U.S. Resume Basics

Many employers want a short resume that shows what you did, where you did it, and why it matters. The goal is not to explain your whole life. The goal is to make a hiring manager want the interview.

Who This Guide Is For#

Use this if you are applying for campus jobs, internships, entry-level work, contract roles, or your first professional job and you want a basic resume that does not create avoidable problems.

If an employer asks for a CV, government application, portfolio, or long application form, follow that system instead of forcing everything into a one-page resume.

What A Basic Resume Should Include#

Contact Information#

At the top, most employers expect:

• Your full name.
• A phone number you answer or check.
• An email address that sounds professional.
• Your city and state.
• Optional LinkedIn or portfolio link.

You usually do not need your full home address. City and state are enough for many applications unless the employer needs a mailing address later.

Resume Length#

One page is the safest default if you are a student, recent graduate, career switcher, or early-career applicant.

Two pages can make sense if you have several strong years of relevant work, projects, research, publications, or technical work that the employer needs to see. A second page does not help if it only repeats weak or unrelated details.

Education#

Put education near the top if you are a student, recent graduate, or applying for work where your program matters.

Include:

• School name.
• Degree or credential.
• Major, concentration, or field.
• City and country if the school is outside the United States and the employer may not recognize it.
• Graduation date or expected graduation date.

You can also list relevant coursework, honors, or major projects when they help explain your fit. Keep that section short.

Experience#

Your experience section does not need to come only from full-time U.S. jobs. You can use internships, campus roles, research, assistantships, family-business work, volunteer work, freelance projects, and relevant leadership if the work shows useful skills.

Each entry usually needs:

• Job title.
• Employer or organization name.
• City and country or city and state.
• Dates.
• Two to five bullets for the strongest entries.

Write bullets around actions and results:

• "Handled front-desk questions for 80 to 100 students per day and routed urgent cases to the right office."
• "Tracked inventory in Excel and reduced missing-item errors during weekly counts."
• "Supported social media posts for a student club and helped attendance grow across three events."

Avoid weak bullets that only restate the job title:

• "Responsible for customer service."
• "Worked on team projects."
• "Did office tasks."

Skills#

Add a skills section when it helps the employer scan your fit quickly.

Good skills to list:

• Software you actually know how to use.
• Languages you can use in real work.
• Licenses or certifications that matter for the role.
• Technical tools, lab methods, customer systems, design tools, or data tools tied to the job.

Do not fill the section with soft words such as "hardworking," "team player," or "good communication." Show those through your experience bullets instead.

References#

Most resumes do not need references on the page.

You can prepare a separate reference list with names, roles, organizations, phone numbers, and email addresses for later. Do not put someone's contact information on your resume unless they agreed first.

You also do not need the line "references available upon request." Employers already know they can ask.

What To Leave Off#

Leave off details that create risk or clutter:

• Photo.
• Date of birth or age.
• Marital status.
• Passport number, SSN, visa number, or immigration document number.
• Full street address unless the employer specifically needs it.
• A long objective statement that says little.
• Old or unrelated experience that pushes out stronger material.

Common Mistakes#

Decision Rules#

Costs / Timing#

Writing the first strong version can take a few hours because you need to choose examples, clean the format, and tighten the bullets. Updating it for each job should take much less time once you have a solid base document.

You should not need to pay to create a basic resume. Use your school career office, local workforce center, mentor, or a trusted editor before you pay a stranger online.

What To Do Next#

1. Build one clean base resume.
2. Save it as PDF unless the employer asks for another file type.
3. Make a second editable version for tailoring.
4. Prepare a separate reference sheet, but send it only when asked.
5. Read Common Scams Targeting Newcomers before you respond to recruiter texts, remote-job offers, or requests for documents.
6. If you are already working, read Understanding Your First Paycheck and W-2 Versus 1099 so you can judge the offer and the pay setup.

Related Guides#

• Common Scams Targeting Newcomers
• How to Protect Your Personal Information
• Understanding Your First Paycheck
• W-2 Versus 1099

Sources#

This guide uses official or primary sources for rules and government steps. Local rules may still vary. (Last checked: June 28, 2026)

• CareerOneStop: Resumes
• EEOC: Pre-Employment Inquiries and Citizenship
• U.S. Department of Justice: Immigrant and Employee Rights Section