Resume Ideas

39 in-depth resume ideas and tips show you exactly how to write a resume that gets results.

The resume ideas you'll find on this page are real-world tested resume writing techniques that have helped hundreds of my clients land great jobs, and they can help you, too.

Your resume is an integral part of your self marketing tool kit. When it's well written, it can get you in the door to the interview and one step closer to your next job.

Whether you're looking for general resume writing information, facts about resume styles or some good resume samples, you've come to the right place!

There is an enormous amount of information about writing resumes on this page.

If you have time to read through all of the resume ideas on the page and click on the links to more detailed information about each topic, you will be a resume writing expert.

If you are in a hurry and just want information about a specific aspect of resume writing, you can use the links below to navigate this page and quickly find the resume ideas and tips fyou are looking for.

General Resume Ideas and Resume Writing Tips

1. How to Create a Resume
   Learn how to create a resume with this 11 step overview for writing a winning resume.

2. Good Resume Writing
   Good resume writing allows you to create a resume that highlights your most marketable skills and creates a great first impression at a glance. These 12 resume ideas will get you started.

3. Writing a Winning Resume
   The most important step in writing a winning resume is skipped by most job seekers. Discover the single most important factor for writing a good resume.

4. Resume Writing Information
   There is a lot of incorrect resume writing information floating around, and that kind of misinformation can really get in the way of writing a winning resume and landing the job you want. Discover the truth about the biggest myths around resume writing.

5. Research a Company
   If you know a bit about a company's needs and goals, you will be able to write a better resume that is focused on showing an employer how you can help the company meet those goals and address their needs. The article describes what information you should look for when you research a company, how to find that information even when it is not easy to find, and how to use the information to make a great impression with employers.

6. Writing a Good Resume
   Here are resume ideas and tips for writing a good resume straight from employers.

Resume Styles

There are three commonly used resume styles or formats, the chronological resume format, the combination resume format, and the functional resume format.

Each of these three resume formats have different strengths and weaknesses and work in different situations.

• The chronological resume format highlights a strong work history, but it can be difficult to highlight your skills when you use this resume style.
• The functional resume format highlights skills without showing any work history, but it is not trusted by many employers.
• The combination resume format highlights both skills and work experience and provides a lot of flexibility to organize your information in a way that shows your skills and experience in the best possible way.

A fourth resume format, the electronic resume is a resume that will be read by a computer as opposed to a human. It is important to format electronic resumes (also called scannable resumes, ascii resumes or plain text resumes) correctly for the computer and to include crucial resume key words so the resumes will be found in computer-based searches.

The articles below will provide you with more detailed information about each resume style, how to format each type of resume, and when to use each type of resume.

General Information About Common Resume Formats

7. Resume Formats
   An outline of the three commonly used resume formats. Learn the basic characteristics of chronological resumes, combination resumes and functional resumes.

8. Resume Styles
   A little more general information about the three most commonly used resume styles and when to use each type of resume.

9. Best Resume Format
   This article analyses the strengths and weaknesses of the three major types of resumes - chronological, functional and combination - and provides information about the best situations for using each type of resume.

Chronological Resumes

10. Chronological Resume
    Overview of the chronological resume format including sections of a chronological resume, strengths and weaknesses of this resume style and information about who should and who should not use a chronological resume.

11. Chronological Resume Format
    This sample chronological resume format will show you how a chronological resume will typically look once it is correctly formatted.

Combination Resumes

12. Combination Resume
    Overview of the combination resume format including sections of a combination resume, strengths and weaknesses of this resume style and information about who should consider using a combination resume.

13. Combination Resume Template
    This combination resume template will show you how to set up your own combination resume. Tips for writing your combination resume are included under each section heading.

Functional Resumes

14. Functional Resume
    Overview of the functional resume format including sections of a functional resume, strengths and weaknesses of this resume format and cautions about problems with using this resume style.

15. Functional Resume Format
    This sample functional resume template will show you how a functional resume will typically look once it is correctly formatted.

Electronic Resumes

Electronic, or scannable resumes are resumes that are specially formatted to be read by a computer. You may also hear people call them ASCII resumes, text resumes or plain text resumes.

Scannable resumes are significantly different from traditional resumes because you need to write to please the computer software that is going to "read" your resume, as well as the human who will read it.

16. Scannable Resume Formatting Tips
    When writing a scannable resume, it is absolutely crucial to follow some simple formatting guidelines. Use these tips to ensure you write a scannable resume that gets noticed.

