Write it. Check it. Tailor it. Send it.
Everything we know about resumes, in the order you actually need it. Four stages, a guide for each step, and free tools where a tool beats reading. Start at the stage you're stuck on.
Write it
Most resume advice starts here and stops here. Get these four decisions right and you're ahead of most of the pile — the rest of this guide is about what happens after the document exists.
Pick a format and a length
Two decisions people agonise over and shouldn't. Chronological unless you have a specific reason not to be, and one page unless you've genuinely outgrown it.
Write the summary
Three or four lines at the top that a recruiter actually reads. The goal is one sentence they couldn't copy onto anyone else's resume.
- ReadResume summary examples— start here
- ReadSummary vs. objective (one is dead)
Fix the bullets
This is where resumes are won and lost. A bullet that names a result beats three that describe a duty — and most people's bullets describe duties.
- Read“Responsible for” is destroying your resume
- ReadHow to quantify achievements
- Read200+ action verbs by category
- ToolBullet Surgeon— rewrites one bullet three ways
Build the skills section
Ten to fifteen entries, hard skills only, formatted so an ATS can actually parse them. The four guides below cover what goes in, what comes out, and how to lay it out.
Check it
You've read your own resume so many times you can't see it anymore. This stage is about getting an outside read before a recruiter gives you one for free by ignoring you.
Get an honest grade
Thirty seconds, no signup. A letter grade, a Buzzword Density Score, and specific commentary on what's weak — which is more feedback than most people get from fifty applications.
- ToolThe free resume roast— the fastest honest read
- ToolBS Detector — your buzzword density score
- ReadIs my resume good? How to tell
Cut what recruiters skim past
Certain phrases have been repeated into invisibility. Our data has “results-driven” on roughly half of all resumes — the word chosen to stand out is the one that blends in.
Survive the six-second scan
Recruiters don't read resumes, they triage them. Knowing what they look at first tells you what actually needs to be strong.
Tailor it
The highest-return activity in a job search, and the one almost nobody does consistently. Fewer than one in five resumes we score is a strong match for the job it was sent to — and the gap is usually language, not experience.
Match the posting
Mirror the job description's exact vocabulary. If they say “cross-functional collaboration” and you wrote “worked with other teams,” an ATS matching strings doesn't connect them.
- ToolJob Match— fit score + missing keywords in 15s
- ReadHow to tailor without losing your mind
- ReadTailoring to a JD with AI (without faking it)
- ReadHow to beat the ATS: keywords, step by step
Adjust for the industry
The rules genuinely differ by field. What reads as thorough in healthcare reads as bloated in tech.
- ReadTech resumes
- ReadFinance resumes
- ReadHealthcare resumes
- ReadRemote roles
- ReadTips by job title— 25 roles
Match the register
A startup and a bank want the same facts delivered in different voices. Same experience, different framing.
- ToolTone Shifter— your resume in 5 professional voices
Send it
The resume is one document in a system. The cover letter, your LinkedIn, and where you apply all decide whether it gets read at all.
Write a cover letter worth reading
Three or four short paragraphs, and never the sentence everyone opens with. Delete your first line and read what's left — it's usually better.
- ReadCover letter examples for five situations
- ReadHow to write one that gets read
- ToolCover Letter Roast— free critique
Make LinkedIn agree with you
Recruiters cross-reference. Your profile should match the facts and differ in voice — it's a different medium with a different reader.
Fix the search itself
If you're applying constantly and hearing nothing, the problem may not be the resume. Volume without targeting is the most common failure mode we see.
Or start from your situation
The stages above assume a straightforward path. Most people don't have one.
Not sure which stage you're on?
Upload your resume and find out. Letter grade, Buzzword Density Score, and exactly what to fix first — free, about 30 seconds.
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