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The Top 10 Best Free Resume Builders of 2024

Get ahead in your job search with these top-rated tools that allow you to create a professional resume without hidden fees or premium upgrades.

Customers Interviewed by:

Is writing your resume giving you a headache? Use a resume builder and save valuable time!

In this article, we present the 10 best free resume builders you can use to create a perfect resume in no time. We’ll give you the pros and cons of each builder, show you how to use it, and provide resume examples.

What is a resume builder?

A resume builder is an online tool that comes with pre-made professional resume templates. All you need to do is plug in your information. The resume builder takes care of the rest!

The problem is that many resume builders that advertise themselves as free are NOT actually free. After you’ve spent time working on your resume, you’ll find that you need to pay to download it. This isn’t free, it’s frustrating!

But don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. The following list features resume builders that are actually free. There are no hidden costs, so you can write a resume and download it without any surprises.

Usability score: Extremely Easy

Why do I like this resume builder?

I have to admit, I’m a bit biased! But I really like this online resume builder. It’s easy to use and creates a highly readable, professional resume in no time. And it’s totally free.

My favorite part of this resume builder is that it’s  ATS-friendly . The templates are designed with applicant tracking systems in mind, ensuring your resume gets noticed by employers who use ATS software to screen applicants.

Another nice feature of this resume builder is the split-screen format. On the left is the area where you input your information. On the right is a real-time preview of your resume as you build it.

When you’re done, you can easily tailor your resume to the specific job you’re applying to by using Jobscan’s resume scanner (up to two free jobs a month).

The resume scanner provides you with a resume score that shows how closely your resume matches the description of the job you’re applying to. It also tells you how to increase your score to get a job interview for your dream job.

Is this resume builder really free? How do you use it?

Yes, Jobscan’s resume builder is 100% free. There are no hidden costs.

• Import an existing resume or create a new resume from scratch.
• Choose one of the ATS-friendly resume templates.
• Fill in your contact information, work history, education, skills, and certificates.
• Use Jobscan’s resume scanner to optimize your resume (two free jobs a month).
• Download your resume as a PDF.

Pros and cons of using Jobscan’s resume builder

• The tool is completely free to use, making it accessible to everyone.
• The split-screen format makes it easy to preview your resume as you build it.
• The free templates are ATS-friendly.
• There are no hidden costs.
• You can use Jobscan’s resume scanner to optimize your resume according to best practices.
• The free version only allows two free scans per month.
• AI assistant is only available with paid version.

Sample resume made with Jobscan

2. CakeResume

First of all, there’s a nice selection of templates. And the drag-and-drop interface allowed me to easily add and rearrange sections as needed.

In addition to a resume, I was able to create a public profile, which I linked my LinkedIn profile to. It was then easy to generate links to both my profile and my resume that could easily be shared.

The only downside of CakeResume is that you can just build one basic resume using their free version.

Yes, CakeResume is free, but you can only create one basic resume.

• Sign up for a free account.
• Pick a template that suits your professional style.
• Use their drag-and-drop interface to organize your professional experiences, education, and skills sections.
• Fill in your details.
• Create a public profile and link your LinkedIn information for added visibility.
• Click the PDF button in the upper left corner to download your resume for free.

Pros and cons of using CakeResume’s builder

• The drag-and-drop sections make customization simple.
• You can create a public profile, enhancing your professional presence.
• You can easily download your resume in PDF format.
• You can create a shareable link to your online resume.
• You can only create one free basic resume.
• The resume can only be downloaded in PDF format.
• The default templates are simple and might not be visually appealing.

Sample resume made with CakeResume

When you’re done building your resume with CakeResume, use Jobscan’s resume scanner to see how well it matches the job description of the position you’re applying for.

3. GotResumeBuilder

I found this free resume builder super easy to use. I used the drag-and-drop feature to quickly organize my sections, and was able to customize fonts and size without any problem.

I love that GotResumeBuilder offers an AI-powered writing assistant. This is a bonus in any free resume builder.

Finally, I liked that I could download my resume as a PDF or Word file without any hidden costs.

Overall, although it might not have all the bells and whistles of some paid tools, GotResumeBuilder is a fantastic option for anyone needing a reliable and cost-free resume builder.

Yes, GotResumeBuilder is entirely free.

• Select a template that fits your style.
• Add your contact info, job title, work experience, education, and skills.
• Use the AI-powered writing assistant to help you.
• Adjust fonts, sizes, and other design elements.
• Check the real-time preview to see how your resume looks.
• Once satisfied, download your resume in your preferred format (PDF, Word, HTML, or plain text).

Pros and cons of using GotResumeBuilder

• You can create and download resumes in multiple formats (PDF, Word, HTML, txt).
• The platform features an AI-powered writing assistant that can suggest bullet points​.
• Easy to customize with drag-and-drop organizer, quick font adjuster, and real-time preview​​.
• May lack some of the advanced functionalities found in premium resume builders, such as more in-depth resume design, customization, and integration with Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS)​​.

Sample resume made with GotResumeBuilder

When you’re done building your resume with GotResumeBuilder, use Jobscan’s resume scanner to see how well it matches the job description of the position you’re applying for.

4. Resume Trick

Usability score: Easy

Resume Trick offers a variety of free, customizable templates that cater to different styles and industries. It also has an AI-powered assistant, which provides writing suggestions and formatting tips. This is a big plus.

This resume builder is also multilingual. Besides English, other languages include German, French, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese. Another plus.

Finally, you can download the finished resume in PDF format with no hidden costs. Everything a free resume builder should have!

Yes, Resume Trick is entirely free.

• Register for a free account using your Google credentials.
• Browse the selection of resume templates, which range from classic to modern designs.
• Enter your information, including your professional qualifications, education, and relevant skills.
• Use the AI tool to get helpful suggestions and formatting tips.
• Adjust the template’s layout, fonts, and colors to personalize your resume.
• Preview your resume.
• Once you’re satisfied, download your resume in PDF format for free.

Pros and cons of using Resume Trick’s builder

• A range of customizable templates that cater to different styles and industries.
• The AI assistant provides helpful writing suggestions and formatting tips.
• You can create resumes in multiple languages, including German, French, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese.
• You can download the finished resume in PDF format at no cost.
• While the platform offers basic customization and AI assistance, it may lack some of the more advanced features available in premium resume builders.

Sample resume made with Resume Trick

When you’re done building your resume with Resume Trick, use Jobscan’s resume scanner to see how well it matches the job description of the position you’re applying for.

Usability score: Moderately easy

Enhancv is another strong resume builder that does the basics well. It’s got templates, easy customization, and even an AI assistant that helps “write and improve resumes”. And, of course, you can download your resume in PDF format.

BUT, you can only use the free version of Enhancv for 7 days. After that you’ll have to pay for a subscription.

During the free trial period, you can create up to two resumes and cover letters. You have access to all available resume and cover letter templates and basic resume sections.

Yes, it’s free for 7 days, after which you’ll have to pay for a subscription.

• Click on “Build Your Resume” to begin creating your resume.
• You can either start from scratch or upload an existing resume to get started.
• Select a template that suits your style and industry.
• Fill in your information.
• Use the drag-and-drop interface to rearrange sections. You can add up to 15 section items during the free trial.
• Check the real-time preview of your resume.
• During the free 7-day trial, you can download your resume in PDF format.

Pros and cons of using Enhancv’s builder

• Offers a wide range of templates that cater to different industries and styles.
• Features an intuitive drag-and-drop interface that makes it easy to customize layouts, fonts, and colors.
• The AI-powered assistant provides writing suggestions and formatting tips.
• Users can preview their resume as they build it.
• After the 7-day trial, you must pay for a subscription to continue to access the resume builder.
• During the free trial, users are restricted to a maximum of 15 section items .

Sample resume made with Enhancv

When you’re done building your resume with Enhancv, use Jobscan’s resume scanner to see how well it matches the job description of the position you’re applying for.

6. ResumeGiants

Usability score : Moderately easy

I found ResumeGiants to be an excellent tool for creating a professional resume and cover letter.

First of all, the platform is free to use. You can create and download your resume without any hidden charges. And it has an AI assistant, which provides writing suggestions and formatting tips.

The platform is available in nearly a dozen languages, including German, Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Hebrew, Chinese, and Japanese.

Overall, ResumeGiants is a fantastic, user-friendly option for job seekers looking to create standout resumes at no cost.

Yes, ResumeGiants is completely free.

• Create a free account.
• Browse the variety of templates available and select the best fit.
• Fill in your personal details (address, email, phone number), work experience, education, and skills.
• Adjust the layout, fonts, and colors to suit your preferences.
• Use the AI-powered suggestions for writing and formatting tips.
• Check the real-time preview to ensure everything looks good.
• Download your resume in your preferred format (PDF, Word, etc.) for free.

Pros and cons of using ResumeGiant’s builder

• You can create and download resumes and cover letters without any hidden charges.
• Available in nearly a dozen languages.
• Provides AI-generated writing suggestions and formatting tips.
• The interface is intuitive and easy to navigate.
• Resumes created may not always be optimized for Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS).
• While the free features are robust, some advanced features may be limited compared to paid services.

Sample resume made with ResumeGiants

When you’re done building your resume with ResumeGiants, use Jobscan’s resume scanner to see how well it matches the job description of the position you’re applying for.

Usability score : Moderate

The best thing about Indeed’s resume builder is that you can automatically share your resume with potential employers on the Indeed website. 

Now for the negatives. Overall, I didn’t feel that this resume builder was flexible enough. For example, next to each resume skill you must add your experience level. I didn’t want that option but there’s no way to turn it off.

The education section was also limited (no option to choose MBA?). Plus, the ability to manually edit entries is limited as well.

But perhaps the biggest issue I had with this resume builder was that it doesn’t save your work! Although they do warn you with this message, “Your information will not be saved when this browser tab is closed.”

Yes, Indeed’s resume builder is free.

• Sign in to your Indeed account (or create one first).
• Click “Build your free resume”.
• Enter your contact info, work history, years of experience, and education.
• Include additional sections like skills, certifications, awards, and projects.
• Download your resume in PDF format.

Pros and cons of using Indeed’s resume builder

• You can automatically share your resume with potential employers on Indeed.
• Indeed’s resume builder is completely free with no hidden costs.
• You can upload your existing resume to have it automatically reformatted.
• The builder isn’t flexible enough; there’s no way to turn off options you don’t want.
• The ability to manually edit entries is limited.
• The builder does not save your work automatically, and your information will be lost if the browser tab is closed.

Sample resume made with Indeed

When you’re done building your resume with Indeed, use Jobscan’s resume scanner to see how well it matches the job description of the position you’re applying for.

8. Kickresume

I liked the user-friendly interface and the AI-powered writing assistant, which can help you generate and rewrite content.

Unfortunately, you can only list two skills with the free version, which is quite limiting. I also didn’t like that I couldn’t add a resume headline or resume summary . And the preview was too small to read properly.

On the positive side, the unlimited downloads are a nice feature for a free tool, and it offers the option to create a matching cover letter .

​Yes it’s free, but there are limitations (like only being able to list two skills).

• Sign up for a free Kickresume account.
• Select one of the four basic resume templates available.
• Enter your contact details, work history, and education.
• Include additional sections like skills (limited to 2 skills in the free version).
• Download your resume in PDF format, with unlimited downloads available.

Pros and cons of using Kickresume’s builder

• Allows you to use AI to generate and rewrite content.
• You can download your resume as many times as needed without additional costs.
• Provides the option to create a matching cover letter.
• You can only list two skills with the free version.
• The preview is too small to read comfortably.
• There is no option to include a resume headline or summary.
• The free version lacks flexibility in key areas, making it less practical for comprehensive resume building.

Sample resume made with Kickresume

When you’re done building your resume with Kickresume, use Jobscan’s resume scanner to see how well it matches the job description of the position you’re applying for.

It takes a bit of practice to learn how to use Canva, but once you get the hang of it you’ll be able to create a visually appealing resume in no time.

There’s a wide variety of templates to choose from, although many of them aren’t suitable for Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). It’s also easy to customize colors , fonts, and layouts to truly make your resume your own.

Overall, I found Canva to be a strong resume builder with no hidden charges.

Yes, Canva users can create, edit, and download their resumes for free.

• Visit Canva’s website and sign up for a free account.
• Select a free template that fits your style.
• Open the template and use Canva’s drag-and-drop interface to personalize it.
• Change colors, fonts, and layouts to your liking.
• Enter your personal details, work experience, education, and skills.
• Add text boxes for additional sections like certifications or awards.
• Click the “Download” button, choose PDF format, and download your resume.
• Save your project in Canva for future updates and generate a shareable link if needed.

Pros and cons of using Canva’s resume builder

• The drag-and-drop functionality makes it easy to customize templates, even for beginners.
• Hundreds of free, professionally designed templates are available.
• Users can personalize colors, fonts, and layouts
• Resumes can be downloaded in multiple formats (PDF, JPG, PNG) as many times as needed without any cost.
• Many of Canva’s templates might not be appropriate for Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS).
• You can’t download your resume in Word format.
• There are no expert tips for writing or suggestions for relevant keywords, making it harder to tailor resumes for ATS.

Sample resume made with Canva

When you’re done building your resume with Canva, use Jobscan’s resume scanner to see how well it matches the job description of the position you’re applying for.

10. Resume.com

Resume.com is owned by Indeed, so you’ll need an Indeed account to use this builder. It is possible to build a resume in guest mode without signing in, but it will be deleted after 48 hours.

Overall, this builder is easy to use. You can drag sections to reorder them, and you’ll be able to preview your resume in real-time as you build it, which is always a positive.

You can also add custom sections, which adds some flexibility. For example, if you want a headline section, you can manually create one.

I especially liked the tips that pop up as you add your information to each section. And it’s simple to download your resume as a PDF (there’s no Word option though).

Unfortunately, I thought the final resume looked a bit bland and uninspiring.

While this builder is free, you must create an Indeed account and use it to sign into Resume.com. If you don’t, your resume will be deleted in 48 hours (you’ll even see a clock counting down).

• Create an Indeed account and use it to log in.
• Add your information to existing sections like work experience, education, and skills.
• Create custom sections (like for the headline) and reorder them by dragging.
• Click the PDF button to download your resume.

Pros and cons of using Resume.com’s builder

• The builder allows you to easily visualize your resume as you build it.
• You can add custom sections, such as a headline, for greater flexibility.
• Easily reorder sections by dragging and dropping them.
• The tips feature provides useful guidance as you add information to each section.
• Simple to download your resume as a PDF file.
• You need an Indeed account to use the builder since Resume.com is owned by Indeed.
• The final resume can look a bit bland and uninspiring.
• Resumes can only be downloaded as PDFs, not Word documents.
• Your resume will only be saved for 48 hours unless you create an Indeed account.

Sample resume made with Resume.com

When you’re done building your resume with Resume.com, use Jobscan’s resume scanner to see how well it matches the job description of the position you’re applying for.

A resume builder is the easy way to build your resume. It simplifies the process of creating a professional resume by offering templates and step-by-step guidance, ensuring your resume is well-structured and highlights your strengths.

Yes, many resume builders offer completely free templates that jobseekers can use to create and download their resumes without any cost.

Some resume builders are completely free, while others may charge for additional features like downloading or premium templates. Always check for any hidden costs.

The best resume builder depends on your needs, but popular options include Jobscan, Resume Genius, Novoresume, and Resume.com, known for their ease of use and comprehensive features.

Yes, many resume builders offer tips, examples, and suggestions to help you write effective resume content tailored to your job application.

Robert Henderson, CPRW, is a career advice writer and a resume expert at Jobscan.

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Top 10 Resume Builders of 2024: We Tried Them All so You Don’t Have to

Hi! I’ve just used 10 different resume builders to create 10 different versions of my resume. Why?

Choosing the right resume builder for you and your CV can be a struggle. I wanted to test each of them so you don’t have to waste your precious time.

Speaking of which, let’s do this fast: I'm Martin, I'm the lead career writer at Kickresume , and these are the ten most popular resume builders I could find. I have looked at both free and paid resume builders so I could tell you what makes each of them great. Here we go!

What is a resume builder?

Resume builder is a tool that makes your life and job search much easier. You don't have to spend hours writing your own resume in programs that you're not too familiar with. Instead, you can use one of the resume builders that will do the work for you! You can choose from pre-existing visually attractive templates that will captivate your future employer immediately. There are free and paid resume websites that offer this service, depending on what you are looking for. Now, let’s find the perfect one for you!

1. Kickresume

Yes, I work for Kickresume . Because of that, I don't want to review Kickresume myself.

Instead, I’m going to show you what other people had to say about Kickresume.

“Quite honestly one of the best and most useful products I have come across. The resume templates are amazing! Too good :). I created a new version and within 3 days, I had interviews with GitLab, Salesforce, Heroku, Red Hat, and IBM!” — Brandon Stephan

“This is one of the best companies ever. They charge around 700 percent less for a resume rewrite over Monster, Indeed, etc… $4 a month, I am one happy customer.” — Cody Noyes (Although, technically, it’s not really a rewrite. We prefer to call it “proofreading”.)

