Why Your Resume Needs Two Readers
Your resume is often the first thing an employer sees. It has two readers. Many companies use an applicant tracking system (ATS). This is software that stores applications and pulls the text out of each resume, so recruiters can search it. After that, a person reads it, often quickly.
So a good resume must be easy for software to read and quick for a person to scan. This guide walks through the format, each section, and the mistakes to avoid. At the end, it shows how to make the PDF with our free Resume Builder.
Want to start now? Our free Resume Builder turns your text into a simple one-column PDF in your browser.
Choose a Resume Format
Decide on the format before you write. The format decides what the reader sees first.
Reverse-chronological
You list your jobs starting with the most recent one and work backward. This is the most common format. Recruiters expect it, and ATS software handles it well. It suits people with a steady work history in one field.
Functional (skills-based)
You group your experience by skill instead of by job. People changing careers or returning after a gap sometimes use it. Many recruiters do not like it, because it hides when and where you did the work.
Combination (hybrid)
A short skills section comes first, then a normal reverse-chronological work history. It suits people who want to lead with their skills but still show a clear record.
When in doubt, use reverse-chronological. It is the format both people and software expect.
Essential Resume Sections
Contact information
Put your full name, phone number, a simple email address, your city and country, and a LinkedIn or portfolio link at the top. A full street address is not needed. Write links in short form, such as linkedin.com/in/your-name.
Professional summary
Write two or three sentences: who you are, your strongest skill or result, and the kind of role you want. Change it for each job. Skip phrases like “hard-working team player”. Almost every applicant writes them, so they tell the reader nothing.
Example: “Customer support specialist with 4 years of experience in online retail. Handles about 60 chats a day with a 94% satisfaction score and trains new team members. Looking for a senior support or team lead role.”
Work experience
This is the most important section. For each job, give the job title, company, place and dates. Under it, write three to five short lines about what you achieved, not just your duties.
A simple pattern works well: action verb + what you did + a result you can measure. Some people use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to find these results. For example:
- Weak: Worked on the company website.
- Strong: Rebuilt the checkout page in React, cutting load time from 6 seconds to 2 seconds.
If you do not know the exact number, use an honest estimate, such as “about 40 tickets a day”. Never invent numbers. An interviewer may ask about them.
Education
List your highest degree first, with the school, degree and year. Add certifications and short courses that matter for the job. Fresh graduates can put education above work experience.
Skills
Read the job post and use its exact words when they are true for you. If the post says “Microsoft Excel” and “stakeholder communication”, write those words, not “spreadsheets” and “people skills”. Put the most important skills first. ATS searches often look for these exact words.
Resume Writing Tips
- Make it easy for software to read: use plain headings like “Work Experience”, “Education” and “Skills”. Some ATS software reads tables, text boxes, columns and images badly, so a simple one-column layout is the safest choice.
- Match the job post: change the summary and the skills list for each application.
- Keep it short: a common rule of thumb is one page with less than about 10 years of experience, and two pages with more.
- Photo and personal details: customs differ by country. A photo or date of birth is common in some countries, such as Germany and Japan. In the US and UK, they are usually left out. Follow the custom of the country where the job is.
- Use a plain font: a common font such as Arial, Calibri or Helvetica at 10 to 12 pt is easy to read for people and software.
- Send a PDF: a PDF looks the same on every device. If the job post asks for a Word file (.docx), send that instead.
Common Resume Mistakes to Avoid
- Typos: they make a careful person look careless. Read the PDF out loud, slowly, and ask a friend to read it too.
- Old, unrelated jobs: every line should show a skill or result that fits the job you want.
- Vague lines: “Responsible for” and “worked on” say nothing. Say what you did and what changed.
- An email like coolboy99@…: use a simple address based on your name.
- Lying or stretching the truth: employers may check your degree and past jobs. A false claim can cost you the job, even after you start.
- One resume for every job: change the summary and the skills list for each post, so they use the same words as the job.
Build Your Resume for Free
Our Resume Builder is free and runs in your browser. You type your details into five fixed sections: Personal Information, Professional Summary, Work Experience, Education and Skills. Then you download a PDF. Here is what to know:
- Real text, one column: the PDF is made with the jsPDF library. Every line is real, selectable text in the Helvetica font, not an image. ATS software usually reads this kind of file well. To check, open the PDF, copy a line, and paste it into a text editor. No tool can promise that every ATS reads every file perfectly.
- One simple layout: there are no templates or colour themes to choose from.
- A4 paper: the PDF is A4 size. If you print on US Letter paper, choose “fit to page”.
- No photo field: if your country expects a photo, you will need a different tool.
- Nothing is saved: your text is not sent to a server or kept in your browser. Refreshing or closing the tab clears the form, so keep your text in a notes file.
- English and Western European letters: the built-in PDF font may not show other scripts, such as Devanagari, Chinese or Arabic, correctly. Check the PDF before you send it.
- Order: entries print in the order you add them, so add your most recent job first.
Ready? Build your resume for free and download it as a PDF.
Summary
A good resume uses a clear format, shows results instead of duties, and matches the words of the job post. Keep the layout simple so both software and people can read it. Check every line for typos, then open the final PDF once more before you send it.