Functional formats are also known as skills-based formats because they put your skills section toward the top of your resume, above your work experience. They’re best for job candidates with little work experience, fewer than two years.
How to Make a Perfect Resume: Tips Examples
for 2024
If you want a job, you must submit the perfect resume; otherwise, you may lose out to someone else. This page will show you how to make a perfect resume. Plus, we provide examples of great designs for 10 jobs and explain how to choose the right format for you.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
The perfect resume
The perfect resume is the one that gives the strongest response to the job post or ad!
Here’s an example of a resume that echoes back what an employer is seeking in a candidate:
Executive Assistant Job Post
Responsibilities
- General support for data analysis, communication activities and engagement initiatives.
- Proactively liaise with HR Leadership Team to determine the needs and align on meetings/events.
- Set up mid-year and year-end conversations and G&O’s meetings, and collect 360 Stakeholder Feedback where necessary.
- Coordinate travel and logistic arrangements and expense management.
Required Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree OR 10 years equivalent business experience is required.
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills are required.
- Ability to prioritize tasks is required.
- Ability to work well under pressure is required.
- Good organization and collaborative work are required.
- Proactive and service & solution-oriented attitude are required.
- Enthusiastic, curious and a self-starter are required.
- Ability to exercise discretion is required.
- Able to use Office programs to complete daily tasks efficiently. MS Excel, MS Word, MS PowerPoint, and Outlook are all required.
- This position requires up to 10% domestic travel.
Desired Qualifications
- Previous experience in a similar role or within a multinational environment is highly preferred.
- Experience managing digital & agile tools such as Excel is preferred.
- Experience in the Consumer Health/health care industry is highly preferred.
There are two ways to create the perfect resume:
- Research and understand what the hiring company wants to hear.
- Use a powerful tool for design help and professionally written content suggestions, like our Resume Builder.
Researching is a necessary step. Using a builder will give you an edge by doing the heavy lifting of writing a job-specific resume.
Career experts write suggested content and phrases you can use from our builder. That helps save you a lot of time and effort.
You can have your resume ready in under 15 minutes!
Tailor your resume to the job
Creating the perfect resume is very job-specific, and your resume should be tailored to each job you apply for.
That’s why incorporating the words and skills listed in the job ad in your resume is so essential.
If the company seeks skills like “data modeling” or “financial analysis,” and you possess those skills, then echo those exact keywords in your resume.
Action verbs
Action verbs are descriptive words you should use in your work descriptions because they pack a punch in describing your accomplishments.
Verbs like “surpassed,” “completed” or “executed” create a clearer and more dynamic impact than descriptive phrases like “is,” “was” or “am.”
Starting the bullet points of your work descriptions with action verbs makes these phrases more impactful and exciting for your reader.
Here’s a perfect resume example of action verbs in work bullet points:
- Exceeded projected sales by 17%.
- Analyzed data and created annual financial projections within a 5% accuracy window.
Perfect resumes use the best resume format
A resume format refers to how the document is organized. There are three main types: functional, chronological and combination.
They all contain similar sections, the main difference being the order in which your resume sections flow.
Read on to decide which format works best for your experience.
Chronological
Chronological formats put your work experience front and center on your resume. So, they best fit candidates with 10+ years of job experience.
Combination
Combination formats give equal balance to your work experience and skills. They’re well-suited for people with three to 10 years of work history.
You can find preformatted resumes in all three format types on our resume templates page.
Or, if you’re ready to skip to the finished product, use our fastest tool, our Resume Builder.
Career experts and professional designers built this innovative tool to save you time and hassle in creating a resume. That’s because it automates the entire process of writing your resume into easy-to-follow prompts.
It’s like having an expert looking over your shoulder to guide you. Best of all, you can have your resume ready in just a few quick minutes!
What to include in a perfect resume (6 tips)
If you want to know how to write a perfect resume from scratch, you must nail each resume element.
A perfect resume includes:
1. Highlight your achievements
Feature your achievements in two prominent places on your resume:
Use numbers or statistics to prove or show the significance of your achievements in both places!
For example, instead of saying something like you were a consistent sales associate, say: “Surpassed monthly sales quota by an average of 23%.”
2. Add skills for a perfect resume
An on-point skills section is vital for showing employers you’ve got what it takes to fulfill a particular role.
In this section, you should list six-to-eight skills from the job ad.
That way, at a glance, a hiring manager can see that you have the abilities they seek. A bulleted skills list adds a lot of white space to your resume, which makes it easier to read.
Here’s a perfect example of resume skills:
Skills
- Data analysis
- Conflict resolution
- Active listening
- Self-motivation
- Flexibility
- Customer service
3. Include a resume profile for a perfect resume
A resume profile is also called a professional summary. It refers to the two-to-three sentences that live right below your contact information.
