What to Write on a Resume

Career Help Center

This is What to Write on a Resume in 2025

This situation isn't all about how qualified you are or how much of a benefit you will be to an organization. You can be the best at what you do, but if your resume doesn't present your qualifications effectively, it won't matter because the HR manager won't take the time to learn about them. The following suggestions were designed to help spruce up your writing to make it more compelling to the reader.

• Action Verbs
  Incorporating words that create excitement and energy is much more desirable to use than words that are benign and blend into the background. You want to get the attention of the reader while associating what you write about yourself with words that portray success. Check out our tutorial to get more information about how to use action verbs.
• Keyword Optimization
  It is good practice to align what you write with the language used in the job description from the ad for the job. You will want to use keywords that are relevant to the job description and your field in various parts of your resume.
  
  Sections that benefit from keyword optimization:
  • Opening Addition (Objective, Summary, Profile)
  • Skills
  • Experience:Description/Duties
  • Education:Other
  • Additions 1, 2 and 3
  
  In the list above, each item is a link you can follow to find out how to customize each of these sections. For a more comprehensive explanation of how to employ keyword optimization check out our tutorial.
• Spelling and Grammar Errors
  You spent all that time collecting your facts, brainstorming, and writing everything down. Take the time to spell check and grammar check your document. If you want to look careless or uneducated, then send in a resume with spelling and grammar errors on it. Also, verify that any industry-related acronyms or abbreviations you use are correct. Ensure that any industry-related words or terminology that you use is done so in the proper context so as not to diminish your credibility.
• Personal Facts
  Although this page is about what to write, you also need to know what not to write. Don't include personal facts such as your age, gender, or marital status. In the US, these details are not to be taken into consideration when screening candidates, so they provide no value to your writing. You can find more information about this topic in our article about illegal interview questions.
• References
  It is standard practice for an employer to request the names of two or three references who can vouch for you, to verify your skills and accomplishments. People may want to put them at the bottom of this document; submit these references on a separate page, not on your resume. Sometimes people will include the names and contact information of their references within the experience and education sections. They list them with each job or school; this is also improper etiquette. Don't put references on this document! Our Free Reference Page Creator can help you to write them correctly.
• Objective Statement
  At one time, the objective statement was commonplace. Today it is less widely used in favor of the Skills section. Its inclusion may be proper etiquette in your industry; this will need to be decided upon on a case by case basis. You can visit our page for some objective examples and tips on how to compose an objective statement in the Additions section.
• References Available Upon Request
  Putting this line at the bottom of a resume used to be something everyone did. This line doesn't convey anything that isn't already obvious. Of course, if the employer wants references, you will supply them. When you complete your in-person or online application, they will ask you for references. Having this line at the bottom has no bearing on that, you may use it if you feel uncomfortable omitting it. Although some employers may consider this feature obsolete have not removed it from our creator program. If you still want to use it. you may add it from the Additions page.

Implementing these various suggestions can give you insight as to what to write on a resume. Improving your writing skills can go a long way to display your qualifications in the best possible light. It might be advantageous to learn about proper sentence structure and grammar. This knowledge can help you in other areas of your career too, writing is a method of communication, and getting your message across with the meaning you intended is vital. To begin writing using our free creator, simply click this button: