How to write a resume in 2026

Choose the right format first

Most people should use a reverse-chronological format: your most recent job at the top, oldest at the bottom. Hiring managers expect it, and applicant tracking systems (ATS) parse it reliably. A functional or skills-based format hides your timeline and raises red flags for recruiters.

Use a single-column layout with standard fonts such as Calibri, Arial, or Georgia at 10 to 12 points. Keep margins between 0.5 and 1 inch. Save the file as a PDF unless the job posting asks for a Word document. Name the file with your name and the word resume, for example: jane-smith-resume.pdf.

• Reverse-chronological order for most applicants
• Single column, standard font, 10 to 12 pt
• Margins 0.5 to 1 inch
• PDF unless the posting specifies otherwise
• One page if under 10 years of experience, two pages if more

What to put in each section

A complete resume has five core sections. Add optional sections only when they strengthen your case for the specific role.

1. Contact information: full name, city and country (not your full street address), phone number, professional email, and a LinkedIn URL if your profile is current.
2. Summary or objective: two to three sentences at the top that name your role, years of experience, and one or two concrete strengths. Write this last, once you know what the rest of the resume says.
3. Work experience: each role gets a job title, company name, location, and date range in month-year format. Follow with three to six bullet points per role.
4. Education: degree, institution, graduation year. Add GPA only if it is 3.5 or above and you graduated within the last three years.
5. Skills: a short list of hard skills relevant to the role, such as software names, languages, or certifications. Avoid vague terms like 'team player'.

How to write strong bullet points

Bullet points under each job are where most resumes succeed or fail. Each bullet should follow this pattern: action verb, what you did, and the result or scale. Keep each bullet to one or two lines.

Weak: 'Responsible for managing social media accounts.' Strong: 'Grew Instagram following from 4,000 to 22,000 in 12 months by publishing three short-form videos per week.' The strong version tells the reader what you did and what happened because of it.

Use past tense for previous roles and present tense for your current one. Start every bullet with a different verb where possible. Good verbs include: built, reduced, led, launched, negotiated, automated, trained, and audited.

Tailor your resume to each job posting

A generic resume performs poorly in ATS filters. Read the job posting carefully and mirror the exact language it uses for skills and responsibilities. If the posting says 'stakeholder management', use that phrase, not 'managing relationships'.

Pull out the five to eight most important requirements from the posting and check that your resume addresses each one somewhere. You do not need to rewrite the whole document for every application. Adjust the summary, swap in two or three bullet points, and update the skills list. That is usually enough.

In the US, Canada, the UK, and Australia, do not include a photo, date of birth, or marital status. These details are not expected and can create legal complications for employers.

• Match the exact keywords from the job posting
• Address the top five to eight requirements explicitly
• Update the summary for each application
• Remove irrelevant roles if they push you past two pages
• No photo, age, or personal details beyond contact information

Common mistakes that get resumes rejected

ATS systems reject resumes before a human sees them if the formatting is broken or keywords are missing. Human reviewers reject resumes in the first 10 to 30 seconds if the layout is cluttered or the content is vague.

Avoid tables, text boxes, headers and footers for important content, and graphics. These elements break ATS parsing. Avoid spelling errors: run a spell check and read the document aloud to catch errors spell check misses. Avoid listing duties without results, using the same verb repeatedly, and including jobs from more than 15 years ago unless they are directly relevant.

• No tables, text boxes, or graphics
• No important content in headers or footers
• No spelling or grammar errors
• No duties-only bullets without results
• No jobs older than 15 years unless directly relevant

Build your resume in a conversation with Omar

If writing from scratch feels slow, Break-In Bad's assistant Omar can build a complete resume through a short conversation. She asks up to 30 questions about your work history, skills, and goals, and you can tap or speak your answers. She checks every line against what you said and keeps your original wording where it is accurate.

Omar can also enhance an existing resume for 15 credits, or build one from scratch for 30 credits. New accounts get 50 free credits on signup, so you can try the enhancement or start a build without paying first. The result is a formatted, ATS-ready document you can download and tailor further yourself.