These guides answer one resume question each, from the header at the top to the last line of your skills section. Find your question in the table for the short answer, then open the guide for examples.
Which resume writing guide answers your question?
| Question | Guide | Short answer |
|---|---|---|
| What sections does a resume need? | Parts of a resume | Header, summary, experience, skills and education |
| What font, margins and file type? | Resume format rules | A common font at 10 to 12 points, one column, PDF |
| How long should it be? | How long a resume should be | One page under about 10 years of experience |
| What goes at the top? | Resume header examples | Name, phone, email, city and state |
| How do I open the resume? | Resume summary examples or resume objective examples | A summary if experienced, an objective if starting out or switching |
| Which skills should I list? | Skills for a resume | 6 to 12 hard skills from the posting |
| How far back should I go? | How far back a resume should go | 10 to 15 years |
| How do I show a promotion? | How to list a promotion | Employer once, titles stacked |
| Where do certifications go? | How to put certifications on a resume | Name, issuer and date |
| Does volunteering count? | Volunteer work on a resume | Yes, formatted like a job |
| Gaps or a career change? | Skills-based resume | Group experience under skill headings |
| No work history yet? | First resume with no experience | School, clubs, volunteering and odd jobs |
| Old resume to refresh? | How to update your resume | A 15-step checklist |
Where should you start?
If this is your first resume, begin with the first job resume guide, then read parts of a resume to see what each section does. If you already have a resume, the resume update checklist covers what to add, cut and reformat.
Should you use a summary, an objective or a skills-based format?
Most experienced candidates should open with a 2 to 4 sentence professional summary. An objective fits students, career changers and people returning to work. A skills-based resume groups experience under three or four skill headings, which helps career changers and people with gaps, but keep a short work history near the bottom because recruiters still want employers and dates.
When your draft is ready, compare it with a resume example for your job and run it through the ATS keyword checker.