This Resume Writing Guide is packaged with easy-to-follow steps that will allow you to improve and effectively design your resume by fulfilling the requirements of each section. Resumes are important tools, and they represent you. It is imperative to ensure that you have the best representation of yourself.

1. 1

2. What is a
resume?
A resume (sometimes spelled résumé) is a record of work
experience, professional achievements, education, skills,
certifications, and other details that make the case for the job. It
is usually the first contact between a company and candidate.
What the US and Canada call a resume, most of the rest of the
world call a curriculum vitae (CV). South Africa, India, New
Zealand, and Australia tend to use the terms resume and CV
interchangeably.
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3. What’s the difference?
• The CV presents a full history of your academic credentials, so the length of the document is variable. In contrast, a
resume presents a concise picture of your skills and qualifications for a specific position, so length tends to be
shorter and dictated by years of experience (generally 1-2 pages).
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4. TYPES OF RESUMES:
RESUMES ARE OFTEN TAILORED TO FIT YOUR SPECIFIC SITUATION.
Resume With No
Experience
Entry-Level
Resume
Student Resume Internship Resume
College Application
Resume
Teen Resume
Resume for a Part
Time Job
Resume With
Employment Gaps
Career Change
Resume
Military to Civilian
Resume
Federal Resume
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5. standard
resume
formats:
• Pros: Traditional resume style, familiar to potential employers.
• Cons: Very common, not the most creative resume design format.
Reverse-chronological format
• Pros: Great for experienced pros and career changers for highlighting transferable skills.
• Cons: Uncommon, not as familiar, not recommended for entry-level job seekers.
Combination format
• Pros: Entry-level job hunters can emphasize skills over lack of experience.
• Cons: HR managers may think you're hiding something.
Functional format (skills-based)
Most job applicants will likely want to choose the reverse-chronological resume
template.
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6. reverse-chronological resume template.
• With this resume format, you list your relevant work experience in reverse chronological order, beginning with your
most recent position and proceeding backwards. For each job, you provide dates, location and the name of your
employer, and succinctly outline your key responsibilities and achievements.
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7. GENERAL
GUIDELINES:
Choose the best resume font—a standard font that will render correctly on most
machines, like Cambria, Calibri, Arial, Times New Roman, or Helvetica. No cursive!
Go for single line spacing, and 11pt or 12pt font size for the regular text. Increase
to 14pt—16pt font size for section titles. Avoid making your resume margins too
small.
Use bold text to draw attention to particular words or phrases, and italics for
supporting text. Avoid underlining, as it just makes the resume feel cluttered (and
URLs already use it).
Complement the standard font of your text by alternating serif for sans-serif (or
vice versa) in any section headings. For example, you can pair the Arial font
(sans-serif) of Calibri font (sans-serif) with the Times New Roman font (serif).
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8. Different sections of a
resume
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9. Necessary Contact
Information
Name: First name, last name (middle name
optional).
Phone Number: Personal cell phone preferred
over home phone number.
Email Address: Today's preferred means of
communication.
LinkedIn URL
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10. For example:
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11. Contact Information to Avoid
Date of Birth: Adding your birthdate could lead to ageism. Add only if required, such as for jobs serving alcohol, for
example.
Second Email or Phone Number: A second email address, mailing address, or phone number will just confuse them
(and you).
Photo/Headshot (ONLY IF NEEDED)
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12. summary
statement or
resume
objective
statement
Here's how to write an about me blurb that makes the recruiter swipe right:
RESUME SUMMARY STATEMENT
Got enough relevant experience? Choose the resume summary statement.
A good resume summary works when you apply at a job in which you have
experience. It summarizes your position-related skills and qualifications.
Let's take a look at how to write a professional summary, both right and wrong:
RIGHT
Personable and dependable graphic designer with 4+ years expertise in a fast-
paced global marketing firm. Achieved company-best quality satisfaction rating
according to internal review (99.76%). Seeking to advance career by growing with
the DeZine team.
WRONG
I have been a graphic designer for the last 4 years. In addition to my knowledge
of various software and design programs, I also handle some tough customer
accounts, and I am always able to work well under pressure, even the tightest of
deadlines.
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13. resume
objective
statement
Choose the resume objective statement if you have no work experience at all, or at
least none related to the position you're applying for (entry-level applicants, career
changers, students, etc.).
Since you don't have relevant experience to summarize, you'll highlight transferable
skills from other areas. You'll make the case that though you don't have experience
with this position, you do have experience relevant to it.
Let's looks at another set of good/bad examples on writing an objective for a resume:
RIGHT
Diligent customer support specialist with 3+ years experience at large computer
hardware company. Obtained highest grades in build spec knowledge (100%) and
quality (97.3%). Seeking to further career by growing with the BQNY team as an
entry-level IT technician.
WRONG
I am a customer support specialist eager to become an field technician. I don't have
experience in field work, but past coworkers have said that I am a quick learner. I am
highly motivated because I enjoy being outside for work rather than behind a desk at
a cubicle.
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14. An example:
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15. WORDS TO DESCRIBE
YOURSELF ON A
RESUME
1. Motivated
Example: Motivated college graduate looking to apply extensive skills in project
management at Acme Corp.
2. Self-starter
Example: Self-starter that found a new vendor for office supplies saving the
company $6,000 annually.
3. Organized
Example: Organized marketing coordinator that juggles projects for up to 10 clients
simultaneously.
4. Efficient
Example: Developed a more efficient chatbot that reduced the workload of CSRs by
75%.
5. Flexible
Example: Organized travel arrangements while remaining flexible to changes in the
plans of senior and executive-level employees.
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16. Words to describe
yourself on a
resume
6. Creative
Example: Generated up to 20 marketing pitches per client using creative brainstorming
sessions.
7. Competent
Example: Competent in using Microsoft Office, Asana, and Salesforce.
8. Detail-oriented
Example: Detail-oriented UX researcher skilled at finding customer friction points through in-
depth interviews.
9. Experienced
Example: Industrial engineer experienced in manufacturing processes. Improved the efficiency
of a manufacturing production process by 17%.
10. Passionate
Example: Passionate copywriter with 5+ years of experience writing engaging content.
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17. ACTIVITY: describe yourself professionally AS YOU WOULD IN
YOUR RESUME SUMMARY OR RESUME OBJECTIVE STATEMENT
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__________________________________________________________________________________________
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__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________

