Resume writing
How to Write a Resume: A Step-by-Step Guide
By the MyResumeExpert Team · Updated October 3, 2026 · 5 min read
A good resume does one job: it shows a recruiter, in a few seconds, that you can do the role they are hiring for. Everything on the page should serve that goal, from the order of the sections to the words at the start of each bullet point.
This guide walks through the whole process in order, with examples you can adapt. If you would rather fill in a ready-made structure, open the free resume builder and follow along section by section.
1. Gather your information first
Writing is much faster when the facts are already in front of you. Before you choose a template, collect:
- Every job, internship or freelance project from the last ten to fifteen years, with employer, job title, location and start and end months.
- Your education: institution, qualification, subject, graduation year and any honours worth mentioning.
- Certifications, licences and courses, with the year you earned them.
- Numbers that show results: revenue, savings, growth, time saved, people managed, customers served, projects delivered.
- Two or three job postings for the role you want. They tell you which skills and words matter most.
Tip: Highlight the skills and tools that appear in several of the job postings. Those are the ones your resume needs to prove.
2. Choose the right resume format
There are three common formats. For most people, the reverse-chronological format is the best choice because recruiters and applicant tracking systems (ATS) expect it.
| Format | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Reverse-chronological | Most job seekers with steady work history | Gaps are visible, so explain long ones briefly |
| Functional (skills-based) | Rarely recommended; sometimes used by career changers | Recruiters and ATS software find it hard to read |
| Combination (hybrid) | Career changers and people with transferable skills | Keep it to two pages and keep experience in date order |
Read our resume format guide for examples of each, and see ATS-friendly resume templates that use the reverse-chronological layout.
3. Add your name and contact details
Put your name at the top in the largest text on the page. Under it, add only what an employer needs to reach you and learn more:
- Phone number
- Professional email address (ideally firstname.lastname@)
- City and country, or city and state (a full street address is not needed)
- LinkedIn profile URL
- Portfolio, GitHub or personal website if it supports the role
Leave out your date of birth, marital status and photo unless it is standard practice in the country you are applying in.
4. Write a short professional summary
The summary sits under your contact details and answers one question: why should the recruiter keep reading? Keep it to two to four lines. A useful pattern is: who you are + years of experience + main strengths + one concrete achievement.
Customer success manager with 6 years of experience in B2B software. Skilled at onboarding, renewals and turning feedback into product improvements. Grew net revenue retention on a 40-account portfolio from 94% to 108% in two years.
If you are a student or changing careers, a short objective that names the role you want can work instead. See resume summary examples for more patterns by career stage.
5. Describe your work experience with results
List jobs in reverse-chronological order, newest first. For each one, give the job title, employer, location and dates, then three to six bullet points. Spend most of your words on recent and relevant roles.
Each bullet should show what you did and what changed because of it. Start with a strong action verb and add a number wherever you honestly can.
WeakResponsible for social media accounts.
StrongGrew Instagram followers from 8,000 to 31,000 in 12 months by launching a weekly creator series.
An action verb, a measurable result and the method behind it.
WeakHelped with customer complaints.
StrongResolved 45+ customer tickets a day with a 96% satisfaction score, the highest on a team of 12.
Volume, quality and comparison make the claim concrete.
WeakWorked on the new billing system.
StrongLed the migration of 120,000 customer accounts to a new billing system with zero downtime, two weeks ahead of schedule.
Shows scope, ownership and the outcome.
Tip: If you cannot share exact numbers, use ranges or relative terms: "cut processing time by about a third" is still far stronger than "improved processes". Our list of action verbs for resumes helps you start each bullet well.
6. Add your education
List your highest qualification first, with the institution, qualification, subject and graduation year. Experienced professionals can keep this section short and place it after work experience.
Recent graduates should put education first and can add relevant coursework, projects, a strong grade or academic awards. Our resume for freshers guide shows how to build a resume around education and projects.
7. List the skills that match the job
Your skills section should mirror the job posting. Include the hard skills and tools the employer names, as long as your experience backs them up, and group them so they are easy to scan.
Tools: Excel (advanced), Power BI, SQL, SAP Finance: Budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis, month-end close Languages: English (fluent), Spanish (conversational)
Show soft skills such as leadership or communication through your bullet points rather than listing them alone. Find more ideas in our skills for resume guide.
8. Add optional sections that strengthen your case
Add a section only when it supports the role you want:
- Certifications and licences: essential in fields like nursing, accounting, IT and project management.
- Projects: valuable for developers, designers, students and career changers.
- Awards: when they are recent and relevant.
- Languages: especially for international or customer-facing roles.
- Volunteering: when it shows relevant skills or fills a gap.
9. Make sure your resume passes ATS checks
Many employers use applicant tracking systems to collect and search resumes. To make sure yours is read correctly:
- Use standard section headings such as Experience, Education and Skills.
- Keep important details in the main body of the page, not in headers, footers or text boxes.
- Save a text-based PDF or Word file, never a scanned image.
- Use the same words as the job posting for skills and job titles where they truthfully apply.
- Prefer a single-column layout for large online job portals.
Then run your resume through our free ATS resume checker to see the text a parser extracts and the issues to fix. Our guide to ATS-friendly resumes covers this in depth.
10. Proofread and tailor it for each job
Read your resume aloud, check every date and number, and make sure tenses are consistent: present tense for your current job, past tense for earlier ones. Then ask someone you trust to read it.
Before each application, adjust your summary, reorder your bullets so the most relevant come first, and add any keywords from the posting that you can honestly claim. A tailored resume almost always outperforms a generic one.
Keep it to one or two pages, save it as "FirstName-LastName-Resume.pdf", and pair it with a matching cover letter.
Frequently asked questions
- How long should a resume be?
- One page for students and people with up to about ten years of experience, and two pages for most experienced professionals. Only senior academic or executive resumes usually need more.
- What should I not include on a resume?
- Leave out personal details such as date of birth and marital status (unless they are expected in your country), references, unrelated jobs from long ago, salary history and anything you cannot back up in an interview.
- Should I use a resume template?
- Yes. A good template saves time and gives you a clean, ATS-friendly structure. Focus your effort on the content and tailor it for each job.
- Is it okay to have a gap in my resume?
- Yes. Gaps are common. If a gap is longer than a few months, add a short line explaining it, such as caregiving, study, travel or a career break, and show any skills you kept up during that time.
- What file format should I send my resume in?
- A PDF is usually best because it looks the same on every device. Send a Word document if the employer or job portal asks for one.
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