How to Write a Resume in 2026: A Step-by-Step Guide

Your resume is the first thing a recruiter sees — and in most cases, they spend less than ten seconds deciding whether to read further. A clear, well-structured resume does not just list what you have done. It makes it easy for a stranger to understand your value in seconds.

This guide walks you through every section of a resume, what to include, what to skip, and how to format it so it passes both human eyes and applicant tracking systems (ATS).

What sections should a resume include?

A strong resume typically includes the following sections. Not every section is required — tailor it to your experience and the role.

• Contact information — name, email, phone, city, and optionally a LinkedIn URL or portfolio link
• Professional summary or profile — 2–3 sentences describing who you are and what you bring
• Work experience — listed in reverse chronological order
• Education — degrees, institutions, and graduation years
• Skills — a concise list of relevant technical or soft skills
• Optional: certifications, languages, volunteer work, projects

How to write your work experience section

This is the most important section on most resumes. For each role, include the job title, company name, location, and dates. Then write 3–5 bullet points describing what you did and the impact you had.

The most effective bullet points follow this pattern: action verb + what you did + measurable result. For example: "Reduced page load time by 40% by migrating image assets to a CDN." Numbers and specifics make a huge difference.

• Start each bullet with a strong action verb: led, built, reduced, increased, launched, managed
• Quantify results wherever possible — percentages, team sizes, revenue, time saved
• Keep each bullet to one or two lines
• Avoid generic phrases like "responsible for" or "assisted with"

How to write a professional summary

A professional summary sits at the top of your resume and gives the recruiter a quick snapshot of who you are. Keep it to 2–3 sentences. Mention your title, years of experience, and one or two specific strengths or achievements.

Example: "Frontend developer with 5 years of experience building React applications for fintech companies. Strong focus on performance and accessibility. Delivered three major product launches that grew user engagement by over 30%."

Formatting rules that help and hurt

Formatting affects both readability and how well an ATS can parse your resume. Stick to these guidelines:

• Use a single readable font — Inter, Calibri, Garamond, or similar
• Keep font size between 10–12pt for body text
• Use consistent spacing and alignment throughout
• Avoid tables, columns in the main body, text boxes, or headers/footers in Word documents — many ATS systems cannot read them
• Save and send as PDF unless the job posting specifies otherwise
• Keep it to one page if you have under 10 years of experience

What to leave out

• A photo (in most English-speaking markets)
• Your date of birth, marital status, or nationality
• The word "Resume" or "CV" as a heading
• References or "references available on request"
• Outdated or irrelevant experience from more than 15 years ago
• Subjective adjectives like "hardworking", "team player", or "passionate"

Tailoring your resume for each application

A single generic resume sent to fifty companies gets fewer responses than five tailored ones. Read the job description carefully and mirror the language it uses — if they call the skill "stakeholder management", use that phrase rather than a synonym. Move your most relevant experience to the top.

This does not mean rewriting everything from scratch. Keep a master resume with everything you have done, then create targeted versions by adjusting the summary, reordering bullets, and emphasizing the most relevant skills.