both and are called combination resumes. 

• This is the most widely used and familiar format. The experience section is listed in chronological order, starting with your most recent experience. It is most effective when the job target is in line with your experience and academic background.
• If your most relevant experience for a particular career field was not your most recent, it can be featured by creating two "experience" sections. These can be called "Related Experience" and "Other Work Experience." By separating the information into two categories, you can maintain a chronological format while emphasizing your most pertinent skills.
• The functional resume highlights skills and accomplishments and de-emphasizes specific job titles, organizations, and dates of employment. Functional resumes are appropriate if you have held a number of unrelated jobs, the position that you are seeking is outside the academic field, or there are significant gaps in your work history.

General Resume Guidelines

• Font : Use an easy-to-read font such as Times New Roman, Arial, Calibri, Cambria, or Garamond.
• Size : Stay between 10 pt. and 12 pt. Your name can be larger than 12 pt.
• Margins   : 0 .5-1” margins all around
• Must be well-organized, neat, and concise.
• Proofread to make sure grammar, punctuation, and spelling are flawless.
• Use "bulleted" statements rather than complete sentences where appropriate.
• Use quantities, amounts, dollar values where they enhance the description of what you did.
• Do not use "I".
• Do not include hobbies, avocational, or social interests.
• Put the strongest statements or qualifications at the top.

Common Mistakes in a Resume

• Spelling Mistakes -   Be sure that there are no spelling errors, poor word choice, or misuse of language.
• Repetitive Words   -   Do not use the same action verb repeatedly to describe your work experience.   List of action verbs
• Leaving Out Dates-   It might seem like you are trying to hide certain information.
• Just having One Version   -   Tailor your résumé for each job for which you are applying.
• No Cover Letter-   A cover letter should be sent out with every résumé.
• Unprofessional Email Address   - Use a professional address such as your school email or email that only includes your first and last name.
• Cluttered Information - Filter out information that might seem irrelevant to the position.
• Including Personal Information   -   Personal information, like age, gender, and head shot should not be included on your résumé (unless you are a performing arts student).
• Using Abbreviations or Contractions   - Be sure to omit abbreviations or contractions in your words or sentences.

Resume Writing & Review Platforms

View Resume Samples and utilize Action Verbs to enhance your resume.

Hiration Coming Fall 2024!

Hiration: Your New Virtual Resume Assistant

Resumes are a vital part of you landing your dream job. To get that standout resume, you now have access to a powerful and easy-to-use automated online resume review platform from Hiration, your Virtual Resume Assistant.

Get instant feedback from Hiration right after submitting your resume. Analyze your resume anytime, anywhere, 24/7. So no need to wait for someone to have your resume reviewed.

Visit our Hiration Page to learn more!

Titan Resume Builder

The objective of the Titan Resume Builder is to help students produce higher quality resumes on a 24/7 basis on- or off-campus through the portal.

It is easy to use, with examples specified to majors and fields of study. The Titan Resume Builder allows you to build, manage, and control multiple resumes.

Access Titan Resume Builder    Note: You will be prompted to login with your portal username and password if you are not already logged in.

If you need assistance with any aspect of this service, please contact the Career Center at   [email protected] .

Cover Letter Tips

An effective cover letter is just as important as an effective resume. The cover letter accompanies the resume - it is the piece of paper that the prospective employer sees first. You should write a cover letter even if the employer/recruiter does not require one.

The cover letter is an opportunity to:

• Direct the resume to a specific person.
• Describe briefly what you know about the job and employer.
• Provide key qualifications that relate to the specific position for which you are applying.

Pain Free Cover Letter  pdf file PDF file type   - A Step-by-Step Guide

Utilize   grammarly@edu,  a free CSUF student resource, to help with your grammar and  writing style for your cover letter. 

Writing a Cover Letter

Part 1: "Make the Match" - A Brief Introduction Statement

If you have been referred by someone known to the company, (an employee, alumnus, a professor, etc.) use that person's name in your opening paragraph, and indicate why the contact referred you to that particular company or position opening. If you do not have a personal referral, the introduction should include why you are writing, much like an objective or profile summary on a resume.

Part 2: "Make the Case" - Why Should They Hire You?

This section of the cover letter is where you build an argument for why you should be hired by highlighting your key strengths and skills. Do not repeat the content of your resume, but point to the skills and experience in your resume that relate to the position. You can provide examples and details that support your qualifications. If you are able to make a compelling case for your candidacy in this section, the employer will look at your resume for confirmation of your claims.

Part 3: "Make the Close" - Finish Strong

The last section "closes" the letter by recapping what you have to offer and how you are a fit for the position. It suggest that the reader look at your resume, give it positive consideration, and schedule you for an interview. Also, state what your own next action will be.

Follow-Up & Thank You letters

• An appropriate way to maintain contact with the interviewer. These letters should be brief and should express your appreciation for the interview and confirm your interest in the company.
• Send a thank you letter for every contact. It can be an email or a handwritten letter.
• Write it on the same day as the interview if possible.
• Be personal, specific, and genuine in your thanks.
• Correct any significant misunderstanding you may have realized after the interview.
• There are different ways to decline an offer, depending on the history of your contact with the employer or recruiter. If the offer comes in an email or a voice mail message, your best option would be to respond promptly. It is important that you display your professionalism throughout all stages of the job search, even if you are not interested in the job.

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• Resume and Cover Letter
• Resume Profile Explained...

Resume Profile Explained (with Examples)

13 min read · Updated on January 17, 2024

Make an impact with a knock-out profile

When it comes to job search success, nothing is more important than ensuring that your resume captures an employer's attention. After all, even the best resumes are useless if no one reads them. Of course, that raises an important question: is there anything you can do to make your resume get the attention it deserves?

In this post, we'll explain how a great resume profile can help you to solve that challenge. We'll explain how a resume profile works, when you should use it in your resume, and how to create a profile that immediately commands interest. Finally, we'll provide several resume profile examples that you can customize and use in your own resume.

What is a resume profile?

If you're already familiar with the resume objective statement or resume summary, then the concept of a resume profile should be easy to understand. Put simply, the resume profile is an introductory paragraph that quickly summarizes your skills and experiences in a way that motivates hiring managers to continue reading your resume.

As you'll discover in our resume profile examples later in the post, a great profile focuses attention on your best skills, experience, and achievements. You can think of it as an elevator pitch for your resume - a quick snapshot that provides just enough information to make the reader want to learn more about you.

Related: Make the Perfect First Impression With Your Resume

What types of resume profiles can you use?

To better understand the resume profile, it may help to look at some of the different types of resume profiles that job seekers can use. There are three different types of common profiles, including the objective statement, summary, and summary of qualifications.

Objective statement

The resume objective statement is often considered obsolete, since it tends to focus more on your career goals than the employer's needs. It's often used by entry level workers with little experience or career-changers who need to explain why their skill set makes them a good candidate for the job. To use it effectively, job candidates need to ensure that they include some language that explains how they can benefit the employer if they're hired. For example:

“Creative social media professional with 3 years of experience and proven results. Skilled in cross-platform engagement enhancement and brand development. Looking for an opportunity to work with a company that prioritizes customer experience and brand loyalty. Experience includes increasing customer engagement by 130% over a six-month period.”

Related : Resume Objective Examples: A Career Objective Guide

Summary paragraph

The resume summary has replaced the objective statement in most modern resumes - and for good reason. This brief paragraph may also mention one or two key skills, but its primary focus is on detailing your important work experience and measurable achievements. As a result, the summary is a preferred option for job seekers with significant experience, since it's designed to demonstrate your value as an employee. Below, is an example of this type of profile statement:

“Accomplished Project Manager with more than ten years of successful team building and project execution expertise. Skilled in process development, workflow management, and collaboration with stakeholders. Received Agile Leader award in 2018. While at ABC Corporation, developed personnel resource allocation program that increased project efficiency by 48% in the first year of use.”

Summary of qualifications

The third option is the summary of qualifications. The main difference between this type of summary and the summary paragraph involves the format choice. Instead of being one block of text, it combines a brief paragraph with several bullet point examples of notable achievements. For example:

Dynamic Team Leader with 7 years of experience in customer management, problem-solving, and team building. Proven to increase team productivity, enhance the customer service experience, and provide real value to an employer.

• Led 30-person team of technical professionals, with 95% customer satisfaction
• Reorganized project workflow for ABC Corporation, increasing efficiency by 45%
• Developed training program that reduced employee onboarding costs by 17%

What elements should you include in your resume profile?

Before you create a resume profile, it's important to think about the types of information you want to include for your reader. What types of qualification is the employer evaluating as part of its hiring decision? Does the job description focus primarily on core skills ? Do you have achievements that are likely to make a positive impression on the hiring manager?

There are many different profile elements that you can include, so you'll need to prioritize based on the employers' needs. The fact is that you won't have room in your profile to cover all these different types of information, so choose wisely:

Skills that are relevant to the position you're seeking

Your length of experience

Notable achievements, preferably ones that you can quantify with real numbers

Core personal characteristics that make you a good fit for the role

Your career aspirations - preferably noted in a way that shows how they align with the company's vision

Related : Top 15 Professional Goals and How to Achieve Them

Again, make sure that you focus attention on the job posting, taking note of every key skill and experience that the employer cites as required qualifications. You'll want to tailor your profile - and the rest of your resume - to align with those stated employer needs.

Pro tip: Make special note of those job requirements, since you will want to use the same language in your resume. Those keywords are essential for ensuring that your resume can satisfy any applicant tracking system screening the employer might be using.

You should also do some research to learn more about the company's culture. That will enable you to further tailor your resume profile to include personal traits that highlight how well you'll fit into that environment. Sometimes, those little details can make the difference between you and another similarly qualified candidate.

How to write your own resume profile: tips

When you're ready to create your resume profile, it's important to know how to do it the right way. Since it's the first thing employers will see after they're done reading your contact details, you need to make sure that it's as compelling as possible. The following tips can help.

Write this part of your resume last

Even though your profile section will be near the top of your resume, you should still create this important section last. Why? Well, it's simple: since the resume profile serves as a summary of your qualifications, it's helpful to get the rest of the resume done before you start on that summary.

Make it brief

Be as concise as you can. Again, think of this profile section as a salesperson's elevator pitch. It doesn't need to tell your entire employment story, but should instead serve as a brief highlight of your greatest hits. As a rule, try to restrict this paragraph to no more than four sentences. If you use a summary of qualifications, include just one or two brief sentences and three or four bullet points.

Choose the best profile type for your job search needs

Which type of profile should you create? If you're an entry-level employee, you may want to focus on a modified objective statement - one that focuses on your career goals, while highlighting the ways in which your skills can benefit the employer. If you have more experience, you may want to rely on the summary paragraph. Just be sure to include at least one measurable achievement to highlight your value.

If you're switching careers and need to focus attention on transferable skills, you may even want to rely on a summary of qualifications. Those bullet points can be a great way to emphasize specific skills and highlight the value that you've provided for previous employers.

Tailor the profile to your desired position

Make sure that your profile aligns with the job you're seeking. You can do this by including some core keywords from the job posting, detailing your qualifications. However, make sure that your profile ultimately aligns with who you are as an employee. If you take the tailoring to extremes, you may end up with a profile that fails to accurately represent your personality and character.

Don't be afraid to add personality

Speaking of personality, this is the place to add that personal touch. Your skills, work experience, and education sections are not appropriate for adding personality, but a few well-chosen words in your profile can help the employer to better understand you as a person.

Of course, make sure that your personal flourishes fit with the type of job you're seeking. For example, a few words about your fun work style will be appreciated if you're applying for a customer service or similar position. That same language may not be as useful if you're seeking a role in a law firm. Use your best judgment as you determine how much personality to put into any profile.

Use measurable achievements

We've already mentioned measurable achievements several times, but it's important to highlight them once again. Your resume profile should include at least one quantifiable accomplishment, backed by real numbers that demonstrate the value you've provided. For example:

• Implemented new networking system that reduced downtime by 33%, improving both efficiency and productivity and providing 12% cost savings for the company
• Led sales team effort that increased new customer acquisition by 13% while generating $12 million in new revenues in the first six months of the fiscal year
• Created an online customer engagement program that increased website visits by 45%, enhanced new sales activities by 13%, and boosted revenues by 10% within one quarter of implementation

Resume profile examples you can use

As you might expect, your approach to creating a resume profile can also differ based on the type of job you're seeking. That's because different job roles require different skill sets, experiences, and personal qualities.

To get you started, we've compiled resume profile examples covering a wide variety of professions. You can use these professional profile examples as templates for your profile, or simply refer to them for guidance as you create your own unique resume opening.

Resume profile examples for students

Recent Information Technology graduate focused on operating and security software management. Seeking employment with a dynamic software firm in need of advanced networking and troubleshooting expertise. Experience includes a one-year internship with DynacorpX, providing testing and problem-resolution that helped increase company productivity by 14%.

