How to write a resume that gets interviews
A resume has one job: to get you an interview. It does that when a recruiter can see, in a quick first read, that you have done the kind of work the posting describes and that you did it well. Clear structure, the right keywords and results with numbers matter far more than design.
Pick a format
- Reverse-chronological (best for most people)
- Your most recent job first, then the one before it. Recruiters expect this layout and applicant tracking systems read it easily. Use it if you have steady work history in the field you are applying to.
- Hybrid (also called combination)
- A short skills section at the top, followed by reverse-chronological experience. Good for career changers and for people whose most relevant skills come from older jobs, volunteering or training.
- Functional (use with care)
- Skills grouped by theme with little or no job history. Many recruiters distrust it because it can hide gaps. If you have a gap, a hybrid resume with a one-line explanation ("2023–2024: full-time caregiver for a family member") usually works better.
Length: one page if you have under about 10 years of experience; two pages is normal after that. Senior, academic and federal government resumes can run longer. Never pad to fill space.
What goes on the page
- Header. Name, city and state, phone, a professional email address and, if you have one, your LinkedIn URL. A full street address is not needed.
- Summary (2–3 lines). Who you are, what you are good at, and what you want next, written for this job. Skip generic phrases like "hard-working team player".
- Skills. Tools, software, certifications, languages and specialist skills, matched to the posting.
- Experience. Job title, employer, city and state, month and year started and ended, then 3–6 bullet points per recent job.
- Education and training. Degree, school, year (you can leave the year off if you prefer), plus relevant certificates and licenses.
- Optional: volunteer work, projects, military service, publications, if they support the application.
Leave these off. Do not put your Social Security number or bank details on a resume or application; the Federal Trade Commission warns that a company asking for them before an interview is probably running a scam. US resumes also leave out a photo, date of birth, marital status, children and religion. The EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) advises employers not to ask for a photograph before a job offer.
Get past the applicant tracking system
Most medium and large employers collect applications in an applicant tracking system (ATS): software that stores resumes, lets recruiters search them by keyword and filters them with screening questions. A person still usually makes the decision, but they will only see your resume if the system can read it and it matches their search.
- Use standard section headings: "Experience", "Education", "Skills".
- Keep it to one column. Put nothing important in tables, text boxes, headers, footers or images, because some systems skip them.
- Use a common font and plain bullet points. Save as .docx or PDF, whichever the posting asks for; if it says nothing, a text-based PDF is usually fine.
- Use the employer's words. If the posting says "accounts payable", do not write only "AP". Spell out acronyms once: "applicant tracking system (ATS)".
- Only claim skills you really have. Keywords get you seen; the interview will test them.
- Answer the screening questions carefully. A "no" to a required license or work authorization question often ends the application automatically.
Write achievements, not duties
"Responsible for customer service" tells the reader what was in your job description. An achievement tells them what happened because you were there. A useful formula is:
Action verb + what you did + result (with a number) + how or why.
| Weak (duty) | Strong (achievement) |
|---|---|
| Responsible for answering customer calls | Handled 60+ customer calls a day with a 94% satisfaction score, the highest on a team of 12 |
| Did scheduling for the clinic | Rebuilt the clinic's appointment schedule, cutting average patient wait from 25 to 10 minutes |
| Helped with social media | Planned and posted 3 times a week on two channels; followers grew from 1,200 to 4,800 in 9 months |
| Managed inventory | Introduced weekly cycle counts that reduced stock write-offs by $18,000 a year |
No exact figures? Use honest estimates and say so with words like "about" or "more than". Count things you handled (customers, orders, projects, people trained), time or money saved, and before-and-after changes. For example, if you cut a report from 4 hours to 1 hour and it ran every week, that is 3 hours × 50 weeks = about 150 hours saved a year.
A short example
Here is one experience entry for someone applying for an operations coordinator job:
Example entry. Shift Supervisor – Riverside Grocery (fictional), Columbus, OH – March 2022 to present
- Supervise a team of 8 cashiers and stock associates across evening and weekend shifts.
- Built a shift-swap spreadsheet that cut last-minute call-outs from about 6 a month to 2.
- Trained 15 new hires in register, safety and returns procedures; all passed the 30-day review.
- Reconciled daily cash and card totals of $20,000–$30,000 with zero unexplained shortages in 2025.
- Placed weekly orders with 4 vendors, reducing out-of-stock items on the top 50 products by about 30%.
Notice that each bullet starts with a verb, most have a number, and the bullets point toward the target job (scheduling, training, vendors, accuracy) rather than listing every task.
Tailor it for each job
Keep a master resume with everything, then make a copy for each application. Before you send it:
- Highlight the 5–8 most important requirements in the posting.
- Make sure each one appears on your resume, using the posting's wording, ideally backed by a bullet that proves it.
- Move the most relevant bullets to the top of each job.
- Rewrite the summary for this role.
- Save the file with your name and the job title: Maria-Lopez-Operations-Coordinator.pdf.
Common mistakes
- Typos and inconsistent dates. Read it aloud and have someone else check it.
- An objective statement about what you want rather than what you offer.
- Listing every job since high school. Older or unrelated jobs can be cut or grouped in one line.
- Exaggerating. Employers verify titles and dates, and a false claim can cost you the job even after you start.
- Sending the same resume everywhere.
Next, pair your resume with a cover letter and start preparing for interviews.