17. Scannable Resume Keywords
    Learn how employers use scannable resumes and how to use targeted keywords to ensure your scannable resume gets noticed.

18. Scannable Resume Format
    Here is an example of a scannable (or text) resume to help you format your own scannable resumes. It looks quite different from a traditional resume.

Resume Ideas for Specific Situations

Career Change Resume Ideas

19. Career Change Resume Writing
    Tips on career change resume writing. Career change resume writing can feel like a challenging task. When you're writing a resume for a new career, focus on the skills you have that are relevant to your new career instead of your old job title and skills that are less relevant to your new career.

Student Resume Ideas

20. Student Resume Format
    Resume ideas for students. This sample student resume format will show you how a student resume will typically look once it is correctly formatted.

Technical Resume Ideas

21. Technical Resume Writing - IT Resume Tips
    A technical resume uses almost the same strategies as any other kind of resume with one crucial exception. A technical resume must have a Technical Skills section included near the top of the first page.

22. Technical Resume Template
    Here is a technical resume template to give you a sense of how an IT resume will typically look once it is correctly structured.

Parts of a Resume

Resume Outlines and Formatting Tips

23. Outline of a Resume
    This general outline of a resume will give you an overview of the information to include in each section of your resume. This resume outline describes sections you would include or omit whether you were writing a combination, functional or chronological resume.

24. Sample Resume Format
    Here is a sample resume format to give you a sense of how a resume will typically look once it is correctly formatted. Because the combination resume is the most universal resume style (it works well in most situations), this sample resume format shows a standard combination resume.

    To see samples resume formats for more common types of resumes see the links below.

Combination Resume Format - Outline of a combination resume

Chronological Resume Format - Outline of a chronological resume

Functional Resume Format - Outline of a functional resume

Scannable Resume Format - Outline of a scannable resume

Student Resume Format - Outline of a student resume

Technical Resume Template - Outline of a technical resume

25. Resume Outlines
    Here are links to all of the different resume outlines on this site. There are resume outlines and tips for writing functional resumes, combination resumes, chronological resumes, text resumes, technical resumes and student resumes.

Resume Objectives and Profiles

A job objective is appropriate when you simply want to state the position you are seeking, while a profile is appropriate when you want to highlight some of your most notable skills and accomplishments.

Objectives are typically appropriate for people seeking entry level positions, while profiles are more appropriate for people with established careers.

26. Resume Job Objectives
    Resume job objectives are simple to write, and they are an important part of your resume. Find tips on writing a job objective that gets results.

27. Sample Resume Objectives
    Here are several sample resume objectives to give you some resume ideas when you are writing your own job objective.

28. Resume Objective Examples
    More resume objective examples and explanations of how and why you would use each type of job objective on your own resume.

29. Resume Profiles
    Writing great resume profiles is an essential part of good resume writing. Use these profile tips and sample profiles to get great resume ideas for your own job search.

Resume Keywords

30. Resume Key Words
    Discover how to research the most important buzz words in your industry so you can write a highly targeted resume that gets noticed by employers whether it is scanned electronically or human reviewed.

31. Resume Action Words
    A list of strong verbs to use while writing your resume, as well as tips to help you avoid common mistakes when choosing and using verbs for your resume.

32. Resume Words
    A list of strong, descriptive resume words (adjectives) to use while writing your resume.

Resume Examples

33. Sample Teacher Resume
    A sample teacher resume for an experienced elementary school teacher.

34. Customer Service Resume
    A sample combination style customer service resume.

Resume Reference Page

35. Good Job References
    Discover all you need to know about choosing the best people to provide good job references for you.

36. Reference Page Template
    Once you have several good references in mind, setting up a reference page is quite simple. Use this resume reference page template to get started.

37. Job Reference Check Tips
    Learn about the job reference checking process. Discover how and when to submit your list of references to employers.

Submitting Resumes

38. Resume Distribution
    There are several effective resume distribution strategies. Here are your best options for submitting your resume to employers.

39. Job Search Strategies
    Before you can distribute your resume, You'll need to find some targeted employers who may need to hire someone with your background. These tested job search strategies have helped many of my clients find great job leads.

Have You Seen a Really Unusual Resume?

Unusual resumes may not make the kind of serious impression you want to make on an employer, but, for better or for worse, they do get noticed. What is the most unusual resume your ever seen or heard about?

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