How to Write a Free Printable Resume

An effective resume combines clear language with clean formatting.

A resume is necessary in most cases to securing an interview. This document should be clean, concise and balanced, making good use of white space, and no more than one page in length. It is easy to create a customized, printable resume using a basic word processing program on a personal computer.

Things You'll Need

• Computer

Instructions

1. Open a new blank document in your computer's word processing program. Click on "File," and "Page Setup," and set margins to one inch on top and bottom, and left and right.

2. With justification set to the left, enter your full name. This will be the first thing human resources will see, so you want to make it memorable by using an easy-to-read font that is large enough to stand out on the page, but not be overwhelming; 16 point is a good choice. Use bold to further differentiate your name and underline your name, continuing the line to the opposite end of the page (hold down "shift" and the line key).

   With justification set to the right, enter contact information including mailing address, phone number and email address. Placing contact information opposite of your name creates balance on the page and makes good use of white space.

3. Space down a line or two, and using bold, enter "Professional Goals" (for less experience) or "Professional Assets" (for more experience). Under this header, list a few bullet points that relate your goals or skills and experience to the job for which you are applying. For example, if you are applying for a management position and have experience, the first bullet should state "Management of ..." Space after the last bullet and create a line ¾ way across the page to create a clear separation between sections and make the resume easy to read.

4. Space down two lines and using bold, enter either "Education" or "Professional Experience," depending on which the job ad emphasizes more in a desired candidate. If the ad is more concerned with a bachelor's degree, then you should put "Education" first, but if the ad requires three to five years experience, you should enter experience first. Keep education simple, including in this order, degree name, school, and location of school.

   You can list experience in chronological or reverse-chronological order, depending on which best relates to the job for which you are applying. For each entry, insert positional title and company, location, and duration of the job. You will most likely need to arrange this information on two lines, but make sure it is balanced by using formatting tools such as tabs and spacing. For instance, with justification set to the left, enter title and company, separated by a comma, then tab to the far right of the page and enter company location while keeping it on the same line as title/company; space down a line and enter job duration. Space down a line and enter "Responsibilities." Space down an additional line and make a bulleted list of three to seven solid points that relate your experience to what is sought by the job ad. Use active verbs such as "Writing press releases" rather than "Wrote press releases." Space after the last bullet and create a line ¾ way across the page to separate sections.

5. Space down two lines and using bold enter "Skills and Abilities." List any additional training or certification that relates to the job for which you are applying. This includes special computer training, words per minute that you can type, etc. This is an optional section of the resume, but may serve as the most appropriate place for certain information.

6. Click "File" and "Save as..." and save the resume to the best destination (desktop, documents, jump drive, etc.). The resume is ready to print, and can be revised to accommodate different job ads.

References

• Quintessential Careers: Resume Components Worksheet