Free Resume Outline - outline of a resume that gets the results you want!

In this article we give you a free resume outline to help you prepare a resume that will make your application really stand out.

If you have just left college or university then see our outline to make a resume for college / university students.

This free resume outline has been tried and tested by 1000's of people just like you - so it works!

It's important that you get the initial outline of your resume right. When you have just left college / university then you want this experience to feature prominently on the first page of your resume. When you've been working for a number of years then you should ensure that your work experience, skills and achievements feature most prominently.

Need to get an interview-winning CV / resume? A CV writing service / resume writing service can design a first-class professional CV / resume for you that will beat all your rivals and assist you obtain the interviews you deserve.

Basic Resume Outline

Firstly lets have a look at a Basic Resume Outline. This consists of a number of different sections, which are usually listed on a resume in the following order:

Name and Contact Details.
Profile.
Major Achievements.
Career History / Work Experience.
Language Skills (optional).
IT Skills (optional).
Education / Qualifications / Training.
Personal Details (optional).
Interests / Hobbies (optional).
References / Referees (optional).

People at college / university would normally list their education / qualifications before their career history / work experience - please see outline to make a resume for how to put a resume together for a school / college / university student. In the following section of this free resume outline article we will build on this basic resume outline by telling you the sort of things that can go in each section of your resume.

Name / Contact Details

At the top of you resume you should include your name, address, telephone number (cell phone and home number) and email address. It is unnecessary to list a fax number on your resume and probably inadvisable to list your work telephone number, unless you work for yourself or your co-workers already know that you are leaving.

Profile

The profile section in your resume should outline and summarise your skills, experience and capabilities that are relevant to an employer. Keep the profile fairly brief, no more than 6 lines of text - nobody want to read half a page of waffle. Try and keep it factual, but don't be afraid to inject some of your personality into the profile. So for example, if you are highly self-motivated then include this in your resume. But don't go over the top by describing yourself as the next Bill Gates or Donald Trump, when you are only applying for a middle management job - you can oversell yourself!

Major Achievements

Try to outline three to six major achievements in your resume. The achievements in your resume should outline what you have done for your current and previous employers. Achievements can relate to saving money, improving processes / procedures, bringing a project in on time, increasing revenue / profits, etc. Your resume should include as many facts and figures as possible, because these quantify your achievements and show an employer what you might achieve for them. If you have worked for more than one employer, you should ensure that you list which employer each achievement relates to.

Career History / Work Experience

Always list your employment history in reverse chronological order on your resume, starting with your most recent job first and then work your way backwards. If you've had a lot of jobs you may just want to summarise the earlier jobs, rather than including full details. It is normally best to concentrate on your current role and the job before this, unless these jobs were very short-lived or they didn't work out for you.

Outline your main responsibilities and achievements in each job, if you were promoted then you should include this as a separate role on your resume. If you are in charge / responsible for other people then you should mention this on your resume. List any budgetary or financial responsibilities. If the company is not well known then it is normally worth including a very brief description of what they do.

Language Skills

If it is relevant you may want to have a language skills section on your resume.

IT Skills

If relevant then list your IT skills in a separate IT skills section on your resume.

Education / Qualifications / Training

On your resume outline your education and qualification. It is generally best to list your most important qualification first, rather than listing this in date order or reverse chronological order. If you have room on your resume you may want to include a separate section for training or you could combine it with education / qualification or if the training you have done isn't that relevant or important then you can just leave out the training altogether.

Personal Details

There is no longer a requirement to include your date of birth or marital status on your resume.

Hobbies / Interests

Don't include a hobbies or interests section, unless these are relevant to the job you are applying for. Once you have been working for a number of years this section is generally irrelevant to an employer.

References

You should only include a references section if you are specifically asked for your references - otherwise don't include a references section (because it wastes space that you should be able to use for something more important).

Need Help to Improve Your Resume?

Resume / CV writers can write a CV / resume for you that will create a positive reaction with employers, giving you extra impetus and allowing you to succeed in winning job interviews.

Information / general articles:

Sector specific articles: