How to Write a Resume in 8 Simple Steps
Writing a resume requires a balance of finesse and attention-to-detail to land an interview for the role you seek. It’s all about presenting your professional brand in a way that will pique the interest of a hiring manager.
Our resume-writing tips and section-by-section content examples will help you present your best skills and top achievements to potential employers. Remember, learning how to write a resume is about putting the credentials you have in the best possible light. We show you how.
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5 Basic Sections of a Resume and Special Sections
No matter which format or design you choose, every resume should contain these five basic sections. Some job seekers may also want to include additional special sections to include added information on their resumes.
Below, we outline the five basic sections, and show you how you can use special sections to your advantage. The order and placement of these sections might be different on your final resume, depending on which resume format you choose, but this will provide a helpful overview.
8 Steps for Writing a Professional Resume
There’s more than one way to write a resume, but to start one, you need to think about what you want for your career. We’ll break down the rest here with a simple eight-step guide through the resume-writing process. Below is a checklist that includes examples for each section to show you the type of content employers are looking for.
WRITING PREP
Before you start writing your resume, there are a few things you’ll need to prepare. Remember, each resume you write should be customized to an individual role. To ensure you have all the information you need at your fingertips, use the following checklist:
- Look at the job ad to understand the role. The foundation of a customized resume is your experience mixed with accomplishments tailored to the employer’s specific job opening. After you’ve searched for job openings that match your industry interests it is important to make your resume as relevant to the job as possible.
- List your applicable soft, hard and technical skills. Create a list of all the skills and qualifications you have and then group them into different categories. Soft skills would be things like: communication, customer service, and teamwork. Language skills, strategic planning, and business development would be hard skills. Technical skills are any industry-related programs you have experience with. Make sure to have a good mix of all skill types and put the skills referenced in the job posting that you possess at the top of your list.
- Highlight important job duties from each of your previous positions. Give an overview of your responsibilities, especially things that correspond to the skills or qualifications referenced in the job description.
- Write out your achievements from previous positions.
- Showing your work’s impact is critical because employers want to see how your contributions impacted your previous roles.
- Find data and numbers that tell the story of your achievements. This helps solidify your effectiveness in project and company improvements.
- Find industry examples for your job title.
- Job descriptions on company websites, ‘about page’ information, and friends in the industry can all provide a helpful starting point for your custom resume along with resume examples. Knowing what other applicants are submitting will help you find the best way to tailor your resume to appeal to a potential employer.
With this reference material gathered and the resume example review complete, you are now ready to sit down and write.
CRAFTING A PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY OR CAREER OBJECTIVE
The professional summary is how you grab a reader’s attention and express your career goals and interest in three to five sentences. It is usually the section hiring managers spend the most time on, so it should be both succinct and customized to the job posting.
Most applicants will want to use a professional summary as it is the industry standard and provides more descriptive cataloging of your accomplishments in an active voice. Career objectives are one to two sentences that solely convey the job seeker’s goals. They are useful for job seekers who have experience in an unrelated field or are recent graduates.
Here are two examples of a professional summary statement:
- “Skilled property management professional experienced overseeing operational aspects, tenant relations, office management, and maintenance coordination. Successful balancing tenant’s rights with business considerations to achieve financial targets. Excellent interpersonal, communication, and leadership abilities.”
- “Analytical Technical Writer with five years of experience writing about engineering. Extensive knowledge of editing and distribution processes with fluency in JavaScript. Able to conform writing style, content, and formatting to proprietary style guides. Dedicated to thorough and accurate writing.”
Here are two examples of career objectives:
- “Dedicated marketing professional with 12 years of experience looking to explore a career in design.”
- “Recent graduate looking to pursue a career at a pharmaceutical company in chemical research.”
Writing tips and examples for this section:
- Articulate your value to the employer with callbacks to their job posting.
- Emphasize your key strengths.
- Show how you have learned from past experiences.
- Save the specifics for the interview.
- Remember, professional summaries adhere to the employer’s needs, and career objectives focus more on the job seeker’s overall goals.
CAPTURING YOUR MOST NOTABLE SKILLS
A great list of skills tells employers at-a-glance about your technical acumen and hard and soft skills. Revisit the list of skills you created during your writing prep and be sure to focus on those that were pulled directly from the job ad. The more relevant skills your resume contains, the more likely it is that your resume will pass through an applicant tracking system (ATS).
And ATS is programmed with critical skills for the role, and applicants whose resumes that do not contain those keywords are often deemed unqualified. For that reason, it’s critical to list skills using the same language as the job ad.
Here is a quick tutorial on the different types of skills you’ll want to add to your resume:
- Technical skills are industry and/or program-specific. They require either a certain level of education or certification and/or are skills that are specific to a particular industry.
- Hard skills can be learned, taught, or measured and aren’t dependent on your industry.
- Soft skills are personality traits that are hard to measure but that make you great at your job.
To further illustrate, here are some of the most common resume skills for each category:
Soft Skills:
| Hard Skills:
| Technical Skills:
|
Writing tips for your skills section:
- Make a list beforehand of programs, personality traits, and learned abilities you already have. Narrow down this list based skills listed on the job posting.
- Put your strongest skills upfront.
- Don’t mention things that are outdated, irrelevant, or that just take up space. (Your 8th-grade spelling bee win doesn’t belong here)
WRITING YOUR WORK EXPERIENCE SECTION
Employers want to see the impact your work has had in your previous jobs, so your work experience should be more than just a list of responsibilities. Results matter and number are powerful. Regardless of your role, it’s usually possible to find data or metrics that prove your impact in previous roles. Here are some examples from various industries:
- Human Resources Manager: “Reduced labor budget by 15% by devising innovative methods for adjusting salary ranges while preventing layoffs.”
- Teacher: “Evaluated and revised lesson plans and course content to facilitate and moderate classroom discussions and student-centered learning ranging from 22 to 37 students.”
- Concierge: “Greeted and assisted +70 guests per day by gathering information pertaining to reservations or requests.”
- Senior Pharmacist: “Oversaw work activities, performance and service quality of an eight-member pharmacy staff over a two-year period.”
Writing tips for your work experience section:
- List your jobs in reverse-chronological order. Add your most recent position first. If you have many years of experience or have changed jobs often, focus on the first 10 years of your employment history.
- Show off the positive. Did you give great advice to customers or improve a less than effective program? Then let your future employers know so they can see what you’d bring to the table if you are hired.
- Don’t forget keywords. Whenever possible, use keywords from the job ad to describe your accomplishments and job duties. Use the same language as the job posting. Don’t clutter your resume with buzzwords because you think you should. Use your real experience to prove that you’re a great fit.
COMPLETING THE RESUME
Now that you’ve written the bulk of your resume, it’s time to focus on the finer details of your document. Listing out your educational experience proves your industry qualifications and lets employers know you are a good fit.
To start, your header/contact information should be in a font that is professional and easy to read. Make sure to double-check your contact information for accuracy. Add the finishing touches to your resume by including:
- Links to your portfolio or website, if applicable
- Link to your LinkedIn profile
- Details about special training and certifications, if applicable
- Information about awards and honors you’ve won, if they are relevant to the role
- Languages
- Volunteer work
- Industry conferences
DETERMINING THE RIGHT RESUME FORMAT
Now that you’ve completed your resume sections, next choose the resume format that best fits your level of work experience. This will help emphasize the most significant sections of your resume.
Most users will opt for a chronological or combination resume format as it works with their skills and experience. However, those with little or no work experience, or job seekers with large gaps in their employment history, should consider using the functional format.
SELECT A RESUME TEMPLATE
Once you’ve chosen the resume format that best suits your experience, it’s time to pick a resume template. A pop of color can go a long way, but might not be appropriate for roles with more conservative employers.
Consider the employer and industry when making your selection. A colorful creative template would be a great fit for a design position. The simplicity and easy readability of a traditional template is often perfect for fields like banking and law. A sleek modern template is a happy medium between the two and is a versatile choice for many industries
EDIT AND PROOFREAD YOUR RESUME
- Fact-check the details. Double-check things like dates and the spelling of company or school names and that all of your contact information is accurate and up to date.
- Proofread your resume. It won’t matter if you’re the most qualified candidate in the world if your resume is full of spelling and grammatical errors. Read the page from top to bottom before deeming it ready for recruiters. Whenever possible, send your document to a trusted friend for a fresh set of eyes.
6 Reasons To Use a Professional Resume Builder
The resume-writing process isn’t as daunting when you do the prep work and break down your experience into small, easy-to-work-with sections. Our professional Resume Builder can provide you with that extra boost to take your resume to the next level.
Here’s what we offer:
- A range of templates
- Pre-written content suggestions for your summary, skills and work history sections
- Customizable formatting
- Spelling and grammar check
- Resume resources
- Integration with the top job boards
Writing a Resume FAQ
How do you write a resume for the first time?
Start with a strong summary of your qualifications, emphasizing the value of your skill set and industry knowledge. If you have limited work experience, move your education section above the work history, listing any academic honors. Remember, you may have internships or volunteer experience to note on your resume.
Use LiveCareer’s resume templates and resume builder to ensure your document contains the right keywords.
How do I write a good resume?
The best way to write a good resume is to do the prep work, both internal and external. First, know what you’re good at, what you’re interested in, and what you’re qualified for. It will be easier to craft your resume if you start looking for job postings that are relevant to your interest. Second, pay close attention to the job ad. Most employers list exactly the skills and qualifications they are looking for in an applicant, then all you need to do is customize the resume to match those requirements.
How long should it take to write a resume?
There’s no set length of time to write a resume because it would vary depending on the type of job you’re applying for and whether or not you have written one before. Someone who has done the prep work and knows what industries to apply to may have a quicker time building a relevant and to-the-point document than a person who is writing a resume for the first time.
