How to Make a Resume: A Step-by-Step Guide (2026)

To make a resume, pick a simple single-column layout, then add five things: your contact details, a short professional summary, your work experience with measurable achievements, your education, and a skills section. Tailor it to the job you want, keep it to one page where you can, and save it as a PDF or a Word file. That is the whole recipe. Below we walk through every step with examples, and you can build the entire resume free in our resume builder as you read.

What a resume actually has to do

A resume is a one or two page summary of your professional history, written to win one thing: an interview. It is not an autobiography and it is not a job description. Every line should either prove you can do the job or get out of the way.

It also has to survive two very different readers. First, an applicant tracking system (ATS) parses your resume and scores it against the job description. Then, if you pass, a recruiter skims it for a few seconds. A good resume is built for both: clean enough for the software to read, specific enough for the human to care.

What to include in a resume

Almost every strong resume contains the same five core sections, in this order, plus a few optional extras.

• Contact details: name, professional title, phone, email, location, and a LinkedIn or portfolio link.
• Professional summary: two to four sentences that pitch your value.
• Work experience: your roles in reverse chronological order, with achievements.
• Education: degree, school, and year.
• Skills: the tools, software, and abilities relevant to the job.
• Optional: certifications, projects, languages, or volunteer work, when relevant.

How to make a resume, step by step

1. 1
   Choose a simple, single-column layout with standard section headings.
2. 2
   Add your contact details at the top, in the body of the document.
3. 3
   Write a short professional summary tailored to the role you want.
4. 4
   List your work experience newest first, with achievements rather than duties.
5. 5
   Add your education, keeping it brief if you already have experience.
6. 6
   Add a skills section that mirrors the wording in the job description.
7. 7
   Proofread it, then export as a PDF or a Word file, whichever the job asks for.

1. Contact details

Put your name, professional title, phone number, email, city, and a link to LinkedIn or a portfolio at the top. Keep them in the main body of the document, not in the file header, because many applicant tracking systems ignore headers entirely and will read your resume as having no contact information at all.

2. Professional summary

This is the first thing a recruiter reads, so make it count. In two to four sentences, give your title and experience level, your two or three most relevant skills, and one concrete achievement. Skip the objective statement unless you have no experience at all.

Our guide to resume summary examples has templates for every situation, from career changers to recent graduates.

3. Work experience that proves impact

This is the heart of the resume. List each role with your job title, the company, the dates, and three to five bullet points. The bullets are what matter. Anyone can list responsibilities, so instead show results. A simple formula works well: what you did, how you did it, and what changed because of it.

4. Education

List your degree, school, and graduation year. If you are early in your career, put education near the top and include relevant coursework, projects, or honors. Once you have a few years of experience, move it below your work history and keep it to a line or two.

5. Skills

Add a plain-text skills section with the tools, software, and abilities the job actually asks for. Applicant tracking systems match words literally, so use the same terms the posting uses wherever you genuinely have the skill. Our guide on resume keywords shows you how to find the right ones for any job.

Which resume format should you use?

There are three common formats, but for almost everyone the answer is the first one.

Unless you have a very specific reason not to, use reverse chronological. It is the format hiring managers are used to reading and the one parsing software handles best.

How long should a resume be?

One page is right for most people. Use two pages only if you have roughly ten or more years of relevant experience and genuinely need the space. Longer is not better: a recruiter skims your resume in seconds, so extra pages usually dilute your strongest points rather than add to them. If you are over a page, cut older or unrelated roles, trim bullets to the three strongest per job, and delete anything that does not support this application.

How to make your resume ATS-friendly

Most resumes are rejected before a human ever sees them, and formatting is a big reason why. Keep it simple so the software can read it.

• Use a single column. Tables, columns, and text boxes often scramble when parsed.
• Use standard fonts and conventional headings (Summary, Experience, Education, Skills).
• Avoid images, icons, logos, and text inside graphics.
• Keep contact details in the body, not only in the header.
• Mirror the job description's exact keywords where they honestly apply.

For the full walkthrough, read our guide on building an ATS-friendly resume, and when you are done, run it through our free ATS resume checker to see your match score and the keywords you are missing.

Tailor it to every job

A generic resume is the most common reason qualified people get rejected. You do not need to rewrite it each time. Adjust the top third: the summary, the skills, and the order and wording of your strongest bullets, so they reflect what this particular posting asks for. It takes about fifteen minutes and it is the single highest-return thing you can do. Our guide on tailoring your resume to a job description walks through the process.

Should you send a PDF or a Word file?

Send a PDF unless the job posting specifically asks for a Word document. A PDF preserves your layout exactly on any device, and modern applicant tracking systems read PDFs without trouble. Choose Word (.docx) when an employer or recruitment agency asks for an editable file, since some recruiters reformat resumes before passing them on. Our resume builder exports both, free and without a watermark, so you can send whichever the job asks for.

Common resume mistakes to avoid

• Sending the same generic resume to every job.
• Listing duties instead of measurable achievements.
• Using a decorative, multi-column template that an ATS cannot read.
• Typos, inconsistent formatting, or an unprofessional email address.
• Padding it out to two pages when one would be stronger.
• Leaving out the exact skills and tools the posting names.

If you are applying steadily and hearing nothing back, our guide on why your resume is not getting interviews breaks down what to fix first.

Build your resume in minutes, free

You do not need expensive software or a design background. Our free resume builder walks you through each section, shows a live preview as you type, and produces a simple, professional, ATS-friendly layout. You can download it as a PDF or an editable Word file with no sign-up, no watermark, and no paywall, and nothing you type is uploaded anywhere. Build it, then check it against a real job posting, and you have a complete application.

Frequently asked questions

How do I make a resume with no experience?

Lead with education, coursework, projects, volunteering, and transferable skills from part-time or unrelated jobs. Put your education near the top, write a short summary focused on what you bring and want to learn, and give concrete examples, even from clubs or personal projects.

How long should a resume be?

One page for most people. Two pages only if you have around ten or more years of relevant experience. Recruiters skim, so extra length usually weakens your resume rather than strengthening it.

Should I send my resume as a PDF or a Word file?

Send a PDF unless the posting asks for Word. A PDF keeps your formatting intact and is read fine by modern applicant tracking systems. Use Word (.docx) when an employer or recruiter wants an editable document.

Do I need a different resume for every job?

You need a tailored one, not a brand new one. Keep a master resume, then adjust the summary, skills, and top bullets to match each posting. It takes about fifteen minutes and significantly improves your odds.

What should a resume include?

Contact details, a professional summary, work experience with achievements, education, and a skills section. Add certifications, projects, or languages only when they are relevant to the job.

Is a free resume builder good enough?

Yes, as long as it produces a clean, single-column, ATS-friendly document without a watermark. Fancy templates do not get you hired, and many actively hurt you by confusing the parsing software. Clear content in a simple layout wins.