A strong resume gets you past two gatekeepers: the software that scans it and the human who reads it. Building one takes less time than most people expect, as long as you work in the right order. Start with the structure, fill it with tailored content, then check the formatting before you send it out.
Choose the Right File Format First
Most companies use an Applicant Tracking System (ATS), software that reads your resume before a person ever sees it. If the ATS can’t parse your file, your qualifications don’t matter. Save your resume as a text-based PDF or a .docx file. A scanned image of a printed resume, or a PDF exported from a design tool with embedded graphics, will often fail the scan entirely.
Use a single-column layout that reads top to bottom. Avoid tables, text boxes, sidebars, multiple columns, and any images or logos. ATS software can’t reliably read these elements, and content inside them gets scrambled or lost. Stick to standard fonts like Arial, Calibri, or Times New Roman. One quirk worth knowing: some fonts and word processors combine the letters “t” and “i” into a single typographic character called a ligature. When the PDF is exported, the ATS reads that character as a capital F instead. If your resume mentions “communication” and the software sees “communicaFon,” your keyword match fails silently.
Here’s a quick test to check whether your resume will survive an ATS. Open the PDF, select all the text (Ctrl+A or Cmd+A), and paste it into a plain text editor like Notepad. If the text flows in the correct order from top to bottom, you’re fine. If it’s jumbled or missing content, you have a formatting problem to fix before applying.
Set Up the Essential Sections
Use clear, conventional section headers. ATS software looks for standard labels, so “Work Experience” outperforms “My Journey,” and “Education” beats “Where I Learned.” Your resume needs these sections at minimum:
- Contact information: Your name, phone number, email, and LinkedIn URL (if you have one). Skip your full street address. Over half of job seekers still include it, but employers don’t need it at the application stage, and it takes up space. A city and state is optional. Leave off “References available upon request” entirely. Employers already assume you can provide references, and that line is a leftover from an earlier era.
- Summary or professional profile: Two to three sentences at the top that frame who you are, what you do, and the kind of role you’re targeting. This replaces the old “objective statement” and gives the reader context before they hit your work history.
- Work Experience: Your jobs listed in reverse chronological order, with company name, your title, location, and dates of employment. Use a consistent date format throughout, like MM/YYYY.
- Education: Degrees, institutions, and graduation dates. Include relevant coursework or honors only if you’re early in your career and don’t have much work experience yet.
- Skills: A focused list of technical and professional skills relevant to the roles you’re targeting.
Write Accomplishments, Not Job Duties
The biggest difference between a forgettable resume and one that gets interviews is in the bullet points under each job. Most people list what they were responsible for. What hiring managers want to see is what you actually achieved.
A job duty sounds like this: “Responsible for making phone calls to community members.” An accomplishment sounds like this: “Called 25+ constituents per week for 50 weeks regarding local propositions and voter registration, contributing to a 15% increase in area voter registration.” The second version tells the reader the scale of your work, the duration, and the measurable result.
To turn your own duties into accomplishments, ask yourself a few questions about each role. What problems did you solve? Did you save the company money or time? Did you exceed your goals consistently? Were you or your team recognized with any awards? How did your individual work contribute to a larger outcome? Even roles that seem hard to quantify can be reframed. “Cleaned the restaurant” becomes “Maintained clean facilities for customer use by sanitizing tables and restrooms, contributing to a positive customer experience.” You’ve added context about the purpose and the result.
Whenever possible, include numbers. Dollar amounts, percentages, headcounts, timeframes, and volumes all make your contributions concrete. “Supervised children between the ages of 4 and 11 during recess, lunch, and afterschool programs” is more vivid and credible than “Watched kids at a school.” Even approximate numbers help. “Managed a team of 8” is better than “Managed a team.”
Tailor Your Resume to Each Job
A generic resume sent to 50 jobs will underperform a tailored resume sent to 15. Before you apply, read the job description carefully and identify the specific skills, qualifications, and responsibilities it emphasizes. Then adjust your summary, skills section, and bullet points to reflect the language in that posting.
This matters for two reasons. First, ATS software scores your resume partly based on keyword matches. If the job description asks for “project management” and your resume only says “managed projects,” you may rank lower. Second, the human reader is scanning for quick evidence that you fit the role. When your resume mirrors the language they used to describe the position, that evidence jumps off the page.
In your skills section, spell out both the acronym and the full term. Write “Project Management Professional (PMP)” rather than just “PMP,” because different systems may search for either version. When listing technical skills, include your level of experience when you can. “Python (5 years)” tells a recruiter more than “Python” alone.
Get the Length Right
If you have fewer than 10 years of experience, aim for one page. With more than a decade of relevant work, two pages is fine. The key is that every line earns its space. If a bullet point doesn’t demonstrate a skill or result that’s relevant to the jobs you’re targeting, cut it. Three strong bullet points per role beat six mediocre ones.
For your most recent and relevant positions, include three to five accomplishment-driven bullets. For older roles or jobs that are less connected to your target, one or two bullets is enough, or you can simply list the title, company, and dates without bullets at all.
Templates and Tools: What Helps, What Doesn’t
Resume templates are useful for getting started. They give you a modern layout, proper spacing, and a structure to follow so you’re not staring at a blank page. Most word processors include free templates, and dozens of websites offer them as well.
What a template can’t do is tell your story. Templates provide a container, but they don’t know which of your experiences matter most for a given role, how to connect the threads of your career, or where to direct the reader’s eye. If you rely entirely on a template without customizing the content, your resume will look polished but read like everyone else’s.
AI writing tools can help you draft bullet points or rephrase awkward sentences, but they work best when you give them specific inputs: the job description, your actual accomplishments, and the numbers behind them. Without those details from you, AI tends to produce generic, inflated language that experienced recruiters recognize immediately.
Final Checks Before You Submit
Run through this list before sending any application:
- Spelling and grammar: A single typo in a resume signals carelessness. Read it aloud or have someone else review it.
- Consistent formatting: Every date should follow the same format. Every job entry should use the same structure for title, company, and location. Bullet point styles should match throughout.
- ATS test: Open the PDF, select all, paste into a plain text editor. Confirm the text reads in order and nothing is missing.
- Relevance check: Reread the job description, then reread your resume. Can the reader connect each major requirement in the posting to something on your resume within a few seconds?
- Contact info: Make sure your phone number and email are correct. It sounds obvious, but transposed digits or an old email address cost people interviews every day.
Save each tailored version with a clear filename that includes your name and the company or role, like “Jane-Smith-Marketing-Manager-Acme.pdf.” Some ATS platforms display the filename to recruiters, and a professional label makes a better impression than “resume-final-v3.docx.”