# Essential Resume Review Checklist for 2026

> A resume review checklist: contact details, ATS-friendly format, results instead of duties, keywords, and a final proofread before you apply.

## Resume review checklist

Use this checklist before you send a resume. Many employers use an applicant tracking system (ATS). An ATS is software that collects, reads, and sorts job applications. A recruiter then searches and reads the applications in the ATS. Your resume must be easy for the software to read and easy for a person to scan.

### Contact information

![Contact section order: full name, professional email, phone number, city and state, LinkedIn URL, portfolio URL if relevant](/assets/blog/resume-review/diagram_full-name-professional.webp)

Make sure that the top of your resume has:

1. Your full name, in a slightly larger font. Use the name that is on your LinkedIn profile.
2. A professional email address, for example firstname.lastname@gmail.com.
3. A phone number with the area code. Use a number that you answer, with a voicemail greeting.
4. Your city and state. A full street address is not necessary.
5. A custom LinkedIn URL (linkedin.com/in/yourname).
6. A portfolio URL, if you work in design, development, writing, or another field with visible work.

### Format

Make sure that the format is simple:

1. One column, with no tables, text boxes, or graphics. An ATS can read these elements in the wrong order.
2. No important information in the page header or footer.
3. Standard section headings: "Work Experience", "Education", "Skills".
4. One common font, such as Calibri, Arial, or Garamond, at 10 to 12 points.
5. Bold only for section headings and job titles.
6. Margins of half an inch to one inch.
7. Standard bullet points, not icons or special symbols.
8. One page for less than about ten years of experience. Two pages are acceptable for a longer career.
9. A PDF file, unless the job posting asks for a different format.
10. A clear file name, for example FirstName-LastName-Resume.pdf.

### Content

Make sure that:

1. The summary at the top has two to four sentences, written for this job.
2. The jobs are in reverse chronological order, with the most recent job first.
3. Each job has the title, the company, the city and state, and the start and end month and year.
4. The bullet points describe results, not duties.
5. The bullet points give numbers where possible: amounts, percentages, team size, or budget.
6. Past jobs use the past tense, and your current job uses the present tense.
7. No sentence uses "I" or "my".
8. Gaps of six months or more have a short explanation, for example "Career break, January 2023 to August 2023".
9. The resume has no salary information and no reasons for leaving a job.
10. The resume has no outdated lines, such as a fax number or "references available upon request".

### Skills and keywords

Make sure that:

1. The skills that the job posting lists as required appear in your resume, if you have them.
2. You use the same words as the posting. For example, if the posting says "project management", use that phrase.
3. Abbreviations also appear in full at least once, for example "customer relationship management (CRM)".
4. Each skill is a skill that you can discuss in an interview.
5. The list leaves out basic skills, such as email, that every employer expects.

### Education and certifications

Make sure that:

1. Each degree shows the degree, the school, and the graduation year.
2. If you did not finish a degree, the line shows the credits or the coursework that you completed.
3. Education is near the top if you are a recent graduate, and below your experience if you are not.
4. Each certification shows the name, the issuing organization, and the date. If it expires, the line shows the expiration date.
5. A license that the job requires is easy to find.

### Final proofreading

Make sure that:

1. The resume has no spelling or grammar errors. Read it backward, sentence by sentence, to find them.
2. All dates use the same format.
3. The job titles, the dates, and the main results agree with your LinkedIn profile.
4. Another person read the resume.

## Write results, not duties

![Weak resume lines list responsibilities. Strong lines give quantified results, which show impact and get interviews.](/assets/blog/resume-review/diagram_weak-listed-responsibilities.webp)

A duty tells the recruiter what you were responsible for. A result tells the recruiter what changed because of your work. Compare these lines:

| Duty | Result |
|------|--------|
| Managed social media accounts | Grew the Instagram following from 2,000 to 47,000 in 18 months |
| Improved customer satisfaction | Increased the customer satisfaction score from 3.2 to 4.7 out of 5 |
| Reduced costs | Cut operating costs by $125,000 a year through vendor consolidation |
| Coordinated with stakeholders | Coordinated teams of up to 30 people in four time zones |

If you cannot measure the result, give the scope: "Managed a team of 12" or "Managed a $2M budget". Use only numbers that you can explain in an interview.

## Test your resume in plain text

Before you apply, copy all the text of your resume and paste it into a plain text editor. If the text is in a clear order, an ATS can probably read it. If the sections are mixed together, make the format simpler.

Also look at the standard section headings. Creative headings, such as "Where I Made an Impact", can confuse the software. Use "Work Experience" and save the creative words for your results.

## Before you click submit

Do these three steps for each application:

1. Change your summary and the order of your bullet points for this job. Put the most relevant experience first.
2. Make sure that your resume and your LinkedIn profile agree.
3. Save a copy of the job posting as a PDF. The posting can disappear after the employer fills the job, and you need it to prepare for the interview.

## Use this checklist with Claude or ChatGPT

Claude or ChatGPT can compare your resume with this checklist and with a job posting:

1. Remove your phone number, your email address, and your street address from the copy that you upload.
2. Paste this checklist into the chat.
3. Paste the job posting into the chat.
4. Attach your resume or paste its text.
5. Ask the model to go through each item and list what is missing.

```text
Here is my resume checklist, a job posting and my resume.
Go through the checklist item by item and say Pass, Fail or Not sure for each.
Then list the required skills from the posting that my resume does not mention,
and point out bullet points that describe duties instead of results.
Do not invent numbers or experience. Ask me for the facts instead.
```

Use the answer as a first review only. The model can suggest numbers or skills that are not true for you. Do not put a claim on your resume that you cannot support in an interview. Make sure that each change is correct before you send the resume. Read the data settings of your workspace before you upload personal documents.

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## Frequently Asked Questions

### Do I put a photo on my resume?

For jobs in the US, leave the photo out unless the job posting asks for one. Most US employers do not expect a photo, and the space is better for your results.

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