How should a professional resume look?

According to the Harvard Mignone Center for Career Success, a resume is a short summary of your skills, education and previous job experience. 

When it comes to resumes, first impressions matter: Some studies show that employers spend less than 10 seconds reviewing a resume. Consistent formatting, plenty of white space and fact-based details could help you grab their attention and put your best foot forward. 

What you’ll learn:

• Consider tailoring your resume to each job you apply for so the employer can easily see that you’re a good fit.

• Indeed recommends including information like your contact info, a professional summary and your work experience and skills.

• Well-written resumes often front-load key skills and include facts and data points so your impact is easy to see at a glance. 

• Headers, white space and well-organized content can also help make resumes easier to scan.

What you include in your resume might shift a little depending on the job you’re applying for. But here are some common elements Indeed says to consider when drafting your resume:

• Contact information: You may want to include things like your full name, email address, phone number and LinkedIn profile, and a link to your personal website or professional portfolio if you have one. That way, employers will know how to get in touch with you or take a closer look at your work. 

• Professional summary: This is a brief statement explaining your relevant experience and key skills. Try to keep it short, easy to read and tailored to the position so that when employers skim your resume, they know you have what it takes to succeed.

• Work experience: Start with your most recent position and work in reverse chronological order. You may want to omit jobs from earlier in your life that aren’t relevant to the position you’re applying for.

• Skills: Include a section that showcases your key skills. You might want to think strategically here and highlight the skills that are most relevant to the position you’re applying for. 

• Education: What you include here can depend on where you are in your career. If you’re a recent high school grad, it might make sense to include your high school degree on your resume. If you have a bachelor’s degree or beyond, you may want to cut your high school and just include your higher education. 

• Honors and certifications: Highlight any professional certifications and relevant awards you’ve earned to help your resume stand out.

Here are some practical tips that could make your resume more compelling for potential employers:

LinkedIn recommends following the “show, don’t tell” rule when it comes to resumes. And the Harvard Mignone Center for Career Success says to use fact-based details to differentiate yourself from other candidates. Instead of flowery language, use data points to convey your strengths as much as possible.

ZipRecruiter recommends front-loading key skills and experience so recruiters immediately know you have what they’re looking for.

Indeed suggests tailoring your resume to each position that you apply for so you can emphasize the experience and skills that make you a great fit for the job. Indeed also recommends including keywords and phrases from the job description.

The person reviewing your resume might judge how it looks before they even start reading. Here are some general guidelines to help you make the best impression:

• Keep it short: Indeed recommends one page or less if you can. If it has to stretch beyond one page, keep it to just two.

• Include white space: White space balances the page and makes it easier to read quickly.

• Be consistent: Once you make a formatting choice, stick with it throughout. This includes things like capitalization, bold and italics for emphasis, and spacing. The Harvard Mignone Center for Career Success also recommends checking that your formatting will translate if the document is converted to a PDF.

• Clean copy: Proofread your resume before submitting. Spelling and grammatical errors are common but avoidable resume mistakes.

• Avoid blocks of text: Dense blocks of text can make it harder for readers to skim the resume.

• Use the right fonts: LinkedIn recommends font sizes no smaller than 11. And you might want to stick with simple, traditional fonts.

Resume writing is about showcasing your professional experience, education and other skills to help you stand out from other candidates.