Making the best resume for every application should be the aim of every job seeker. But how do you write the perfect resume?
Start by checking out the 4 perfect resume examples and writing tips below. We also answer some frequently asked questions about perfect resumes at the end.
4 perfect resume examples
Here are four examples of perfect resumes:
1. Customer service resume
This customer service resume highlights key customer service soft and hard skills to employers.
What makes this a perfect resume?
This customer service resume is perfect because it uses hard numbers to give hiring managers information on the applicant’s accomplishments and relevant customer service skills. Its layout also draws the eye to the candidate’s resume sections, making it very easy to quickly scan for the candidate’s qualifications.
2. College student resume
Seeking a part-time job in college or your first full-time role afterward? Follow this example:
What makes this a perfect resume?
The applicant in this resume example doesn’t have much work history, so they place their relevant skills and education above their work experience section.
Emphasizing skills and educational details at the top of your resume is a smart tactic to use if you’ve just graduated or are changing careers. It downplays your lack of relevant job experience, and presents your strongest sections immediately to the reader.
3. Medical resume
Applying to medical school? Scroll down to see a medical school resume that’s a perfect example of how to impress admissions counselors with your application.
What makes this a perfect resume?
First, the applicant cleverly moved their education section to the top of their resume to showcase their high MCAT scores. Doing so immediately provides this key information to the admissions officer.
They then listed relevant work experience and highlighted university medical club associations in their extracurricular activities section to highlight that they consider medicine their true vocation.
4. Creative resume
Here’s a clever resume featured in The Financial Post. This design is a creative resume that still shows all of the applicant’s relevant information.
What makes this a perfect resume?
This creative resume perfectly targets a graphic design job at Google, turning the search engine’s classic results page into a clever resume design.
This resume is perfect because it landed the applicant an interview with Google, and landing the job is the aim of any resume.
How to create the perfect resume: 6 steps
Here’s how to craft your perfect resume:
1. Arrange your resume to highlight your top professional strengths first
You need to include the following sections in your resume to make it perfect in the eyes of hiring managers:
- your name and contact information in a resume header
- a resume introduction
- a work experience section
- an education section
- a skills section
However, how you order those sections takes your resume’s formatting from passable to perfect. If you have experience in your field, use a chronological resume, which emphasizes your work history — starting with your most recent position and working back in time.
After you’ve picked the ideal format, consider your resume’s length. The perfect length is a one page resume unless you:
- have 10+ years of relevant work history
- are a manager or executive with enough relevant experience to fill multiple pages
- are applying to a job that requires you to write a curriculum vitae (CV)
- are submitting a federal resume for a government job
2. Write an introduction that showcases your skills and motivation
Your resume’s introduction summarizes your qualifications.
Hiring managers don’t have time to study every detail of your resume. Make the perfect first impression by choosing the right introduction for your background:
Applying to an entry-level position or targeting a specific job?
Write a resume objective. This 2–3 sentence paragraph explains how your skills benefit the company you’re applying to.
Switching careers or highlighting skills?
Use a resume summary to detail your top position-relevant achievements and skills in 4–6 bullet points.
3. Ensure the visual elements of your resume look professional
The difference between a great resume and a perfect resume is in the details, including the following:
Colors
Some resume templates include a bit of color in the background and header fonts. If you’re applying for a job in a creative industry like graphic design, use bold colors to show your style.
However, if you’re applying for a more formal position, pick formal colors like gray or dark green, or stick to black and white. A neutral resume color scheme makes you appear serious and professional.
Font choice
The best font for your resume is readable and professional because hiring managers need to be able to read it. Follow these rules to determine the perfect resume font for your application:
- Never try to make your resume stand out by using a strange font. Readability is everything. However, if you work in a creative field, you can use a stylized font for your name to highlight your creativity.
- If you submit a digital copy of your resume, use a sans serif font like Calibri or Arial because they’re best for on-screen reading.
