Top 7 Best Resume Writing Services Trusted by Professionals for 2024

Most recruiters prefer a resume to be one to two pages long. This is usually enough for most jobs that require minimal experience. As a rule of thumb, it’s best to keep your resume as short as possible while also including all your relevant skills, experience, and achievements. Early career professionals can benefit greatly from a single-page resume, and so can career switchers whose previous work experience may not be relevant to the new job they’re applying for.

Some would argue that a resume should be at least two pages long. Two-page resumes are fast becoming the norm as digital documents replace paper ones. For sure, it’s easier to scroll through a digital resume than it is to thumb through a stack of paper. If you have enough relevant experience to fill two pages, by all means, go with a two-page resume. Otherwise, it’s best to stick with one page, as it works for most applications. 

There’s no right number of pages when it comes to resume length. For those with one to ten years of experience, a single page is advisable. Applicants who have worked ten to twenty years can probably fill two to three pages with their professional background. Resumes that are at least three pages are typically reserved for those in the technical field, such as engineering, mathematics, and the physical sciences. 

Deeply experienced professionals applying for managerial and executive positions may also find a three-page resume adequate in highlighting their capabilities, which should be lengthy given their vast accomplishments. 

Unless you are applying for a job that requires detailed technical skills or decades of professional experience, there’s a very good chance that a single page will do in your situation. That said, as long as your resume contains all the relevant information, it matters less how long it is. The key is to focus on the details that matter most to your potential employer.

Choosing the right skills to include in a resume can be daunting. The trick is to know how to go about the selection with some smarts. First things first, you need to review the job ad very carefully. Make a list of any skill that’s heavily emphasized or repeated. If you have the exact same skills, make sure to include them in your resume. If not, you need to identify your matching skills. Once you have a list of skills that overlap with the job’s requirements, incorporate them into your resume. Those valuable keywords will be important in beating ATS systems widely used by hiring companies today.

It can also help to learn as much as you can about your prospective employer. Visit their website and social media channels, and take note of any descriptive words they use to describe their brand, company, and culture. These can indicate the soft skills that they want future employees to have, and having them on your resume can send the signal that you are a positive addition to their workforce.

A good resume should be divided into key sections to make it easy to read. Use these sections to indicate that you are qualified for the position and have the skills needed to be successful at the job. You also need to relay that you will be a team player who can bring value to the company.

Here are the must-have sections to include on your resume:

• Professional header section – contains your name, phone number, and email address.
• Professional summary section – briefly explains your professional history and mentions key skills and achievements.
• Work experience section – showcases your responsibilities and achievements in previous roles.
• Skills section – includes hard and soft skills that make you a good fit for the job.
• Education section – lets employers know that you meet the minimum education requirements for the position.
• Certification and accomplishments section – may be required by some employers, but not all. Include this section only if you have trouble filling up your resume, or if the employer requires it.

A resume reference list provides employers with a list of people who know you in a professional capacity. Most importantly, these are people who can vouch for your skills and qualifications. Generally, you’ll want to list former managers or professors. Once you’ve selected at least three references, list each of them with the following information: 

• Name
• Current Job/Position
• Company
• Phone Number
• Email Address

You can also include any messaging app used by your references. There’s no need to include a physical address. If a reference has a preferred method of communication, be sure to indicate that in your resume reference list.
A resume reference list can take up valuable space on your resume, so it should be a separate document. You don’t need to provide it when you first apply for a job, but be ready with it when they call you in for an interview.

A resume summary should be tailored to the job you’re applying for, so avoid using templates. If you must use templates, don’t just copy and paste. Edit the words so that the summary contains your personal information and qualifications. 

Before writing your resume summary, first make a list of your greatest professional accomplishments. Rank your accomplishments according to the requirements of the job. Then, write your summary until it sounds appealing to you.

In writing your resume summary, start with an engaging opening sentence. Ensure the body highlights your key skills and experience in a relatable and easy-to-read manner. Limit your summary to three or four sentences, and start each sentence with an active verb such as “Managed”, “Developed,” or “Created.” Close your summary with a line that showcases your potential value to the company.

After writing your summary, review it carefully so it’s free of spelling and grammar errors. Check that your language is clear, direct, and concise. You can ask a friend or family member to read your summary to see if it resonates with them.

A career objective is not a strict resume-writing requirement, but a well-written one can be useful in capturing a recruiter’s attention. Include an objective statement in your resume if you want to emphasize your ambition, your career trajectory, or special skills. Suppose you don’t have much relevant experience. In that case, an objective can bring attention to your transferable skills and explain to the recruiter why you should be considered as a candidate.

If you decide to include an objective in your resume, use the statement to link your skills and qualifications to the job you’re applying for. Use keywords mentioned in the job listing to emphasize how your skills align with the job’s requirements. Focus on how you want to grow with the company and how you can add value. Include information that displays your experience, skill set, years in the industry, and any other related qualifications.

It’s not impossible to write a compelling, effective resume, even if you don’t have any work experience to speak of. The trick is to shift the focus of your resume to other aspects of your life where you’ve harnessed your skills to achieve worthwhile goals. Your efforts at school, volunteering for an organization, or any involvement in athletics and extracurricular activities can be used to showcase your abilities in your no-experience resume.

When writing a resume with no experience, the first thing you should highlight is your education. Any relevant coursework, honor, high GPA score, or academic projects can effectively showcase your strengths, background, and passions to an interested employer. If you have certifications in and outside of school or have ever received a professional credential, these can also be included in your resume’s education section.

Follow your education section with any relevant experience. It may not seem like it at first thought, but a little digging into your life could reveal instances of character, professionalism, and drive—qualities that are important to any potential employer. Do you have any volunteer experience? Did you take on odd jobs during the summer? How about extracurricular activities, including sports, arts, or science? Have you ever worked with a team in or outside of school?

End your resume with a brief summary to give recruiters an idea of your background and assets as an employee. Don’t forget to mention skills and characteristics that match those mentioned in the job requirements. 

An improperly formatted resume is not going to impress any recruiter. No skill or accomplishment will win them over if your resume looks shoddy, unprofessional, or hard to read.

Here are some basic resume-writing rules to follow:

• Alignment: Always align the content of your resume to the left
• Margins: Keep margins at 1” on all sides.
• Font: Stick to a contemporary font type such as Cambria, Calibri, or Garamond. Keep font size between 10 to 12 points, using 12 for small font sizes. Make sure the font is uniform throughout your resume.
• Headers: Separate each section with a clear header to make your resume easy to read.
• Bullets: Break sections into bullet points to give your resume an organized appearance.
• Saved documents: Save your resume as a .PDF file, as it is the universal file format for resumes.
• Printed documents: If you must print your resume, use plain white A4 paper.

You might think that the purpose of your resume is to land you the job. This, however, is inaccurate. Your resume’s sole goal is to secure the interview for you—it is ultimately how you fare at the interview that will dictate if you get the job or not.

Employers go through a lot of resumes on a regular basis. The biggest companies handle thousands of resumes on any given day! Given this fact, it’s your responsibility to ensure that your resume will pass a recruiter’s scrutiny and get you shortlisted for an interview.

Remember that your resume is your professional representation. Therefore, it should accurately reflect your skills, experiences, and background in a manner that makes you the best candidate for the position. 

If your resume is well-written, error-free, and well-organized, it will compel recruiters to contact you and request you come for an interview. However, if your resume is not generating phone calls, you need to improve its content.

With the limited space, you must make sure every piece of information you put in your resume is impactful.

Here are a few ways to set your application apart from the competition.

• Keep the design simple – avoid unusual graphics and formatting. The simpler and cleaner the design, the better.
• Apply keywords – including the right keywords ensures you’ll pass any ATS that scans your resume.
• Use a professional email address – use a familiar email provider, such as Gmail, and create an email address using your name. If your name is already in use, find a variation that keeps your email looking formal and professional.
• Avoid jargon – remember that recruiters may not have the technical knowledge you do, so use plain language in your resume. If the job description specifies any specialized skill, then that’s when you can use more technical terms in your resume. Otherwise, keep your statements comprehensible.
• Quantify your achievements – as much as possible, express them in verifiable numbers to make them more credible, and demonstrate to recruiters that you are driven to achieve results at work.