“Honestly, I don’t review things, ever. But this site is next level. I actually have been raving to my friends about it. So simple, so intuitive, so well designed, tons of options, zero messing around with spacing and alignment. Made the best resume I’ve ever had, took me half an hour. Just info in, gorgeous resume out. Worth the price hands down.” — Keith Allan

You can also have a look at other free services that we offer, such as tips for job searching that can be found in other articles at our blog . Here, you can also find plenty of resume examples, and many other helpful tools! 

If you're not convinced yet, what follows is what our direct competitors had to say about the pros and cons of Kickresume. We’re in the same market. We fight over the same customer. Yet, they had to admit this (thank you guys):

What others liked about Kickresume:

“[Large] number of templates ” (Source: Zety )

"AI resume writer" (Source: Rezi.com )

“Website maker” (Source: Zety )

“A lot of strong features, resume and cover letter templates available for the freemium version.” (Source: Novoresume )

“Pre-written phrases to help you out in case you’re not sure how to phrase your achievements.” (Source: Novoresume )

“Grammar correction proofreading services available, if needed.” (Source: Novoresume )

What they didn’t like about Kickresume:

• “Very basic pre-written content.”(Source: Zety )
• “Limited options when making a free resume.” (Source: Zety )
• “Most templates are creative and sometimes too vibrant — can be a bad thing depending on where you’re applying.” (Source: Novoresume )

With Kickresume, you can choose free resume tools, as well as premium ones, for which you have to pay.

Kickresume’s Pricing

• Free: get unlimited free downloads, 4 customizable resume (and cover letter) templates, 1 website template
• 6 Months Free Premium for students and teachers
• 1 Month Premium: $19 per month
• 12 Months Premium: $5 per month  (billed $60 every year)

Also, there's a bonus for you! If you choose the yearly subscription, up to 5 of your friends get a month of Kickresume Premium for free!

Kickresume’s Templates

• 4 free templates
• 40 premium templates

To begin with, for all of the Zety’s resume templates, you have to pay. In return, this is what you get:

What I liked about this resume builder:

• Impressive auto-suggestion feature which comes handy when writing the section about work experience and skills.
• Very good guides and resume content (and it’s available to anyone without having to sign up for it).
• Clean templates that are well-constructed, simple, and no-nonsense.
• Resume score. Once you’re done, Zety will score your resume and tell you how you can make it better. (But from my experience, this is a bit hit or miss.)

What I didn’t like about this resume builder:

• Clunky copy&paste. The rich text editor started acting up on me when I tried to copy-paste my information into it.
• Confusing UI. It’s easy to get lost in the interface sometimes.
• Not-so-smart editor. The editor was sometimes trying to be too clever but ended up being stupid (e.g. forced capitalization in “University Of Amsterdam”).
• No page breaks. In the preview, the resume page seems to continue indefinitely, not giving you a proper idea of what it is going to look like when printing it out.
• Unsuitable for creatives. All templates have a very similar, conservative, and rather a dry vibe. That doesn’t have to be a bad thing. On the other hand, if you’re looking to create a resume that’s a bit more “out there”, you should probably look elsewhere.
• Poor customization options. In most cases, you can only change the color of some parts of your resume.
• Little misleading. Zety allows you to create a whole resume for free but in the end, you cannot download it unless you pay.  

Zety’s Pricing

• 14-Day Full Access Trial: $2.70 (you have to cancel, otherwise it will auto-renew and you’ll be billed $23.70 every 4 weeks )
• 12 Months Full Access: $5.95 per month ( $71.40 paid upfront )

Zety’s Templates

• 0 free templates
• 13 paid templates. They say they offer “20+ best resume templates”. I couldn’t find more than 13.
• All templates customizable

Finally, you should know that I didn’t pay for their Full Access. Because of that, there may be some features that I didn't mention.

Also, here's a more in-depth comparison of Kickresume vs Zety .

3. VisualCV

Onto the next one!

• Live preview. You can edit your resume directly in the live preview if you want.
• Rich text copy/paste works flawlessly and there are no hiccups.
• Varied templates. A nice, varied collection of templates.
• Customization options. Templates are customizable. I was even able to change paragraph margins, which is quite rare.
• Clear webpage information. All the information was easy to find.
• Sometimes, the template construction was confusing. It wasn’t always clear what some of the buttons do. Because of that, I accidentally deleted my content twice. But that could just be me.

VisualCV Pricing

• Pro Quarterly: $15/month (billed $45 for 3 months)
• Pro Monthly: $24/month

VisualCV Templates

• 1 free template and cover letter
• 20+ PRO templates

4. ResumeGenius

Another paid resume maker website!

• I liked how it encourages you to mention your extracurricular activities, GPA, and awards when filling in the Education section.
• MS Word download. Some people may like the option to download their resume in the MS Word format and not in PDF
• 1 on 1 help. They offer “1 on 1 help from an experienced career consultant”. That’s something that no other resume builder offers. On the other hand, I'm not sure how expensive it is.
• Step-by-step editor. Instead of allowing me to enter all my information at once, it required me to fill it in step-by-step. This has quickly become time-consuming, as I had to go through every single possible section, whether I wanted to include it or not. And it made me do it every time I wanted to make changes to my resume.
• Preview possible only at the end. I was able to see a preview of my resume only AFTER I had given them all my information. I hated this.
• Couldn't leave any fields blank. Why can’t I leave the “State/Province” field blank? It just wouldn’t let me. Not every country is divided into states or provinces. Also, it required me to enter my home address even though I wanted to leave that field blank. Fortunately, it didn’t check if the address was real. 
• No rich text formatting. Okay, I’m going to say it one more time and more clearly: I honestly really hated this editor. It’s clunky and doesn’t support rich text editing. I guess Resume Genius was not that genius after all.

Resume Genius Pricing

• 14-Day Trial Plan: $2.95 (you have to cancel, otherwise it will auto-renew and you’ll be billed $24.95 every 30 days )
• 1 Month Plan: $7.95 per month (billed annualy at $95.40)
• 12 Months Plan: $95.40

Resume Genius Templates

• 17 Pro Resume Templates

5. Resume.com

What I liked about this completely free resume builder website:

• Classic look. Classic templates that make great use of basic typography.
• Emphasis on content. The templates put more emphasis on how your information is organized, instead of being visually stunning. The templates are organized into four categories: Experience, Education, Skill, and Personality, depending on which one you want to emphasize.
• It's completely free. 
• Color of the interface. Oh man, that purple-ish color. I almost got a headache just looking at it. But who knows, could be your cup of tea.
• Broken copy&paste. The text editor started acting up when I tried to copy/paste.
• No page break. The preview screen doesn’t show you what your resume is going to look like after printing.
• Step-by-step editor. Yet another resume builder with a step-by-step editor. I would prefer to be able to edit all parts of my resume on a single screen.
• Not visually appealing. The resume templates are not what you’d expect them to be. They don’t have much to offer in terms of visuals
• Lack of support and guidance.

Resume.com Pricing

Resume.com templates.

• 12 free resume templates

6. Resume.io

What I liked about this paid resume builder:

• UI navigation. The progress bar at the top of the page allows you to see exactly where you are and what you need to do before you can download your resume.
• Live preview. You can see the changes you make to your resume in real-time. Almost no other resume builder has that.
• Excellent editor. It suffered from none of the problems other resume builders did.
• High level of polish. UI and its high level of polish
• Forces you to sign up from the get-go. It doesn’t let you create a resume without signing up first. On the other hand, it allows you to save any changes you make to your resume.
• Limited customization options. The resume builder only lets you change the color of a template and font size.
• A small number of templates. Only has 12 and, as I've already mentioned, you can't even customize these.

Resume.io Pricing

• 7-Day Trial: 4.70$ (if you don't cancel before the 7 days, you will automatically be enrolled in a monthly premium subscription and billed $24.95 every 4 weeks )
• 6 Months Full Access: $44.95 (one-time payment, no need to cancel)
• 12 Months Full Access: $74.95  (one-time payment, no need to cancel)
• Free Plan: Only 1 resume and cover letter, download only in TXT format

Resume.io Templates

• 1 free template
• 18 premium resume templates

7. myPerfectresume.com

What I like about this paid resume builder:

• Template recommendations. They recommended me specific templates based on my years of experience. Also, the templates were organized into categories, such as “traditional”, “modern”, and “creative”.
• PDF import. You can import your resume from a PDF file. It’s not perfect but it works quite well.
• Nicer templates than Zety. Although it’s the same resume builder as Zety, in my opinion, this one had nicer resume templates.
• Almost identical to Zety. There are minor differences but none of them justify separate branding.
• The same editor as Zety. Since it’s the same rich text editor, it’s no wonder that it started acting up as soon as I tried to copy/paste my information. 
• It's Zety with different templates. I’m not going to include any more upsides or downsides since it’s the same thing as Zety, apart from the templates.

myPerfectresume Pricing

Despite everything, the pricing is slighly different from Zety’s!

• 3 Months Full Access: $5.95
• Yearly Access: $71.40

myPerfectresume Templates

• 31 premium templates (which is more than you get from Zety)

What I liked about this (completely free) resume builder:

• Design-driven. Canva is not exactly a resume builder. Instead, it's a graphic design software that designs stuff when you don’t want to pay for a graphic designer. It's really pretty.
• It’s free. That is unless you decide to pay for a premium subscription. Still, all resume-related features are free. 
• Super large number of templates. I tried to count the number of resume templates. I couldn’t. There are too many.
• Limitless customization. Canva is great if you already know what you’re doing and only seek to give your already perfect resume a nice visual boost.

What I don’t like about this resume builder:

• It's not a resume builder per se. Sure, it can be used to create nice resumes or cover letters. Still, if you decide to use it, you’d be missing out on many career-specific features like proofreading, career-oriented customer support, pre-written phrases for your resume, guides, etc.
• Is it ATS-ready? Would a resume created with Canva pass through an applicant tracking system (ATS)? I can’t be sure.
• No career tools or resume-specific features.
• No rich text copy-paste. When I tried to copy and paste my information, it didn’t preserve my formatting.
• Overwhelming and easy to make a mistake. It’s VERY easy to make your resume look bad if you’re not careful. In fact, sometimes I wished I had fewer customization options.
• More difficult to navigate in comparison to other resume tools.

Canva’s Pricing

• Free: All resume-related features you may need are free

Canva’s Resume Templates

• Too many to count.

9. Novoresume

What I liked about this (mostly) free resume builder:

• Live preview. I could edit my resume directly from the live preview screen.
• Holds your hand. If this was my first time writing a resume, I would have appreciated Novoresume’s advice. If you’re a beginner, they can be very helpful.
• Built-in feedback. I loved Novoresume’s “Content Optimizer”. It analyzed my resume and suggested possible improvements.
• Resume management. Novoresume also allowed me to save individual parts of my newly created resume in case I’d like to create versions customized for specific employers. Actually, Novoresume had the best resume management tools out of all resume builders in this test.
• Labeled premium features. All premium features were clearly labeled and I was able to avoid using them since I wanted to create a free resume.
• Customization options. There's a lot of them!
• Sometimes too "helpful". The editor was trying to help me by structuring the work experience section. Unfortunately, that was more of a hindrance than a help.
• No rich text copy-paste. Yet again, the rich text copy and paste didn’t work.
• Character limit in certain sections. It wouldn’t let me enter as much text as I wanted where I wanted.
• A small number of resume templates. Although I have to say, this is to some extent mitigated by your ability to customize each of them.

Novoresume’s Pricing

• 1 Month: $19.99
• 3 Months: $39.99
• 12 Months: $99.99
• Free Plan: 1 (one-page) resume, no cover letter available, pre-defined layouts

Novoresume’s Templates

• 8 free templates
• You pay for additional customization options.

10. CakeResume

And finally, the last resume tool website! Despite its name, CakeResume is not really a resume builder. Instead, it will help you create an online career profile similar to LinkedIn.

• The personal profile. First, you create a “profile” where you enter all your information. Once you’ve done that, you don’t have to do it ever again. It’s somewhat similar to what Novoresume.
• The editor. CakeResume’s editor is, well, satisfying. You begin with a blank page onto which you drag and drop various resume snippets.
• Online resume. You can either download your resume as a PDF file or get a shareable link.
• No rich text copy-paste. At this point, I consider that the norm.
• Missing keyboard shortcuts.  Every time I wanted to make a part of the text bold, I had to click on an icon at the top of the screen.
• Basic in terms of visuals. CakeResume’s default template works well, but if you’d like to make your resume a bit more visually appealing, you may want to look elsewhere.

CakeResume Pricing

• Free: 1 resume limit
• Advanced Features: $10 per month, billed quarterly at $30 (Remove CakeResume branding, 20+ additional snippets, unlimited number of resumes)
• PRO Features: $15 per month, billed quarterly at $45  (track your resume via Google Analytics)

CakeResume Templates

• 1 Basic Template
• You can subscribe to get additional “snippets” to customize your resume.

And there you have it! The best 10 resume builders of 2024. You're welcome and good luck with your own CV!

How can a resume builder help me?

A resume builder can help you create a professional and polished resume with little effort. It also helps you format your resume to make sure it looks professional and organized, by choosing the right font, spacing, margins, layout, or color scheme.

A resume builder is an online tool that helps users create a professional-looking resume in minutes, usually with the help of customizable templates and intuitive design tools.

Is it free to use a resume builder?

Some resume builder tools offer a free version (e.g. they have a limited number of free downloads or templates), however, you usually have to pay to be able to use additional features that require a paid subscription. 

Kickresume lets you  create an unlimited number of resumes for free  as long as you stick to our free customization options. All paid customization options are clearly labeled inside the Kickresume resume builder tool so you can easily avoid using them if you want to download your resume for free.

What is the best resume builder?

The best resume builder depends on your needs. Popular resume builder sites include Kickresume, Resume Genius, and Zety. 

Does a resume builder help with writing content?

Resume builders typically do not provide content writing help. However, Kickresume’s  AI Resume Builder  is able to generate a whole resume based on a provided job title. All you have to do is enter your job title, click “Use AI Writer” and the AI will generate a number of bullet points for your work experience subsection. 

Martin Poduška

Martin is a resume expert and career advice writer at Kickresume. In his five years at Kickresume, he has written hundreds of in-depth, painstakingly researched resume advice articles and, as chief editor, he has also edited and revised every single article on this website. Tens of thousands of job seekers read Martin’s resume advice every month. He holds a degree in English from the University of St Andrews and a degree in Comparative Literature from the University of Amsterdam .

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The 17 Best Free Resume Builders We've Ever Discovered

Published: April 25, 2024

According to GetFive, only 30% of resumes are approved by applicant tracking systems (ATS). Once the resumes are approved, a hiring manager will only spend an average of six seconds reading each resume.

If those stats stress you out, I hear you. Writing a great resume that gets you noticed is tough — that’s why I’m here to encourage you to try a resume builder.

In this post, I've compiled a list of the best free resume builders that will help you create a personalized professional resume that passes ATS, stands out to the hiring manager, and helps you land your next job interview.

Why use a resume builder?

Writing a polished resume is second nature for some job applicants. But for others (and maybe most of us), creating a strong resume can be a struggle.

If you're one of the many people who need a little extra support, here are a few ways I think a resume builder can help out.

Resume builders offer templates, clean designs, and tips that speed up resume writing. They also make the process less stressful.

Offers Writing Tips

It takes a lot of work to promote yourself. And even if you enjoy self-promotion, writing isn't a skill everyone has. A resume builder can help you use the best words and phrases to show your experience and knowledge.

Improves Design

Each industry has different expectations for what a great resume looks like. If you're not familiar with design skills or tools, resume builders offer free templates to make your resume look as good as it sounds.

Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS)

Recruiters often use ATS systems to scan resumes. And a good resume builder will help with formatting to make sure that your resume is easy for these systems to read.

Best Free Resume Builders

• Zety: Best for Expert Resume Creation Tips
• Resume Genius: Best for Easy and Fast Resume Creation
• Wepik: Best for Customizing Pre-Made Resumes
• My Perfect Resume: Best for Guided Resume Creation Help
• Standard Resume: Best for Active LinkedIn Users
• Kickresume: Best for Quick and AI-Assisted Resume Creation
• Canva: Best for Design Creativity and Expression
• Pixpa: Best for Creating Online Resume Websites
• Indeed: Best for In-Platform Job Seekers
• Resume.com: Best for Minimalist Resume Creation
• Novoresume: Best for ATS-Friendly Resume Building
• VisualCV: Best for Multimedia Resumes
• CakeResume: Best for Resumes With an Online Portfolio
• Resume Now: Best for Time-Saving Resume Creation
• ResumeNerd: Best for Resume Writing Help
• Jofibo: Best for Comprehensive Guides
• Hloom: Best for Resume Templates

We’ve discovered the best free resume builders on the market. These resume builders are great for all jobseekers, from entry-level to executive level.

