How To Write A Better Resume

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I’ve been writing/editing on a freelance basis for over 4 years now. At first, I was looking for a way to make extra money, and I took any sort of job that came my way. I edited essays for high schoolers, wrote for a holistic health doctor, wrote resumes, cover letters, and a few white papers. I edited marketing copy for websites and brochures, and helped someone finish a memoir. But one of my favorite things to help people with are resumes. Resumes are, in a lot of ways, similar to poetry. They should be succinct yet comprehensive. Every word and line matters. It’s easy for us all to leave things on our resumes that aren’t altogether important. Audience matters always, but especially for resumes, which recruiters only look at for an average of seven seconds. Brevity has never been more apropos.

Writing a really good resume doesn’t take that much time, but it does require a solid understanding of what to include, what to exclude, and what recruiters care about. Here are my best tips to write a damn good resume.

1. Use the reverse chronological order format.

The format of a resume is important. The most relevant details should come first, and the “extra credit” stuff should land at the bottom. Here’s the order of items I like best: