The most important thing to remember when building your resume is to think about the role you’re applying for and tailor your experience to show how you’ll meet the hiring manager’s expectations. That includes avoiding fluff like “go-getter,” “team player” and other buzzwords that can sound overused. “Avoid including words that make you seem outdated or out of touch,” Obeid says.

Consider adding a skills section that lists your relevant technical abilities and accomplishments, if desired. For example, if you’re applying for a content strategy job, it might be helpful to include a list of your past experience creating social media content and analyzing engagement metrics. But Obeid warns that if you add too many skills, you might run the risk of your resume appearing overly robotic and uninteresting to hiring managers.

For most job seekers, the experience section is the bulk of their resume. Start with your most recent roles and work backward, putting the most relevant experience first. For each position, note the professional title in bold, the beginning and ending month and year (i.e., January 2020 – December 2022), and then describe the experience in bullet points, highlighting your duties and responsibilities and the impact of your work on the company or team.

If you choose to add an education section, save it for the end. Most hiring managers will want to see your work experience before they get to your academics, especially if you’re a recent graduate. And don’t bother listing your high school graduation date unless you have a strong GPA. Including that information can be seen as discriminatory against younger candidates. build your resume