Softonic

Resume Builder

Step 1 / 4 Build Resume
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A resume often has to survive machine parsing before a human sees it: an ATS (applicant tracking system) extracts fields for search, and a reviewer then scans for 6 to 8 seconds before deciding to read on. This builder keeps the structure clean and simple. Fill in five fields and it assembles a single-column, plain-text resume with no tables, columns or graphics to confuse a parser. Copy the result straight into your word processor or an ATS text box. The generated section headings (SUMMARY, SKILLS, EXPERIENCE) are written in English; your own text appears exactly as you type it.

How to build your resume

  1. 1

    Add your name and headline

    Your full name sits at the top; the headline is your role or target title, for example "Senior Data Analyst".

  2. 2

    Write a short summary

    Two or three sentences on who you are and what you do. Lead with your strongest, most relevant point.

  3. 3

    List your skills

    A short comma-separated or line-separated list. Recruiters and ATS software keyword-match against this, so use the exact terms from the job ad.

  4. 4

    Add your experience

    Company, title, dates and a few bullet points per role. Start each bullet with a verb and include a number wherever you can.

  5. 5

    Copy the result

    The tool assembles everything into a clean plain-text resume. Copy it into your word processor to style and save, or paste it directly into an ATS text field.

What ATS-friendly actually means

Most ATSs (Greenhouse, Lever, Workday, Taleo, iCIMS) parse a PDF with libraries similar to pdfplumber or pdftotext. Things that break parsing:

  • Multi-column layouts. Reading order is unreliable, your job title may end up attached to the wrong company.
  • Tables for alignment. ATSs often read tables left-to-right top-to-bottom regardless of your intent.
  • Text in images or graphics. Invisible to parsers. Photos, logos, infographics are decorative only.
  • Non-standard section names. Call it “Work Experience”, not “Where I’ve Built Things”. The parser looks for keywords.
  • PDFs exported as images. If you later save your resume as a scanned or image-only PDF, the ATS sees nothing. Plain text, like the output here, is always readable.

The 6-second scan

Recruiter eye-tracking studies (TheLadders 2018, Jobvite 2021) show the average first-pass scan is 6–8 seconds. They look at: name, most recent job title + company, dates, and for tech roles, the skills line. If those four are clear, they open the rest. Make them easy to find.

Bullet points that work

Bad: Responsible for handling customer requests in the support queue.

Good: Resolved 32 customer tickets per day with 4.8/5 CSAT, top decile across the support org.

The pattern: verb + what + quantified outcome. If you cannot quantify, at least state the scope (“across 12 engineering teams”, “for a 3M-MAU product”).

Section order by seniority

Career stage Recommended order
Student / new grad Education → Projects → Skills → Work (internships)
1–3 years post grad Work → Skills → Education → Projects
4–10 years Summary → Work → Skills → Education
10+ years Summary → Work → Skills (Education can move to one line at the end)

Length

Single page until you have 10+ years of experience. Two pages after that, never more. Executive roles in some industries accept 3 but treat it as the exception.

Frequently Asked Questions

In the US, UK, Canada and Australia: no. Photos are flagged as a discrimination risk and many companies reject resumes with photos by policy. In Germany and parts of continental Europe, photos are still conventional but not required.

Tailor the summary and skills section to the job description. Keep the body identical, versioning resumes per-application is where candidates lose track of what is on their “current” resume when they get a phone screen.

The tool produces plain text. Copy it into Word, Google Docs or an ATS text box. From your word processor you can style it and save as PDF, which is the safest format unless an application explicitly asks for .docx, because a PDF renders identically for every reviewer.

Yes, especially for career changers and people under 3 years of experience. Each project gets a short description and a link (GitHub, live site). For senior ICs, projects are optional and usually listed under work experience instead.

The tool does not save your resume. Only an anonymous “resume built” event is recorded for usage stats, never the text you enter. There is no save or restore feature, so copy your resume before you close the tab.

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