How To Make a Comprehensive Resume (With Examples)

How to create a professional resume

1. Start by choosing the right resume format

Image description

A woman stands holding a paper and looking at a simple resume in the background. The headline reads, "Chronological resume format"
From top to bottom, sections of the resume are labeled:
• Name and contact information
• Summary or objective
• Professional history
• Education history
• Skills and abilities

Image description

The title of the image is "Functional Resume" and it shows the parts of a functional resume and an example.The left side of the image defines the section of a functional resume. They are:

1. Name and contact information
2. Summary
3. Skills grouped by theme
4. Any relevant professional experience
5. Education

The resume example reads:James Kennedy
555 Cherry Ln.
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48111-9626
jameskennedy@email.comSummary
Customer Service Representative with over three years of experience resolving complex, customer inquiries. Passionate about building strong customer relationships, driving brand loyalty, and increasing customer engagement.

Area of Experience
Retail Sales, Data Entry, Microsoft Office, Typing, Complaint resolution, Service-based selling, Fluency in French and Spanish.

Skills
Process Streamlining
Created customer service email scripts used across the company to interact with customers. Single-handedly created customer service representative training manual, reducing onboarding process from 8 to 6 weeks. Reduced average customer representative call time by 90 seconds with intuitive online training.

Complete Resolution
Answered an average 50+ calls per day from unsatisfied customers related to delays in shipment, order mistakes, and lost orders. Achieve 97% average customer satisfaction rating, surpassing team goal by 12%.

Service-based Selling
Consistently exceeded application targets by 10%+ with innovative up-selling techniques. Pioneer development of improved system for following up with unsatisfied customers, reducing customer churn by 6%.

Experience
Cloud Clearwater, 2017
Customer Service Manager: Managed customer relationships via phone and email to obtain payments, resolve inquiries, and up-sell programs.
Customer referral program: Spearheaded project, increasing customer base by 15% in less than six months.

Tradelot, 2016
Customer Service Representative: Resolved customer inquiries via phone and email, consistently exceeding targets and pioneering processes for better customer satisfaction.

Education
Coral Springs University, 2009-2013
Bachelor of Science in Business Administration

Image description

The headline of the image says, "Combination resume"
A man sits and works at a desk. There's a simplified resume presented with lines and labels for each section. The labels next to the resume say:
• Name and contact information
• Summary
• Skills and abilities
• Professional experience
• Education
• Awards

2. Include your name and contact information

3. Add a resume summary or objective

4. List your soft and hard skills

5. List your professional history with keywords

• Use numbers to measure your impact, when possible. Including specific numerical achievements can help employers understand your direct potential value to their company.

• Use keywords from the job description. Similar to your skills section, you should also include information from the job description in your job history bullets. For example, if the job description mentions the importance of meeting sales quotas, you could include information about how you’ve met or exceeded quotas in past roles.

• Be brief. Employers have mere seconds to review your resume, so you should keep your descriptions as concise and relevant as possible. Try removing filler words like “and,” and “the.” You should also only list key achievements instead of multiple lines describing your role.
• Use action verbs. Make a stronger impact by using action verbs to describe your professional achievements. Some examples include “developed,” “saved,” “drove” and “managed.”

6. Include an education section

• Relevant coursework
• Grade point average (if above 3.5)
• Participation in clubs or organizations
• Leadership positions held
• Awards, achievements or certifications

7. Consider adding optional sections

8. Format your resume

• Make your font between 10 and 12 point size.
• Select a font that is clean and easy to read like Arial or Helvetica; avoid stylized fonts.
• Make sure your margins are 1 to 1.5 inches.
• Make your name and section headers bold or slightly bigger in font size (no more than 14 points).
• Use bullet points when listing several different pieces of information, like under your education and professional history sections.

9. Proofread your resume

10. Tailor your resume for each position

Resume example

• Created graphics for both print and online publications
• Worked collaboratively with editors to ensure accuracy and function of designs
• Enhanced key software application skills to overcome unique challenges in print graphic design

• Utilized graphic design skills to create graphics for clients
• Learned key skills for Adobe Suite of products

• Designed graphics for online publication
• Worked with writers and editors to design graphically-unique profiles
• Utilized and developed Photoshop skills