What should a perfect resume look like

Although most resumes follow a chronological format, the correct format may depend on the industry, your job title and personal preferences. Restrict the length of your resume to a page or two. Depending on your work history, it may benefit you to focus on the most recent position you held and the most important educational qualifications you hold. Keep the descriptions about older jobs and less relevant qualifications as short as possible.

To keep your resume readable for an employer, include some design elements in your resume that make it simple and easy to scan. You can easily achieve this by clearly marking the headings, using bullet points, keeping the paragraphs short and highlighting certain words by bolding or italicizing them. Use a clean, professional font. For example, fonts like Times New Roman, Georgia and Tahoma are usually easy for most people to read.

Make sure the font you choose has consistent spacing and looks good both on-screen and printed. Keep the font size between 9 and 12 points in order to maintain readability and presentation. Use color strategically to make your resume visually appealing. For example, you might use a different color for headings and monogram the rest of the resume. You can also use color to draw in the reader to a certain important point. However, use additional colors sparingly.

Selecting one color to use with a primarily black and white resume should be enough. For example, explain how you used your creativity to find a unique solution to a problem. Think of such specific, quantifiable results you achieved, and include them in this section.

Use the same approach to describe your skills. Instead of a simple list of skills, employers are more interested in knowing how you have successfully applied those skills in a practical situation. There is no need to have a separate section of skills unless you are applying for a position that requires certain hard skills for example, an IT specialist. Instead, consider including the skills within the descriptions of your work experience. The first few lines of your resume are among the most important when grabbing an employer's attention.

Want to explore more options? See one of our galleries and find a resume that looks the way you want it to:. Still not quite convinced why the looks of your resume are so important? Plus, a great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates.

You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:. See more cover letter templates and start writing. Got more questions? Need further help? Use our 2, 5, and minute resume writing tips to quickly improve your resume.

Actionable examples included. Read more! Great skills? Amazing layout? Good work history section? Not sure what a cover should look like? Confused by all the contrasting guidelines?

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Explore related topics. Finding the job for you. Applying for jobs. Cover letters. First job. Returning to work. SEEK Profile. You can coach other employees, and understand the skill on a high level. Imagine your first task at work as an Illustrator - to create a graphic vector to go nicely with an article. Step 2 - Tailor Your Skills to the Job. A good-to-have is WordPress. These are both soft skills leadership, teamwork, critical thinking, etc.

Not sure which skills to mention for your field? As a given, you should never lie about your language skills. You never know, your interviewer might turn out to be fluent in the language, or even be a native speaker!

Want to add some spice to your resume? The hobbies and interests section, while not a game-changer, can help show who YOU are as an individual.

Who knows, maybe you and your interviewee have some hobbies in common? Several studies show that you can boost your chances of getting hired simply by listing your volunteering experience. Do you have any awards that make you stand out in your field?

How about certifications from industry experts? If you have any published works online, or in an academic journal , you might want to include them in your resume. Working on side projects can really show off your passion for your field. You went through every step of product creation, from ideation to creating a marketing strategy.

You can mention the project in your resume and stand a better chance at landing that business internship! Mention all of it! Already done with your resume? Interested in seeing how it holds up? Go through our checklist for perfecting your resume and see where you stand! If you missed some points, though, just go through your resume one more time and perfect it as much as possible. Wondering how to write a CV instead of a resume?

Knowing how to write a resume is one thing, actually creating a resume that stands out is something else entirely.