Had created this list to give to people so they could fix their own resumes. Was redoing close to 50-100 a year for free, got tired of telling the same things to different people. Now when people ask me for help, pass this to them, tell them to fix these and not get back to me until they do. Keeps many of them from coming back and asking more of my time. A WIN!

1. 1) Overview
Subject
1) Overview
1. 1 File Name File Name should preferably be something like LastNameFirstName.doc or something that has both
your name in it for identification in folders/desktops.
1. 2 Style One of the biggest differences between good and bad resumes is “cleanliness”. Does it look good? Is it
easy to read? Compare yours to others, then decide.
1. 3 Style Do not do anything to “crafty’. Temptation is to really want to stand out, but deviating from what is
typical may tend to hurt more than help.
1. 4 Style “Different is risky, usually seen as ‘bad’ rather than ‘clever’ or smart. Save exciting to be conveyed by
content, not format.
1. 5 Style “Different’ distracts. Resume readers are usually looking at dozens or hundreds in one sitting, and are
looking to focus on the content and its match.
1. 6 Style Do not right justify your content, makes all of the spaces look uneven and unclean.
1. 7 Colors No colors, black fonts on white or off-white paper.
1. 8 Fonts Pick a general font style (Arial, Times Roman, etc.). Do not pick a ‘fun’ font.
1. 9 Fonts Single font style throughout.
1. 10 Paper size Always use 8.”5” x 11” format and paper (in the U.S.).
1. 11 Margins Margins should be at least .75 inches
1. 12 Graphics Avoid lines at the top or between sections. Not a huge sin, but some people prefer them. They are
distraction.
1. 13 Underline Avoid underlines. On hard copies that makes it harder to read, and in printing can increase change of it
‘running’ and looking bad.
1. 14 Bold Fonts Use bold for section headers, but do not overuse bold.
1. 15 Bold Fonts If you use bold, be consistent.
1. 16 Capitals All Capital words should be used sparingly.
1. 17 Capitals Ensure consistency in use of capitals, bold and periods.
1. 18 Bold Fonts Ensure consistency in use of capitals, bold and periods.
1. 19 Periods Ensure consistency in use of capitals, bold and periods.
1. 20 Periods End bullets with periods or do not, but be consistent on all.
1. 21 Bullets Use bullets rather than paragraphs, makes it easier to read.
1. 22 Bullets Bullets are preferably 1 line, some 2, but almost never 3 or more.
1. 23 Bullets Make bullets horizontally flush with left edge of text of line above.

2. 1. 24 Bullets Be Way of too much or little distance between bullet and words, this is a personal preference.
1. 25 Bullets Use solid filled circles and ensure they are not too large (or small). Other symbols are acceptable, just
‘different’.
1. 26 Abbreviations Avoid abbreviations unless most common usage (e.g. Inc. versus incorporated).
1. 27 Abbreviations Spell out states whenever you have room.
1. 28 Abbreviations If you use abbreviations and they require periods typically, please ensure they have them.
1. 29 Length 2 pages maximum, 1 page for more junior people.
1. 30 Length If it is longer than 1 page, then use 1.5 at least (e.g. no reason to only be on small part of page 2).
1. 31 Length Ensure that your name with Page 2 or Continued is on the top of page 2.
1. 32 Length If you have far too much information for 2 pages, create a bio as a separate document to retain
everything.
1. 33 Length 1 vs, 2 pages is a judgment call. My rule is less than 7 years experience, 1 page, with more going to 2.
This is a guideline.
1. 34 Sentences Do not start with “I” for any of the bullets ever.
1. 35 Sections Section headers can/should be a slightly larger font size, possibly bold.
1. 36 Sections Section headers can be either left justified or centered, depends on preference and open space on rest
of resume.
1. 37 Dates Use months for experience if you have less than 5 years (guideline, not rule) use seasons (e.g.
Summer) for internships.
1. 38 Dates Spell out or use abbreviations for months if lacking room, do not use numbers and use full years (e.g.
1995 not ’95).
1. 39 Pictures Never have pictures of yourself on your resume. EEOC issue. Not a top, in watermark, no matter how
cute you are.
2) Name and Header
2) Name
and Header
2. 1 Font Size Name is preferably at least 2 fonts larger than rest.
2. 2 Name Middle name/initials not needed.
2. 3 Name Middle names/initials not needed, but for people with very common names, may be smart to include
(John L. Smith).
2. 4 Font Size Do not make too big, probably less than 26 point font.
2. 5 Capitals Name can be capitalized, but does not have to be.
2. 6 Bold Font Names should be in bold. Not imperative, but it is common practice.
2. 7 Centering Name and address are usually centered. Sometimes they are left justified, but right is never a good
idea.