Each free resume builder has a simple interface, customization options, and templates that help you create the perfect resume for your next job.

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Resume templates to create a killer resume for your job application.

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Best resume builder of 2024

Use the best resume builders to enhance visibility on job search engines and employee finder services

Best overall

Best for features, best for ease-of-use, best job finder, best ai-powered, best affordable, best for speed, best for style, best for versatility, best for phrases, best for recruiters, how we test.

The best resume builders make it simple and easy to write up and manage a CV.

1. Best overall 2. Best for features 3. Best for ease-of-use 4. Best job finder 5. Best AI-powered 6. Best affordable 7. Best for speed 8. Best for style 9. Best for versatility 10. Best for phrases 11. Best for recruiters 12. Best free 13. FAQs 14. How we test

If you’re on the hunt for a new career, you simply can't skip making an effort with every part of the application process, and that means getting your resume right. And to truly stand out, you need to create one with an eye-catching design alongside the relevant information.

The best resume builders transform your resume to create a bold, eye-catching document, and you might not even have to spend any money. Some of the best use free templates with a proven success rate – templates that have helped people land their dream positions.

There are loads of options if you do want to spend some cash, too. Loads of the best resume builders will go above and beyond the best free alternatives if you hand over a bit of money.

Whether you need a free resume builder or a paid option, we’ve got you covered – we’ve compared various resume builders to arrive at the best ones for you. We looked at the variety of templates they offered, the quality of design, the website/app interface, and the pricing plans. We also assessed how swift and hassle-free the entire resume-building process was.

We've also rounded up the best online learning platforms .

Post Your First Job in Minutes with ZipRecruiter Find qualified candidates and get distribution on at least 100 job sites with one click. Start your 4-day free trial today and then pay as low as $16/day after that. 

The best resume builders of 2024 in full:

Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

1. Resume.com

Reasons to buy, reasons to avoid.

 It’s no surprise that Resume.com is where many people start looking when they want to buy a new resume – after all, that name is a pretty good sign of this site’s key strength.

True to form, the site has loads of fantastic templates that you can use, and the huge popularity of this site means that they’re proven to work – as vast numbers of people have already used these templates to secure interviews and new positions. Resume.com has also spoken to thousands of employees and employers to find out what people are looking for in a candidate, and its templates are based on that evidence.

The company behind Resume.com also owns Indeed.com , which is one of the web’s biggest recruitment websites. That means Resume.com has loads of data available for creating its resume builder and CV templates. That also means it’s easy to share your CV to Indeed.com when it’s finished, so you’ll be able to apply for jobs in no time.

Resume.com is free to use, and its templates cater to dozens of different jobs and industries, so it’s easy to start. Once it’s finished, you can easily download it to your PC or laptop . This may not be the only resume builder on the market, but you shouldn’t ignore Resume.com.

• ^ Back to the top

2. ResumeGenius

A site with a name like ResumeGenius must step up if it’s going to live up to its moniker, and this resume builder does the job in terms of quality and features.

ResumeGenius starts the process by deploying dozens of different CV templates. There are plenty of good-looking resumes available here, although they do veer towards the conventional – you’ll find plenty of traditional resumes but few graphics-heavy modern options.

You can fill out your resume with more than 50,000 pre-written bullet points. They cover all industries and mean you can sound as professional as possible. You can download your resume as a Word document or PDF, and the site also has a cover letter builder and tools that can help you with resignation letters, thank-you notes, and letters of recommendation.

This site doesn’t have the in-depth options of many others, but it’s a free tool that can quickly produce a professional resume – and that makes it worth using.

3. CakeResume

CakeResume uses an intuitive and straightforward drag-and-drop interface to make resume creation easier, even for users who may not be particularly savvy when using technology.

The interface allows you to customize your layout, elements, and information quickly, and CakeResume pairs this intelligent user experience with a range of attractive and impressive templates. You can download your resume at any point in the creation process, which is handy for checking your progress or getting feedback from others.

You can download your finished resume as a PDF for free, but you’re only allowed to create one basic resume using the free service. With the Advanced plan, you can use more than twenty premium resume designs as often as you want, and you can remove the CakeResume branding from your finished CV. The Pro option allows you to track your resume using Google Analytics and share the finished product using a custom domain name.

CakeResume is fast, easy to use, and has loads of attractive and straightforward resume templates. Still, it’s only worth considering if you’re willing to buy one of the paid options – the free tier is minimal.

4. Reed.co.uk

Reed.co.uk is a UK-focused site that offers a resume creation tool as part of its wider set of employment features, like job listings, skills modules, and career advice articles.

You start to create a resume when you register your account, and the site takes you through a simple four-step process to create a basic resume. You add your personal information, work experience, and qualifications alongside a personal statement, and then your basic resume will be available for download as a Word document. You can also make it visible on Reed.co.uk’s wider website so it’s easy for employers to view.

You can download Reed’s Word template to do it all yourself if you’d prefer, and your resume and profile are linked – so you can add more experience, qualifications, and information alongside information about your skills and job hunting journey. It’s a free service, and it’s a welcome addition to this popular job site, but be aware that you don’t get to use sophisticated templates or advanced design elements here.

5. Novoresume

Novoresume deploys dozens of different resume templates to help you find the perfect job. They’re all created in conjunction with experienced recruiters, and they’re applicable to loads of different career paths and industries.

You can choose to start with a traditional template, a professional design that includes a photograph or a creative template, and you’ll find other templates that offer a simple, modern, and professional range of designs.

Those templates are a suitable place to start, and Novoresume aims to go further with its extra features. You can use cover letter templates alongside the resume templates. This site has an AI -powered analysis service that suggests resume improvements as you tweak the layout and enter your information.

It’s an intuitive and effective site with straightforward features, and you can use the Basic tier to create a free resume.

The Premium option allows you to use a broader range of fonts and colors, add special sections and graphics to your resume, create more resumes and deploy distinctive styles and templates. That’s all welcome, but this is one of the better sites if you want to create a free resume – it’s not particularly restrictive.

6. ResumeHelp

ResumeHelp is the perfect resume builder to use if you’re not particularly confident with written English, or if it’s not your first language.

This site allows you to create a resume with confidence by inserting pre-written bullet points that emphasize your strengths without focusing on potentially tricky linguistic errors. There are thousands of points that can work in all sorts of resumes, so you won’t be short of things to say, and you’ll also receive help from extra tips as you build your resume.

The site has fifteen different templates available. The designs focus on more traditional, conventional layouts, so this site is ideal if you want to put together a classic, familiar resume. You can customize all the information as you go through the process, upload an old resume to kickstart your new document, and it’s free to download the document after you’re finished.

The upgrade plans are cheap, too: you can buy two weeks of access or a month of access and that plan means you can create more resumes, use more templates, and build cover letters too.

CVmaker is one of the easiest resume builders to use, so it’s an ideal choice if you want to put together a resume quickly and without any fuss.

Creating a resume on CVmaker is simple. The site uses a step-by-step process to gather information about your work experience, education, interests, and references. When that’s done you can switch the design between a selection of different styles and download the document for your use in job applications. You can also add your own sections to the resume, which is a feature that isn’t available on some other sites.

CVmaker is a simple tool, though, especially in its free guise – at this point it’s fine for building a basic resume, but that’s it. If you upgrade to the site’s premium tier you can add more custom sections, use better templates and take advantage of an advanced text editor. It only requires a one-off payment, so it’s one of the cheapest paid resume builder options available.

8. VisualCV

VisualCV is one of the most powerful and versatile resume-building websites around. The process begins with loads of attractive and modern templates that offer more color and visual pop than most other resume building tools, and once you’ve chosen the right look, you’re able to customize each resume to properly suit your needs.

This site goes far beyond resume building. You can use advanced resume tracking to see when your document has been viewed or downloaded, and you can access free guides, blog posts, and articles if you need some extra help. You can import data from LinkedIn to make CV building easier and consult cover letter templates too.

VisualCV allows you to easily share your resume with family and friends for quick feedback, and it has more privacy options than most resume builders, so your information is more secure.

This site’s free package allows you to create one resume using a single template and then download it, but it will have VisualCV branding that can’t be removed. The Pro option gives you more templates and the ability to create an unlimited number of resumes.

9. Resume.io

Resume.io is one of the broadest resume sites on the internet, with a massive range of features that offer impressive quality in every department.

As with any other resume builder, you can quickly use an attractive template to produce a rock-solid CV using Resume.io. This site also benefits from thousands of pre-written phrases alongside automatic spell checking and the ability to export your file in any format you choose.

Elsewhere, this site deploys cover letter templates too. You can also generate automatic summaries for your documents, access recruitment tips, and track any applications that have used the documents you create on the site.

If you use Resume.io for free, you can create a resume and cover letter and share links to those files with prospective employers, but you can only download the resume as a basic text file. If you buy its professional plan, you can create an unlimited number of resumes and cover letters using the site’s full library of tools. That’s the option we’d recommend.

10. KickResume

KickResume places a big emphasis on easy resume creation, and it includes loads of different tools that will simplify the process and help you avoid common pitfalls.

This site serves up more than fifty professional templates that cover traditional and modern design alongside many key jobs and industries. The site has more than 20,000 pre-written phrases that can be slotted into your resume – perfect if you want to include professional language in a quick and straightforward fashion.

You can view resumes that have helped candidates land jobs at companies like Facebook, NASA, and Google . KickResume has in-built proofreading alongside a cover letter builder.

It’s free to create four resumes using KickResume, and you can have a basic website and get access to the full library of pre-written phrases too – this is one of the more generous options for free resume creation. But if you upgrade to the Pro plan, you’ll get more templates, full customization options and AI resume review alongside priority support.  

Zety prides itself on its speed and ease of use, and there's certainly lots to like here: users can build a comprehensive and attractive resume with more than 20 templates, and you can upload your existing CV or add new information to get a document produced within minutes.

The site's resume generation tool delivers context-sensitive tips from professional recruiters as you create your document, and once it's done you can tweak the file with extensive editing options.

Zety has a cover letter builder alongside its resume tools, and users can also access resume and cover letter templates. The site also explains which resume formats are best-suited to different industries and employment situations, and Zety's extensive blog has in-depth articles about resumes, cover letters, and loads of other employment topics.

It's free to build a resume on Zety, but you'll have to pay if you want to download that file in different formats and access the site's full range of features. Happily, it's affordable.

Indeed is one of the largest and most reliable job boards on the web. It offers job listings, great options for employers, and impressive salary data and career advice – and, alongside all of that, it’s got a great resume builder.

Once you’ve registered and verified your account you’ll be ready to get started, and Indeed’s resume builder is pleasingly straightforward. There are eight clean, modern templates to use, and users can deploy a small selection of different accent colors and fonts to personalize the document. It’s easy to type in your personal details, education history and previous employment, and Indeed suggests relevant skills that you can add to the document with a single click.

Once you’ve added those and any extra professional certifications, the basic resume is finished, and you’re given a preview of the document alongside the option to add sections for languages, website links, awards, community achievements and more.

You can make the document public or private – if you choose the former, it can help you apply for jobs on Indeed.com – and you can also download the resume as a PDF file if you’d like to use it for applications elsewhere. And, if you don’t want to use Indeed’s full resume builder, you can use a wizard to create a basic document with a step-by-step process.

It’s extremely easy to edit your resume and add information after you’ve been through the initial creation process, and a personalized link is also available if you want to share the document with other people online. And, if you pay extra, Indeed.com also offers resume reviews.

Indeed.com’s resume builder is basic compared to many of the others mentioned here – you don’t get as many editing and layout options as other sites. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, though, because it means that Indeed.com can quickly and easily create an effective resume that contains all the information that recruiters need – and, as an added bonus, it’s completely free.

Also check out the best freelancer websites .

What is a resume builder?

Resume builders are online apps that offer interactive templates and forms for swiftly building a seamless resume. While some resume builders need you to fill out all the information manually, some provide relevant pre-written phrases and allow you to import data. 

You'll find various free and paid resume builders online. 

How to choose the best resume builders for you?

To determine the best resume builder for yourself, start with considering whether you want a free or paid option and all the areas you need support with — design, content, or review. If you have your content ready and just need a tool to set up a cohesive and attractive resume, go with a resume builder that offers lovely templates and allows you to import data. 

If you need help with the content, check out builders that offer context-relevant insights and pre-written phrases. For those who want further assistance in reviewing the quality of their resume, you’ll want to opt for a builder that has a review or consultation service.

We tested many resume builders to select the best resume builders. We looked at their pricing plans — whether they were free, subscription-based, or if they had one-time payment options. We evaluated the variety of templates they had, the quality of their designs, the level of customizability they offered, and if there were data-importing options.

We considered whether they offered pre-written phrases and context-relevant tips, if there was a review service, and how straightforward the interface and resume-building process was. We also analyzed their customer service to check how prompt, helpful, and customer-oriented they were.

Read more on how we test, rate, and review products on TechRadar .

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Désiré has been musing and writing about technology during a career spanning four decades. He dabbled in website builders and web hosting when DHTML and frames were in vogue and started narrating about the impact of technology on society just before the start of the Y2K hysteria at the turn of the last millennium.

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10 Best Free Resume Builders

By Biron Clark

Published: February 15, 2024

Resume/CV | Reviews

Biron Clark

Writer & Career Coach

There are quite a few free online resume sites, but some are MUCH better than others.

Some also appear to be free but will make you pay at the very end or you won’t be able to download your newly-created resume.

So in this article, I’m going to review the 10 best resume sites that offer completely free resume builders.

These are the websites that offer the best resume templates, best building software and user experience, and don’t charge you to download a printable resume.

Top 10 Free Online Resume Builders

1. cultivated culture.

Cultivated Culture provides free tools and information to job seekers. It’s run by Austin Belcak, who’s spent his recent career developing formulas for crafting effective resumes, writing engaging cover letters, and landing high-paying jobs at some of the world’s top companies.

His free resume builder includes eight resume templates that are ATS friendly , full design customization, and expert advice throughout the process to help you craft the perfect resume.

The tool is user-friendly and makes writing a resume simple. Here’s how it works:

• Choose your resume template.
• Select a color scheme.
• Create your resume. You’ll be able to add information to the various sections of your resume , including personal information, experience, education, and skills . You can remove and add sections as needed.
• Once you’re happy with your resume click “Finalize.” Here you’ll be able to adjust the font size, line spacing, and margins.
• Download your resume as a PDF or Word file, or save it to your Google Drive.

You can use this tool to build an unlimited number of resumes.

Cultivated Culture also offers two other free tools that will help you develop a more professional resume. They have a scanner that offers suggestions and keywords based on your desired role and also provides a feature to help you write more effective bullet points.

2. NovoResume

NovoResume is an online resume builder that offers eight free templates to choose from, a content optimizer, pre-written resume samples, a cover letter builder, and templates for your cover letter.

After you choose one of their resume template options you’re taken straight into their resume builder. You have to sign up for a free account before continuing, but this just takes a moment.

The free version of NovoResume allows you to build one single-page resume. Click on any of the resume sections to edit and customize it however you like. You can also change the font, template, design, or layout throughout the process if you’re not happy with the way it’s looking. 

If you want a little more flexibility you can upgrade to the premium resume builder, which lets you create unlimited resumes and gives you access to additional fonts, templates, and various customization options.

3. LiveCareer

LiveCareer offers a free resume builder designed by certified resume writers. They also offer example resumes, templates, a cover letter builder, cover letter templates, and everything else you need to build an eye-catching resume.

The first thing you’ll notice about their resume builder is the number of templates they offer. There are over 30 templates to choose from, which gives you the freedom to create a resume that suits you. They’ll also recommend templates for you, based on your level of experience and the job title you’re applying for.

Once you choose one of their templates you have the choice of starting from scratch or uploading your current resume for LiveCareer to reformat. 

When creating a new resume, the resume builder will walk you through each section one at a time and ask you to provide the required information. During the resume-building process, LiveCareer will suggest bullet points that are related to the job titles you list in your work experience.

They’ll even provide a pre-written summary for you based on all the information you provide (although you also have the option to write your own summary if you like).

After you’re done you can download your resume to your computer in a PDF, Word document, or plain text. 

With LiveCareer’s free resume builder, you can make multiple resumes and download them in plain text format. However, if you want unlimited downloads in Word or PDF you’ll need to upgrade to one of their premium options. While there isn’t a free 30-day trial, for just $2.95 you can try it for 14 days. However, after 14 days, the plan auto-renews at $23.95, billed every 4 weeks, unless you cancel it .

Zety offers all the tools you need to build a resume that will catch an employer’s attention. In addition to their online resume builder, they give you access to over 20 resume templates, writing tips, pre-written examples, a cover letter builder, templates for your cover letters, and more. 

Once you select one of their resume templates, you can choose to start a resume from scratch or build off of an existing document (Zety will reformat it for you).

