A great resume builder for standing out

Put two resumes for the same job side by side and the difference that matters is rarely the layout. One lists what the role involved. The other shows what got better because that person was there, and that second resume is the one that sticks. A great resume builder can take care of the layout and suggest a first version of each line, leaving you to work on the part that sets you apart.

What separates a great resume from an average one?

Proof that you can do the job in the posting. An average resume tells the reader which roles you've held and leaves them to guess how you did. A great one makes that plain, line by line, and ties it to the opening, so the recruiter doesn't have to work it out. For more ideas, read our guide on how to make your resume stand out.

How do I turn duties into achievements?

Write each line about what changed because you were there. A duty says what the job asked of you; an achievement says what you did with it. For every role, think of something you improved. Then look for a problem you fixed or a task you took on beyond your job description. Here's the difference in practice:

• Duty: "Responsible for staff scheduling." Achievement: "Built weekly schedules for 22 staff and cut overtime by 15%."
• Duty: "Ran sound for live events." Achievement: "Rebuilt the stage patch list and cut changeovers between acts to under 15 minutes."
• Duty: "Answered customer emails." Achievement: "Cut the average reply time on customer emails from two days to four hours."

Our builder pairs each job title you enter with expert suggestions for that occupation. Pick the ones that describe your real work, then rewrite each with a result of your own.

How do I add numbers to a resume?

Use a number wherever it tells the reader how many, how much, how often or how fast. Think of people trained or served, budgets, sales, projects delivered, hours saved and rankings. If you can't pin down the exact figure, a fair estimate with "about" or "more than" works, as long as you could back it up in an interview. Keep any line to the one or two figures that matter most, so none of them gets lost.

What goes in a focused resume summary?

Two or three lines aimed at the job you're going for. Name your current title and level, plus the strengths that job calls for most. Then add one result you'd like a recruiter to remember. Cut phrases that could describe anyone, such as "detail-oriented professional", and draft the summary after your work history, when you can see which strengths to lead with. For example: "Event production coordinator with five years of touring and festival experience; finished a 40-date tour 6% under budget." Not sure whether you need a summary or an objective? Our FAQ covers it.

How do I match a resume to each posting?

Let each job ad decide what leads. Read it twice and mark the skills and duties it mentions first. Those belong early on: in the summary and the opening bullet points. Where the ad's wording truthfully matches your experience, use it, since a recruiter scans for those terms and applicant tracking systems (ATS) can be set to look for them too. Our hiring research shows how many applications it now takes to fill one job, and these good and bad resume examples show the difference on the page.

In Rocket Resume, you can keep a master resume in My Library and duplicate it there for each opening. Then change only what that job needs, using the builder tools below to rework lines and reorder sections.

Does a resume's design make it great?

Good design helps a strong resume get read, but it can't rescue weak content. Choose a clean layout with standard headings so both screening software and people find your experience quickly. This article on what to weigh in a resume's design goes further. All the designs in our template gallery are ATS-friendly, and changing designs later never costs you a word you've typed.

Put these habits to work in Rocket Resume

Rocket Resume guides you from one section to the next and suggests wording for every role you list. It also lays out the page for you, so you can concentrate on the results that make a resume great. Plenty of people have a first draft done in under 10 minutes, and you can read other job seekers' reviews further down. Here's the route through the builder:

1. Choose your level of experience, then pick a design. Swapping it later keeps your text.
2. Enter your latest job first. Its title calls up expert lines you can pick from.
3. Rework the lines with your own results, then reorder sections so your strongest work leads.
4. Read each line in the preview, download your finished resume and start applying.

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