Do's and Don'ts
Doing this to your resume before sending it out ensures you catch embarrassing spelling errors and grammatical typos
What is proofreading?
To keep your resume scannable, you should avoid dense paragraphs under your job titles and use these instead
What are bullet points?
This section at the very top of your resume tells a employer who you are and how to contact you
What is the Header (Contact Information)
Myth or Fact: You must include every single job you have ever held since high school
Myth. (You should only include relevant experience, usually going back 10–15 years max)
This section lists your degrees, certificates, schools attended, and graduation years
What is education?
Do not use a casual or unprofessional phrase for this contact detail; stick to a simple "first.last@email.com" format instead
What is email address?
You should write about your current job duties in the present tense, and your previous job duties in this tense
What is past tense?
Because recruiters review resumes in seconds, this is the recommended page length for most entry-to-mid-level professionals
What is one page?
Myth or Fact: Gaps in your employment history will automatically ruin your chances of getting an interview
Myth. (You can address gaps using a functional resume style, or by listing volunteer work, freelance projects, or caregiving)
This is the most common format for a Work Experience section, where your current or most recent job is listed first
What is reverse chronological order?
To protect your privacy and prevent bias, you should leave off personal details like your age, marital status, and this identity number
What is a social security number?
Every bullet point under your work experience should start with one of these strong, impactful grammatical elements, like "Managed," "Created," or "Analyzed."
What is an action verb?
The type of skill refers to teachable, measurable abilities, such as coding, typing speed, ect
What is a hard skill?
Myth or Fact: Including keywords straight from the job posting helps your resume get past automated filters
Fact. (Matching the exact phrasing helps the resume score higher in ATS scans).
For each job listed, you should include the company name, your job title, the location, and these time markers
What are dates of employment?
Don't use a generic resume; instead, do this to your document for every single job application to match the specific job description
To show impact, you should use these to quantify your results (e.g., "Increased sales by 15%").
What are achievements (or accomplishments)?
This type of skill refers to interpersonal traits and personality attributes, such as leadership, communication, or teamwork
What is a soft skill?
Myth or Fact: Your resume should always be saved and submitted as a PDF unless the employer explicitly requests a Word document
Fact. (A PDF locks in your formatting so it looks exactly the same on every screen)
his optional, short 2-3 sentence paragraph at the very top summarizes your top achievements and what you bring to the role
What is the resume profile?
Unless you are applying for an acting or modeling role, you should avoid including this visual element on your resume to prevent hiring discrimination
What is a photo (or headshot)?
Instead of copying your official, day-to-day job description, your writing should focus on these unique milestones
What are achievements?
This software application is used by employers to automatically scan, sort, and rank resumes based on keywords before a human ever sees them
What is Applicant Tracking System?
Myth or Fact: The phrase "References available upon request" is a mandatory requirement at the bottom of a modern resume
Myth. (Employers already assume you have references; this phrase is outdated and wastes valuable space).
Instead of taking up valuable space with the names and phone numbers of people who can vouch for you, you should put them on this completely separate document
What is reference list?