Honest Thoughts on Resumes

A resume is not an essay about one’s life, but a document meant to clearly and concisely highlight your key professional achievements, present your most recent work experience in chronological order, and draw attention to your skills and education.

A resume is not the place to mention first loves, parties, marriage, number of children, or alimony.

Quite the opposite: the goal is to make the best possible impression on the recruiter or potential employer—and to leave a mark even in the few seconds they’ll spend reviewing it. A signal that might lead you to your next workplace.

And yes, the examples above—like the number of children or alimony payments—are real. We’ve seen them in resumes submitted to our database.

Nationality, gender, religion, or political beliefs are also among the most unnecessary pieces of information.

What Should a Resume Include?

When it comes to work experience, the main focus should be on the most recent period. What you’ve done in the last 5–10 years matters most—this is what we’re truly interested in!

Detail your last 2–3 jobs thoroughly, and group earlier positions under a section called “Early Career.”

It’s enough to mention the employer and position, and to indicate if it was a student job, paid internship, or volunteer role.

Be thorough when describing your most recent experience—detailed is the keyword here. Highlight (in bold, in a separate line) the employer’s name, industry, and your position, and list 3–4 key tasks.

Do not copy job descriptions from internal systems or regulations.

Instead, use the so-called CAR method.

The CAR Method

CAR stands for Challenge – Action – Result.

For example, if you work in sales, you might write that you “expanded the business network”—that’s the challenge your employer gave you. You achieved it by actively contacting clients via emails and calls—that’s the action—which led to a 10% increase in clients over the year—that’s the result.

This approach clearly shows what you did, how you did it, and what outcome you achieved.

Even if you can’t quantify your results, you can still highlight specific achievements like “improved customer satisfaction,” “increased brand awareness,” or “strengthened employer branding.”

Education in Your Resume

Always list your highest level of education—whether it’s secondary school, college, or university.

If you hold a degree, feel free to include your specialization, key courses, or your thesis topic.

There’s no need to include education below secondary school—it’s assumed you completed it if you went on to higher education.

You should also include courses, training, or certifications—but only the most relevant and recent ones. That Coursera course from 10 years ago probably isn’t relevant anymore, and a basic Word workshop from years ago doesn’t make you stand out either.

Describing Skills in Your Resume

Your skills are what make you competitive. But be honest—especially when self-assessing language proficiency. It’s far too common for candidates to list their English level as C1 or C2.

This is the level of native speakers or those who have been educated or have worked in English-speaking environments daily.

Put yourself in a real-life situation: could you speak with a client or colleague in English for 10 minutes straight? If in 8 out of those 10 minutes you’d need to rely on hand gestures, you’re probably not at C1 level.

This applies to all skills: list only those you truly master—those you could do in your sleep. Whether it’s photo editing in Photoshop, pivot tables, a foreign language, or coding—those belong in your CV. Leave the rest out.

You Can (and Should) Have More Than One Resume

It’s a myth that you must have only one resume. It’s perfectly fine to have both a concise and a more detailed version—and to adapt the content and design to suit each job application.

The key is: your resume must be clear, well-structured, and to the point. It should stand out—in a good way.