Before You Start
You don't write a resume once. Keep a master resume with everything you've ever done, and make tailored versions from it for each application or type of role.
This guide starts with the master resume.
Step 1: Choose the Right File Format
Save your resume as a .docx or a text-based PDF.
- DOCX: works with every ATS
- Text-based PDF: looks professional and works with most ATS
- Never use: Canva exports, image PDFs, PNG or JPG
Step 2: Set Up the Document
Open Microsoft Word or Google Docs and set:
- Margins: 0.75 inches on all sides
- Font: Arial or Calibri, 11pt
- Line spacing: 1.15
- A single column, with no tables or text boxes
- Length: 1 page for freshers, 1–2 pages with 5+ years of experience
Step 3: Write Your Contact Information
At the top of the page, centred or left-aligned:
`
Full Name (16pt, bold)
your.email@gmail.com | +91 99999 99999 | City, State
linkedin.com/in/yourprofile | github.com/yourprofile (if applicable)
`
Leave out: photo, date of birth, gender, marital status, religion, caste, Aadhaar number and full home address.
None of these help your application, and they take up space. Many Indian job seekers add personal details out of habit. Take them off.
Step 4: Write Your Professional Summary
Write 3 sentences. This is a summary of what you offer, which is different from an objective statement about what you want.
Formula:Sentence 1: your role, experience level and domain.
Sentence 2: your top 2–3 skills and one key achievement.
Sentence 3: what you're looking for, in one line.
Example (experienced): "Digital marketing professional with 6 years of experience in performance marketing and brand strategy for D2C and e-commerce brands. Managed ₹3Cr+ annual media budgets across Google and Meta, holding ROAS at 3.2x and reducing CPA by 28% YoY. Seeking a senior marketing role at a growth-stage consumer tech company."Step 5: Build Your Work Experience
For each role:
- Job title (bold) | Company name | Month Year – Month Year or Present
- 3–5 bullets
- Each bullet: action verb, what you did, and the number or outcome
Leadership: Led, Managed, Directed, Spearheaded, Oversaw
Building: Built, Developed, Designed, Architected, Created
Growth: Grew, Scaled, Increased, Expanded, Doubled
Saving: Reduced, Cut, Optimised, Streamlined, Eliminated
Delivering: Launched, Shipped, Deployed, Executed, Delivered
Analysis: Analysed, Evaluated, Researched, Modelled, Forecasted
Kinds of numbers to use:- Revenue: ₹50L, ₹2Cr, $1M
- Percentage: 35% improvement, 2x growth, 60% reduction
- Volume: 10K users, 500K transactions, 1M impressions
- Time: cut from 14 days to 3, shipped in 6 weeks
- Team: managed a team of 8, worked with 3 cross-functional teams
Step 6: Education Section
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Degree | College Name | Graduation Year | CGPA or Percentage
`
Include relevant coursework (if you're a fresher), academic honours and merit scholarships.
Experienced professionals with a degree can leave out school and 12th details.
Step 7: Skills Section
Two formats work.
Categorised (better for technical roles):`
Programming: Python, Java, JavaScript
Frameworks: React.js, Node.js, Django
Tools: Git, Docker, Jira, Figma
`
Flat list (works for any role):
`
Python · SQL · Power BI · Stakeholder Management · Agile · Excel · Tableau
`
Include every skill you can honestly claim, even ones you've only used on a single real project. ATS systems check whether a skill is there. They don't measure how good you are at it.
Step 8: Certifications
List relevant certifications with the issuing body and year:
`
AWS Cloud Practitioner | Amazon Web Services | 2024
Google Data Analytics | Coursera | 2023
`
Step 9: Tailor for Each Application
Before you apply anywhere:
1. Copy the job description
2. Highlight every skill, tool and qualification it mentions
3. Check which of those are missing from your resume
4. Work the missing ones into your existing content where they're true
5. Run the result through ATSPass to check your score
Tailoring takes about 15 minutes per application, and it closes the biggest keyword gaps between your resume and the JD.