How to build your own resume

Choose your career level and target role. Get a recommended format, template and practical advice for every résumé field.

Tell us what you are applying for

Choose four details to get a recommended format, template and field-by-field writing advice.

How to write it, in the right order

Work through these sections from 1 to 8. The order shown in the example adapts for your career level; the writing standard stays the same.

Contact information

Make it effortless to contact you.

Use your full name, one professional email address, one phone number, your city and a relevant LinkedIn or portfolio link. The header should be readable in a few seconds. Add a photograph, nationality, date of birth or marital status only when the destination-country guide says it is customary and appropriate.

Target-job headline

Tell the employer immediately where you fit.

Write the position you are applying for, followed by a genuine specialty or strength. Keep it specific enough to position you, but broad enough to remain credible. A useful structure is “Target role · relevant specialty.” Do not use slogans such as “results-driven professional.”

Professional summary

Sell the business case for interviewing you.

Use three or four compact lines. Begin with your level and relevant experience, continue with the strongest evidence of performance, then connect your background to the employer’s likely need. Every claim should be supported later by experience, education or projects.

Experience

Show evidence, not a list of duties.

List roles from newest to oldest. Introduce the scope of each job, then use three to five bullets for outcomes. Lead with the change you made, explain the work and scale, and finish with the commercial, operational or customer result. Give the most space to recent and relevant work.

Education

Give qualifications the right amount of weight.

Include qualification, subject, institution and completion date. Students and recent graduates should place education near the top and add relevant modules, projects or distinctions. Experienced candidates normally place it after work history and remove school-level detail once higher qualifications or substantial experience make it unnecessary.

Relevant skills

Match the vacancy without keyword stuffing.

Choose a focused set of technical, operational, industry and language skills that matter for the target position. Use the employer’s terminology where it truthfully describes your ability. Avoid rating bars and generic qualities; demonstrate communication, leadership and reliability through achievements instead.

Projects

Use projects to close an evidence gap.

Include projects when they prove ability that paid work does not yet show. State the problem, your responsibility, the method or tools, and the finished outcome. Students, career changers, technical specialists and creative applicants often benefit most from this section.

Certifications

Include credentials that improve confidence.

List current and relevant licences or certifications with the awarding body and year. Prioritize credentials required by the occupation or requested in the vacancy. Leave out short courses that do not strengthen the hiring decision.

Formatting checklist

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