You’ll find Zety and LiveCareer’s resume builders are virtually identical (they seem to be built on the same platform), and they have all the same features and download options. Zety also has the same payment structure, where to download multiple resumes or gain access to their more advanced tool options, you’ll need to purchase a premium subscription.

5. USA Jobs

USA Jobs provides the best resume builder software when applying for government jobs.

Their online resume builder is geared toward the exact application process and requirements of the typical government role.

(And those requirements are quite overwhelming if you haven’t applied to many government jobs in the past, so it’s fantastic that their software helps.)

You’ll need to set up an account with USA Jobs to get started, but it’s well worth it.

After joining, follow these steps to start creating a resume for government jobs:

• Sign into your account.
• Go to your Documents.
• Click “Upload” if you want to edit an existing resume or “Build Resume” if you want to create a new one.

From here, you can add text to the various sections of your resume (work experience, previous job title, education, references, etc.). There’s also a section where you can add additional information, like job training, languages, and affiliations. Once you finish your resume you’ll be able to access it in your documents list and can use it to apply to various government positions.

The big difference between USA Jobs’s resume builder and other similar tools is the amount of information it asks you to include. For example, federal government recruiters review, audit, and score a wide variety of information, and this builder ensures you don’t omit anything that the recruiters require for you to be considered.

I found out about this tool through a colleague on LinkedIn, and here’s how they explained it:

So, if you’re applying to any government jobs, this is THE resume builder to use .

6. My Perfect Resume

My Perfect Resume offers free resume builder software and over 30 proven resume templates to help you get started. They also provide a resume optimizer, cover letter builder, cover letter templates, and several different customization options to help you land your dream job.

This resume builder uses the same platform as LiveCareer and Zety. You start by indicating how long you’ve been working and based on that My Perfect Resume will recommend a few templates for you. Then they’ll walk you through each section so you can fill in the correct information. They’ll offer suggestions along the way and will even write your bullets for you if you wish.

Once you’ve completed the process you can download your resume as a PDF, Word document, or plain text file. To enjoy unlimited downloads in Word or PDF, you’ll need to upgrade to a paid account. There is no free trial, but a 14-day full access for $2.95. After two weeks, the subscription auto-renews at $23.95 billed every 4 weeks, unless you cancel it.

7. Resume.com

Resume.com is a completely free resume builder. They also offer information on how to write an effective cover letter, career advice for job seekers, and more.

Their resume builder is simple to use:

• Enter the type of job you want to apply for.
• Choose a resume template. Resume.com offers 15 different templates.
• Click on each section of the template to edit it. Tips are provided for each section to help you craft the perfect resume.
• When you’re finished, you can choose to print or download your resume as a PDF or text file.

In addition to resume building, Resume.com partnered with Indeed. You’ll use a single account for both platforms. By creating a resume, you agree to create a public resume on Indeed and to receive job opportunities from employers. However, you can change this at any point.

JobScan is known mainly for its flagship software that allows you to match your resume up to the job description before applying (also known as tailoring a resume ).

However, they recently launched a free resume builder that’s among one of the best we’ve seen. It features great resume templates and design options, and it also offers writing guides, cover letter templates, and more.

I’d certainly put this among the free best resume-making sites available right now.

Once you begin, their resume builder gives you the option of building a resume from scratch or editing an existing file. You can even download your LinkedIn profile as a PDF and parse it as an “existing resume.”

If you choose to create a new resume you’ll start by picking one of the three resume templates they have to offer. Then you’ll simply fill in the required information for each section of the resume. Additionally, unlike other resume builders, Jobscan offers 15 Google Docs resume templates, designed by their team.

JobScan provides labeled fields for all the details you need to provide for every section, and a number of these fields are required to ensure you don’t miss anything.

If you already have a resume you’re reasonably happy with you can upload it to the resume builder and JobScan will reformat it and fill in your information based on what’s provided in your resume.

Once you’re done building your professional resume you’ll have the option to scan it based on the job you’re applying for.

JobScan will give your resume a grade ( match rate score) that’s judged on several factors, including skills match, education match, ATS tips, keywords, word count, and more. Based on these results, you’ll be able to build a resume that’s perfectly suited to the job you’re applying for.

9. Kickresume

Kickresume is one of the best resume builders I was able to find while researching. You’ll have to create an account before using it, however, this process only takes a moment.

Once you’re inside the resume builder you have the option of starting a resume from scratch, importing your resume from your LinkedIn profile, using one of their example resumes, or creating a new resume with AI.

Click on the different sections and fill in the fields to make your resume. You can also add and remove sections to personalize the document.

Click “Customization” along the left-hand side to change the colors, format, font, and template. There’s also an option to have it proofread by a professional, although there is a charge for this service.

When you’re happy with your resume, click “Download” to export it as a PDF file or Word doc, email it to yourself, or save it to Dropbox.

Kickresume also has a premium option. The free option should be good enough for most, as it allows you to build unlimited resumes and gives you access to plenty of resume examples and pre-written phrases for you to use.

But if you want access to all the resume templates and tools you might want to consider the premium option. You can choose a monthly, quarterly, or yearly plan. While they don’t have a free trial they do offer a 14-day money-back guarantee.

Indeed is known mostly as a job search tool to find employment opportunities in your local area. However, the company also offers a free resume builder to help job seekers perfect their resume before applying for postings.

Once you choose one of their eight different templates you’re taken to the resume builder where you can edit the document. You can switch templates at any time, adjust the color scheme, and add or remove sections. Once you’re satisfied with what you created about can download your resume as a PDF file.

While there are better resume builders out there, if you’re looking for a quick and easy way to create a resume, this one is a good choice.

Caution: Before Using ANY Online Resume Builder

There’s one more piece of information you should know before acting on ANY of the online resume builder reviews above.

In my experience, too many job seekers focus on an eye-catching resume design when applying for jobs or emailing recruiters , but they don’t put enough focus on writing great content and information that will appeal to the reader. So no matter which of these top 10 resume builders you choose, focus mostly on the text and information you add, not the design.

In fact, I still recommend a single-column layout.

And the truth is, if I were creating my own resume today, I’d use a regular Word template, not any online software or tool.

I discussed this with a colleague on LinkedIn here:

Microsoft Office has good templates available , and Hloom is another good site for templates.

I can understand if you don’t want to tinker with resume formatting , spacing, etc., and everything that comes with creating it in a Word doc, but that’s what I’d personally do.

Just keep this in mind when choosing any drag-and-drop software above; you should always pick a design that lets you focus on the content and info because that’s what employers want to see. Don’t choose a format that doesn’t give much space to describe your recent work, accomplishments, etc.

Because the FIRST place I look as a recruiter is your work history, under your one or two most recent roles.

I’d also never recommend a resume layout that doesn’t begin with your employment history on the top half of page 1.

Employment experience is often the first thing hiring managers look for (unless you’re an entry-level job seeker), and you should never make them scroll far down the page (or look on page 2) to find it.

Conclusion: Choosing the Best Online Resume Site for You

There isn’t one single best resume builder for all people in all industries, but the 10 choices above provide good, basic options that are user-friendly and will impress hiring managers.

I recommend visiting a few of the sites above and seeing which builder and templates look best to you. Each site offers different features/options, so you’ll want to get a sense of which one feels best to you before creating and downloading a resume.

And if you read my “Caution” statement above and decide to build your own resume in a document rather than in an online app, I have many free resources to help you here.

About the Author

Read more articles by Biron Clark

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Crafting the perfect resume for teens (template & expert advice), are resume writers worth it, don’t say you’re a quick learner on your resume, what do recruiters look for in a resume, chronological resume: the best format (and how to write it), the 3 best colors for a resume, career change resume: examples and tips from experts, what makes a good resume 9 ways to know, how long should a resume be, walk me through your resume: answer examples.

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Best Resume Advice According to Reddit: 6 Tips That Actually Work

• Julia Mlcuchova , 
• Updated January 29, 2024 9 min read

Do you often turn to Reddit for answers to your burning questions? And, have you considered exploring this popular online forum to uncover what the best resume advice according to Reddit is?

Of course, Reddit can be notoriously difficult to navigate and not all of its users actually know what they're talking about.

Still, Reddit and other public forums can be valuable sources of first-hand experience in all things resume. 

We've painstakingly sifted through countless subreddits, all dedicated to resume writing and career tips, to save you the trouble.

Now, we present to you the crème-de-la-crème of Reddit resume advice. 

In this article, you'll find:

• 6 best resume advice according to Reddit;
• What we think about them; 
• And, of course, examples. 

Table of Contents

Click on a section to skip

TL;DR: 5 Best resume advice according to reddit

1. use a single column layout to pass the ats.

• 2. Don't name your resume 'resume.pdf'

3. Keep your job descriptions short. Use bullet points and action verbs

4. use numbers to quantify your achievements, 5. less is more for both word count & job applications per day, 6. use resume builders to make your life easier, key takeaways: best resume advice according to reddit.

First, for those in a hurry, here's the TL;DR version of our top five resume advice gathered from Reddit:

• Use a single column layout to pass the ATS.
• Don't name your resume 'resume.pdf'.
• Keep you job descriptions short. Use bullet points and action verbs.
• Use numbers to quantify your achievements.
• Less is more for both word count & job applications per day.
• Use resume builders to make your life easier.

Now, let's look at the best resume advice according to Reddit users more closely. Here's what we think:

If you thought that layout doesn't play any significant role in the success rate of your resume, you thought wrong!

In case the company you're applying to uses an Applicant Tracking System, always opt for a single column layout . 

The reason? ATS compatibility. 

Even though all ATSs are designed to read text from top to bottom, left to right , not every ATS is programmed to distinguish between columns. 

And you just can't know with certainty which software you'll encounter. Therefore, reduce the risk of your resume being incorrectly processed or rejected by picking a one-column ATS friendly resume template . This will make the process of parsing and interpreting information easier and safer.

HOWEVER. That doesn't mean you should discard the two-column resume all-together. Here are some reasons why a two-column layout can still be beneficial :

• Non-ATS employers . Many companies still don't use ATS systems, making the ATS compatibility argument less relevant in these cases. For these employers, the visual and organizational benefits of a two-column layout could be more advantageous.
• Aesthetics . A two-column format can be more visually engaging, making your resume stand out.
• Ease of reading . Smaller chunks of information can make the resume easier for the human eye to navigate.
• Space management . For those with less experience, a two-column layout can help evenly distribute text and avoid large empty spaces.
• Strategic organization . It allows for a more strategic presentation of information, guiding the recruiter's eyes through your resume efficiently.

Moreover, if you're just entering the workforce with no experience , your resume is probably still quite sparse. 

Because of this, you may end up with a large, unattractive empty space at the bottom of your document. And with one-column structure resumes, this is often the case. 

There' s an easy fix! Organizing your resume sections into a two-column structure can help spread the text more evenly.  

2. Don't name your resume 'resume.pdf'

Indeed, putting together a good resume is quite a tedious process.

There're so many rules and principles to think about, for instance:

• Every single resume section, whether it be the resume summary , work experience section, education section, skills section, or any other optional section, requires your full and undivided attention. 
• You must remember to always tailor your resume to fit a specific job description . 
• Not to mention the subsequent formatting and proofreading!

By the time you've finished writing your resume, you're likely mentally drained. 

It's at this time that errors creep out from the most unexpected places.

One such error is not naming your resume file appropriately .

How to name your resume file: step-by-step.

When naming your resume file for submission, it's important to consider clarity, professionalism, and the likelihood of it being easily found by the recruiters.  

Here are our recommendations for naming your resume file:

• Use your name. Start with your full name. This is the most crucial piece of information because it clearly identifies the document as yours. For example, "PeterStones" .
• Specify the document type. Make it clear that the document is a resume . This helps distinguish your resume from other documents like a cover letter . For example, " Resume ".
• Add the job title. This can be particularly helpful if you are sending the resume directly to a hiring manager. For example, " ProductManager ".
• Use a professional format. Avoid using any unnecessary symbols or fancy formatting. Underscores (_) or hyphens (-) are acceptable to separate words.

A good file name for your resume could look like this: "PeterStones_Resume_ProductManager.pdf".

Finally, before hitting send, consider carefully what to write in an email when sending a resume . Of course, when you're applying for a job, every detail matters. Don't neglect the content of your email – it's also responsible for making a positive first impression.

Undoubtedly, you know that the work experience section is the heart and soul of your resume.  

The recruiters always pay it the most attention, and so you need to be extra diligent and patient while writing about your past employment. 

Consequently, many will try to fit in as much information as humanly possible, disregarding the readability and quality of their entries. To steer clear from such mistake, follow these two simple principles:

• Organize your work descriptions into bullet points . Under each work experience entry, list 4-5 bullet points underlining your most notable responsibilities and achievements. That is to say, you should focus on demonstrating the impact your presence had on your former employment, rather than just stating your daily duties. 
• Open the said bullet points with action verbs . The recruiters don't care about long winding sentences! That's why it's a good idea to start each bullet point with an action verb . This will not only make your writing more concise, but it'll also depict you as a proactive, and therefore valuable, employee.

For example, a well conceptualized work entry description can look like this:

Work experience entry example:

Senior Product Manager XYZ Tech Solutions, New York, NY | June 2019 – Present

• Led a team of 8 in the development of an innovative mobile application, increasing user retention by 35% within six months.
• Collaborated with cross-departmental teams to streamline product delivery, reducing time-to-market by 20%.
• Managed product lifecycle from concept to launch, including market analysis, positioning, and rollout strategy.
• Oversaw a budget of $1M, optimizing resource allocation and cutting costs by 15% without impacting product quality.

This is another great resume advice according to a Reddit user!

The recruiters adore to see numbers in your resume! Why, you ask?

It makes life a bit easier for them. By quantifying your accomplishments, you simultaneously allow recruiters to better gauge your abilities ; and add more weight to your words . 

Be as specific as you can - numbers are universal. 

Struggling to figure out how to incorporate numbers into your resume? Here are few examples of what you can quantify:

• Revenue and sales increases. If you contributed to growing revenue or sales, specify the percentage or dollar amount of the increase. For example: " Boosted sales by 20% within a six-month period. "
• Cost reduction. Similarly, if you implemented strategies that reduced costs, mention the amount or percentage saved. For example: " Cut operational costs by 15% through process optimization ."
• Time efficiency. If you streamlined processes, indicate how much time was saved. For example: " Reduced project turnaround time by 30% ."
• Team management. If you manage a team, you can specify the number of people you supervise. For example: " Led a team of 12 sales professionals ."
• Project scope and delivery. Quantify the size or value of the projects you managed, then mention if you delivered them under budget or ahead of schedule. For example:  " Managed projects worth $2M, consistently delivering 10% under budget ."
• Training and development. If you were involved in training, mention the number of people you trained or the improvement in performance post-training. For example: " Trained over 30 employees, leading to a 40% increase in overall team efficiency. "

Resume advice two-in-one!

As this Reddit user rightly pointed out, less is sometimes more . 

This is especially true when it comes to the content of your resume as well as the amount of job applications you send out each day .

When crafting your resume, keep in mind that you must show the recruiters that you have everything they're looking for . Chances are, you actually have much more – more diverse job experience; more interesting hobbies; or more fulfilling volunteer work you'd like to share with them. 

Obviously, resumes have their length limitations . Once you've started to write yours, you'll soon learn that you have to be picky! 

Recruiters prefer resumes that are focused, relevant, and straight-to-the-point. In other words, don't make them read information they didn't ask for. 

The same applies to applying for jobs.

Many in this situation start panic-applying to every single job posting they find. Because they assume that the more applications they send, the bigger their chances at landing a job will be. 

Makes sense right?

In theory, maybe. In practice? Hardly!

Believe it or not, there's such a thing as sending too many applications. Basically, if your solely focus on the quantity of applications, you're running the risk of sacrificing their quality . 

And that is a problem. If you'd like to learn how to go about this problem, including tips on how to manage the pressure of job hunting, take a look at what research says about the ideal number of job applications .

Now, hand over your heart!

Would you prefer to sit in front of your computer for hours, battling with Microsoft Word and its many settings? Trying to create a perfect resume design from scratch? 

Admit it, even the thought of setting margins and spacing makes you roll your eyes. 

Hence, arguably the best resume advice according to reddit is to make a resume with an online resume builder to avoid these inconveniences (politely said).

No need to scratch your head over a layout or the best colour palette! Instead, simply pick a resume template that best suits your needs (both aesthetic and practical), fill in all your information, and watch your resume come to life in seconds. 

Additionally, resume builders can proofread and correct any misspellings or typos you might've otherwise missed. 

Sounds good? If so, your perfect resume is one click away.

Resume template by Kickresume

This resume was written by our experienced resume writers specifically for this profession.

In conclusion, Reddit and other public forums can serve as a good starting point for seeking resume advice.

Apart from first-hand applicant experience, many posts are sumbitted by actual hiring managers.