3. 2. 8 Centering If Name is created or left justified, the address should be as well.
2. 9 Numbers Phone numbers should employ common styles, either (999) 999-9999 or 999-999-9999, avoid using
decimals or just spaces.
2. 10 Font Size Address, phone and email should be a smaller size font than name, preferably same as bulk of the
body of the resume.
2. 11 Phone Only one phone number, pick which one, put in parens (cell), home or (work).
2. 12 Font Style Emails are used to include, but no need to have underlined for the hyperlink. Try to format that out.
2. 13 Email No cute emails, like ones that you’d use for dating sites.
2. 14 Email Get a Gmail, not Hotmail. They get flagged for Spam.
2. 15 Email You may want to create a Gmail just for job searching and forward to your ‘real’ email, it will ‘get out
there’ and may become a spam target.
2. 16 Other LinkedIn profiles are probably not needed, can ca be distracting, but this is a preference. Can add
too much clutter, plus you are forcing the reader to make extra effort.
3) Executive Summary 4) Other sections Before Experience
3)
Executive
Summary
3. 1 Sections Section name ideas include: “Executive Summary”, “Professional Summary”, “Highlights”,
“Strengths”. Try not to get to creative. Can avoid having a name for it at all.
3. 2 Contents Explain who YOU are, not what you are looking for, but makes it clear what you are looking for ‘A
senior Finance professional….’ Goal is for them to make the connection and call you.
3. 3 Contents Quickly include years of experience, and possibly with a general title at the start (e.g. ‘Marketing
professional’).
3. 4 Contents Avoid fluff (anything your Mom might be able to say about you) and focus on hard skills, experience
and qualifications (e.g. avoid ‘multi-tasker’ or ‘fast learner’).
3. 5 Objective Do not have an “Objective’. Can pigeon-hole you and also preclude you from being considered for
‘other’ positions you may not be aware of.
3. 6 Sub-Sections Do not have too many sections (e.g. 3) before your professional experience. Shrink them down to 2
at most.
3. 7 Sub-Sections Shot paragraphs (3-6 lines) can work, as can words or phrases describing you or the skills you have
or work/roles you seek.
3. 8 Bullets You can use them if they make sense to you and what you are trying to convey better fits into short,
cleaner bullets.
3. 9 Contents If you use keywords to describe yourself, ensure that they are not purely generic and are more
focused on actions or things you may have learned/accomplished.

4. 4) OTHER
SECTIONS
BEFORE
EXPERIENCE
4. 1 Sub-Sections You can have a few key bullets, may be 3-4 lines of other stuff, but not ‘too much’ before you show
what you have done.
4. 2 Sub-Sections For new graduates, Education may be a better lead depending on internships or time since
graduation. For most others, start with Experience.
4. 3 Sub-Sections Techies may want to lead with a highlight or skills or software package proficiency, depends on the
person.
4. 4 Sub-Sections Military exitees and homemakers may want to have another section to better correlate their life
experiences with general job market skills.
5) Experience
5)
EXPERIENCE
5. 1 Contents Most recent jobs first, in chronological order.
5. 2 Contents Do not ‘omit’ jobs unless you have a really good reason. Will be seen as dishonest, and discovery
could cause elimination from process or dismissal from a job.
5. 3 Contents Multiple short projects and assignments can be combined into a Special Projects or Consulting
Assignments section.
5. 4 Contents Accomplishments should be in bullets, avoid telling “Responsible for’ relating to ‘what you did’.
5. 5 Dates I prefer to have employment (and other) dates right justified. Is cleaner and makes easier for reader
to follow your story.
5. 6 Dates Between start and end dates, you can use “to”, a dash and some people use, ‘thru’ (though I
dislike). Major thing is to be consistent.
5. 7 Employers Depending on which you want to emphasize, companies or titles, you will want to put one before the
other (e.g. impressive titles at no-name companies).
5. 8 Employers For no-name companies, you may want to add a line after it to describe who they are, what they do
and/or how big they are ‘$30 million steel fabrication company’
5. 9 Employers Names of Employers should be bold. Preference is not to change font sizes between them and the
following bullets or lines.
5. 10 Employers For ‘cute’ names or employers you want to avoid association with, initials are encouraged (example:

