How to Write a Resume: US Format, Examples & ATS Tips

A resume is a one- or two-page summary of your work history, skills, and education, written to win a single outcome: an interview. It is not a full autobiography, and it is not a job description of your past roles. Recruiters and hiring managers typically give a resume a quick first scan — often well under a minute, and in high-volume hiring far less — so its job is to make your most relevant qualifications obvious in seconds.

In the United States, "resume" is the standard term for this document. A CV (curriculum vitae) is a longer, more detailed record used mainly in academia, medicine, and research. If you are a UK applicant, see our ATS-friendly CV guide and graduate CV guide for British conventions.

Everything in this guide follows one principle: every line should answer "why is this person a fit for this job?" If a bullet does not help answer that question, shorten it or cut it.

Three formats are used in US hiring. For most applicants, reverse-chronological is the right choice because it is what recruiters and applicant tracking systems (ATS) expect.

If you are a student or recent graduate, still use reverse-chronological, but put Education above Experience and include internships, projects, leadership roles, and relevant coursework. Our internship interview guide and first job interview guide cover what comes next once the resume gets you in.

A standard US resume follows a predictable order. Predictability is a feature: recruiters know where to look.

• Header: Your name, city and state (a full street address is no longer expected), phone number, a professional email address, and optionally a LinkedIn URL or portfolio link. Do not include a photo, date of birth, marital status, or other personal details — US employers generally do not want them on a resume.
• Summary (optional): Two to three lines at the top stating your role, years of experience, and your strongest relevant strengths. This is most useful for experienced applicants and career changers. An old-style "Objective" statement ("Seeking a challenging position...") adds little and can be dropped.
• Experience: The core of the document. List employer, job title, location, and dates, with 3–6 bullets for recent roles and fewer for older ones.
• Education: Degree, school, and graduation year. Add GPA only if it is strong (many applicants use 3.5 or higher as a rule of thumb) and you are early in your career.
• Skills: A short, scannable list of tools, software, languages, and certifications that match the job posting.
• Optional extras: Certifications, projects, volunteer work, publications, or awards — only when they strengthen your case for this specific role.

The difference between a forgettable resume and a strong one is almost always the bullets. Weak bullets list duties ("Responsible for customer accounts"). Strong bullets show an action and an outcome.

The formula: action verb + what you did + measurable result

Start with a strong past-tense verb (or present tense for your current job), say what you did, and quantify the result where you honestly can — numbers, percentages, dollar amounts, time saved, team size, or volume. This is the written cousin of the STAR interview technique: situation and task are implied by the job, and the bullet states the action and result.

If you do not have hard numbers, use scope instead: how many customers, how often, how large the budget, which tools, or who you reported to. Vary your verbs (led, built, reduced, negotiated, automated, launched) and avoid empty phrases such as "team player" or "hard-working", which the bullets should demonstrate rather than claim.

Most mid-size and large US employers use an applicant tracking system (such as Workday, Greenhouse, Lever, or iCIMS) to receive, parse, and store applications. The ATS reads your file into a database; a recruiter then searches and filters it. It is a common myth that a robot instantly "rejects" most resumes — but a resume that parses badly or lacks the right terms can be hard to find, and that is worth avoiding.

• Mirror the job posting's language. If the posting says "project management" and "Salesforce", use those exact terms (where true) rather than synonyms.
• Use standard section headings such as Experience, Education, and Skills, not creative labels like "My Journey".
• Keep the layout simple: single column, standard fonts (Calibri, Arial, Garamond, Times New Roman), 10–12 pt body text, and clear bullets. Avoid text boxes, tables for layout, headers and footers holding key information, and graphics or skill-rating bars.
• Use a standard file type. Follow the posting's instructions. If none are given, a .docx or a text-based (not scanned) PDF both usually parse well.
• Spell out acronyms once with the abbreviation in parentheses, for example "Customer Relationship Management (CRM)".

A generic resume sent to fifty postings usually performs worse than a tailored resume sent to ten. Tailoring does not mean rewriting everything; it means adjusting roughly 20–30% of the document.

• Read the posting and highlight the top 5–8 requirements. These are usually in the first few bullets of the responsibilities and qualifications sections.
• Reorder bullets so the ones that match those requirements appear first under each role.
• Rewrite your summary (if you use one) to name the target role and one or two matching strengths.
• Adjust the skills list to include the tools and terms the employer uses, as long as you can genuinely speak to them.
• Research the company so your language reflects its priorities. The same research feeds directly into answers for "Why do you want to work here?" — see our guide on why do you want to work here.

Keep a "master resume" containing every role, project, and result, then copy and trim from it for each application. This makes tailoring a ten-minute job instead of a rewrite.

The standard rules bend slightly depending on your situation.

Most rejected resumes fail for avoidable reasons. Check yours against this list before every submission.

• Typos and inconsistent formatting. Misspellings, mismatched date styles, and uneven bullets suggest a lack of attention to detail. Read it aloud, then have someone else proofread it.
• Duty lists instead of achievements. If a bullet could describe anyone in the same job, rewrite it with a specific result.
• An unprofessional email address or a missing phone number.
• Too much irrelevant history. A summer job from 15 years ago rarely helps a mid-career application.
• Using the first person or full sentences. Resume bullets are concise fragments ("Led...", not "I led...").
• Missing the follow-through. A resume is one step. Pair it with a targeted cover letter, a plan from our job search strategy guide, and a timely application follow-up.

Once your resume works, make sure you can talk through it fluently: interviews often open with "Walk me through your resume" — see our guide to answering that question and Tell me about yourself.