18. Relevant Work Experience & Key Achievements
• Job Title—This should go at the very top of each entry of work history so that it's easy for potential employers to scan and find. Make it bold and/or increase the font size by 1pt or 2pts
from the rest of the entry.
• Company, City, State—On the second line, include the previous employer's company name, and the city and state of the location you worked at.
• Dates Employed—Thirdly, put the timeframe of your employment there. You can add the year or both the month and the year, but there's no need to put exact days.
• Key Responsibilities—Don't just list every single task you did in your job history. Focus on the few duties most relevant to the new job.
• Key Achievements—Often overlooked, but super important. Employers know what you did, but they need to know how well you did them.
• Keywords—It is important to sprinkle resume keywords throughout the experience section (we'll talk more about this shortly).
If adding more than one job history entry to your resume or CV experience section, start with the most recent position and go back in reverse-chronological order from there.
Use five or six bullet points to make your case in each entry's responsibilities and achievements.
Also, your experience section resume bullet points should go near the top, just under your heading statement. However, if you have little or no professional experience, put your education
section above your work history.
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19. ACTIVITY:
WHICH OF THESE
STATEMENTS ARE
CORRECT?
_____________________
Growth team was managed by me.
______________________
Managed growth team.
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20. RIGHT VS WRONG
•WRONG
Growth team was managed by me.
•RIGHT
Managed growth team.
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21. AN EXAMPLE:
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22. education
• The right resume education order is to place your highest degree first.
• Add any other degrees after in reverse-chronological order.
• If you finished a university degree, don't add high school info.
• Some college on a resume is also fine, just list completed credits.
• Add any relevant coursework, honors, or awards (e.g., making Dean's List) you received.
• Extracurricular activities are a nice finishing touch.
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23. What skills to
put on a
resume?
Communication skills—These can include social skills, non-verbal communication,
listening skills, and interpersonal skills.
Technical skills—Knowledge required to perform specific tasks, like computer skills or
clerical skills.
Job-specific skills—Particular prowess the company specifically requires.
Leadership and management skills—Ability to be a good manager, leader, and supervisor.
Critical thinking skills—Ability to make your own, thought-based decisions and take
initiative. Includes analytical skills, decision-making, and problem-solving.
Organizational skills—A knack for planning, organizing, and seeing initiatives through.
Transferable skills—for career changers, these are abilities you learned that can be carried
over to your new position. 23

24. Optional Sections
to include on
your resume
which will help
you stand out:
• Hobbies and interests
• You might not think that your love of baseball and being the Little League assistant coach would be
of interest to a potential employer.
• Volunteer work
• Volunteering boosts employability, studies find. For most job seekers, listing any volunteer
experience as one of your additional CV sections is a great way to show your commitment and
values. It also lets them know that you don't only care about the money. For entry-level or first-
time applicants who have no experience, volunteer work makes an excellent stand-in.
• Internship experience
• Listing internships on your resume is only OK if you're fresh out of school, had one or two other
jobs, or you haven't been on the market for longer than 4-5 years.
• Certifications and awards
• Languages
• Projects
• Publications
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25. Saving your resume
•Word Doc or PDF? Resumes in PDF
are preferred by hiring managers.
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26. Resume design
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27. Tools that can be used
Paper and Pen
Microsoft Word
Microsoft PowerPoint
Canva (Click HERE to create an account and browse FREE resume templates)
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28. REFERENCES
https://zety.com/blog/how-to-make-a-resume
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