Resume guides

Practical, honest resume advice — no fluff, no fabricated-metrics tricks. Each guide is written to be actionable in minutes and pairs with our free in-browser ATS checker.

No guides match that search — try a broader word like “ATS” or “summary”.

Start here: how resumes get read

• What Is an ATS? How Applicant Tracking Systems Read Your Resume — What an applicant tracking system actually does with your resume: how parsing works, what recruiters see, the myths about “beating the bots”, and how to check your resume parses cleanly — free.
• How to Make Your Resume ATS-Friendly in 2026 — A practical checklist for getting your resume through Applicant Tracking Systems: layout rules, keyword matching, section headings, file formats, and what to avoid.
• Best Resume Format for 2026: Chronological vs Functional vs Hybrid — Which resume format gets read: reverse-chronological, functional, or hybrid — what ATS parsers handle, who each format suits, and the layout rules that matter in 2026.
• Best Resume Fonts, Sizes and Margins — Which fonts survive ATS parsing and 7-second skims: safe font choices, the 10.5-12pt size window, margin minimums, line spacing, and the styling that quietly breaks parsing.
• Are Two-Column Resumes ATS-Safe? What Actually Breaks Parsing — Whether two-column resumes survive ATS parsing: how parsers read columns, what actually breaks (text boxes, tables, sidebars), the reading-order test, and when a single column wins.
• Resume File Format: PDF vs DOCX vs Plain Text — Which resume file format to send and when: PDF for most applications, DOCX when the portal demands it, plain text for forms — plus file naming, fonts, and the export mistakes that break ATS parsing.
• How Long Should a Resume Be in 2026? — The one-page rule, when two pages are correct, what recruiters and ATS systems actually do with length, and concrete ways to cut a resume down without losing impact.
• Resume vs CV: The Difference — Resume vs CV explained: length, content, and when each is expected — US/Canada vs UK/Europe usage, academic CVs, and what to send when a posting says “CV” but means resume.

Writing the content

• Resume Summary Examples That Work in 2026 — A simple formula for writing a resume summary, with concrete examples for engineers, marketers, and career changers — and the mistakes that make recruiters skip yours.
• How to Write Resume Bullet Points — The bullet point formula recruiters respond to: action verb + what you did + measurable result.
• Resume Action Verbs That Actually Work in 2026 — Strong action verbs for leadership, engineering, sales, analysis and communication bullets — plus the tired verbs to cut and how to pair verbs with numbers.
• How to Find and Use Resume Keywords — Where resume keywords come from, how ATS matching actually works, and how to add keywords naturally — with a free tool to check your match score against any job posting.
• What Skills to Put on a Resume in 2026 — How to choose resume skills that actually match the job, hard vs soft skills, how many to list, formatting that ATS parsers read cleanly, and what to leave out.
• How to List Certifications on a Resume: Format, Order, and What Counts — Where certifications go on a resume, the exact line format parsers read, in-progress and expired credentials, which certifications matter by field, and what to leave off.
• Resume Objective vs Summary: Which to Use in 2026 — Resume objective vs professional summary: what each is, why objectives are outdated for most applicants, when a career-change or new-grad objective still works, and how to write a summary that survives a 7-second scan.

Tailoring to a job

• How to Tailor Your Resume to a Job Description — A 15-minute process for tailoring your resume to any job posting: extract keywords, rework the summary, reorder bullets, and verify the match with a free ATS score.
• Resume for Remote Jobs: What to Change — How to position your resume for remote roles: proving async and self-management skills, listing remote experience correctly, tools to name, and what remote employers screen for.
• Multiple Positions at the Same Company on a Resume: Stacked vs Separate — How to list promotions and role changes at one employer: stacked entries vs separate entries, what ATS parsers do with each, date math, and bullets that show growth.

Your situation

• How to Write a Resume With No Work Experience — A section-by-section plan for first resumes: what replaces work history, how to frame projects and coursework, and a structure recruiters and ATS parsers both accept.
• New Grad Resume Guide for the 2026 Hiring Season — How to write a new-grad resume that gets interviews: what to lead with when you have no full-time experience, how to present projects, internships and coursework, and the format campus recruiters actually read.
• Internship Resume Guide: Getting Your First Internship — How to write a resume for internship applications with little or no work history: what recruiters expect from students, how to use coursework and projects, and one-page structure that parses cleanly.
• Career Change Resume: How to Reposition Your Experience — How to write a resume when switching fields: the hybrid format that works, translating your experience into the new field’s vocabulary, handling the “why” — and what not to hide.
• How to Explain an Employment Gap on Your Resume — When a resume gap needs explaining, when it doesn’t, date formats that de-emphasize short gaps honestly, and exact one-line framings for common situations.
• Resume for Teens: First Job Resume With No Experience — How to write a first-job resume as a teenager: what to put instead of work history, school and volunteer sections that count, availability details, and a structure that works.
• Resume Summary for Freshers: Examples That Work Without Experience — How to write a fresher resume summary (or objective) with no work experience: formulas, worked examples by field, what to quantify from college, and cliches to cut.
• Volunteer Work on a Resume: Where It Goes and How to Write It — When volunteer experience belongs on a resume, where to put it, how to write bullets that count, gap coverage, cause-related caution, and examples that pass ATS parsing.

What to include — and leave off

• References on a Resume: Should You Include Them? — Whether to put references on your resume, why “references available upon request” wastes a line, how to prepare a separate reference sheet, and what to do when a posting explicitly asks for references.
• Hobbies and Interests on a Resume: When They Help — Whether to add hobbies and interests to your resume, which ones actually strengthen an application, which ones backfire, and how to format the section when you use it.
• Should You Put a Photo on Your Resume? Country-by-Country Rules — Where a resume photo helps, where it gets you rejected, why US and UK employers discard photo resumes, what ATS parsers do with images, and what to use instead.
• How Far Back Should a Resume Go? 10-15 Years, With Exceptions — The 10-15 year rule, when to break it, how to compress older experience into an early-career line, age-signal details to drop, and what recruiters actually check dates for.
• 12 Common Resume Mistakes That Get You Rejected — The resume mistakes recruiters and ATS parsers reject most: multi-column layouts, image-based PDFs, vague bullets, keyword mismatch, and the fixes for each — checked against real parser behavior.

Beyond the resume

• How to Write a Cover Letter in 2026 — A practical cover letter guide: the four-paragraph structure that works, how to open without “I am writing to apply”, what hiring managers actually read, and the filler to cut.
• How to Email a Resume in 2026: Subject Line, Message, and Attachment — A practical template for emailing your resume: what to put in the subject line, the 5-sentence body that works, PDF vs DOCX attachment, file naming, and mistakes to avoid.
• LinkedIn vs Resume: What Goes Where — How your LinkedIn profile and resume should differ, what must match exactly, and the consistency checks recruiters actually run — titles, dates, and the red flags that cost interviews.
• Resume vs Portfolio: What Creative and Technical Roles Actually Need — When a portfolio matters more than a resume, how the two documents divide the work, portfolio links that survive ATS parsing, and per-field norms for design, writing, and engineering.
• Thank You Email After an Interview: Timing, Template, and Mistakes — When to send a post-interview thank-you email, a 5-sentence template that works, how to handle panel interviews and second rounds, and the mistakes that undo a good interview.
• Salary Expectations: How to Answer in Applications and Interviews — How to handle the salary expectations question on application forms and in interviews: research first, ranges over numbers, deflection scripts that work, and what never to do.