Quick answer
Start with what you can prove.
- Choose the kind of role and country before deciding what deserves space.
- Collect facts first. Write polished bullets only after the source material is complete.
- Use a familiar one-column structure with clear headings and recent experience first.
- Include projects, study and volunteering when they provide relevant evidence.
1. Choose one target before you write
A résumé cannot give equal attention to every kind of work you could do. Write down one target role or role family, the country where you will apply and two or three strengths that matter for that work.
TheJobSort recommendation: treat this as a relevance filter, not permission to rewrite your history. The target changes what you emphasize. It does not change what happened.
2. Build a private evidence list
For each job, project, course or volunteer role, record the title, organization, location and dates. Then add plain notes about the tools you used, people you supported, problems you handled, decisions you made and what changed afterward.
- Use old reviews, schedules, project notes, certificates and work samples to refresh your memory.
- Separate a confirmed fact from an estimate.
- Leave out private employer information and anything you cannot explain in an interview.
- Keep useful unpaid work when it demonstrates a relevant skill.
3. Create the simplest useful structure
Start with contact details, a short role-focused introduction when it adds value, work experience, education and a compact skills section. Put the strongest relevant section first after the introduction.
Official guidance: the UK National Careers Service lists contact details, an introduction, education and work history as common CV sections. Workforce Australia also recommends sections for personal details, skills, experience and education. Follow the employer's instructions when they differ.
4. Turn notes into evidence-led bullets
Begin with the action you took, name the real scope or context and finish with the outcome when you know it. A duty can still be useful when it shows ownership, complexity or a skill the target role needs.
Plain note Helped with stock and displays.
Stronger version Coordinated weekly stock checks and refreshed product displays with the store merchandiser.
The stronger line is more specific without adding a percentage, sales result or leadership claim that the source does not support.
5. Run a truth and readability check
- Can you explain every material claim with a real example?
- Are the dates, titles and contact details correct?
- Does the first half of the first page show the most relevant evidence?
- Are headings, spacing, tense and punctuation consistent?
- Did you follow the employer's requested file format and application instructions?
Official guidance used for this article
TheJobSort separates official guidance from our own practical recommendations. These sources were checked on 17 August 2026.
- Resume Writing GuideCareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor
- Write a resumeWorkforce Australia
- How to write a CVUK National Careers Service
- How to write a good resumeGovernment of Canada Job Bank
Put it into practice
Build from facts you can defend.
Upload your résumé once. Merv helps you check the details, improve the writing and tailor a version to the job without adding unsupported claims.
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