However, there's a lot to weed out first to find the best resume advice according to reddit.

Plus, you should always compare your findings with reputable sources. Which is exactly what we did.

• Don't forget to name your resume file appropriately.
• Keep your job descriptions short with bullet points and action verbs.
• Keep your resume concise and the number of daily applications reasonable. 
• Use online tools (like Kickresume) to build your resume.

Ready to create the perfect resume?

Create a beautiful resume quickly with the help of AI and our customizable templates.

Julia has recently joined Kickresume as a career writer. From helping people with their English to get admitted to the uni of their dreams to advising them on how to succeed in the job market. It would seem that her career is on a steadfast trajectory. Julia holds a degree in Anglophone studies from Metropolitan University in Prague, where she also resides. Apart from creative writing and languages, she takes a keen interest in literature and theatre.

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I tested 5 AI resume builders to help get a job — here's what happened

Here’s how to apply for a job using AI

I long for the day when I’ll wake up in the morning and get my AI ready to go to work for me . Until that time comes, the least AI could do for me today is to help me land a job I like.

Not everyone is a fan of resume and cover letters, but they remain staples in many recruitment processes.

For years, employers have also been using forms of AI to filter through these documents in order to narrow down the pool of applications they receive for any given vacancy. 

The latest advances in generative AI mean that right now employees can leverage AI tools at their disposal to empower themselves in the job-hunting process.

I wanted to see how powerful these tools are. To find out, I created a shortlist of AI resume and cover letter builders that I wanted to try. Tom’s Guide believes in fair fights, so I used each of them as though I was applying for the same job with the same profile.

A target was required and I found a LinkedIn ad for a real job as a remote Software Engineer with generative AI responsibilities at Meta (formerly Facebook) that looked promising.

The role asked for a candidate with over two years of coding experience and over two years of building large-scale applications. More experience was required in designing and completing medium to large features without guidance. Meta was looking for a candidate with, or in the process of obtaining, a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science, Computer Engineering or equivalent practical experience. In exchange, the company was offering a salary between $116k and $168k per year.

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I created a fictitious aspiring Meta software engineer, Tamsin Smith, in order to have some kind of profile I could submit to the AI. Smith holds two Stanford University degrees in computing science, completed an internship with Twitter and has been working at Google as a software engineer since 2019. 

If that’s not enough for Mark Zuckerberg to give her an offer, she also leads a local scouting group in her free time.

With an actual job ad and an alter ego in hand, I was ready to start reviewing AI tools. Read on to find out which tools I used, what they produced and my thoughts on their performance.

My first attempt was with Rezi.ai since it offers a free basic service and I wanted to check if the way I designed the review could work in principle. And it did!

Right after confirming my email, I was creating Tamsin Smith’s first resume.

I was presented with a choice between a “Job-Tailored Resume” and a “General Purpose Resume”; I went with the first choice as it was exactly what this test was about. It asked me for the role and company I’m targeting but I was blindsided when Rezi asked me to insert a job application I’d written for the role. Isn’t this something the AI should be doing for me?

I finished this side quest and then added basic details like my name and email, followed by my previous work experience. Here’s when I first encountered signs of AI life in the form of a bullet point generator to further explain my role. 

Rezi went on to ask me to add details on projects I’d worked on, my education history, certifications, coursework, involvement in other organizations, and my skills.

The next exciting step was the summary section, where I gladly let the AI take control. It was nothing I couldn’t have come up with myself if I simply wanted to summarize my resume, but it at least merits a pass mark. (I wanted to ask the AI to write a cover letter for me based on the finished resume but that feature requires a subscription.)

Overall Rezi marked the resume it produced at 87 out of 100, which I think is a bit too generous. If you have a rough idea of what you want your resume to look like, by all means, use Rezi so you don’t have to worry about the formatting. It might also provide a helpful AI-generated bullet point or two along the way.

If you were worried that not using Rezi’s AI was the one thing stopping you from getting your dream job, rest assured that (at least with its free version) this is not the case.

My score: 3/5

Resumaker.ai

“Designed templates that will get you hired at the world's leading companies,” Resumaker proudly displayed on its homepage. I also had to pay ($0.99) to download my resume and cover letter. Surely, I was on the verge of getting Tamsin hired?

By now I’d gotten the hang of inserting details like my education and work history. In this regard, little separates the resume builders tested here.

The AI kicked in to provide me with text I could insert as accomplishments in my jobs and as the headline summary. The latter left much to be desired but at least it was presentable. Resumaker didn’t offer to beef up my volunteering section so I had to write that part manually. As a whole, the resume felt a bit dry but at least it was presentable.

However, it’s a good thing this service isn’t called Coverlettermaker. Every sentence it generated started with either an “I am” or “I have”. When you’re working with such a structure, there’s only so much you can do to make the rest more exciting. Furthermore, it left the [Company Name] field for me to fill in. AI that’s supposed to help me land a job in a highly competitive market should come with higher standards. 

Resumaker.ai claims that thousands of applications it created landed people jobs. If there’s any truth to that, then on the bright side we really shouldn’t be overthinking what we’re sending to hiring managers.

The main question I asked myself before deciding whether each AI builder deserved a pass mark was: Can I send out the résumé as is? 

Teal didn’t quite make the cut here.

It asked me to connect the specific job I was applying for from LinkedIn to the resume and it started analyzing the job ad for keywords I should include. Fantastic! I was ready for a made-to-measure summary, past accomplishments, and cover letter — the areas where I wanted the AI to work its magic.

Unfortunately, this is where I felt let down. In the headline summary, Teal ended up giving me a compilation of the achievements it had previously generated but also prominently added that I had expertise in “work authorization”. The AI thought the right to work in the U.S. requirement from Meta’s job description was a hard skill. 

It scored its own resume at 79%.

As far as its cover letter goes, I appreciated that I could generate it for free without having to spend time adding more details than I already had. However, the result was something I could have just as easily written myself.

My score: 2/5

Kickresume.com

The last AI resume maker I wanted to test was Kickresume, which had the highest monthly fee out of the lot at $19 per month. You can bring that down by paying an annual lump sum that brings the pricing down to $9 a month or, as I did, utilize the free trial version. 

Right when I was losing hope in the resume generators, Kickresume lifted my spirits.

Its helpful AI writer was alongside me from start to finish, offering handy suggestions for work accomplishments, explaining my certifications, and also suggesting skills I should list specifically for a software engineering position. I ended up with a clean-looking CV and I didn’t even have to break a sweat.

Kickresume gave the resume it generated a score of 88/100.

If I’m in a pinch and need a new resume that I don’t have to scan for AI-generated sentences that would land me in the "rejected" pile, Kickresume.com is the first website I’ll be visiting.

I wanted to add a nice cherry to the cake, so I asked Kickresume to create a cover letter using the great resume it made. But this is where I was underwhelmed. 

While devoid of grammatical errors, I felt as though the AI didn’t take the résumé and job description I gave into consideration. It provided me with a few short lines that didn’t even name-drop Tamsin’s fictitious stints at Twitter and Google. You wouldn’t even know she completed two degrees at Stanford. Based on my positive experience with the résumé, I couldn’t believe this was the same AI content generator.

My score: 4/5

No subscriptions. No plugins. I wanted to see how well the free version of OpenAI ’s ChatGPT would do against the four dedicated AI resume and cover letter generators listed above.

I tweaked a prompt that I found online and, in 161 words, I asked the AI for a first draft of my new resume. I then asked the chatbot to refine its work based on the job description I gave it to make my resume less generic. In seconds, I had my second draft.

Since ChatGPT only gave me a plain text version of my resume, I then pasted what it gave me into a template from one of the previous builders.

I’m happy to announce that both myself and Tamsin were very pleased with the results. The resume easily rivals the ones generated from the other services I tested. I wouldn’t have minded some text to beef up the education section to explain what I had learned at Stanford. Also, the line pointing out that Meta was previously called Facebook is something I would never have included in a resume intended for Meta’s eyes. Other than that, ChatGPT gave me decent results in the shortest amount of time.

I was especially impressed with the cover letter I asked ChatGPT to craft for me. It was perhaps a bit too long for some tastes but it was arguably the most well-rounded out of the five.

Honorary score: 4/5

The verdict

There have already been reports of people using AI to write resumes and cover letters who ended up getting hired for the positions they’ve applied for, and I’m not surprised. But as this test has shown, a website’s claim that it uses AI to provide a service is not some kind of guarantee of the level of service you can expect. 

Shop around when looking for AI resume and cover letter writers. Perhaps combine two or more of them to leverage each one’s specific strengths. But add the finishing touches yourself.

More from Tom's Guide

• Google's new Gemini AI could beat ChatGPT — here's why
• Google’s plan to train its AI now includes the entire public internet
• 3 best AI synthetic video generators you can use today — tested and compared

Christoph Schwaiger is a journalist who mainly covers technology, science, and current affairs. His stories have appeared in Tom's Guide, New Scientist, Live Science, and other established publications. Always up for joining a good discussion, Christoph enjoys speaking at events or to other journalists and has appeared on LBC and Times Radio among other outlets. He believes in giving back to the community and has served on different consultative councils. He was also a National President for Junior Chamber International (JCI), a global organization founded in the USA. You can follow him on Twitter @cschwaigermt.

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More From Forbes

Student loan forgiveness resumes for millions as major program completes transition.

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WASHINGTON, DC October 17, 2022: US President Joe Biden and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona ... [+] deliver an update on student loan forgiveness in the South Court Auditorium of Eisenhower Executive Office Building on Monday, October 17, 2022. (Photo by Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

The Biden administration has resumed application processing for a key student loan forgiveness program geared toward public servants, according to an Education Department update.

Millions of borrowers had been stuck in limbo for months during a servicing transition for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program . PSLF allows borrowers to qualify for loan forgiveness after making 120 qualifying payments — the equivalent of 10 years — while working for eligible nonprofit or public organizations. MOHELA, one of the department’s contracted loan servicers, had been been administering the PSLF program. But as part of a long-planned transition, the Education Department moved PSLF servicing from MOHELA to StudentAid.gov, and suspended processing during the transfer.

More than 900,000 borrowers had received student loan forgiveness under PSLF before the processing pause began in May. With the transition now complete, as of last week PSLF borrowers can now view qualifying payments again and receive approvals for discharges.

Here’s what borrowers need to know about the updates.

Transition Of PSLF Payment Counts For Student Loan Forgiveness Is Now Complete

Borrowers pursuing student loan forgiveness through the PSLF program had been able to review detailed information on their qualifying payments through their online MOHELA account. The Education Department and MOHELA update qualifying PSLF payment counts after borrowers submit PSLF employment certification forms, allowing them to track their progress toward eventual student loan forgiveness. But borrowers lost access to their PSLF data in May as the department began its servicing transition platform to StudentAid.gov.

But as of last week, the transition is now complete. Borrowers on track for PSLF can now review their qualifying payment information via their StudentAid.gov accounts.

“As of July 1, 2024, the PSLF program has successfully transitioned from the previous specialty servicer and now is fully managed by ED on StudentAid.gov,” said an Education Department update last week. “You can now see your progress toward PSLF on the My Aid section of your Dashboard when you log in to StudentAid.gov using your StudentAid.gov account username and password combination (sometimes called an FSA ID). The display will show your loan details, payment history (for PSLF months), and employment certification.”

Best High-Yield Savings Accounts Of 2024

Best 5% interest savings accounts of 2024, student loan forgiveness processing for pslf is resuming.

The Education Department is also resuming processing student loan forgiveness for borrowers who have reached the 120-payment threshold for PSLF. Loan forgiveness processing had been paused during the three-month transition that began in May.

“As we are updating PSLF payment counts, we are also working to review approvals for forgiveness,” said the update. If borrowers are approved for student loan forgiveness, “You will first receive a notice from ED that you have been approved for forgiveness followed by a separate notice from your servicer once the discharge is complete.”

It can take up to 90 days for a borrower’s federal student loans to be discharged after their PSLF qualifying payment count has been updated to 120 or more.

Delays In Student Loan Forgiveness Processing Expected For PSLF

Advocates had warned that there might be significant delays in processing student loan forgiveness and updating PSLF qualifying payment counts after the servicing transition was completed. While the new Education Department update does not directly address delays, the announcement does indicate that officials are focusing on managing what is a likely backlog of PSLF applications.

“If you met the PSLF requirements for forgiveness before the processing pause that began on May 1, 2024, we are prioritizing approval for your discharge,” says the department. This suggests that borrowers who qualify for student loan forgiveness based on qualifying payments made during or after May 2024 will need to wait a bit longer for their PSLF forms to get processed and their student loan forgiveness to be approved. The department did not indicate how long the process may take.

Borrowers Can Request Forbearance While Student Loan Forgiveness Gets Processed

Those who are currently in repayment, but anticipate qualifying for student loan forgiveness through PSLF because they have made 120 or more qualifying payments, can consider requesting a forbearance . A forbearance would suspend monthly payments while keeping the loan in good standing. However, this can be risky, as interest would still accrue during the forbearance, and the period would not count toward PSLF if the application is ultimately rejected.

“If you believe you’ve reached 120 qualifying payments but the updates are not yet reflected in your StudentAid.gov account, you may contact your federal student loan servicer directly to request a forbearance,” says the updated Education Department guidance. “However, if your PSLF form doesn’t meet the program requirements and is denied, the forbearance period won’t count and any interest that accrued may be capitalized (added to the unpaid principal amount of your loan).”

Alternatively, borrowers can continue to make payments while waiting for their PSLF application to be processed and student loan forgiveness to ultimately get approved. “If you continue to make payments, any overpayments will either be applied to any other of your outstanding federal student loans or refunded to you,” says the department. However, while the department has issued payment refunds in the past, the process of actually getting refunded can sometimes be lengthy.

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To that end, you should know that many advertisers pay us a fee if you purchase products after clicking links or calling phone numbers on our website.

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Best Resume Builders Based on In-Depth Reviews

• 200+ Hours of research
• 18 Sources used
• 45 Companies vetted
• 4 Research Criteria
• 4 Top Picks

• Tailor your resume to fit the job you’re applying for
• Read the terms and conditions dealing with payments
• Follow site recommendations and hints on crafting your resume
• Beware of sites that guarantee a job
• How we analyzed the best Resume Builders
• Our Top Picks: Resume Builders Reviews
• Jobscan review

Best for Optimizing a Resume

Even though Jobscan’s main product isn’t resume writing, we chose this site for its features that help people edit their resumes so they stand the best chance of leading to a job offer.  

If you already have a resume written or want to alter a resume to fit a specific job description, you can paste or upload your resume, then paste the job description to Jobscan, and receive what is called a match rate. The match rate will tell you how well your resume matches the job description and makes recommendations on how to improve your match with that particular job. Recommendations can include the use of more (or fewer) keywords, adding or changing job titles, or adding more soft or hard skills (without putting in false information). The goal is to achieve a match of 80% or more.

Screenshot of https://www.jobscan.co/ 1/8/2020

Jobscan will also identify the type of automatic tracking system (ATS) the company you are applying for is using (more on ATS’s later on). This way, your resume can be optimized to match better with that system and increase the chance of your resume getting to a recruiter.

The site also has a feature called the Job Matcher, which matches your resume to jobs posted to Indeed or Zip Recruiter. You can alter these matches by changing keywords or skills in your resume to see different job postings. Other features include LinkedIn profile optimization, an interview tracker, scan tracker, multiple resume tracker, and more. Jobscan also offers a resume writing guide, a wealth of tutorials, and articles to help get the most out of your job search.

Pricing Plans

• Flowcv.io review

Best Free Resume Builder

We chose Flowcv.io as our best free resume builder because, well, it’s free. No price plans, no subscriptions. You get full access to all the site’s features without having to pay for a premium plan. Although at the end of the process, the company asks you to buy them a cup of coffee if you like your finished product. 

Flowcv.io offers 24 different resume templates you can choose from. Using the site is easy. Click on Content, then click on clearly marked boxes to enter personal and contact information. You choose what information you want to include. Click on each section to fill in skills summary, professional experience, education, certifications, languages spoken, social media links, and more. Each section you need to fill out has a tips tab on the right-hand side to provide help or examples. Or you can build a custom resume if you like.

Once you have the content filled in, use the editorial tools in the Design tab. You can change headers and footers, layouts, fonts, format and style. Want to stand out a little more?  Add accent colors and other design features. If you want someone to check your resume for spelling and overall readability, you can add a link to send it to a friend. Flowcv.io doesn’t limit the number of resumes you can save or download, either. We were able to create a fairly decent resume within 30 minutes, although we recommend taking longer than that to actually build yours.

Screenshot of https://flowcv.io/ 1/8/2020

Flowcv.io is a relatively new site, having been created about two years ago. Services such as resume rewrites or professionally written resumes aren’t offered on the site, although services like these may be added in the near future. Overall, if you are looking for a free resume builder, we find it hard to beat this one.

