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Writing your first resume

Turn school, projects and part-time work into a clean one-page resume that gets read.

22 items · 5 sections · career, work, study

Start this checklist

Collect (4)

  • List your education, jobs, internships, volunteering and clubs
  • List projects, with what you built and links
  • Find 2 or 3 job ads you actually want
  • Mark the skills those ads ask for again and again

Build the page (4)

  • Keep it to one page
  • Top: name, phone, a professional email, city and a link or two
  • Use one simple layout, with no tables or graphicsSimple layouts read better in applicant tracking systems. Leave out a photo unless your country expects one.
  • Order the sections: skills, experience, projects, educationIf you are still studying and it is your strength, put education first.

Write the lines (6)

  • Start each bullet with a verb: built, ran, sold, organised
  • Say what you did, then the result
  • Add a number where it is trueServed 80 customers a shift. Raised 12,000 for the club.
  • Keep bullets to 1 or 2 lines
  • Use the same words as the job ad when they are true of you
  • Cut objective statements and references available on request

Check (5)

  • Spell-check, then read it out loud
  • Ask one person to read it for 30 seconds and tell you what they remember
  • Check dates and tenses match
  • Make sure every claim is one you can talk about in an interview
  • Name the file firstname-lastname-resume.pdf and send a PDF unless told otherwise

Send (3)

  • Adjust the top skills and a few bullets for each job
  • Keep a list of where you applied and when
  • Check links open and your voicemail sounds fine

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