Resume

What It Means

A resume is a short summary of your work history, skills, education and achievements that you send to an employer when you apply for a job. Recruiters often read it quickly, so the material that matches the job goes near the top. CareerOneStop, the U.S. Department of Labor's career site, publishes free guides, templates and samples for writing one.

How People Say It at Work

• "Can you look over my resume before I send it?"
• "I need to update my resume, it still says my old job."
• "They asked for a resume and a cover letter."

The Breakdown

How to write one (Buhata's suggestion, built on CareerOneStop's guide)

1. Pick the job you're aiming for and read the posting twice, marking the skills it repeats.
2. Put your name and contact details at the top.
3. Write a professional summary of two or three lines that says what you do and what you're good at. CareerOneStop says employers focus on the top 30% of the page, so this and your skills go there.
4. List 3 or 4 major skills that match the posting.
5. Add your work history, newest first, with dates for each job.
6. Under each job, write two to four lines about results: what you did and what changed because of it.
7. Add education, training, certificates and licenses.
8. Read it aloud, then have someone else check it for typos.

Picking a format. A standard layout lists jobs by date. CareerOneStop suggests a combination format, with skills first and then work history, for people changing careers, showing skills from unpaid work, or with gaps in their history.

Try it today. Open your current resume and rewrite only the top third: the summary and the skills. That's the part read first.

Good to Know

Keep the dates. CareerOneStop warns that some employers and most applicant tracking systems, the software many companies use to sort applications, reject a resume that leaves dates off your work history. Save it as the file type the posting asks for, and keep a copy of each version you send so you know what a given employer saw.

Related Terms and Categories

• Cover letter

  A short letter sent with a resume that says which job you want, why you fit it and why this employer, in your own voice.

• Resume gap

  A stretch of months or years with no paid job on your work history, often from caregiving, health, study, a layoff or a long job search.

• Job interview

  A conversation in which an employer asks about your experience and skills to decide whether to offer you a job, and you learn about the role.

• Salary negotiation

  Discussing pay and other terms with an employer before you accept a job offer, to reach a starting salary that fits the role and your skills.

• Career break

  A planned stretch of months or years away from paid work, for caregiving, study, health, travel or rest, usually with a plan to return later.

Work, career and remote life