How to Customize Professional Resume Examples to Fit Your Own Experience

A resume should be customized to fit your own experience. It should also have a unique layout that will draw attention to itself. While it’s fine to take ideas from professional resume examples, you should never plagiarize them. Remember, your resume is a marketing tool that will represent you to potential employers.

Regardless of the job industry, there are five essential sections that all resumes should include: contact information, career summary or objective statement, work history, education and skills. However, many resumes feature additional optional sections such as volunteer work, foreign languages, certifications/licenses and awards.

To make your own resume stand out, highlight select achievements and quantifiable results. It’s also a good idea to include professional development courses, if applicable. This is a great way to showcase your continuing investment in your career, and it will demonstrate a commitment to growth and learning.

Junior-level candidates do not have enough work experience to merit a career summary, so their resume should focus on initial jobs, key accomplishments and education. They should also leave out the objective, which is pointless for applicants seeking a specific position, since it only tells hiring managers that you are “seeking a challenging team leadership role.”

If you’re applying to positions in the same industry, tailor your resume’s headline and work history section to highlight similar experiences and skills. You can also add relevant extracurricular activities to help you stand out. And don’t forget to proofread your resume for grammatical errors; a single mistake can throw off an employer’s perception of your work ethic. Professional resume examples