- If you print your resume, use a serif font like Cambria or Georgia for the best readability.
Font size
The perfect resume font size is 12 points because larger fonts are easier to read. However, if a 12-point font bumps your resume onto a second page, you can reduce your font to 10.5 points (but no further, remember that readability is key).
Margins
A perfect resume has margins set between ½” and 1”. If your margins are outside that range, your information will either appear squished together or overly spread out.
Headings
Format your resume’s headings to create a clear hierarchy. Use bold text for your main headings and italic text for subheadings.
Here’s an example of a clearly structured resume work experience section:
4. Target your resume to the job opening
The hiring manager judges how good your resume is. To make a resume they see as perfect, you must:
- include skills-based resume keywords from the job description
- research the company and customize your resume to match its needs and company culture
- place your most relevant qualifications in a resume introduction to immediately capture their interest
5. Highlight your greatest professional achievements using numbers
To write the perfect resume, list your career achievements with examples that include hard numbers. Tying your successes into actual data gives hiring managers a better idea of your ability to do the work.
Plus, including such details makes you appear more impressive than other applicants who merely list their duties.
Here are examples of hard numbers that could increase the impact of your resume’s accomplishments:
- Amount of resources saved
- Percentage of profits increased
- Number of direct reports supervised
- Customer satisfaction rates
- Times recognized for achievements
6. Eliminate typos and unnecessary words
If your resume has the smallest typo — an extra space after a period, for example — it’s not perfect. Here’s how to make your resume error-free:
- Use a word processor with the free Grammarly plugin enabled to underline issues as you write
- Next, paste your resume into the Hemingway App to check for unnecessary words and hard-to-read sentences
- When you’re finished writing your resume, proofread it
- If possible, proofread it again after a good night’s sleep
- Then, ask a friend to proofread with a fresh set of eyes
- Finally, proofread again to make sure your friend’s edits are error-free
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are a few frequently asked questions about making the perfect resume:
Are there any quicker ways to make my perfect resume?
Yes, there are some quicker ways to make a perfect resume. The fastest way is to use an online resume builder. Simply pick a resume design, answer a few questions, and select prewritten bullet points. This method takes just 12 minutes from start to finish.
You can also download a free resume template. Resume templates provide the format and style. All you need to do is simply fill in your details, which saves you time setting up margins, sizing fonts professionally, and picking colors.
How should I print off my perfect resume?
Print off your perfect resume using professional resume paper. You should ensure your word processor is set to print out your resume in US Letter size if in the US. It’s a good idea to print off a practice example in black and white before printing out in color (because color ink is pricier) so you can check that your resume layout is perfect.
Who cares if my resume is perfect? Isn’t a good resume enough?
In some cases, a good resume is enough, but only if there are a few candidates for a position and they’re not fully qualified. Since companies receive dozens if not hundreds of applications from qualified candidates, making sure your resume stands out is essential, so write a perfect resume.
Can I really write a perfect resume myself? Or do I need a certified resume writer to write my perfect resume?
Yes, you really can write a perfect resume yourself. You know everything there is about your professional achievements, skills, and qualifications. As long as you learn how to write a resume or use a fully featured resume builder, you can be guided through the process of creating a perfect resume.
Certified professional resume writers (CPRW) are expensive, so we advise only using them if you’re in a complex situation or have the money to justify it. (This article was written by a CPRW, so you can trust this recommendation!)
I’m worried my resume won’t stand out among the competition. How do I check if my perfect resume is actually high quality?
You can check if your perfect resume is high-quality by looking at resume samples from your own industry. If you’ve included the major skills and experiences outlined in examples similar to your own resume, you know you’re on the right track.
Such samples were also written by job seekers who landed jobs in their respective industries, which means they bypassed applicant tracking systems at some point. Make sure your format is similar so your own resume gets past this software and places your application in the hands of an actual hiring manager.