We’d put their price plans here--but they don’t have any. The price of coffee, however, ranges between $3.00 and $15.00.

• Resumonk.com review

Best for the Long Term

We chose Resumonk.com because they have a one-time payment for a Forever Plan. Yes, pay once and you get to use their services forever. Why would you need (or want) to have a forever plan? It will depend on your field of expertise.

The computer software and tech industries have the highest employee turnover rate, followed by retail and consumer products, media and entertainment, and professional services. If you are really good at what you do and you work in one of these industries, you are more than likely going to be moving on (and up) rather often. Having lifetime access to a resume builder means you don’t have to sign up or subscribe to a service every few years.

Screenshot of https://www.resumonk.com/ 1/8/2020

Resumonk.com has easy-to-follow steps for creating your resume. You can fill in the sections as they appear on the page, or you can add sections. The site allows you to create a personal URL to share your resume, and you can import your LinkedIn profile. The free plan is somewhat limited, but the premium plans (paid) offer more options and flexibility at a fairly reasonable one-time cost. The paid plans also offer date-wise and location-wise analytics that will help you keep track of who has seen your resume.

The site has a blog with helpful hints on how to choose the best template, interview tips, how to get the most out of networking, and more. In all, Resumonk.com offers a nice variety of resume building options at a reasonable price.

• Go2Job review

Best Phone App

We included a phone app here because so many people use their phones for everyday tasks, including job hunting. Other people may not have easy access to a computer but do have access to a smartphone. The big advantage of phone apps is that they are free (although most include advertising).

Go2Job is easy to use and free. It offers a variety of template choices, editing tools, and resume writing tips. It has ads, but they aren’t annoying or popping up every five seconds. The app allows you to save your resume as a PDF document as you go and also offers the option of emailing it once you are done. You can build, save, or email as many resumes as you like.

Screenshot of https://play.google.com/store/apps 1/8/2020

There were a number of phone apps that we liked, but what elevated Go2Job over the others is its link to available jobs. As soon as you put your job title in the app, it links to Indeed.com and you get access to all available jobs with that title. Enter your location and the search is narrowed to available positions in your area. So you not only get a resume and cover letter builder, but also a link to a job search site. Tweak the job title, and find related positions that you may qualify for.

All in all, we found this to be a great app with a lot of features and a useful tool for anyone looking to build a resume.

• Honorable Mentions

We like Pongo.com because they offer a variety of services at a reasonable cost. We prefer their yearly plan, which has a cost of $59.95. You get tips, resume and cover letter builder, resume critique, activity tracking and more. They also have a limited free plan. Best of all, their pricing, billing, and cancellation policies are easily found at the bottom of the home page.

Another is kickresume.com . This site offers a lot of variety in terms of templates, tools, and advice content at prices ranging from free to $9.90 per month. They also let you create your own website and, what really stood out to us, they offer their premium plan to students for free.

• More insight into our methodology
• Transparent Pricing

Most consumer complaints about resume builders concern their hidden costs and recurring billing. For that reason, we chose companies whose prices were easily found either at the top or bottom of their home pages.

We then checked the site’s Terms and Conditions to check for automatic billing and any refund policy it might have. This doesn’t mean other sites that don’t disclose pricing upfront offer a bad product, just that we prefer a little more transparency. No one likes to open a credit card statement and be surprised by recurring charges that have accrued from a resume subscription service they no longer need or use.

Resume builders that offered a variety of services, examples, advice blogs and articles, or that offered a unique service, were ranked over sites focusing strictly on resume building. We found that the more options a resume builder provided its customers, the better the end product.

• Ease of Use

Sites that were easy to use or offered guided steps were given more consideration, since inexperienced resume writers were more likely to end up with a finished product they could actually use. We wrote sample resumes to check for the ease of writing, the availability of editing tools, and the ease of either submitting a resume online or downloading it to a computer.

• Customer Satisfaction

Finally, we checked user reviews to see what products or services the site offered were the most useful. We checked independent online reviews, as well as review sites like Trustpilot, to see how each site rated in terms of customer satisfaction. Resume builders with a large number of reviews and a high rating (4.5 stars or above) were given more weight.

• Helpful information about Resume Builders

Finding Employment in Today’s Job Market: Getting Your Foot in the Door

Whether you’re unemployed, looking to switch careers, or have an unexpected employment opportunity pop up, the hardest part of the job search process may very well be creating your own resume. Knowing how to showcase your skills in the best possible light in the fastest, most effective way in order to grab a recruiter’s attention is the key to getting that first interview.  

• Job Hunting in an Online World

Today, job seekers and recruiters alike look to online sources and social media for information on open positions and viable candidates. A resume builder can help you use the right format, keywords, and structure to get you noticed. 

In order to keep track of a large number of applicants, most companies have turned to automated software called applicant tracking systems (ATS). These systems are designed to look for specific keywords and skills in a resume in order to identify viable candidates; in a way, they weed out candidates rather than search for the best one. Only 25% of resumes submitted online get passed on to a human recruiter for further evaluation.

To get past the ATS, a resume needs to be crafted to fit a specific job description and use the right keywords. Even then, your resume still faces challenges. Although it varies by the recruiter, your resume may have between six seconds to a few minutes to make an impression. That’s how long a recruiter will take to view your resume before deciding if it’s worth a longer look. The clearer, easier to read, and more to the point your resume is, the better your chances.

• Concerns About the Industry

While online resume builders can be a useful tool, the industry in general suffers from a bad reputation. This comes mostly from billing practices that may not be clearly explained or understood or are, in some cases, misleading.

When using these sites, remember that most of them will offer a free option, but that free option may be limited in the number of resumes you can build or templates you can use, etc. In order to get more options, you may have to subscribe. In other cases, in order to use a free trial period you have to agree to pay a subscription fee which begins once the trial period is over. On some sites, this “agreement” comes in the form of a pre-checked box that gives the resume builder permission to charge you once your free trial period is over. This practice is something the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) frowns upon, by the way.

If you do choose to pay, before doing so look at the Terms and Conditions of the builder. We know: terms and conditions are tedious. Skip to the Payments or Subscriptions section and make sure you understand what the site will be charging you, for how long, and how you can cancel your service. Check the company’s refund policy - if they have one. If free trial periods are offered, be sure to cancel them within the specified time period (unless you actually want to continue the subscription). Some people we know put a Post-It note on their computer screens to remind them of the date of the end of the free trial. Otherwise, you will be charged the subscription fee on a recurring basis. Most important, keep documentation of every contact you have with Customer Service.

Lastly, beware of empty promises. The most a resume builder can do for you is increase the chance that your resume gets past the ATS and into the hands of a human being. If a site offers a job guarantee, run away.

• What Recruiters are Looking For

While ATS software is designed to weed out candidates, the human recruiter is looking for reasons to include a candidate.

Where most resume writers, who either use a resume builder or write one themselves, run into trouble isn’t necessarily the format or the font or the layout, but the content of the resume itself. The biggest mistake people make when creating their resume is simply listing their job duties rather than showing how they performed their duties in a way that benefited their employer. “Ninety-nine percent of resumes are simply a regurgitation of job duties. And that to a recruiter is worthless,” said Jim D’Amico, president of the Association of Talent Acquisition Professionals (ATAP). “Tell me why you do it, tell me how you do it. Don’t tell me what you do.”

Jim D’Amico has worked in recruiting and talent acquisition for the past 26 years. For the past 15 years he has worked as an internal recruiter for large companies, and is currently serving as President of the Association of Talent Acquisition Professionals. Photo provided by Jim D’Amico.

When writing a resume, be concise, clear, and make sure you highlight how you did your job in a way that was better or different than other candidates. You want to make sure you stand out for what you have accomplished. Make sure, however, that you stick to facts. Lies on a resume can lead you to be dropped from consideration.

If you have gaps in your job history don’t worry unduly. Job gaps aren’t necessarily viewed as negatives by recruiters nowadays, as long as you have an explanation and are able to show that during the gap you either learned new skills or kept up to date on new technology. Even gaps like taking two years off to travel can be translated into a positive if you can show you used or developed skills that are useful to the position being applied for.

Tailor your resume to the particular job you are applying to. A resume that is too general will get lost in the shuffle. Virginia Franco, president of the National Resume Writers Association (NRWA), mentions that you don’t want to be seen as a jack of all trades since you won’t be considered a good fit. “You want to be a specialist, not a generalist,” she advises.

Virginia Franco has an undergraduate degree in Journalism and a Masters Degree in Social Work. She has earned several certifications in resume writing and online professional networking. For the past four years she has served on the board of the National Resume Writers Association, and is currently serving as this organization’s President. Photo provided by Virginia Franco.

• Other Resources

Online resume builders aren’t the only option you have when crafting a resume. Depending on what your ultimate career goals are, you may find some of these other resources for resume writing to be a better fit.

Professional Resume Writers

A professional resume writer is someone you hire to gather information from you, see what your employment goals are, and create a resume to fit your job target. Because these resumes are personalized, they’re expensive, but it is a one-time investment. Prices range from $150.00 per resume to $3,000.00 or more, depending on the type of resume/job you are applying for.

There are different ways the professional resume writer will gather your information. Some may conduct an in-person interview. Others may engage via e-mail or have you fill out questionnaires. A good writer will spend at least 30 minutes gathering information from you, and these initial consultations are usually free.  Once a price has been set, the writer may schedule more interviews to get more details from you and may present multiple versions of a resume before a final version is settled upon.

The NRWA, a non-profit organization that supports and certifies members of the industry, offers a directory of its members located throughout the country. The site allows you to search for three different levels of resume writers - professional resume writer, nationally certified resume writer, and nationally certified online profile expert. These professionals are listed by state as well as by expertise in writing resumes by industry.You can also locate local professional resume writers in your area via online searches.

Job Search Sites

Job boards are another source for great resume and career advice. Sites like Monster and Indeed not only provide a free job board but also resources such as resume and cover letter samples, interview advice, salary negotiation tips, and more. 

For a fee, Monster also provides professional resume writing services ranging in price from $129.00 to $349.00, depending on the type of job you’re targeting. These fees are per resume and are not recurring.

LinkedIn, although not a job board, has rapidly become one of the most used sites by recruiters looking for the best candidates. Having an updated profile on the site can not only help you connect with other professionals but also highlight achievements in your field that can be attractive to hiring agents. Passive candidates, or candidates who are employed and not necessarily looking for work, are regularly recruited by employers and their agents. Franco counsels people to always keep their LinkedIn profiles current. “Keep your options open, make sure your profiles look great online and make sure your resume is ready to go,” she says, “because they’re going to be coming for you even if you are employed.”

Senior citizens looking to get back into the job market have an extra resource.The  AARP offers informative articles and tips on job hunting plus a link to Top Resume. AARP members enjoy a 20% discount on Top Resumes’ resume writing plans (regular prices range from $139.00 to $319.00, depending on the plan).

Whether you use an online resume builder, decide to write your own, or hire a professional resume writer, know that in the end the amount of effort you put into the task directly correlates to the quality of the finished product. Remember you are trying to stand out among a crowd of applicants with a similar background. As D’Amico says, tell the recruiter how you made or saved your employer money, “then tell them how you did it better than others.”

• FAQs about Resume Builders

What is the difference between a resume and a CV?

What is a keyword, how far back should i detail my work experience, why do i need more than one resume.

• Our Resume Builders Review Summed Up

• Looking for a new job? Here are the highest paying industries in the U.S.
• Finding Employment in Today’s Job Market: Getting Your Foot in the Door

40+ Resume Tips to Help You Land a Job in 2024

When you haven’t updated your resume in a while, it can be hard to know where to start. What experiences and accomplishments are relevant for the jobs you’ve got your eye on? What new resume rules and trends should you be following? And seriously, one page or two ?

Well, search no more: We’ve compiled all the resume tips you need into one place. Read on for advice and tricks that’ll help you craft a winning resume—and land your next job.

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Basic resume tips

Let's start with the basic do's and don'ts when putting your resume together. Listing your skills is not the only thing that matters—choosing the right format and sections is equally crucial. Here are some tips for writing a resume from scratch:

1. Don’t try to cram every skill and work experience onto your resume

Think of your resume not as a comprehensive list of your career history, but as a marketing document selling you as the perfect person for the role you’re applying to. For each resume you send out, you’ll want to highlight only the accomplishments and skills that are most relevant to the job at hand (even if that means you don’t include all of your experience ).

This is called tailoring your resume and it helps anyone who reads it see exactly why you’re a match for a specific position.

2. But keep a resume outline with a full list of your qualifications

Since you’ll be swapping different information in and out depending on the job you’re applying to, save a resume outline —or maybe our resume worksheet —on your computer with old positions, bullet points tailored for different applications, and special projects that only sometimes make sense to include. Think of this as your brag file. Then, when you’re crafting each resume, it’s just a matter of cutting and pasting relevant information together.

3. Ditch the objective statement

The only time an objective section makes sense is when you’re making a huge career change and need to explain from the get-go why your experience doesn’t match up with the position you’re applying to. In every other case, resume objectives just make you look old-fashioned or out of touch.

Read More: 3 Reasons You Should Ditch That Resume Objective—and 3 Things You Can Do Instead

4. Put the best, most relevant information first

In journalism speak, “above the fold” refers to what you see on the front half of a folded newspaper (or, in the digital age, before you scroll down on a website)—basically it’s your first impression of a document. In resume speak, it means you should make sure your most relevant qualifications are visible on the top third of your resume.

This top section is what the hiring manager is going to see first—and what will serve as a hook for someone to keep on reading. If your most recent position isn’t the most relevant piece of your candidacy, consider leading with a skills section (such as in a combination resume format ) or writing a resume summary .

5. Choose the right resume format for you

There are lots of different ways to organize the information on your resume—like the functional resume or combination resume. But the good old reverse chronological —where your most recent experience is listed first—is usually your best bet. Unless it’s absolutely necessary in your situation, skip the functional or skills-based resume—hiring managers might wonder what you’re hiding.

6. Keep it concise

The two-page resume is a hotly debated topic, but the bottom line is this—you want the information here to be as short as possible, and keeping it to one page forces you to prioritize what really matters. If you truly have enough relevant and important experience, training, and credentials to showcase on more than one page of your resume, then go for two. But if you can tell the same story in less space? Do it.

Read More: 6 Pro Tips for Cutting Your Resume Down to One Page

7. Include relevant links

Can’t figure out how to tell your whole story on one page, or want to be able to include some visual examples of your work? Instead of trying to have your resume cover everything, cover the most important details on that document. Then, include a link to your personal website , your online portfolio , examples of your work, or a relevant, professional social media profile , where you can dive more into what makes you the ideal candidate.

Just avoid hyperlinking over words that are key to understanding your resume, since it can throw off the tools employers use to store and parse resumes.

8. Be aware of the ATS

You may have heard that employers are using computers to “read” your resume and decide who to hire and reject. That’s not exactly true. But most employers do use software called an applicant tracking system—or ATS—to parse resumes and organize them so that recruiters and hiring managers can search for the most relevant applications.

You should assume your resume will pass through an ATS at some point during your job search, so understanding how it works will help make your hunt more efficient. (All of the tips for resume writing in this list keep ATSs in mind as well!)

Read More: Beat the Robots: How to Get Your Resume Past the System and Into Human Hands

Resume formatting tips

Your resume's format matters as much as the content it holds. Aim for a simple and minimalist layout, without overwhelming columns, colors, or graphic elements. Here are some key resume formatting tips to help you stand out:

9. Keep your resume format simple

We’ll talk about getting creative in order to stand out in a minute. But the most basic principle of good resume formatting and design? Keep it simple. Make your resume easy on hiring managers’ eyes by using a reasonably sized default font like Helvetica or Arial and leaving a healthy amount of white space on the page. Your main focus here should be on readability for the hiring manager (and that pesky ATS).

Read more: The Best Resume Font and Size (No More Agonizing!)

10. Stand out with ATS-friendly design elements

Really want your resume to stand out from the sea of Times New Roman? Yes, creative resumes —like infographics, videos, or presentations can set you apart, but you have to make sure they actually get read. If you’re uploading your resume to a job application site or online portal, use ATS-friendly formatting elements like:

• Bold and italic text
• Underlining (in headings or over hyperlinks)
• Different text alignments
• Columns that can be read straight across

11. Avoid design elements that can’t be “read” by computers

On the flip side, it’s best to avoid design elements that ATSs are known to have trouble with such as:

• Logos and icons
• Images and photos
• Graphics, graphs, or other visuals
• Headers and footers
• Less common fonts
• Columns that can only be read from top to bottom

12. Make your contact info prominent

You don’t need to include your address on your resume anymore (really!), but you do need to make sure to include a phone number and professional-sounding email address (but not one affiliated with another job!) as well as other places the hiring manager can find you on the web, like your LinkedIn profile, plus your pronouns if you’d like to.