Resume profile example for entry-level applicants

Friendly, detail-oriented, and organized customer service professional looking to be part of an energetic, mission-focused team.

• Skilled at developing organizational processes, managing records, and engaging customers
• Successfully resolved customer complaints, with 90% satisfaction rate while volunteering with FreshStart
• Broad computer systems expertise, including database and presentation platforms

Resume profile example for career-changers

Personnel-focused Sales Team Leader with 10+ years of experience in team building, training, and sales program development. Looking to transition to a project management role to better use organizational and project implementation skills. While at ABC Corporation, successfully created and executed a sales process reorganization that cut waste by 45%, saving the company more than $40,000 per year.

Related : 21 Project Management Skills Every Project Manager Needs to Succeed

Resume profile example for a Graphic Designer

Dynamic and innovative Graphic Designer with 4 years of experience in the gaming and entertainment industry. Skilled in developing storyboards, character animation, typography, and general layouts. Creative successes include development work on more than 200 unique graphic design projects that helped to generate more than $300 million in revenue.

Resume profile example for a Marketing Manager

Creative Marketing Manager focused on data-driven solutions. More than 8 years of experience in building collaborative teams capable of overcoming any challenge. While at XYZ Inc., led a 10-person team responsible for broadening target audience by 200%, increasing company revenues by 120% over a three-year period. Expertise includes digital marketing campaigns focused on driving new customer acquisition and target audience engagement.

Resume profile example for an Accountant

Detail-oriented finance professional with 7 years of accounting expertise. Proficient in accounting best practices, including creation and management of financial reports, regulatory compliance, tax issues, and budget management and forecasting. Reorganized DEF Corporation's accounting department, reducing inefficiencies by 28%, cutting costs by 19%, and improving productivity by 33%.

Resume profile example for an Administrative Assistant

Reliable Administrative Assistant with 8 years of experience in office management and personal assistance. Comprehensive expertise in presentation development, scheduling management, reporting, and confidentiality. Reorganized filing and reporting systems at Beagle Law, improving client response times by 40%, reducing redundancies, and cutting labor costs by 12%.

Resume profile example for a Data Scientist

Fact-driven Data Scientist with 8 years of experience in data analysis, predictive modeling, and data mining. Proficient with SQL, Python, Tableau, and other common data visualization systems. While at DataCore, took the lead on development of new processes that increased decision-making efficiency by improving the company's ability to use data to gain useful insights. Project resulted in an 18% increase in overall departmental productivity.

Resume profile example for an HR Manager

Personnel-focused HR Manager with 7 years of experience managing human resources functions. Expertise in recruitment, onboarding processes, employee training and relations, and performance reviews. Designed AmAm's new HR policies to align with new firm policies, emphasizing progressive discipline and promotion of a positive work environment. Effort resulted in a 33% reduction in turnover and 43% increase in employee satisfaction.

Resume profile example for a Teacher

Results-oriented educator with 6 years of experience as a middle school Teacher. Expertise in crafting challenging but engaging lesson plans designed to encourage critical thinking and classroom participation in an inclusive way. Dedicated to professional development to stay abreast of current educational best practices and focused on enhancing each student's ability to achieve success. Specific competencies include English, US History, and Basic Civics.

Resume profile example for a Construction Manager

Task-oriented construction professional with more than 10 years of experience in both commercial and residential project management. Led teams responsible for completing more than 60 construction projects valued at more than $40 million dollars, with a 99% on-time and under-budget record of success. Bilingual (English and Spanish) manager with expertise in budget allocation, resource management, project estimates and implementation.

Craft the best possible intro for your resume!

No matter what type of resume profile you decide to use to introduce yourself to prospective employers, your goal should always be the same: to create a powerful and compelling message that inspires employers to read the rest of your resume. The tips and resume profile examples we've provided should ensure that you have everything you need to craft your own profile narrative.

Still not sure if your resume profile has what it takes to capture your reader's interest? Get a free resume review from our team of top experts today!

Recommended reading:

47 Accomplishment Examples for Your Resume: Expert Picks

The Best Resume Format to Get Hired

How to Advance Your Career (plus 10 Insightful Tips)

Related Articles:

Do Hiring Managers Actually Read Cover Letters?

How to Create a Resume With No Education

Why You Lose When You Lie on Your Resume: Learning From Mina Chang

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