Issued July 2022/ Updated July 2024

Resume Checklist

Understanding more about what goes on a resume and what should be left out:

A resume checklist titled "Quick & Simple Resume Checklist" with a black background, white title, and orange bullet points. The checklist includes sections for contact info, professional summary, skills, work experience, education, certifications, honors and awards, and online profiles, each marked with a checkmark.
A colorful infographic with tips for creating a professional resume. The text is playful with various font styles and colors, including green, black, and brown. The graphic features a cartoon man with glasses and a suit surrounded by a long paper scroll, a woman holding a red clipboard next to a large resume illustration on a clipboard, and a hand holding a money bag icon.
Statistics about employers' preferences for resume tailoring, with an illustration of a man measuring another man in a suit, emphasizing recruitment research.

What does a standard resume look like?

A resume with annotations providing tips on how to write a professional resume, including advice on experience, keywords, work history, and additional tips for different sections.

First page of a standard resume:

Sample resume with annotations and tips for creating a professional document, including sections for education, certifications, memberships, and contact information.

Second page of a standard resume:

Promotional graphic with black starry background, advertising free customizable resume templates. Features a laptop with a resume document, hand pointing, and highlighted text that says 'CLICK HERE FOR ADOBE TEMPLATES'.
A man in a blue suit holding a briefcase stands alone in the center, surrounded by a large diverse crowd forming a shape resembling a question mark.

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  • If you're a student or entry-level applicant, it is recommended that you use a one-page resume. For individuals who have an extensive work history of over 10-15 years, a resume that extends to two pages may be more suitable, especially if applying to an executive role.

    Anytime you consider extending your resume over one page, you want to ensure that the remaining pages contain relevant information that can help you improve your employability.

  • A resume outlines your relevant skills and experience, which can help you demonstrate why you are a good fit for an open role, which directly helps employers make hiring decisions and help you get your first interview.

    Overall, your resume communicates your qualifications and brand—an understanding of who you are and what makes you different—to employers and recruiters.

  • The best resume format in 2024 is the reverse-chronological resume format. This format involves listing your resume information (i.e., your work experience and education), starting with the most recent one and going backward through relevant jobs, degrees, or qualifications.

  • If you aren't comfortable with writing and need additional assistance with understanding which achievements in your career to highlight and which skills and qualifications to focus on for a position to which you are applying, hiring a professional resume writer to write and edit your resume will give you a professional polish and put you one step ahead of most resumes a hiring manager will look at on a given day.

  • 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, qualifications, and educational background for a specific position, so length tends to be shorter and dictated by years of experience (generally 1-2 pages)

    Resume

    - Typically tailored to a specific job listing

    -Showcases competencies: work history, professional and personal accomplishments, etc

    - Typically concise (1-2 pages)

    CV

    - Typically used for academic, federal, scientific, and medical jobs

    - Showcases credentials: certifications, research, affiliations, etc.

    - Typically detailed (several pages long)

Resume FAQs

Graphic advertisement encouraging resume help with a clipboard labeled 'Resume' and a speech bubble with 'Help.' Text says 'Need help with your resume? Click here.'

References

How To Create the Perfect Resume. (2019, March). Career Builder. https://hiring-assets.careerbuilder.com/media/attachments/careerbuilder-original-3319.pdf?1499451537

Tomaszewski, M. C. (2022, April 27). Resume Statistics 2022 (Analysis of 133,000 Documents). Zety. https://zety.com/blog/resume-statistic