1. Pick the right format
Most people should use the reverse-chronological format: your newest job first. It is what recruiters expect and what applicant tracking systems read best. A skills-based (functional) format can help career changers, and a combination format suits people with a strong mix of skills and experience. Keep it to one page if you have under ten years of experience.
Start from a template so the layout is done for you: open the Resume Builder, pick a design, and click any text to replace it.
2. Contact details
Put your full name in large type, then phone, a professional email address, city and country, and a LinkedIn or portfolio link. You do not need your full address. Add a photo, date of birth or nationality only if it is normal in the country you apply to (common in Pakistan, the Gulf and parts of Europe; avoided in the US and UK).
3. A two-line profile
Under your name, write two or three lines: who you are, your strongest skill or achievement, and the job you want. Example: "Registered nurse with seven years in surgical wards. Trained 25 new nurses in patient safety. Looking for a senior nurse role in a teaching hospital."
4. Work experience that shows results
For each job write the title, employer, city and dates, then two to four lines that start with an action word and end with a result:
- Built the rider tracking service used by 1 million people.
- Cut month-end closing from 10 to 6 working days.
- Grew online sales by 60 percent in two years.
Numbers make claims believable: percentages, money, people, time saved. Job-specific examples are in our templates for software engineers, nurses, teachers and sales.
5. Education
List your degrees, newest first, with the institution and year. Add your grade only if it is strong. If you are a student or fresh graduate, put Education above Experience; see resume for freshers.
6. Skills, languages and extras
List six to ten skills that match the job advert, using the same words it uses. Add languages with your level, certifications (PMP, ACCA, AWS, BLS) and a short Achievements section for awards. Read skills to put on a resume for examples by job.
7. Check, save as PDF and send
Read it aloud to catch mistakes, ask a friend to check it, and make sure dates line up. Download it as a PDF so it looks the same on every computer, and name it firstname-lastname-resume.pdf.