It’s the main sales pitch you give hiring managers about why you’d be good in the role. Highlight your most relevant skills and experience to show them what you’ll bring if hired.
An objective statement is better if you have fewer than two years of experience. This alternative to a summary focuses more on what you hope to achieve than what you’ve done.
4. Make sure your resume will pass an ATS
Applicant tracking systems are software companies use to scan online applications. They search your document for desired keywords the employer has programmed it to find.
Human eyes may only land on your resume if it passes an ATS scan first!
To pass an ATS, it helps to use standard document formatting protocol:
- 1-inch margins
- An approved resume font
- A font size of 11-12
- Avoid photos on a resume unless requested
- No distracting tables or columns
All 25+ template designs featured in our Resume Builder will pass an ATS. They were designed with this goal in mind!
5. Ensure your resume is typo-free
Mistakes or errors in your resume could cost you the job. So proofreading is critical!
Run your resume through a grammar and spell-checker.
It also helps to read it out loud to catch any awkward phrasing or typos, especially if using ChatGPT to write a resume, which can sometimes read unnatural or formulaic.
Have a friend read your resume. A set of fresh eyes may notice something you didn’t see!
6. Add a perfect cover letter
You’ve got your resume in order. Pair it with a well-written cover letter to increase your chances of getting that interview.
A cover letter is a document that goes hand-in-hand with your resume to sell you as the best candidate.
It should do more than re-list the details of your resume; it should spin those threads into your career story. It should also explain your passion for the role and your qualifications.
We provide a professional tool that can help, our Cover Letter Builder.
The builder makes writing the perfect cover letter much faster and easier because it gives suggested text you can select and customize.
Plus, it walks you through each paragraph, sentence by sentence. It’s like having an expert guide you!
So, don’t slip on this important last step. Submit a stellar cover letter with your resume. Our builder helps with both!
Perfect resume designs for 10 jobs
We’ve compiled 10 perfect resume design examples for some of our top-searched jobs:
Cashier
This resume's clean, straightforward design is well-organized, like a cash drawer.
See more: Cashier resume examples
Sales associate
This template's subtle use of color adds a bit of personality and flair.
See more: Sales associate resume examples
Customer service representative
This design is as friendly to the eyes as a good customer service agent is to patrons.
Volunteer
The simple and clean layout is the perfect design in which to emphasize your desire to help.
See more: Volunteer resume examples
Assistant manager
This resume has a touch of formality showing your ability to assume responsibility.
See more: Assistant manager resume examples
Intern
Interns are well-served by this resume design that emphasizes your skills.
See more: Intern resume examples
Administrative assistant
This resume's professional and buttoned-up look suits it well-suited to office roles.
See more: Administrative assistant resume examples
Server
This resume design is clear, straightforward and well-organized, like an effective server.
See more: Server resume examples
Babysitter
This layout includes a qualifications summary outlining your child care skills.
See more: Babysitter resume examples
Teacher
For an all-purpose teaching resume, this modern design pleases the eyes!
See more: Teacher resume examples
Summary of a perfect resume
What makes a perfect resume?
A resume is “perfect” if it is aimed straight at the heart of what an employer wants in a candidate as listed in their job post or ad.
It also needs to reflect your top achievements and abilities flatteringly but accurately.
That said, there is no one-size-fits-all resume for applying to multiple jobs. A resume must be custom-tailored for each job you seek.
So, if you want to make sure you nail your job hunt, take it seriously and use a serious tool, our Resume Builder.
It can help you create and customize unlimited resumes!
It walks you through step by step, offering job-specific skills and professional pre-written content suggestions that you can edit or use as is. Best of all, it can shorten the time it takes to create a resume to under 15 minutes!
Perfect resume FAQ
What is the best resume format?
There is no single best format for a perfect resume. The best format depends on where you’re at in your career.
Here are the general guidelines for choosing a resume format based on experience:
- Less than two years experience: Use a functional format.
- Three to five years experience: Use a combination format.
- 10+ years experience: Use a chronological format.
Each type of format gives a different focus to your qualifications. Functional and combination formats emphasize your skills, whereas chronological formats give more weight to your work experience.
The best resume format for you depends mostly on how much experience you have!
How far back should a resume go?
The general rule is that a resume should go back three to four jobs or cover the last 10 years of your work experience.
So, while the goal is to keep your resume brief, always include work experience if it’s connected to the job you seek.
How do I get my resume noticed?
The best way to get your resume noticed is to include skills mentioned in the job description, numbers and statistics about your career successes.
Your resume will not get looked at unless you possess the right skills. Use numbers and statistics to describe how you used your skills, like “Processed daily average of 70+ orders.”
Numbers speak louder than words on your resume because they paint a clearer picture of what you’ve accomplished in past roles.
For instance, it’s one thing to say that you’re a “fast typer”; however, it’s much clearer and more convincing to say that you type “78 words per minute.”
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