Read More: Here's Exactly What Should Be Included in Your Resume's Header

13. Design your resume for skimmability

You’ve probably heard before that hiring managers don’t spend a lot of time on each individual resume. So help them get as much information as possible in as little time as possible, by making your resume easy to skim .

Work experience resume tips

Recruiters nowadays want to know more than a simple description of your responsibilities. They're looking for the results and impacts of your work, as well as the connection between your experience and the position you're applying for now.

That said, let's take a look at some resume writing tips for describing your work experience:

14. Keep your work experience recent and relevant

As a rule, you should only show the most recent 10-15 years of your career and only include the experiences that are relevant to the positions you’re applying to. Remember to allocate real estate on your resume according to importance. If there’s a choice between including one more college internship or going into more detail about your current role, always choose the latter (unless the internship was more relevant to the role you’re applying for).

15. Don’t forget your transferable skills and experiences

Don’t panic if you don’t have any professional experience that fits the bill. Focus your resume on your relevant and transferable skills along with any related side or academic projects , and then make sure to pair it with a strong cover letter telling the narrative of why you’re ideal for the job.

Read more: What to Put on Your Resume When You Have No Relevant Work Experience

16. Write strong, achievement-focused bullet points

The bullet points under each job entry are arguably the most important part of your resume. They tell whoever’s reading it what skills you have, how you’ve used them, and how you’ve helped your employers in the past.

So start with a strong action verb , include relevant skills from the job description , and frame your bullets around your achievements—don’t just list your job duties . Tell them how your work benefitted your boss or company so they know what they stand to gain by hiring you.

Here’s a simple formula to follow:

• Compelling verb + job duty + key skills used = tangible result

So you might say: “ Developed an upgrade to the employee database, ensuring the smooth flow of critical operations, which led to a 35% increase in efficiency. ”

17. Curate your bullet points and experiences

No matter how long you’ve been in a job, or how much you’ve accomplished there, you shouldn’t have more than eight bullet points under it—and that’s only for your most recent and relevant job. Jobs further back should generally be limited to four to six bullets.

Read More: How Many Bullet Points Should Each Job on Your Resume Have?

18. Use as many numbers as you can

Use facts, figures, and numbers whenever possible in your bullet points. How many people were impacted by your work? By what percentage did you exceed your goals? Quantifying your accomplishments allows the hiring manager to picture the level of work or responsibility you needed to achieve them.

19. Don’t neglect non-traditional work

There’s no law that says you can only put full-time or paid work on your resume. So, if you’ve volunteered , worked part-time or as a temporary or contract worker , freelanced, or interned? Absolutely list these things as their own “jobs” within your career chronology—as long as they’re relevant to the job you’re applying for. The same goes for career breaks . Yes, really.

Read More: 4 Things You Didn't Know You Could Put on Your Resume

20. Use important keywords from the job description

Scan the job description, see what words are used most often, and make sure you’ve included them in your bullet points. For example, does the job description list “CRM” or “Salesforce”? Make sure your resume matches. Not only is this a self-check that you’re targeting your resume to the job, but it’ll also make it easier to search for your resume in an ATS.

Read More: How to Pick Resume Keywords That'll Get Your Job Application Past the ATS

Resume tips for including your education

Most hiring managers will want to know your education level, even if it's not necessarily relevant to the position you're going for. This section is especially important for those changing careers or applying for entry-level jobs—as your education can be an indicator of the skills you have.

Here's some resume tips and tricks for this section:

21. Put experience first, education later

Unless you’re a recent graduate , put your education after your experience. Chances are, your last couple of jobs are more important and relevant to you getting the job than where you went to college.

22. Also keep it in reverse chronological order

Generally, you should list your educational background with the most recent or advanced degree first, working in reverse chronological order. But if older coursework is more specific to the job, list that first to grab the reviewer’s attention.

23. Remove the dates from your education section once you’re a few years into your career

Unless you’re early in your career, don’t list your graduation dates. The reviewer cares more about whether or not you have the degree than when you earned it. And you don’t want to inadvertently open yourself up to age discrimination , which is an unfortunate reality in some job markets.

24. Highlight honors and achievements, not GPA

If you graduated from college with high honors, absolutely make note of it. Showcase that summa cum laude status, the fact that you were in the honors college at your university, a relevant project you completed, or an award you won. You don’t need to list your GPA —employers don’t care as much about GPA as they do what skills you gained in school.

Read More: How to (and How Not to) List Education on Your Resume

25. Include continuing or online education

Feel free to include continuing education, professional development coursework, or online courses in your education section, especially if your resume feels a little light on relevant experience.

Best resume tips for showing off your skills

You shouldn't wait until you get an interview to showcase your skills—your resume can and should have a specific section for them. You can also leverage other sections of the document to incorporate what's relevant for the position.

Here are our tips for making a resume that effectively highlights your skills:

26. Don’t forget your skills section

Be sure to add a section that lists all the relevant skills you have for a position—especially those mentioned in the job description. Include technical skills like software and project management tools or specific knowledge of how to perform relevant tasks. Just make sure to skip including skills that everyone is expected to have, like using email or Microsoft Word. Doing so will make you seem less technologically savvy.

27. But don’t only put your skills in your skills section

Your skills section is an easy way for anyone reading your resume to confirm that you have required qualifications, but that shouldn’t be the only place that your important skills appear. Any skill that’s vital to you being hired should also be in your bullet points—where you can show how you’ve used it in the past.

28. Divvy up your skills for readability

If you have lots of skills that would help you with a job but aren’t necessarily in the same category—say, foreign language, software, and leadership skills—try breaking up your skills sections. Below your “Skills” section, add a subsection titled “Language Skills” or “Software Skills,” for example. Again, we’re going for skimmability here!

29. Show—don’t tell—your soft skills

Describing soft skills on a resume often starts to sound like a list of meaningless buzzwords. But being a “strong leader” or an “effective communicator” are important characteristics you want to get across. Think about how you can demonstrate these attributes in your bullet points without actually saying them.

Read more: The Non-Boring Way to Show Off Your Soft Skills in Your Job Search

Other resume section tips

Resume sections are not fixed like stone-written texts; they can change according to the job position you're applying for or the requirements listed by the company. Here are some examples of sections you can add—and more tips on writing a resume that stand out:

30. Include relevant certifications and licenses

If you have a certification or license that proves you can do some aspect of the job you’re applying for, include it on your resume. This is especially important if that certification or license is legally required to do the job—for example, in nursing, teaching, or driving jobs.

31. Show some (relevant) personality

Feel free to include an “Interests” section on your resume, but only add those that are relevant to the job. Are you a guitar player with your eye on a music company? Definitely include it. But if you’re considering including your scrapbooking hobby for a software developer job at a healthcare company? Best to leave it out.

32. Beware of interests and activities that could be controversial

Maybe you help raise money for your church on the reg. Or perhaps you’re dedicated to canvassing during political campaigns. Yes, these experiences show a good amount of work ethic or possibly other relevant skills—but they could also open you up to be discriminated against by someone who disagrees with the cause. So weigh your decision to include them carefully.

33. Add awards and achievements—when they’re relevant

Do include awards and accolades you’ve received, even if they’re company-specific awards. Just state what you earned them for, e.g., “Earned Golden Salesperson Award for having the company’s top sales record four quarters in a row.” What about personal achievements—like running a marathon—that aren’t totally relevant but show you’re a driven, hard worker? Consider the best way to include them (and if you should).

Resume tips for navigating employment gaps and other sticky situations

If you're an experienced professional, you might have some tricky information to explain. Job hopping, career gap, and short term jobs are examples of things that can make an applicant feel insecure when drafting resumes.

Is that your situation? Check on these good resume tips to explain sticky situations without jeopardizing your chances to get an interview:

34. Cut the short-term jobs

If you stayed at a (non-temporary) job for only a matter of months, consider eliminating it from your resume to avoid looking like a job hopper. Leaving a particularly short-lived job or two off your resume shouldn’t hurt, as long as you’re honest about your experience if asked in an interview. But if the short-term job is super relevant to this job, consider including it anyway.

35. If you have shorter gaps, be strategic about how you list dates

If you have gaps of a few months in your work history, don’t list the usual start and end dates with months and years for each position. Use years only (2018–2020), or just the number of years or months you worked at each position. Just keep it consistent throughout your resume and don’t lie if asked about gaps during an interview.

Read more: How to Explain the Gap in Your Resume With Ease

36. Explain serial job hopping

If you’ve job-hopped frequently, you can include a succinct reason for leaving next to each position like “company closed,” “layoff due to downsizing,” or “relocated to a new city.” By addressing the gaps, you’ll proactively illustrate the reason for your frequent job movement and make it less of an issue.

37. Explain a long break in jobs

Re-entering the workforce after a long hiatus? This is the perfect opportunity for a summary statement at the top, outlining your best skills and accomplishments. Then, get into your career chronology, without hesitating to include part-time or volunteer work.

38. Be intentional about career gaps

While career gaps are becoming increasingly common, you should still frame them in a way that’s relevant to a future employer, by talking about skills you gained or any professional endeavors you took on. If you didn’t focus on professional development, that’s fine too! But not every employer will appreciate it if you get too cutesy about that section of your resume.

For example, if you took time out of the workforce to raise kids, you might not want to creatively describe this parenting experience on your resume, à la “adeptly managed the growing pile of laundry.” Instead state what you did plainly and include any professional skills you may have grown or activities you may have done.

Read More: Stay-at-Home Parent? How to Kill it on Your Comeback Resume

Tips on resume finishing touches

Writing a good resume alone isn't the only thing that matters. How you save and send it can also determine whether the recruiter will even take a look at it. To wrap things up, here are our resume formatting tips and other suggestions to boost your chances of getting noticed:

39. Ditch “References available upon request”

If a hiring manager is interested in you, they’ll ask you for references—and will assume that you have them. There’s no need to address the obvious (and doing so might even make you look a little out of touch!).

40. Proofread, proofread, proofread

It should go without saying, but fully edit your resume and make sure it’s free and clear of typos. And don’t rely on spell check and grammar check alone—step away for a few hours, then read your resume closely again, and ask family or friends to take a look at it for you.

41. Save it as a PDF or Word document

Unless a job posting specifically requests that you do otherwise, your resume should always be submitted as either a PDF or Word document (.docx not .doc). These are the formats that can be most easily opened and most easily parsed by an ATS.

The choice between the two is up to you (again, unless the company you’re applying to requests one format over the other). If you’re emailing your resume, however, PDFs are a bit more likely to maintain your formatting across different computers and programs.

42. Name your file clearly

Ready to save your resume and send it off? Save it as “Jane Smith Resume” instead of “Resume.” The hiring manager is going to have plenty of “Resumes” on their computer, so make it super easy for them to find what they’re looking for. You can even go a bit further and put the position title in your file name (e.g., “Jane Smith Marketing Analyst Resume).

Read More: The (Simple) Guidelines You Should Follow When Naming Your Resume and Cover Letter Files

43. Keep your resume outline fresh

Carve out some time every quarter or so to pull up your resume outline and make some updates. Have you taken on new responsibilities? Learned new skills? Add them. When your resume is updated on a regular basis, you’re always ready to pounce when opportunity presents itself. And even if you’re not job searching, there are plenty of good reasons to keep this document in tip-top shape.

• Services & Software

Article updated on June 30, 2024 at 5:00 PM PDT

Best Resume Writing Services for 2024

Whether you need to build a new resume from scratch or want some professional advice, we’ve curated the best websites, apps and services to make you stand out.

Our Experts

• She received the Renau Writing Scholarship in 2016 from the University of Louisville's communication department.

• Apple software beta tester, "Helps make our computers and phones work!" - Zach's grandparents

CNET’s expert staff reviews and rates dozens of new products and services each month, building on more than a quarter century of expertise.

Even if you've written a resume before, the job market is constantly changing, and it can be hard to keep up. Having a fresh resume ready when you aren't searching can make a huge difference if you need it in a pinch. New formats, new terms, factoring in keywords and making sure your experience is not only up to date but relevant to the job you're applying for can be stressful. Take the pressure off with the best resume writing services.

Some of what you'll need to include in your resume will depend on the industry you want to work in. While it can vary, employers will likely look at your education, work history and skills. We’ve combed through dozens of resume services looking at the most helpful features across a variety of needs. We looked especially closely at the number of custom templates, the amount of guidance the service offered, the ease of navigation and the robustness of the service's privacy policy. Each of these templates and professional writing services will help you create a complete resume that best reflects your skills and experience at an affordable price.

What’s the best resume builder website?

The best resume template and builder should give you a variety of options to customize your resume. Resume.com has many options and customization features that make it a useful tool for almost any candidate applying to any job. You can upload and edit an existing resume, customize an available template from its collection or let the service guide you through creating one from scratch. Resume.com also offers helpful guidance throughout your resume creation process, making sure you include and optimize all your content. Once you’re happy with your resume, you can download it for free in multiple formats.

Depending on where you’re at in the job application process, you might need more guidance than a template. These professional writing services will pair you with experienced writers and coaches to help you craft and perfect resumes, LinkedIn profiles, cover letters and more. These services include more personalized coaching and features, but they tend to be more expensive. We’ve collected a range of options for your budget and needs. Because your resume likely includes your contact information and some personal information, we've also included information about each service's privacy policy.

Best resume templates and builders of 2024

A well-constructed resume can help you stand out during a job search.

• Can create new resume or customize templates
• Many free features, guidance while writing
• Integrated with Indeed job search site
• Difficulty unsubscribing from paid services

Best free resume builder

Resume.com is a free resume writer offering dozens of templates for creating your resume or cover letter, as well as job boards and career advice. You have the option to upload and edit an existing resume, create a new one, or customize one of the sample resumes offered on the site. It's intuitive and easy to use, and it creates a professional-looking final product.

When starting from scratch, you'll go section by section, entering your education, employment history, hobbies and interests, professional skills, languages and references. Resume.com provides question prompts and tips for guidance, as well as career-specific examples you can add if you're struggling to find the right words. You can also choose to forgo any of these sections, rearrange sections and add custom ones depending on what you need. As you update and save each section, you can see how it will appear on the page on your resume preview to the right. You can also change the template, font style and size, or spacing at any time and see it update in real-time in the preview. 

Once you're done, you can download your new resume (in PDF, DocX, RTF or TXT format), create a custom URL or print it out. You also have the option to upload it to Indeed, a job search site that partners with Resume.com . The account you make will work with both Indeed and Resume.com . On the privacy side, the site does collect user information. If you want to delete your account, simply click your profile icon and then Account . Clicking Close My Account deletes your account and your data. If you didn't make an account, you can still choose Delete Guest Data . You can also request your data, and the company will send you an email with what it has collected. 

On the review site Trustpilot , Resume.com only has 38 reviews, but of those, 53% of them awarded the site four or five stars. Some negative reviews speak of difficulty unsubscribing from paid services, so read carefully as you use the free aspects of this service . 

• Guided help writing work experience descriptions
• Cover letter and CV help
• Easy to change layout and color styles
• Must pay to download resume

Best option for your first resume

Resume genius.

The website Resume Genius says you can "make a professional resume in 12 minutes." We tested it out and indeed had a solid first draft of an easy resume completed in about 10 minutes. Resume Genius takes you step-by-step through the process, prompting you with questions about your education and work experience to help you fill out the applicable sections. Resume Genius is particularly helpful because you can search for a job and see prewritten text for the description that you can add or edit. When finished, you can easily toggle between different templates to see what looks best for the final product. You also have the option to directly share your resume with Indeed or Resume Library. 

The site can also help you build cover letters and curriculum vitae. After you input all your information, you can choose different layout styles and colors. It's easy to move through, but you have to do it in order and fill in all the information before continuing. Resume Genius also offers examples of resumes, CVs and cover letters for specific jobs, as well as recommended jobs near you. You can download the resume you create for $3 (which starts a 14-day trial for Resume Genius Pro), or $8 (which kicks off a monthly subscription plan). If you fail to cancel your trial before the 14 days are up, you'll be billed $24 every four weeks, according to the site. 

On Trustpilot at the time of this publication, the site has 4.6 out of 5 stars based on more than 38,000 reviews. Note that if you register on the site, Resume Genius does collect personally identifiable information and may share it with third parties for advertising and other purposes, according to its privacy policy. The account deletion process is buried in the Terms of Service . According to Resume Genius, complete data erasure can take up to 30 days, but they may retain "certain information in accordance with privacy laws."

• Easy to customize
• Free downloads
• Optional paid extra assistance with Indeed professionals
• Unclear how to delete personal information

Easiest resume builder to use

Indeed resume builder.

It's free to create a resume or post your current resume on Indeed. If you're building a new one, you can choose between eight templates. The resume sections are highlighted and when you click, each section expands specific text fields. You can swap templates at any time without losing your work, as well. There are also options for toggling sections on and off, in addition to rearranging them. When you're finished, you can download a free PDF of your work history.

