Choose the right resume format
The format you choose determines how your information is presented to both recruiters and ATS systems. In 2025, the chronological format remains the default standard for the vast majority of job seekers.
Chronological
Best for: Most people with work history
Lists experience from most recent to oldest. The standard format recruiters expect. Best if you have a steady work history in one field.
Functional
Best for: Career changers or big gaps
Groups skills and accomplishments by category rather than by job. Useful when experience is limited or you're switching industries.
Combination
Best for: Senior professionals
Leads with a skills summary, followed by chronological experience. Good for experienced candidates with diverse skill sets.
Contact information
Your contact section goes at the very top. Keep it clean and professional.
Professional summary
A professional summary is 2–4 sentences at the top of your resume that tell the recruiter who you are, what you do, and what value you bring. It replaces the outdated "Objective" statement.
Strong example
“Results-driven Software Engineer with 6 years building scalable web applications in React and Node.js. Led platform migrations for 3 enterprise clients serving 2M+ users. Seeking to bring my full-stack expertise to a product-focused team building developer tools.”
Weak example (don't do this)
“Motivated professional looking for a challenging position that allows me to utilize my skills and grow within a dynamic organization.”
JotCV tip: Use our AI Summary Generator — paste your job title and years of experience, and get a professional summary in seconds that you can customize.
Work experience
Your work experience section is the most important part of your resume. For each role, include: job title, company name, location, start and end dates, and 3–5 bullet points.
Writing strong bullet points
Start with a strong action verb
✓ Led migration of payment pipeline → ✕ Was responsible for migration
Include a measurable result
✓ Reduced load time by 60% → ✕ Improved performance
Keep it to one line (2 max)
✓ Concise, scannable bullets → ✕ Long paragraphs no one reads
Use past tense for past roles
✓ Built, Led, Managed → ✕ Build, Lead, Manage
Quantify whenever possible
✓ Managed $2M budget → ✕ Managed large budget
Strong action verbs by category
Education
List your highest degree first. Include: degree type and field, institution name, graduation year. Add GPA if it's 3.5/4.0 or above. Fresh graduates: put Education near the top. Experienced professionals: put it after Experience.
Format example:
B.Tech in Computer Science — IIT Bombay, 2022 · CGPA: 8.9/10
Relevant coursework (optional): Machine Learning, Distributed Systems, Data Structures
Skills section
A dedicated skills section helps ATS systems parse your abilities quickly. List both technical (hard) and relevant soft skills. Mirror the exact language from the job description.
Technical skills
Soft skills
ATS optimization
75% of resumes are rejected by ATS before a human reads them. Here's how to ensure yours passes.
Use a single-column layout (no tables, text boxes, or columns)
Save as PDF — unless the job posting specifically asks for DOCX
Use standard section headings: Experience, Education, Skills, Summary
Mirror keywords exactly from the job description
Avoid placing critical info in headers or footers
Don't use images, charts, or icons to represent skills
JotCV tip: Use the built-in ATS Score Checker. Paste any job description and get an instant score from 0–100 with specific keyword and formatting fixes.
8 common resume mistakes
Generic objective statement
Replace it with a targeted professional summary tailored to each job.
Listing duties instead of achievements
Shift from 'responsible for X' to 'achieved Y by doing X, resulting in Z'.
Including a photo (in US/UK)
Photos invite unconscious bias and are not expected in US/UK/Canadian resumes.
Using tables or columns
ATS parsers struggle with these. Use a single-column, clean layout.
Typos and inconsistent formatting
Proofread at least twice. Use consistent fonts, spacing, and date formats.
Wrong length (too long or too short)
1 page for under 5 years experience. 2 pages max for most people. Never 3+.
Generic file name
Name your file: FirstName-LastName-Resume.pdf — not 'Resume-final-v3-NEW.pdf'.
No keywords from the job description
Mirror the exact language of the job posting to improve ATS match score.
Ready to put this into practice?
Use JotCV to build your resume with all these principles built in — ATS-safe templates, AI writer, ATS score checker. Free until June 2026.