The Details That Make a Resume Work

• Keep your contact info current

  Use one professional email address, ideally based on your name, and a phone number you actually answer. Add your city and country or region so employers know where you are based, and check every digit and letter before you download.

• Add a professional profile link

  Include a LinkedIn profile, portfolio or code repository only if it supports the job you want, and make sure it matches your resume: same job titles, same dates. In the US and UK, leave out your photo, date of birth and marital status.

• Write a strong summary

  Open with two to four plain sentences: who you are professionally, your strongest relevant experience, and what you want next. Name the target role and tools, and skip self-praise such as "results-driven expert"; let the facts below prove it.

• Keep it easy to scan

  Put your name at the top in a larger size, followed by your contact line. Recruiters often skim first, so the most relevant information should be visible without scrolling or searching.

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• Use reverse-chronological order

  Put your most recent job first and keep one date format throughout, such as month and year. Give each role a clear job title, employer and location so it reads correctly at a glance and in applicant tracking systems.

• Focus on accomplishments

  Don’t just list duties; describe what changed because of your work. Start bullets with a strong verb, add a number or concrete result when you truly have one, and leave it out when you don’t. Never invent figures, because interviewers will ask about them.

• Mention your tools

  Add the technologies, software and methods you used in each role, in the same words the job posting uses. This helps both a human reader and keyword searches to see that your experience fits.

• Address employment gaps

  Prepare a brief, honest explanation for gaps longer than a few months (education, caregiving, health, travel, personal development). A single clear line in the resume or cover letter is better than leaving the reader to guess.

• Tailor it to each posting

  Reorder bullets so the most relevant ones come first, and trim older or unrelated tasks. Two or three tailored bullets per role are stronger than a long generic list.

• Include internships and projects

  If you have little paid experience, volunteering, internships, freelance work and personal projects count. Describe them like jobs: what you did, with which tools, and what came out of it.

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• Include complete details

  List the school name, field of study and degree in full, plus the start and end year. If you are still studying, write the expected graduation date instead of leaving the end date blank.

• Highlight what you learned

  Add relevant coursework, thesis topics, projects and technologies you picked up during your studies, especially if you are a student or recent graduate with little work history.

• Honors and GPA

  Mention a strong GPA, honors or scholarships when they help your case, and use the scale your target country expects. Experienced candidates can shorten this section to degree and school only.

• Add certificates and courses

  Put licenses, certificates and relevant courses in their own short list with the issuer and year. Keep only the ones that relate to the job, and make sure they are still valid.

• Be honest about proficiency

  Choose a realistic level for each skill and don’t overstate it. Anything on your resume can be tested in an interview or a work sample.

• Match the job description

  Bring the skills that fit the position you are applying for to the top, and use the same spelling as the posting (for example, the exact name of a tool). Our ATS analysis shows which keywords from a posting are missing.

• Group skills sensibly

  Split a long list into short groups such as tools, methods and languages. A focused list that you can speak about beats a long one padded with basics.

• Show skills in context

  A skill that also appears in a bullet point, with what you did using it, is more convincing than a name in a list. Add languages with an honest level such as native, fluent or intermediate.

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• Proofread carefully

  Read your resume closely, out loud if possible, and fix any spelling or grammar mistakes. Ask a friend to read it too, and check names, dates and links once more after your last edit.

• Keep it concise

  Aim for one page, or two if you have extensive experience. Cut anything older, unrelated or repeated that doesn’t add value for this job.

• Save it as a PDF

  Download your resume as a PDF and send it in that format unless the employer asks otherwise. Use a clear file name such as your name and the role, and open the file once to check that the layout and links work.

• Avoid clichés

  Instead of buzzwords like "hardworking" or "team player," give concrete examples of what you did and with whom.

• Choose a simple layout

  A single column with clear headings is the safest for applicant tracking systems. Use one or two fonts, readable sizes and enough white space; keep important information out of tables, text boxes and images.

• Keep your resume up to date

  Add new roles, results and skills while they are fresh, and keep a longer master version from which you tailor shorter ones for each application.

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