How to Write a Resume in 2026 (with Examples)

What a 2026 resume looks like

The single biggest change in resume writing this year is the rise of AI screening. Over 88% of large employers now use applicant tracking systems (ATS) that parse your CV before a human ever sees it. Your formatting choices matter as much as your words.

A modern resume has six sections in this order: contact, summary, experience, education, skills, optional extras. Anything else — colour blocks, photos, multi-column layouts, sidebars — risks confusing the ATS and getting you auto-rejected.

The structure that gets interviews

1. Contact line — name, email, phone, city, LinkedIn. No address, no photo.
2. Professional summary — 3-4 sentences. Lead with your role, years of experience, and one measurable result.
3. Experience — most recent role first. 4-6 bullets per role. Each bullet should start with an action verb and end with a number.
4. Education — degree, institution, year. Skip your GCSEs unless you're a recent graduate.
5. Skills — 8-12 hard skills, formatted as a clean list. Mirror the job description.
6. Optional — certifications, languages, side projects, publications.

How to write achievement-driven bullets

Most candidates write what they did. Strong candidates write what they changed. The fastest fix is the X-Y-Z formula: "Accomplished [X] as measured by [Y] by doing [Z]."

Compare:

• ❌ "Responsible for managing email campaigns"
• ✅ "Increased email click-through rate by 34% over six months by rebuilding the segmentation logic in Klaviyo"

ATS keywords: the rule that beats every algorithm

Read the job description twice. List every noun and skill it mentions. Your resume should contain at least 70% of those terms in their exact form. ATS systems do not understand synonyms — "JavaScript" and "JS" are different to them.

Tools like the MyResumeAI scoring widget will tell you exactly which keywords are missing.

Resume length: one page or two?

Use one page if you have under 10 years of experience. Use two pages if you're senior, executive, or in a research-heavy field. Never go over two pages — recruiters spend 6-8 seconds on the first scan.

The format file: PDF, Word, or both?

Always submit a PDF unless the application form explicitly asks for .docx. PDFs preserve your layout. Use a clean, embedded font (Inter, Calibri, or Source Sans Pro) at 10-11pt body and 14-16pt headings.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Photos and graphics that confuse ATS parsers
• "Responsible for" instead of action verbs
• Missing dates or vague employment gaps
• One generic resume sent to every job
• Personal pronouns ("I led", "I built") — use third-person implicit
• Spelling mistakes — they're a guaranteed reject

For a head start, resume examples by job browse 140+ resume examples by job title and copy the structure that fits your role.