Start a Resume in 10 Easy Steps

Build a professional resume in 10 easy steps


Did you know that a well-crafted resume is your ticket to landing more job interviews and making a lasting impression on potential employers? It does not matter whether you are entering the job market for the first time or revamping an old resume, learning how you can build a professional resume in under 2 hours is a valuable skill.

As certified professional resume writers, we see all kinds of resumes every day. As a result, we understand that not every job seeker is equipped with the knowledge or the time required to meticulously craft a professional resume. Therefore, we decided to bring you these 10 tips to make it easier for you to build a professional resume.

1. Start with a strong layout.

Did you know that visual appeal is the first thing that a recruiter notices on your resume? That's right. If they don't like what they see on your resume, the chances are that they won't read the document entirely. The first step to ensure that a hiring manager reads your resume is to choose a strong layout. We recommend using a clean and modern design with consistent margins and spacing. Sticking to one or two professional fonts should help you as well. Be sure to use standard section headers such as work experience, skills, and education to organize the information on your resume logically.

2. Tailor your resume to each job.

Candidates who apply for every job they see with the same generic resume rarely get positive results in the job market. If you want to stand out to employers, you must build a professional resume that is customized to the role that you are applying for. In the modern job market, a generic resume is less likely to capture a recruiter's attention. Each time you apply for a new job, pay attention to the job description and highlight the right keywords. Ensure that your resume mentions the information prioritized within the job description.

3. Use a professional summary.

The professional summary is a strong and well written paragraph that goes on at the very top of your resume. The summary statement allows you to feature some of your best skills, experiences, and qualifications. When you build a professional resume, you must include a summary statement. Pay attention to personal branding when you write your resume summary. We recommend writing a compelling professional summary that showcases your expertise and achievements through the years.

4. Highlight relevant experience

One of the most important things that you must keep in mind when building a professional resume is to only mention the necessary information. Your entire career history might not be relevant to a potential employer. Therefore, it is imperative that you include only the last 10 to 15 years of your career on your resume. Even then, it is important that you only mention the experience that is relevant to the role. You can describe each relevant job experience with three to six bullet points. For older jobs, you can limit it to three bullet points.

5. Prioritize the right skills.

When you're building a professional resume, you must pay attention to the information that you display within the skills section. Although you might be tempted to include all your soft and hard skills within this section, it is important to stay relevant to the role. Ensure that you prioritize the skills that match the job description when you create the skills section of your resume. A strong skills section helps the recruiter notice how suitable you are for the role. Be sure to include a good mix of hard skills, soft skills, and transferable skills on your resume. Follow the priority order set by the employer in the job description.

6. Leverage action verbs.

Did you know that action verbs sometimes act as important keywords? When building a professional resume, you must ensure that each bullet point of your work experience section begins with a related action word. This approach helps you highlight your initiative and impact throughout your resume. Some excellent action verbs for any resume are spearheaded, increased, orchestrated, optimized, led, streamlined, etc. You should avoid beginning your bullet points with generic phrases such as “responsible for.”

7. Mention your achievements.

You cannot build a professional resume by listing job duties and responsibilities alone. Each of your past jobs must be described in terms of your professional achievements during them. Employers value results over responsibilities. Showcase how you have used your job-related skills to contribute to the success of your employers. Use quantified data to bring out the results of your professional achievements. If you are transitioning between industries, ensure that you use the right language to bring out the best of your professional achievements on your resume.

8. Create a projects section.

Did you find it difficult to add the right keywords to your resume? Then you should consider creating a dedicated projects section for your resume. You can build a professional resume even when you lack related work experience by highlighting your projects. Ensure that you describe your projects in a way that relates them to the job that you are applying for. You can mention your academic projects as well as your personal projects here.

9. Proofread thoroughly.

You don't want to send out a resume that has multiple spelling, grammar, and formatting mistakes to a job application. A mistake-ridden resume sends the message that you are careless with details. Build a professional resume for your job applications by proofreading your document thoroughly before you send it out. We recommend doing several rounds of manual proofreading of the document. You can also get the help of a spelling and grammar checking tool.

10. Optimize for the ATS.

Although we listed this one last, it is one of the most important resume writing tips you will find within this article. If you want to build a professional resume for 2025, focusing on the ATS-friendliness of the document is a must. Ensure that you use an ATS-friendly resume format. Also, incorporate the right keywords from the job description into your resume. You should also use standard section headers for your resume elements. Another thing to keep in mind is to list the long form of abbreviations as well.

Do you want to build a professional resume for your 2025 job hunt? Are you struggling to balance your job searching activities with work? Then, Resume Mansion is the best solution for you. We offer resume writing, cover letter writing, and LinkedIn optimization services for today's busy job seeker. Over the years, we have helped over 500,000 job seekers achieve their job search goals with winning resumes. So why wait any longer? Visit www.resumemansion.com today and start building your dream resume with us.

By Resume Mansion

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