How To Make a Resume

Building a resume might seem simple. On the surface, it’s a document that captures your work experience, qualifications, education, and skills in a succinct template with bullet points. The truth is that a resume is more than that. It’s a snapshot of your work experience and everything you’ve achieved within your industry. In this guide, we’ll explore the nuances of the resume writing process to accelerate the job search and propel your career forward.

To make a resume, you need to understand what it’s for. Without clearly defined career goals, you can’t focus your content effectively. A resume for a user experience (UX) designer will look very different from a document written with teaching roles in mind. Mapping out your short-term and long-term industry aspirations enables you to develop a content strategy that appeals to employers in that market.

Going a step further, imagine that you’re unhappy as a financial analyst and want to transition to a product management role. Not every aspect of your previous experience would be relevant to the job you want, but certain skills would transfer. Performing complex financial data analysis is essential for evaluating risk factors and market indicators associated with developing and launching a new product. Understanding how to leverage your work history and impact for each situation grants a competitive edge that will elevate your application during the job search.

Before writing your resume, you must choose a format that works for the applicant tracking system (ATS) filtering software and the hiring people. The reverse chronological approach is the best option. This format prioritizes your work history, placing your most recent and relevant achievements at the top of the Experience section. Flashier templates are more popular now, but some elements can distract from your content, which is most important. Graphics and images can impact the ability of the ATS to read and parse the content.

Hiring managers don’t always have to thoroughly read each resume they receive, especially if a job has many applicants. If your opening summary is weak, generic, and uninspiring, they might decline to further explore your work history and qualifications. A summary that targets individual opportunities is critical, because it shows the hiring team that you are focused on the company’s needs.

As a general strategy, start by listing the job title, years of experience, and three to four industry skills in the first line of your paragraph. This shows that you’re qualified for the job within two seconds of the reader opening your resume. The remainder of your summary should focus on capturing unique accomplishments and qualifications that illustrate the value you can bring to the organization you’re targeting.

A results-driven project manager with eight years of experience, specializing in Agile methodology, UX design, and application development. A proven track record of leading multi-million dollar technical projects for startups and enterprise companies. Adept at collaborating with stakeholders, executives, and cross-functional teams throughout the software development lifecycle.

A registered nurse with 10 years of experience delivering valuable patient care at world-class institutions such as the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. A strong history of managing and developing nursing teams to enhance the delivery of patient-centered care and drive patient advocacy in high-volume clinical settings.

During the hiring process, your work history will always be the pivotal factor determining whether you’re a viable candidate for any given application. As you craft your professional experience section, prioritize eye-catching achievements over mundane job duties. Employers want examples of how you’ve helped your previous organizations excel, rather than a list of daily responsibilities.

One way to approach this is by quantifying your accomplishments using performance metrics, numerical data, and monetary figures. When leveraged correctly, hard numbers prove your expertise, providing tangible insights into how your unique talents have yielded genuine value throughout your career. That said, not every contribution can be easily substantiated with a dollar figure or percentage. Emphasizing how your management improved the team, communication with clients made their lives easier, or how your cross-functional collaboration improved the company are also important. Companies need candidates with strong leadership capabilities.

Senior Project Manager, Coastal Build Partners, Savannah, GA | August 2018 to present

Lead UX Designer, Nova Interactive, Seattle, WA | July 2015 – present

Having a focused skills section serves two distinct purposes. First, add keywords directly from the job description so the ATS prioritizes you. The second goal is to provide the hiring manager your industry knowledge and technical competencies. Be sure to highlight a mix of technical and interpersonal skills, as the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects leadership-oriented occupations to continue to grow in 2025.

Put all your education, certifications, and training under Education. Put the degree (i.e., Master of Business Administration) first in bold, followed by the acronym (i.e, MBA, also in bold) for ATS searches. Then add your focus (i.e., Marketing), and the school name, including the name of the specialty school that was part of the larger school, if there is one (i.e., The Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania). Education goes at the bottom of the resume if you aim for a corporate position. Any degree above a Bachelor’s and pertinent certifications can also go next to your name at the top (i.e., Soozy Miller, MBA, PMP). If you are still working on the degree, add it at the bottom under Education and add “In Progress.”

Master of Business Administration (MBA) | December 2016
University of Washington | Seattle, WA

Bachelor of Science (B.S.) Software Development | May 2020
Temple University | Philadelphia, PA

Certified Project Management Professional (PMP) | Project Management Institute | May 2018

Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) | Scrum Alliance | June 2017

Depending on your available space, you can include other sections to round out your resume, such as publications, associations, volunteer experience, independent projects, and awards. If you choose to include these additional details, be sure they add real value to your resume, as it’s important to keep your messaging tight and focused.

While you can use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to create an initial draft of your resume, it’s not advisable to let ChatGPT do all the writing. Although the quality and accuracy of AI have continued to evolve, you’ll likely end up with generic, uninspiring content that fails to capture your unique experience.

The most important thing to consider during the resume writing process is whether or not your document is accomplishment-driven. Do your bullet points prove your point? Does your content truly reflect the value you’ve brought to clients, customers, team members, and managers at your previous organizations? You need to capture this to stand out in today’s job market.

Your resume length largely depends on how much proof you have to show. While there is no standard length for a resume, recruiter surveys and eye scans show that reader interest drops off dramatically after the second page. Keeping your resume to one page might omit crucial evidence about why you deserve the job. You might add fluff that doesn’t help you if you go beyond two pages. Ensure your resume addresses the company’s needs (title, summary, skills) and proves your point with impact (Experience). Then your resume will be at optimal length.