Indeed Resume Builder also offers optional professional advice for your new resume. After you download the resume you created, you'll get a prompt and can click Get Resume Help From a Real Person. Fill out a short questionnaire about what type of help you want and upload your resume (it's OK if you haven't built one). This service usually costs $89 unless you've applied to at least 10 jobs using your Indeed resume. According to Indeed, if you haven't received an interview request within 60 days of receiving your new resume, you can request a one-time rewrite. 

For $19, you can take a quiz and get feedback from a professional to get you started. You can also use Indeed's automated instant report system for free. The system returns quick tips to improve your resume. 

Indeed's privacy policy says that it does collect and share user data with third-party providers to connect job seekers with employers and improve services. According to Indeed's privacy policy, you can request an account or personal data deletion and request that your data not be shared while your account is active. CNET reached out to Indeed for more information and we'll update when we hear back.

• Guides resume creation
• Free resume downloads
• Paid tier offers interview advice and cover letter builder
• Have to pay for additional downloads

Most affordable paid resume builder

Cv engineer.

CV Engineer is an easy-to-use smartphone app that creates a professional-looking resume. With 16 templates to choose from, you can tap to enter information into all of the usual sections and add custom ones. When you tap on each section, you can tap through the bottom toolbar to get advice on what type of information to add, as well as view resume examples to show you how the section could look. 

CV Engineer lets you send or download your first completed resume for free, but upgrading to CV Engineer Pro for a one-time payment of $6 gives you access to unlimited downloads. A Scan My CV feature is also included, which can detect common mistakes and suggest improvements, such as places where you can add more information. The Pro version also offers interview advice and a cover letter builder. 

You can download CV Engineer from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store . CV Engineer does collect personal information and can share it with Google Play Services and Firebase Analytics, according to its privacy policy. The app is free to download and ad-free.

• Strong privacy policy
• Example resumes available
• Only one layout available
• Little guidance during creation

Best free iOS resume builder

Resume star 2: pro cv designer.

Resume Star 2 isn't the most visually stunning resume design app for iOS, but it gets the job done. To use, tap each section of the resume, fill in your information and it will fill in a traditional template (you only get one layout). The app offers some example resumes you can start with and edit as needed, including job-specific ones for a: cashier, dental hygienist, receptionist, waitress, mechanic and senior manager.

You can add or delete any sections you like without needing to hit save every time you add information, and you can see your resume update as you go. The autosave feature makes it easy to toggle quickly between the different sections as well. At the end, you'll have a basic resume ready to go. The app's interface doesn't offer as much guidance about how to write your resume or what types of information to include. If you need extra help, tap the information icon in the bottom left and choose the Resume Writing Guide. This will open up a crash course on resume writing in your mobile browser. It also includes a job search feature. 

The app collects payment via donations after you use the service -- you don’t have to pay if you don’t want to. The app connects to iCloud, and you can export your resume as a PDF to any location on your device(s). If you are happy with the service, you can choose the $6 "helped a bit" tier, a standard donation of $10, or the "really helped me" tier for $25. 

Resume Star 2 has a 4.8 out of 5 rating, and more than 1,800 ratings in the App Store . The first version, Resume Star: Pro CV Maker, which is the same except for the iCloud connection, had a 4.9-star rating and more than 16,000 reviews. The site does not collect personally identifiable information without user consent, which seems to make it one of the more secure options available.

• 42 templates to choose from
• Easily customizable
• Little to no guidance during creation

Best free Android resume writing service

Intelligentcv resume builder app.

Intelligent CV's Resume Builder App offers 42 resume templates and allows you to change font colors. Each resume section appears on a list, and you can move through sections in whichever order you choose, save and go on to another. You also have the option to add, delete or rearrange sections such as education, experience and skills. There’s a Help icon in each section for a little bit of extra guidance. Once you're finished, you can download your document for free as a PDF, which you can then save on your device or send via email or text. 

On the downside, the app is ad-supported and ads for other resume creators do pop up, which can get confusing. The app also offers less guidance than some of the other services, which means it's not a great option if you're new to resumes.

Resume Builder App has one of the strongest privacy policies of the bunch. The app does not collect personally identifiable information , though third-party services (including Google Play services and analytics firms) may collect information. The app has 4.6 out of 5 stars and more than 424,000 Google Play Store ratings and is free to download.

• Easy-to-use interface
• Inclusive premium package

Best range of professional tools

VisualCV has an easy-to-use interface that lets you build your resume in the way that works best for you. After signing up, you can upload an existing resume, begin with a prewritten sample or start entirely from scratch. You can use the basic editor to input information in a list form, the visual editor to edit directly on the resume and preview mode to see changes made on either version in real time. Revision history is also available. 

The free basic edition allows you to select from over a dozen professional templates to create, edit and download one resume as a PDF. You can also create one free cover letter and apply to jobs through its job search feature.

To download or share additional resumes, you’ll need to buy VisualCV Pro for $15 a month quarterly or $24 a month monthly. Upgrading unlocks more templates, unlimited creations, downloading, career tracking and the ability to build a personal resume website. The website URL goes through VisualCV but can be shared online. 

In terms of privacy, VisualCV's policy says that it does not sell, trade, rent or license personal information to third parties. As of publication, VisualCV has 4 out of 5 stars on Trustpilot but only 131 reviews.

Best professional resume writing services of 2024

Depending on where you’re at in the job application process, you might need more guidance than a template. These professional writing services will pair you with experienced writers and coaches to help you craft and perfect resumes, LinkedIn profiles, cover letters and more. 

As these services include more personalized coaching and features, they tend to be more expensive. We’ve collected a range of options depending on your budget and needs. Best professional resume writing services of 2024.

• Resume writing and career coaching
• Builds your resume from the ground up
• Quick turnaround
• More expensive options

A premium option for a tailored resume

Resumespice.

Suppose you're totally lost and are willing to invest several hundred dollars into your job search. In that case, ResumeSpice is a resume writing and career coach service created by recruiters that connects you with a "resume expert" to build your CV from scratch. 

Once you choose, you'll fill out a short questionnaire and schedule a phone consultation with a resume expert to discuss your experience, job search and career goals. The expert will take that information and turn around a personalized resume draft within two business days. You can review the draft and request any changes, and you'll get the final version in PDF and Word formats. 

An entry-level resume costs $479, a professional resume costs $589 and an executive resume costs $699. In addition to these packages, you can also add a cover letter, LinkedIn profile, interview coaching or other services to help you be more competitive in the job market.

• 60 day interview guarantee
• Industry-specific advice
• Variety of packages
• Limited non-resume add-ons

A 60-day interview guarantee

Resumewriters.com.

ResumeWriters.com offers a guarantee: If you don't get a job interview with a potential employer within two months of getting your new resume, they'll rewrite it for free. The service claims that in the 20 years and tens of thousands of resumes completed under this guarantee, it averages fewer than five requests for rewrites per year. 

To use the resume writing service, submit your current resume or career information on the site, and an experienced resume writer will contact you to assess your materials and plan out what you need. You'll get a first draft back within 72 hours and can work with the writer on revisions until you're satisfied with the result. 

ResumeWriters offers student, professional, executive and career-change resume services, as well as CV services for those conducting their job search in fields specific to the military, IT and research. The resume services cost $170 for students and $200 for the professional level, with a cover letter, one-on-one consultation and LinkedIn profile. The career change level ($250) is a comprehensive package that includes everything plus a post-interview follow-up letter, and the highest tier is the executive package that guarantees applicants its most experienced writers for $300.

• ATS screening
• Unlimited revisions
• Longer turnaround time (3-7 business days)

A fast pass through HR screening software

Zipjob’s professional resume writers optimize your resume to get through the applicant tracking system (ATS) software used by the majority of employers to automatically scan and sort resumes. An expert writes your resume and scans it through the ATS to ensure it will make it through to the hiring manager's desk. 

To use the service, upload your resume or fill out a form to start from scratch. You'll be matched with a professional resume writer who will work with you to improve it and will then scan the final product to make sure it passes through the screening algorithms. Depending on which package you choose, your resume will be ready in three to seven days. 

You can choose from three packages: Launch (resume writing and unlimited revisions for $139), Fast Track (adds a cover letter and a 60-day interview guarantee for $189) or Premium (adds a top resume writer, LinkedIn profile optimization, future resume updates and expedited delivery for $299).

• Career coaching
• Industry-specific feedback
• Ability to customize packages
• Longer turnaround time (3-5 business days)

An executive resume solution

Find my profession.

Find My Profession offers professional resume writing services as well as career coaching. Every resume gets reviewed by two different consultants. 

You'll find packages that include entry-level, professional, C-level and executive resume writer services, as well as federal. In each, you can choose a base, premium or VIP package depending on your needs. For example, the professional resume package starts at $595 for a resume compatible with automated systems. You can also add help with a cover letter for an additional $119 or a LinkedIn profile for $399. 

You'll get the first draft of your resume within three to five business days after you consult with a writer. Or, upgrade to a priority service for another $149 to get it within 48 hours.

How we tested resume sites and services

When we evaluated the different resume templates and builders, we looked at how each site or app allowed you to create new resumes, browse templates or upload and edit existing resumes. We also looked at how easy or hard it would be to customize different templates and sections, how much guidance was available, how user-friendly it was to navigate, plus reading and understanding each company’s privacy policies.

Some of our picks are free, some enlist the help of professional writers and some require a subscription or one-time payment. When it comes to premium or paid services, we evaluated how inclusive its packages were compared to basic or free versions. In many cases for the professional writing services, these paid tiers included more guidance and additional job search support like a cover letter and LinkedIn editing, suggested jobs to apply to and interview coaching.

Factors to consider when choosing a resume writing service

This was a key factor when compiling this list. Whether you’re looking for a free service to boost your current resume or interested in professional editing services, there’s something for everyone’s price range.

Ease of use

When looking at each website, we looked at how easy it was to navigate, browse templates and add, edit or remove different sections. We also considered whether you can download and share your resume for free and in what format.

Customization options

Customization options were essential, as everyone’s resume is going to look different. Having easy user control over your resume helps you create a resume that meets your industry’s standards and showcases your professional experiences.

Privacy policies

Privacy policies were the final important factor to consider, as many of these are websites and apps that can collect and store your personal information. All of the services and websites included on this list have decent privacy settings, and we noted which ones have exceptionally clear use cases and account deletion policies.

Resume writing FAQs

What is a resume builder.

A resume builder is a company that has a website or app that helps you create and customize your resume. You can use pre-existing templates or create your own from scratch.

What is a resume writing service?

A resume writing service is a company that pairs you with a coach or writer to work with you to create, perfect and tailor your resume, cover letters and other job application materials. These tend to be more inclusive packages and therefore more expensive than simple resume template websites.

What is the best resume format to use?

The best format for your resume is going to depend on the job you are applying to, along with your work experience. Resume templates can help you format and include all the necessary information like your education, work experience, skills and contact information.

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Cooking up a great prompt: Getting the most from Copilot

Prompts are how you ask Copilot for Microsoft 365 to do something for you — like creating, summarizing, editing, or transforming. Think about prompting like having a conversation, using plain but clear language and providing context like you would with an assistant.

1. Tell Copilot what you need

2. Include the right prompt ingredients

To get the best response, it’s important to focus on some of the key elements below when phrasing your Copilot prompts.

3. Keep the conversation going

Following up on your prompts help you collaborate with Copilot to gain more useful, tailored responses.

Helpful hints to keep in mind

Know Copilot’s limitations  Copilot is limited to your current conversation, so give lots of details.

Be professional Using polite language improves Copilot’s response.

Communicate clearly Pay attention to punctuation, grammar, and capitalization.

Use quotation marks ​​​​This helps Copilot know what to write, modify, or replace for you.

Start fresh Avoid interrupting and type “new topic” when switching tasks.

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Sport | Football

Netherlands vs England LIVE! Euro 2024 semi-final result, match stream, latest reaction and updates today

Netherlands vs England - LIVE!

Ollie Watkins struck in the 90th minute to send England into the Euro 2024 final with a dramatic 2-1 win over the Netherlands. The Three Lions, as in their previous two knockout matches at the tournament, fell behind, as Xavi Simons scored a stunning opener inside seven minutes.

But England responded with arguably their best 45-minute display of the summer, even if they equalised in fairly controversial circumstances. Harry Kane was perhaps fortunate to win a penalty, after Denzel Dumfries attempted to close down his shot, but the England captain stepped up to dispatch the spot-kick. A cagey second-half followed, one that seemed destined to be followed by another 30 minutes, until Watkins gathered Cole Palmer’s pass and from the tightest of angles fired a brilliant finish into the far corner.

No English men's team has made it to a major final on foreign soil before and now they have the chance to become European champions for the first time, when they face Spain in Sunday’s final.

Netherlands vs England highlights

Live updates

Watch last night's goal that sent England into the Euro 2024 final

Here’s the big moment, in case you’d not seen it.

If you have, watch it again. Then again. Then maybe one more time.

Ollie Watkins recounts journey from Weston-Super-Mare

Less than a decade ago, Ollie Watkins was on loan from Exeter at Weston-super-Mare in the National League and he says he never imagined such a moment.

"I never thought I'd be playing in the Euros for England," he said.

"Obviously you can dream but I'm a realist and I just take it day by day, one step at a time, and I was just focused on getting back in the first-team at Exeter.

"I've not thought about that, I've put in a lot of hard work to get to this point, it's not just this season, it's cumulative. And I'm going to enjoy every moment."

The scenes on the bench

Gareth Southgate and his staff celebrated Ollie Watkins’ goal for about two seconds before it dawned on them that they had a lead to hold through stoppage time!

Great work by Steve Holland to focus minds and while we were all going bonkers, they began preparing two substitutes to help see out the game.

Southgate: Making Euro 2024 final my best achievement

Gareth Southgate has now reached back-to-back European Championship finals with England, whom he has guided to the at least the last four in three of his four major tournaments at the helm.

It has been an absolutely incredible eight-year reign so far, but he ranks last night’s achievement as his greatest at the Three Lions helm.

“I think it has to be the best, it's another landmark, but we played well through the game,” Southgate said.

“It was a complicated game.

“They kept changing, we had to keep changing how we were defensively especially but I thought we caused problems all night and the end is so special for the squad.

“It's an example of what this squad are giving to the cause.”

Thanks for following!

The Yellow Wall turned Oranje; England’s road to Berlin paved with gold.

On a famous night here in Dortmund, Gareth Southgate’s side conquered the Netherlands and broke new ground, the first men’s team in the nation’s history to reach back-to-back major tournament finals, the first to reach even one overseas.

The hero was as unlikely as they might have come in Ollie Watkins, seemingly the third-choice centre-forward at the start of the evening, but the man whose stunning turn and finish in the final minute of the 90 sealed a 2-1 win.

Thrown front-and-centre of the celebrations, Watkins smiled and bounced in disbelief, a moment in England folklore drawn from what might have been this tournament’s most thankless lot, as understudy to Harry Kane, and not the only one at that.

Read our full report here!

Joy for Southgate!

And then quickly locked back in to finding the players needed to park that bus.

Konsa and Gallagher swiftly chucked on to see the final seconds out.

Koeman and Van Dijk slam penalty decision

Fair to say the Dutch camp are not thrilled with the decision to award Harry Kane a penalty.

“Such VAR decisions destroy football,” Koeman has said.

Virgil van Dijk, who was booked in the second-half for dissent after the referee failed to award the Netherlands a corner, also took aim at Zwayer, suggesting that the official did not want to face the players after the match.

“The referee ran back inside straight after the full-time whistle, that says a lot,” Van Dijk said.

Koeman: England have chance in final

Ronald Koeman was asked in his post-match press conference whether he thinks England can have realistic hope of beating Spain in Sunday’s final.

"I think England showed great football in the first half after 1-0 down,” the Dutch boss said.

“It is football and maybe if you watch all the matches of them the Spanish national team is more offensive with wingers and great football from the back, great ball possession and you need to stop that.

“But England is in the final and they have these possibilities to win it maybe, from the outside Spain are playing on a high level but England can stop them, why not?"

Strong challenger...

I didn’t think anything could beat Ross Kemp’s living room when it came to the celebrations.

Can admit when I’m wrong...

Post-match thoughts from Bellingham

Back in Dortmund and another memorable night for Jude Bellingham.

He is one win away from capping a truly incredible season...

• Dani Olmo - 51'
• Mikel Merino - 119'
• Dani Carvajal - 120'+6'
• Florian Wirtz - 89'

Match Formations

• 24 Cucurella
• 3 Le Normand
• 17 Williams

Game Information

• Anthony Taylor

Video Highlights

Espn fc back toni kroos' decision to bow out on top, burley rants on 'ridiculous' euro 2024 suspension rules, hislop disappointed that toni kroos won't play on longer, spain strike late to eliminate hosts germany in et, match timeline, match commentary.

EURO 2024 News

Euro 2024: schedule, how to watch, squads, groups, reaction, does harry kane make a spain-england combined xi, rice: being champions is the next step for england.

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