How to make a good resume

Resumes can feel deceptively simple, but they’re your first (and sometimes only) chance to leave a lasting impression on a hiring manager. Most employers are going through dozens to hundreds of resumes for any given role, and will likely spend just a few seconds skimming resumes. That means your resume needs to work hard to stand out at a glance. To do this, a strong resume should:

Align with the specific role. Even if you don’t have “the perfect background,” your resume should clearly demonstrate why you’re a strong candidate for this role, not just any role.
Highlight meaningful and concrete achievements. Instead of just listing responsibilities, show your abilities by illustrating what you’ve accomplished.
Leave a positive impression. A well-structured, error-free, and easy-to-read resume makes a huge difference in how you’re perceived.

If you approach your resume with these goals in mind, you’ll already be ahead of the curve. This article will walk you through the steps to create a resume that will get you to the next stage.

Building a great master resume

Before worrying about tailoring your resume for a specific job, it’s helpful to start with a solid foundation—a “master resume.” This is a comprehensive list of all your experiences, skills, and achievements. It’s okay if it’s a bit longer than what you’d send out for a job application; that’s the point! It serves as a resource you can pull from, making future applications quicker and easier. Here are a few things to keep in mind from the start:

Make it easy to scan and digest. A cluttered or overly designed resume can be hard to skim, and many hiring managers won’t bother. Stick to clear headings (like “Experience” or “Skills”), concise bullet points, and enough white space to make it visually approachable. A classic, simple layout also helps applicant tracking systems (ATS) process your resume correctly.
Experiment with layout and spacing. That said, your resume doesn’t need to be plain. A design that stands out in a professional, polished way can make a good impression as long as it doesn’t distract from the content. Just avoid overly flashy colors, graphics, or complicated formatting (unless you’re applying for a creative role where that’s expected). The goal is making your resume easy to scan at a glance while looking professional and put together.
Think about how people scan. Research shows that people skim documents in an “F-pattern,” focusing on the top and left sides first. Place your most important information—like job titles, key skills, and achievements—in these areas to ensure they’re noticed.
Prioritize relevance over length. For many roles, a one-page resume works well, especially if you’re early in your career. However, if you have more relevant experience, a two-page resume can be just as effective, and sometimes even better. If you are going for two pages, make sure the first page includes your most crucial information, as it’s likely to get the most attention. A resume longer than two pages is usually only necessary for senior-level professionals with extensive experience or for academic/research roles where listing publications is the norm. Again, your master resume can be longer to serve as a reference for tailoring to specific roles, but keep in mind that you’ll want to go back and adjust the content as needed.

Once you’ve got that foundation, think carefully about the sections that make up your resume—and how to make them work for you.

Header

Your name should be the most prominent element on the page. Below it, include your phone number, email address, and a link to your LinkedIn profile or portfolio if relevant. In many countries, it’s standard to include details like a mailing address, photo, or date of birth, but in others—like the U.S.—these are generally unnecessary. If you’re applying for a job locally, listing your city can be an advantage, as it signals to employers that you’re already in the area and available without relocation.

Summary

This section isn’t required, but it can be helpful—especially if you’re changing industries, applying to a variety of roles, or want to highlight a particular strength or focus. A good summary gives hiring managers a quick sense of who you are and why you’re a great fit for this role. Aim for two or three concise sentences. Focus less on your entire career history and more on what’s most relevant to this job.

Experience

This is the heart of your resume. List your most recent job first and work backward. For each role, include your title, the company, and your dates of employment. Underneath, describe your impact—not just your duties.

A common mistake is to simply list tasks and responsibilities. Describing your job tells employers what you were expected to do—but highlighting your achievements shows what you actually accomplished. Both matter: your skills section can outline what you’re good at, while your experience can bring those skills to life with concrete examples of impact.

A helpful way to think about this is imagining someone in your same role who was bad at it. Could they write the same bullet points as you? If so, you’re likely listing tasks instead of demonstrating your impact or value. Even if you don’t have extremely concrete achievements, you can still make tweaks to highlight your approach. Here are a few tips:

Use action verbs. It’s common advice, but it’s good to start your bullet points with strong, action verbs. For example instead of: “Was responsible for team communication.” Try: “Improved team communication, reducing response time by 25%.” Action verbs like designed, led, collaborated, developed, implemented, and coordinated are great for showing initiative and impact. If you need inspiration here’s a solid list of action verbs by skillset (pdf).
Back up your claims with specifics. The more concrete, the better. Did you lead a team? Be sure to mention how many people were involved and what you achieved together. Did you manage a project to help save time or boost efficiency? Share the results. The goal is to emphasize outcomes that are non-trivial and impressive in context. Quantifying results can be helpful, but avoid throwing in a bunch of numbers or stats that don’t actually add substance. Qualitative descriptions can also show evidence. For instance, rather than saying “Assisted with project coordination,” you might say, “Improved team collaboration by implementing new communication tools, which helped ensure deadlines were consistently met.”
Show progression and process. If you’ve taken on increasing levels of responsibility or improved processes over time, highlight that! For example, you might add “promoted from Assistant to Project Manager within one year.” Employers like seeing examples of problem-solving and resourcefulness, so think about challenges you faced in your previous roles and how you overcame them. For instance, “Resolved recurring customer complaints by implementing a new tracking system.”

Skills

When writing the skills section, focus on the abilities that are most relevant to the job you’re applying for. Start with hard skills—specific tools, software, or technical knowledge required for the role. These might include things like data analysis, programming languages, graphic design tools, or project management software. It’s important to tailor this list to each application, making sure you reflect any key skills mentioned in the job description (as long as you genuinely have experience with them).

Soft skills can also be valuable to include, but they tend to have the most impact when they’re backed up by concrete examples elsewhere on your resume. Instead of simply listing traits like “leadership” or “communication,” aim to show how you’ve demonstrated those strengths in your previous work. That said, your skills section can give a quick overview of both your technical and interpersonal abilities. To keep things clear and balanced, you might structure it like this:

Technical skills: Python, SQL, Google Analytics, Salesforce, Adobe Creative Suite
Project management: Agile methodology, JIRA, Asana
Interpersonal skills:

Leadership (managed a team of 5 to deliver a product launch on time)
Collaboration (worked closely with marketing and design teams to develop a campaign strategy, increasing engagement by 25%)
Problem-solving (identified and resolved onboarding issues)

This approach helps create a well-rounded picture of your abilities. It also makes it easy for hiring managers and applicant tracking systems to scan for the skills they’re seeking, while reinforcing your strengths with evidence from your experience.

Education

Include your degree(s), major(s), school name, and graduation year. If you’re a recent grad or applying to roles where education is a major factor, you can add honors, relevant coursework, or major projects. Once you’ve built up a few years of experience, this section usually moves to the bottom of your resume unless your academic background is a standout feature.

Certifications & additional sections

Certifications can help show credibility, especially when they’re listed as “required” or “preferred” in the job posting. If you’ve completed certifications in areas like project management (PMP), data analysis (Google Data Analytics), or specific software (Salesforce Administrator), include them here. Other optional sections can strengthen your application—languages, volunteer work, publications, conferences, or professional affiliations. Again, you want to only add something if it supports your case.

Make small tweaks for each application

Once your master resume is ready, you won’t need to start from scratch for every job application. Instead, you can make small, strategic adjustments to highlight the most relevant experiences and skills for each role. Customizing your resume in this way makes it more tailored and impactful, without the need to rewrite it entirely every time you apply.

