How to Write a Resume: A Step-by-Step US Guide

In the US, 'resume' is the standard document for almost every private-sector job. The term 'CV' is reserved mainly for academic, scientific research and medical positions, where a curriculum vitae is a longer record of publications, teaching, grants and presentations. If a US posting for a business role asks for a CV, a resume is usually what the employer means, but in academia the two are genuinely different documents.

• Header: your name, phone number, professional email address, city and state, and a LinkedIn URL or portfolio link if relevant. A street address is not needed.
• Summary: two to four lines that position you for the role. Entry-level candidates may use a short objective instead.
• Work experience: reverse-chronological, with job title, employer, city and state, dates and three to six bullets per recent role.
• Education: degree, school, location and graduation year. Recent graduates may add GPA if it is strong, honors and relevant coursework.
• Skills: technical skills, software, languages and certifications that match the posting.
• Optional: projects, volunteer work, licenses, publications, awards or professional affiliations.

US anti-discrimination law, including Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, means employers should not base hiring decisions on characteristics such as race, religion, sex, national origin or age. Recruiters therefore prefer resumes that do not volunteer this information.

• A photo. Many US employers set aside resumes with photos to avoid any suggestion of bias.
• Date of birth, age, marital status, religion or Social Security number.
• References or the line 'References available upon request'. Employers will ask when they are ready.
• Salary history. A number of states and cities restrict employers from asking about it at all.
• High school details once you have a college degree, and graduation years from decades ago if you would rather not signal your age.

The reverse-chronological format is what US recruiters expect and what applicant tracking systems read most reliably. Functional formats, which hide dates behind skill headings, tend to make recruiters suspicious. A combination format, with a short skills block above a normal chronological history, is a reasonable middle ground for career changers.

On length, the US convention is tighter than the British one. Aim for one page if you have under roughly ten years of experience, and two pages if you have a longer or more senior career. Use US Letter page size, margins of at least half an inch, a clean font at 10 to 12 point and consistent date formatting such as 'Jun 2022 - Present'.

The summary replaces the old-fashioned objective statement for most candidates. In two to four lines, state your professional title and years of experience, your most relevant strengths, and one or two accomplishments that prove them.

For example: 'Operations analyst with five years of experience in e-commerce logistics. Built the weekly carrier performance dashboard used by the fulfillment leadership team and led a packaging change that cut damage claims. Skilled in SQL, Tableau and process mapping.'

Write it after the rest of the resume is drafted, and adjust it for each application so that it echoes the priorities in the job posting.

Hiring managers skim. Bullets that begin with a strong action verb and end with a result are the fastest way to show value. A useful pattern is action, context, outcome: what you did, the situation or scale, and what changed as a result.

• Weak: 'Responsible for social media accounts.'
• Stronger: 'Planned and published content across three social channels, growing the email sign-up list through a quarterly giveaway campaign.'
• Weak: 'Helped with month-end close.'
• Stronger: 'Prepared account reconciliations for month-end close and shortened the close calendar by automating two recurring journal entries.'

Quantify where you truthfully can: dollars, percentages, volumes, team sizes, time saved. If you do not have exact figures, describe scale honestly instead. Never invent numbers; you may be asked to explain them in an interview. Use past tense for previous jobs and present tense for your current one, and drop personal pronouns.

List your highest degree first, for example 'B.S. in Finance, State University, 2021'. Graduates in their first few years can include a GPA, typically when it is 3.5 or higher, along with Latin honors, scholarships and relevant coursework. After a few years in the workforce, move education below experience and trim it to the essentials.

Licenses and certifications that a job requires, such as a CPA license, a nursing license or a project management certification, deserve their own clearly labeled section so that a recruiter can confirm them at a glance.

Most mid-size and large US employers manage applications through an applicant tracking system. Recruiters search and filter within it using terms from the job description, so your resume should use the same language where it accurately describes you. If the posting says 'accounts payable' and 'vendor management', use those phrases rather than looser synonyms.

Keep the skills section specific and scannable. Group items, for instance 'Languages: Python, SQL' and 'Tools: Salesforce, HubSpot', and leave out skills that every candidate has, such as email or basic word processing.

Keep a master resume with everything on it, then cut a tailored version for each application. Move the most relevant bullets to the top of each job, remove the least relevant, and update the summary.

Proofread for American spelling and punctuation, consistent tense, and consistent formatting of dates and locations. Save as a PDF unless the posting requests a Word file, and name it clearly, for example with your first and last name followed by 'Resume'.