5. ‘Hot Buns Bakery’ can become HBB, Inc.).
5. 11 Title Try to use your exact title, without exaggeration. Changes may be made to avoid laughter (One title I
had was ‘Resultant’ which I changed to ‘Management Consultant’).
5. 12 Title Not imperative, but better to start off with your career level if in management, then put function with
;; Example: Vice President, Marketing.
5. 13 Font Style Italics are useful to distinguish titles (and dates and cities) from company names.
5. 14 Cities Cities where employed should always be added, even if obvious (e.g. Dallas Manufacturing). States
can be abbreviated, but looks better when you do not.
5. 15 Cities If city is outside of the U.S., put City, Then Country. No worries about provinces or states for the
other countries.
5. 16 Bullets Avoid having more than 5 bullets for a single position.
5. 17 Bullets Action verbs to start bullets, always. Never use ‘responsible for’, ‘head of’ or nouns. Example, can
say ‘Chosen’ or ‘Selected’ or ‘Awarded’ if passive.
5. 18 Bullets Try not to overuse the same verb too often (develop, create, manage, designed are frequent ones).
Visit synonym.com to help broaden your choices.
5. 19 Bullets For “McJobs’ or other youth positions, simple descriptions are adequate (Roy Rogers Restaurant,
Food Service).
5. 20 Contents When you have multiple positions at same company, do not repeat the company line multiple times,
but list each job and dates separately.
5. 21 Contents For internships or short jobs, 3 bullets and possibly 4 may make sense. Do not over do it.
5. 22 Contents Make sure you are somewhat consistent with number of bullets vs. length of your own experience.
An internship with 4 bullet versus having your 3 year job with 4 as well.
5. 23 Paging TRY (I know it is hard) to star the second page with a new employer if possible (e.g. have cut-off on
first page with another employer). If not, you may want to repeat company’s name.
5. 24 Contents Numbers are good, unless they are stupid. ‘Participated in a $17 trillion dollar economy’ or “Ate
donuts during a $5 billion dollar merger’ vs. ‘Saved 240k through a cost reduction project’.
5 25 Format Endless debate rage on using k, m, MM, M and B. All are acceptable, though some industries they
may be different. I prefer using k, M, B and T.
5. 26 Contents Refrain from the unimpressive that seems impressive. Name dropping obscure people’s name is a
common one.
5. 27 Bullets Verb tenses – make sure they are past tense and are correct.
5. 28 Contents Some good bullets fodder includes: generating revenue, saving time/money, solving problems,
being elected/promoted, improving efficiency, growing business, developing things.
5. 29 Bullets Some people like to have a short job description in a sentence or (2 or 3) before the bullets. Not a
killer sin, but preferable not to do. Not an something ‘you’ did.
5. 30 Bullets Verbs should also match – e.g. fix and was working (bad).
5. 31 Bullets Beware of corporate or industry jargon that your readers will not understand.
5. 32 Bullets Work experience bullets are not a place for self-descriptive statements (e.g. hard worker), but for
things you accomplished and did, or awards received.

6. 6) Education 7) Additional Sections
6)
EDUCATION
6. 1 Awards Put Dean’s List and Scholarship in this section below the school.
6. 2 High School Delete your High School, hurts the fact that you have a BA from U.S.
6. 3 Graduation Be careful about listing out school if you have not yet graduated, deceit can be seen if you do not
make it clear (and getting fired in the future).
6. 4 GPA GPA – new grads should have it unless it is bad. Below 3.3 should probably be left off. Better leave
them to ask if you ever get to talk to them.
6. 5 Certifications Certifications can be included here sometimes, preferences is they go at the bottom. Only put in key
or significant ones.
6. 6 Dates You can put the start and finish year of school instead of just graduation, but if more than four need
to be wary. You may be asked this in an interview.
6. 7 Courses Beware of listing out every course taken at employers or for off-hours. List major educational
accomplishments or relevant topic coursework.
6. 8 Schools List out entire name of school if possible. Do not assume that everyone knows what city the
University of Texas is in, be consistent on format, put State in as well.
6. 9 Schools For foreign schools, make sure that name is spelled out and that city and county are there as well.
Also ensure they know it is a ‘college’ not ‘ colegio’ (high school) if confusing.
7)
ADDITIONAL
SECTIONS
7. 1 Languages Languages and Skills should be here in the back except in rare case of ‘some’ Techies.
7. 2 Languages English should never be put on a U.S. resume as a Language. Emphasizes that you either are not
native or are clueless to have put it down.
7. 3 Languages Languages should be listed with a skill level and possibly whether that is speaking, reading or
writing. Examples are: Basic, Intermediate, Fluent, Native.
7. 4 Skills Basic computer skills should usually not be left on, emphasizes that you do not have more
interesting skills.
7. 5 References Reference section – NEVER do this, never put any names down and do not bother to tell people you
can provide them. They know that.
7. 6 References Recruiters collect references/names so they have add them to their rolodex to sell them services.
This will NEVER help you.
7. 7 References You never want people contacting references unless you have warned them and told them what job
and company.

7. 7. 8 Contents Avoid confrontational or politically charged items. Social issues, fringe groups, recreational drugs,
political groups are examples. Religious ones can be also.
7. 9 Contents Cute things are risky, too may cute things are killers. I once interview an MBA for Strategy
Consulting who was both this school’s mascot and the Kool-Aid guy as a part-time job.
7. 10 Activities Avoid any ‘Member of’ where you were not an officer or accomplished anything. No one care or will
be impressed.
7. 11 Activities College activities can be good inclusions, but after age 25 they should be rethought. Sports are
usually universally accepted. High School ones should rarely be included.
7. 12 Contents Avoid having ‘too much’ in any additional sections. Want to show outside interests and leadership,
now woo a suitor.