Skip to content

Resume Basics: How to Format Your Perfect Job Application Resume

  • Resume and CV
Picture of Angela Guido

Angela Guido

Effective formatting is an important aspect of creating the best possible resume for any job application. To build a compelling resume, you need to find the right resume template for your specific needs, figure out how to balance your professional and educational background and academic achievements with other key relevant work experience, soft skills, technical skills and career goals, and drill down to the core of each accomplishment. Looking at resume samples will only get you so far. So if you want to know exactly what a strong resume should look like, read on!

Table of Contents

First Impressions

Crafting the perfect resume is a vital part of any successful job application, but a great resume doesn’t necessarily look like you think it does.  

If you’re in the middle of crafting a (killer) new perfect resume for your job applications or an exciting new career opportunity, you might find yourself asking…

What should a job resume even look like?

How does a good resume—a winning resume—look? And where can I get my hands on the right resume template?

When it comes to resumes, it’s really important that you start off on the right foot with your reader. A little critical thinking, especially when starting your resume from scratch, goes a long way. You know all that hoopla about how much first impressions matter? Well, with resumes, that “first impression” is your formatting, the resume layout (and it does matter).  

Does your resume have as much white space as a dry erase board, or is it dense with all your impressive achievements? Extra sections, a laundry list of bullet point examples, soooo many measurable achievements! Take a look at the organization, is it even straightforward and sensible?

If you do it right, your resume will not only showcase your professional and educational background in a way that resonates with recruiters, employers, and hiring managers, but it will also communicate your competency, considerateness, and professionalism to readers. We are trying to build a compelling resume here that your future employer will want to read.

So, press pause on all that job application anxiety for a second, because we’ve got the answers to all your resume formatting questions right here!!

Rule #1 of Resume Formatting: One Page.

Unless you are 10 or more years into your career, a one-page resume should suffice. Even if you are 10+ years into your career, it’s highly doubtful that more than one page is necessary to make the best case for who you are as a professional. Whether you are in your first job or your fifth, following the tips in this guide will help you boil all your experiences down to the most important page-worth of bullets.

I strongly recommend you challenge yourself to use a one-page resume. At the very least, the busy people who read it will recognize you for your concision and strategic communication abilities, a level of experience that will bolster the professional history you're looking to portray. This might require creative editing and strategic selection of experiences to include (and exclude), and that process should be shaped by the audience for your resume.

For example: If you are a consultant applying for marketing jobs, the projects you have done involving financial analytics or supply chain logistics may be less relevant. Instead, you’ll want to select accomplishments that relate to consumer insight and strategic marketing, and initiatives that helped drive top-line growth.

If you are applying for a leadership position, you might choose to play up the more managerial aspects of your experience while showcasing a breadth of accomplishments across all the functions you have worked in, all woven into a clear career progression.

As you get started, I recommend that you first err on the side of inclusion. Put all your meaningful accomplishments in and perfect the bullets. Then decide which ones are least relevant to the opportunity at hand and trim them out to reach one page.

Rule #2: One Accomplishment per Bullet.

The organizing principle of a resume bullet is a result. It’s not clients, projects, bosses, responsibilities, tasks, or any other aspect of your work. This means you might have multiple bullets for a single project, because during that project you produced multiple meaningful outcomes. Conversely, it might mean there are projects that aren’t featured on your resume at all, because although you spent a lot of time on them, you didn’t produce any results worth including in your “highlight reel.”  

In any case, do not try to feature more than one accomplishment/result per bullet. You can tell your future employer all about the other stuff once you're hired.

Aaaanddd #3: No More than Two Lines per Bullet.

It looks better, it imputes your ability to be concise, and it ensures the reader won’t get lost or bored. Trimming your bullets down to this length will likely be your last step. As you explore the depth and meaning of your contributions, your bullets might get a little bloated. But I have never met an accomplishment that couldn’t be conveyed in two lines.  

If you aren’t able to get your bullets to two lines, you are either lumping multiple accomplishments into one bullet (a no-no), including extraneous detail, or you’re not pushing yourself hard enough on vivid, precise word choice.

More on General Resume Formatting

Let’s talk a little more about general formatting. This isn’t rocket science, and it’s definitely a time to apply the KISS principle (Keep It Simple, Silly). A ‘professional layout‘ is just a simple, clear layout. Of course, there is an infinite array of resume formats out there. Some get very creative. And while it’s true your resume should also convey your unique personality along with your accomplishments, remember your audience.  

[Note: If you are applying for a graphic design job, or one where your artistic creativity is part of what’s being evaluated, then take a look at Canva’s creative resume templates.]

For a professional job application, you’re better off keeping it simple: text on a page. Let the accomplishments shine, not the document itself – like all the examples below, which came up in an image search for “professional resume format.”

Each company or job application might have a slightly different format you will be required to use if you work for them, but my favorite resume format is actually for the MBA application process, the Official Booth Resume Format. I confess, as a Booth alum and someone who had the pleasure of working directly with the legendary Julie Morton (perhaps the greatest head of an MBA career services department in MBA history), I am entirely biased.

The Pros:

That bias notwithstanding, I recommend this resume format for two simple reasons: it’s extremely easy to read and it maximizes the use of space. The bullets stretch all the way across the page, creating plenty of room for all your important achievements. The dates and locations are clearly organized and visible at a glance. Different fonts and capitalization make company names and titles instantly identifiable. And it leaves space to include community and personal details, which also matter.

A resume is black and white. It’s just some ink on a piece of paper. What will make your resume truly exceptional is its content. So head over here to learn how to build amazing resume bullets. Start with my tips for making your resume bullets readable with the High School Test.

Ready to get off the hamster wheel and love your career?

GET STARTED
More Like This
Real Leaders Don’t Use the Word “Led”

Discover why using the word “led” on your resume can undermine your leadership potential and how to replace it with powerful, specific verbs that showcase your true accomplishments.
Make Your Resume Bullets READABLE with the High School Test

Your MBA resume bullets won’t shine unless they’re clear, jargon-free, and universally understandable. Learn how the Career Protocol High School Test can help you write resume bullets that communicate your impact — no matter who reads them.
The Best Resume

Discover essential strategies for building a standout resume with our comprehensive guide. Learn how to format effectively, use powerful verbs, cut jargon, and quantify your results to make a strong impression on potential employers.