Resume Writing Guide

By VetriMarg · 24 Sep 2026

Start with structure, not design

Most resume advice starts with fonts and colours. Skip that. A resume's job is to get you an interview, and the thing standing between you and that interview is almost always structure, not style. Recruiters spend seconds on a first pass. One that's easy to scan wins over one that's pretty but dense.

Use this order, top to bottom: contact info, a short summary (optional, 2 lines max), work experience, education, skills. Nothing else needs top billing. "Hobbies" and "objective" sections push real content below the fold and rarely change a hiring decision.

What ATS actually checks for

Applicant Tracking Systems don't reject resumes the way people imagine. Most just parse text into fields and rank it against the job description. The practical implications:

• Use standard section headings ("Experience", "Education", "Skills"). A creative heading like "My Journey" may not parse correctly.
• Avoid text inside images, tables, or text boxes. Most parsers skip them entirely.
• Match the language of the job posting where it's honestly accurate. If they say "stakeholder management" and that's what you did, use that exact phrase instead of a synonym.
• Save it as a standard, text-based PDF. Not a scanned image, and not a heavily designed template with columns, since columns confuse parsing order.

The bullet-point formula that works

Every bullet should answer two things: what did you do, and what changed because of it. The formula that consistently reads well is action verb, what you did, then the result, with a number wherever you honestly have one.

Weak: "Responsible for managing social media." Strong: "Grew Instagram following from 2,000 to 11,000 in 6 months by shifting to short-form video."

If you genuinely don't have a number, describe the concrete outcome instead of the task. Not "wrote documentation" but "wrote onboarding docs that cut new-hire ramp time from 3 weeks to 1."

Common mistakes that get resumes rejected

• Generic summaries. "Hardworking team player seeking growth opportunities" says nothing a recruiter can act on. Cut it or make it specific to the role.
• Listing duties instead of outcomes. A job description already tells them what the role involves. Your resume should tell them what you achieved in it.
• Inconsistent formatting. Mismatched date formats, fonts, or spacing signal carelessness before anyone reads a word.
• One resume for every application. You don't need a full rewrite each time, but the top third should reflect the specific role's priorities.

How long should it be

One page if you have under 8 to 10 years of experience. Two pages is fine beyond that, but never three. Cut content before you shrink the font. A resume that's hard to read because it's crammed onto one page defeats its own purpose.

Before you send it

Read it out loud once. Awkward phrasing is much easier to catch by ear than by eye. Then have someone outside your field read it. If they can't tell what you actually did in under a minute, a recruiter skimming for six seconds won't either.