What Should a Resume Look Like in 2024?

Your resume is your first chance to make a lasting impression on potential employers, so it’s important that it looks professional. A good-looking resume has a clean design and typically contains the following sections:

1. Resume header
2. Resume summary
3. Work experience section
4. Education section
5. Skills section

If this is your first time writing a resume or you’re on a mission to improve your current application documents, keep reading to learn more about resume basics and how to ensure your resume looks good.

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1. Modern resume header

In the early 2000s, just having your name in bold at the top of your resume was enough to get noticed. These days, resumes tend to have more visual appeal.

Begin your resume with an eye-catching resume header to ensure the hiring manager notices your application and remembers your name. For example:

A resume header like this is effective because its high contrast draws the eye to the candidate’s name, title, and contact information. Including your contact details in the header makes it easy for employers to reach out to you, because they don’t have to scan the entire page for your email and phone number.

2. Brief resume summary

A good-looking resume always starts with a summary section. A resume summary is a short section at the top of your resume highlighting your key qualifications. It can be formatted either as a short paragraph of 3–4 sentences or as bullet points.

Here’s an example:

This summary is concise and won’t take up too much space on the page, yet it still manages to effectively highlight the applicant’s top skills and achievements.

3. Simple fonts and design

When you’re trying to make a good-looking resume, it can be tempting to go overboard with the design. But it’s important to keep your resume simple, because more than 40% of recruiters don’t like resumes with too many design elements or creative fonts, according to the latest resume statistics.

The best fonts for your resume are easy to read, like serif and sans serif fonts, and the sizing should be consistent between sections. For body text, choose a font size between 10 and 12.

Sticking with a simple font choice can keep your resume from looking too busy, and makes it easy for hiring managers to scan.

4. Reverse-chronological work experience section

Many hiring managers prefer chronological resumes because they demonstrate your career progression in a clear way.

While there are two other resume formats to choose from, the majority of job seekers should go with the chronological format.

A chronological resume works for all industries and experience levels, is conventional and easy to understand, and clearly demonstrates a vertical career progression. Unless you’ve had long periods of time out of work or are switching to a different industry, stick to the chronological resume format.

Resume examples for different industries

Not sure what your resume should look like? The best way to learn is by taking inspiration from resume examples written by other candidates in your industry.

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5. Well-balanced with enough white space

A cluttered resume is going to be much harder for hiring managers to read than one that uses white space strategically.

A well-balanced resume with enough white space enhances readability and creates a clean, professional look. It helps to avoid overwhelming the reader with dense text, making it easier for hiring managers to quickly scan and find key information.

6. One page long

Many job seekers believe the more information they can fit on their resume, the better. This isn’t true.

Unless you have decades of experience in your field or you’re writing an academic CV, it’s best to keep your resume to a single page.

While hiring managers are eager to learn about your background, they don’t have a lot of time to spend looking over your resume in detail. You might be one of dozens, or even hundreds, of applicants.

To ensure you get the best chance of moving on to the next stage of the application process, you should focus only on the skills, accomplishments, and personality traits that will help you excel at your job. Not only are you making the hiring manager’s job easier, it also makes you come across as a much stronger candidate because it shows you understand the requirements of the role.

Example of what a resume should look like

The best-looking resumes have a clear structure and simple design that draw attention to your professional accomplishments.

Here’s one of our favorite templates, a great example of how a resume should look:

Now you know what it should look like, start writing your resume (just don’t forget to write a cover letter too). Happy job hunting!

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Frequently asked questions about how a resume should look

Still unsure what makes a good-looking resume? Check out these commonly-asked questions below for more answers:

When should you put a photo on your resume?

You should put a photo on your resume when the job you’re applying for requires it (for example, if you’re writing a model resume or an acting resume), or it’s standard practice to include a resume photo in your country.

In the US it’s best to avoid including a photo on your resume. Most employers don’t want to take the chance with resume photos, as they can potentially lead to discrimination charges.

However, it’s commonly accepted (or even required) to include a photo on a CV in many European and Asian countries.

How should I lay out my resume?

You should lay out your resume in a way that highlights your key strengths as a candidate.

Use a resume introduction at the top to give an overview of your most important qualifications, and then structure the rest of your resume according to what’s most relevant for the job.

If you’re writing a new graduate resume without much professional experience, for example, your education section will likely be very valuable and should be placed near the top. It may even include extra information such as academic awards, relevant coursework, or your dissertation.

If your technical skill set is what makes you the best candidate for the job, use a technical skills section at the top of your resume to show employers you’re a good match.

What information should you include on a resume?

The information employers want to see on a resume includes:

• Your contact information
• Your work history
• Your skills
• Your professional and/or academic achievements
• Additional resume sections (optional)

When describing your background, use resume keywords from the job description. Also, don’t forget to quantify your accomplishments by expressing them using hard numbers whenever possible. For example, you could mention how many customers you served per shift, or how much money you helped save the company.

Seeing this information on your resume will make employers more likely to reach out.