Resume Guide 2026 — How to Write a Resume That Gets Interviews

Resume Sections — What to Include in 2026

1. Contact Information (Header)

Name, professional email, phone, LinkedIn URL, city/state (no full address needed), GitHub or portfolio if relevant.

Do NOT include: headshot, age, full address, marital status, or any protected class information.

2. Professional Summary (2–3 sentences)

Replaces the outdated "Objective." A short, punchy statement of who you are, your core expertise, and what you bring. Tailor it to each role.

Example: "Full-stack engineer with 6 years building consumer-facing products in React and Node.js. Reduced page load by 40% and led migration of monolith to microservices at [Company]. Seeking a senior IC role where I can drive meaningful product impact."

3. Work Experience (The Most Important Section)

Reverse chronological order. For each role: Company, Title, Dates (Month/Year), Location (or Remote). Then 3–5 bullet points using the formula: Action verb + What you did + Result/Impact.

Strong bullet: "Redesigned checkout flow, reducing cart abandonment by 23% and adding $1.2M ARR."
Weak bullet: "Responsible for checkout improvements."

4. Skills Section

List technical skills, tools, and languages. Keep it relevant and honest. Organize by category (Languages, Frameworks, Tools, etc.) for easy scanning by both ATS and humans.

5. Education

Degree, institution, graduation year. For 5+ years of experience, keep this brief. Include GPA only if above 3.5 and graduating within the last 2 years. Bootcamps and certifications belong here or in a separate section.

ATS Optimization Tips

Do This for ATS

✓ Use standard section headers (Work Experience, Education, Skills)
✓ Mirror keywords from the job description exactly
✓ Use a clean, single-column layout (no tables or text boxes)
✓ Submit as PDF or DOCX (check what the ATS prefers)
✓ Include the job title from the posting in your summary
✓ Spell out acronyms once (e.g., "Machine Learning (ML)")

ATS Killers to Avoid

🚫 Headers and footers (ATS often can't read them)
🚫 Tables, columns, text boxes
🚫 Images, graphs, or infographics
🚫 Non-standard fonts or heavy formatting
🚫 Abbreviations not written out (e.g., "SWE" without context)
🚫 Submitting a PDF when DOCX is requested

Power Action Verbs by Category

Leadership

Led, Managed, Directed, Spearheaded, Championed, Oversaw, Mentored, Coached, Coordinated, Delegated

Achievement

Achieved, Exceeded, Surpassed, Accelerated, Boosted, Delivered, Generated, Grew, Increased, Maximized

Technical / Built

Architected, Engineered, Developed, Deployed, Automated, Optimized, Migrated, Integrated, Designed, Built

Analysis

Analyzed, Assessed, Audited, Evaluated, Forecasted, Identified, Investigated, Modeled, Researched, Tracked

Reduced / Saved

Reduced, Cut, Eliminated, Streamlined, Simplified, Consolidated, Decreased, Minimized, Saved, Lowered

Communication

Presented, Authored, Negotiated, Persuaded, Advised, Collaborated, Facilitated, Trained, Influenced, Communicated

10 Most Common Resume Mistakes

1. Typos and grammatical errors — Proofread twice, then ask someone else to proofread.

2. Generic resume for every job — Tailor the summary and skills to each role.

3. No quantified achievements — Add numbers wherever possible.

4. Too long — 1 page for under 7 years; 2 pages max for anyone.

5. Job duty lists, not accomplishments — Say what you achieved, not just what you did.

6. Unprofessional email address — Use firstname.lastname@gmail.com.

7. Including outdated/irrelevant experience — Only go back 10–15 years max.

8. Overdesigned formatting — Fancy templates often fail ATS parsing.

9. No LinkedIn URL — 87% of recruiters check LinkedIn before calling.

10. Skills that aren't skills — "Microsoft Word" and "Team player" waste valuable space.

How to Write a Resume That Gets Interviews