Consider a summary—but only if it adds value. A short “Summary” section at the top of your resume can be useful in some cases, especially if you’re transitioning to a new field, returning to work after a career break, or need to quickly frame your experience for a particular role. If you do include one, make it count: highlight your most relevant skills and achievements in a way that adds context, rather than just repeating what’s already in your resume. But if your experience already speaks for itself, you can probably skip it and let your work history do the talking.
Use terms from the job description. Carefully review the job posting for key skills, tools, and qualifications the employer emphasizes (like WordPress, Salesforce, or Google Analytics). If you actually have those skills, incorporate them naturally into your resume, especially in your skills list and job descriptions. This can help you pass applicant tracking systems (ATS) and show you’re a good fit. But be honest; listing skills you don’t actually have will only hurt you later in the process.
But don’t overdo it with keyword stuffing. Avoid throwing in a ton of keywords if they don’t genuinely reflect your experience. Hiring managers can quickly tell when buzzwords from the job description are out of place, and it can come across as disingenuous and salesy. Instead, focus on aligning your actual experience with the job requirements in an honest and authentic way.
Reorder and refocus your bullet points. Keep your work history in chronological order, but within each role, lead with the achievements and skills most relevant to this job. Tailor your bullet points to show you’re not just qualified, but a strong fit for this specific role—even if that means leaving out accomplishments or even experiences that could be distracting or seem less relevant.
Spot and add overlooked skills. In most cases, you’ll find that there are skills and responsibilities you already have that align perfectly with the job description, but you didn’t include them in your resume because you didn’t think they were that important. For example, maybe you used a specific software tool or managed a task that aligns with what the job asks for, but it wasn’t previously on your resume. Adding any details that match up with the job posting can be helpful.
Highlight relevant skills by grouping or formatting. If a job emphasizes technical expertise or specific tools, consider creating a focused “Technical Skills” section or adjusting your existing list to bring those skills to the forefront.
Stick to what you’ve genuinely done and highlight it in a way that fits the role. While tailoring your résumé is important, it’s not about stretching the truth. You want to align your skills and experiences with the job description, but always remain authentic. Again, hiring managers will see through exaggerated claims.
Include links to online work or profiles. If applicable, add links to a portfolio, LinkedIn profile, GitHub, or personal website. This is especially helpful for creative roles (e.g., design, writing) or technical jobs (e.g., software engineering). Make sure these links work and are up-to-date!

Resource spotlight

Cambridge University has an excellent in-depth guide on CVs and applications (pdf) that could be especially helpful for students and recent grads.

Common resume deal-breakers

Hiring managers and recruiting teams usually have a ton of resumes to get through. They can’t afford to spend a lot of time considering whether or not to pass you on, so if they spot any red flags during that quick scan, your resume could land in the “no” pile without a second thought. Here’s a few of the most common deal-breakers that make hiring managers move on instantly.

Typos, spelling errors, and bad grammar: Your resume doesn’t have to be perfect—but it should be polished. Hiring managers often assume this is the most carefully prepared document you’ll share, so big obvious mistakes can leave a bad impression. A quick proofread (or running it through a tool like ChatGPT or Grammarly) can help catch small errors. You don’t need to obsess over every word, but making it clean and easy to read shows attention to detail and respect for the reader.
Fluffy, self-promotional language: Describing yourself as a “creative thinker” or “game-changer” usually comes across as overblown or even naïve. Instead of vague claims, let your accomplishments speak for themselves.
A confusing career trajectory: If your work history jumps between completely unrelated roles with no clear thread, hiring managers may question your direction and commitment. A resume should tell a coherent story—if your path has been unconventional, use a short summary or strategic wording to connect the dots.
Large unexplained gaps: Employment gaps aren’t necessarily a red flag, but leaving them completely unaddressed can raise questions. If your gap was due to something easily explainable—like taking courses, pursuing a degree, or raising children—a brief mention can be helpful. If it was for more personal reasons, such as a health issue or an extended job search, you don’t need to go into detail. A simple note like “Took time for personal reasons and am now eager to return to work” is usually enough to reassure employers without oversharing. You can also address gaps in a cover letter or application question if needed.
Lack of specific (relevant) achievements: If the resume doesn’t highlight accomplishments that relate to the key responsibilities of the role, it’s harder to assess your potential impact in that position.
Job-hopping without explanation: If you’ve jumped from job to job without staying long in any role, employers may assume you’re unreliable, get bored easily, or struggle to keep a position. If you have a valid reason (such as contract roles or industry shifts) briefly clarifying this can prevent the wrong assumptions. Sometimes, contract roles, part-time roles, or other shorter-term roles can be consolidated under a single heading, such as “freelance and part-time work while pursuing master’s degree.” Try a few different options, and get input from friends, coaches, or mentors to see which works best for your situation.

Examples of good resumes

Finding a good resume example can be incredibly helpful as you work on your own. Here’s a few examples of resumes:

A note on AI tools

AI-powered tools and LLMs can be incredibly helpful for organizing and refining your resume—but they also come with some pitfalls:

If it copies irrelevant material from the job description, it’ll be obvious (and ineffective).
Just like when writing a resume yourself, it’s not a good look to stuff a bunch of impressive-sounding phrases without clear, specific details about your experience.
Sometimes AI generated resumes can feel clunky or overly polished in a way that doesn’t match your writing style, so it’s worth looking out for.
Sometimes AI generated content will hallucinate details that aren’t reflective of your experiences and skills.

All that said, AI can be a great tool when used strategically. Here are some prompts to help you develop and improve your resume:

For polishing. Use this prompt to clean up your resume without losing your voice:

“Here’s my resume text. Can you help me proofread and suggest improvements to make it clearer, more concise, and easier to skim? Keep my tone professional but natural, and avoid adding generic buzzwords. If you spot any confusing or awkward phrasing, suggest alternatives.”

For tailoring. This one helps you align your resume with a specific job description, while keeping it genuine and relevant:

“Here’s my resume and here’s a job description I’m applying to. Can you suggest edits to highlight the most relevant skills and experiences for this role? Help me rephrase or reorganize bullet points so they show why I’m a strong fit, but avoid exaggerating or adding skills I don’t have.”

For developing bullet points. Use this to create stronger, results-focused bullet points that go beyond listing tasks:

“Here’s a description of my role and accomplishments at [job/company]. Can you help me turn this into 2–3 bullet points that focus on my impact and achievements? Use strong action verbs, keep it concise, and show clear results or outcomes where possible.”

Resume FAQs

In most cases, one to two pages is the sweet spot. If you’re earlier in your career, one page is usually enough to highlight your most relevant experience. As you gain more skills and accomplishments, a second page can give you room to share a fuller picture—but think of it as complementary. Assume the first page will get the most attention, so make sure your key qualifications and highlights are front and center. For senior or academic roles, going longer can make sense, but no matter the length, focus on what’s most relevant for the actual job.

If you’re early in your career or changing fields, your resume can still show why you’re a great fit. Focus on transferable skills that match what the role is asking for. Look at your internships, volunteer work, coursework, or side projects—anything that demonstrates relevant abilities—and frame them in a way that connects directly to the job. You don’t need years of experience to show potential. Use your resume to highlight what you’ve already learned and how eager you are to grow.

Not necessarily. A good resume focuses on relevance, highlighting the roles and experiences that best align with the job you’re applying for. If certain older positions don’t directly contribute to the story you’re trying to tell, it’s fine to leave them out. Keeping your resume more focused and tailored makes it easier for hiring managers to review.

Listing all your skills also isn’t necessary. Focus on the skills most relevant to the job you’re applying for. For example, if a job requires specific software knowledge or technical skills, highlight those. But be selective—employers are more interested in the skills that will directly benefit them in the role. It’s better to show mastery in a few key areas than to list every skill you’ve picked up over the years.

Employment gaps are normal, and most employers understand that! If you have gaps, be transparent about them. If the gap was due to something productive (like taking a course, traveling, or doing freelance work) make sure to mention it. If it was for personal reasons, that’s fine too. The goal is to focus on what you’ve learned or how you’ve grown, not just the gap itself.

No need to include references—or even mention them—on your resume. Employers will ask for them if they need them, usually later in the process. It’s better to use that space to highlight your skills and experience. The only exception might be if a reference is such a standout that it’s worth weaving into your experience (for example, a glowing quote in a LinkedIn recommendation), but in most cases, it’s best to leave references for later.

If something doesn’t help your case, it just adds clutter. For example, while it’s great to show you’re a well-rounded person, most hobbies won’t contribute much to your professional qualifications unless they align with the job you’re applying for. Additionally, steer clear of outdated information, such as old high school awards or unrelated extracurriculars (unless they could illustrate something about your skills, like taking on a major leadership position). Focus on recent experiences and skills that directly support your fit for the position.

ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems) are used by many companies to screen resumes. To ensure your resume makes it through, use simple formatting (no images or complex layouts) and include relevant keywords from the job description. ATS often scan for specific phrases or skills, so make sure your resume reflects the terminology used in the job listing without overstuffing it. Also, use standard section headings (e.g., “Work Experience” and “Education”) to help the system recognize your information.

Wrapping up

Creating a great resume is a huge step toward landing a job you’re excited about—but it’s just one part of the process. Even when you follow all the best practices, resume reviews can be subjective—different hiring managers have different preferences, and what works for one may not work for another. While getting the basics right is important, don’t get bogged down in conflicting advice or obsess over perfecting every small detail. Focus on what you can control, and don’t let frustration over things beyond your control hold you back. Once you’ve crafted a resume that showcases your skills, impact, and potential, shift your focus to finding the right opportunities, improving your other application materials, and preparing for interviews.