Resume Building: How to Create a Resume That Gets Attention

A strong resume does more than list your work history. It presents your experience in a way that helps employers quickly understand what you can do, how you have contributed in previous roles, and why you may be a good fit for their organization.

Most recruiters spend only a short amount of time reviewing each resume. That means your document must be clear, relevant, and easy to scan. Whether you are applying for your first job, changing careers, or pursuing a more advanced position, the following resume-building strategies can help you make a stronger impression.

Start With a Clear Career Focus

Before writing your resume, decide what type of position you are targeting. A resume created for a warehouse role should look different from one created for a customer service, accounting, healthcare, or management position.

Review several job descriptions for the roles that interest you. Look for recurring skills, qualifications, tools, and responsibilities. These patterns can help you determine what employers value most.

Your resume does not need to include everything you have ever done. It should emphasize the experience that is most relevant to the position you want next.

Choose a Simple, Professional Format

An effective resume should be visually organized without being overly decorative. Use a clean font, consistent spacing, and clearly labeled sections.

A typical resume includes:

• Name and contact information
• Professional summary
• Skills
• Work experience
• Education
• Certifications or additional qualifications

Avoid complicated graphics, unusual fonts, excessive colors, and multi-column layouts that may be difficult for applicant tracking systems to read. A simple format also makes it easier for hiring managers to locate important information.

For most applicants, a one-page resume is appropriate when they have limited experience. Candidates with a longer or more specialized career history may need two pages.

Write a Strong Professional Summary

The professional summary appears near the top of the resume and provides a brief introduction to your qualifications. It should explain what you do, what you are good at, and what value you can bring to an employer.

A general statement such as “Hardworking individual seeking a challenging position” does not provide much useful information.

A stronger summary might say:

Customer service professional with five years of experience assisting customers, resolving account issues, and supporting high-volume operations. Recognized for clear communication, dependable follow-through, and maintaining strong customer satisfaction.

Keep the summary focused and specific. Two to four sentences are usually enough.

Focus on Accomplishments, Not Just Duties

One of the most common resume-building mistakes is simply copying a list of job responsibilities. Employers already understand the basic duties associated with many positions. They want to know how well you performed those duties and what results you achieved.

Instead of writing:

Responsible for training new employees.

Consider:

Trained and supported more than 20 new employees, helping improve onboarding consistency and workplace readiness.

Instead of:

Answered customer phone calls.

Consider:

Assisted an average of 60 customers per day while resolving billing, scheduling, and account-related questions.

Whenever possible, include numbers, percentages, timeframes, or other measurable results. Quantifying your experience makes your contributions easier to understand.

Useful details may include:

• Sales generated
• Customers assisted
• Employees supervised
• Projects completed
• Money saved
• Productivity improvements
• Accuracy rates
• Awards or recognition

Use Strong Action Verbs

Begin experience statements with direct action words. Strong verbs make your resume sound more confident and help reduce repetitive language.

Examples include:

• Achieved
• Coordinated
• Created
• Delivered
• Improved
• Increased
• Managed
• Organized
• Reduced
• Resolved
• Supported
• Trained

Use the verb that most accurately describes your contribution. Avoid beginning every statement with “responsible for,” “helped with,” or “worked on.”

Include Relevant Keywords

Many employers use applicant tracking systems to organize and screen applications. These systems may compare the language in your resume with the qualifications listed in the job posting.

Use relevant keywords naturally throughout your resume, particularly in your summary, skills section, and work experience. For example, a job posting may mention inventory control, Microsoft Excel, scheduling, customer support, forklift operation, or project management.

Only include skills and qualifications you genuinely possess. Adding keywords that do not reflect your experience can create problems during interviews or skills assessments.

Build a Focused Skills Section

Your skills section should highlight abilities that are directly connected to the role. Avoid filling it with broad personality traits such as “nice,” “friendly,” or “hardworking.”

More useful skills may include:

• Customer relationship management
• Data entry
• Inventory management
• Microsoft Office
• Payroll processing
• Point-of-sale systems
• Project coordination
• Scheduling
• Social media management
• Team leadership

You can demonstrate personal strengths such as reliability or communication through your work achievements rather than listing them without context.

Address Employment Gaps Honestly

Employment gaps do not automatically disqualify a candidate. People step away from work for many reasons, including caregiving, education, relocation, health, or personal responsibilities.

Do not attempt to hide gaps by using inaccurate dates. Instead, focus on your qualifications and any productive activities completed during that period.

Relevant activities may include:

• Freelance work
• Volunteer experience
• Professional training
• Certifications
• Caregiving responsibilities
• Independent projects
• Continuing education

A brief, honest explanation is usually better than creating confusion or raising questions about accuracy.

Proofread Every Detail

Spelling errors, inconsistent dates, and formatting problems can make an otherwise qualified applicant appear careless.

Before submitting your resume:

• Confirm that your phone number and email address are correct.
• Check verb tense and punctuation.
• Make sure job titles and employment dates are accurate.
• Remove repeated words and unnecessary information.
• Save the document with a professional filename.

A filename such as Jordan-Lee-Resume.pdf is more professional than resume-final-new-3.pdf.

Reading the resume aloud can help you notice awkward wording. It is also helpful to have another person review it before submission.

Customize Your Resume for Each Opportunity

You do not need to rewrite your entire resume for every application. However, small adjustments can significantly improve its relevance.

For each position, consider changing:

• The professional summary
• The order of listed skills
• The achievements emphasized
• The keywords used
• The amount of detail given to certain roles

A targeted resume shows the employer that you understand the position and have taken the time to connect your experience to their needs.

Final Thoughts

Resume building is not about exaggerating your background or using complicated language. It is about presenting your real experience clearly, confidently, and strategically.

The strongest resumes are easy to read, tailored to the role, and focused on results. By highlighting relevant skills, using measurable accomplishments, and maintaining a professional format, you can create a resume that gives employers a clear reason to continue the conversation.