How to Write a Resume for Free Using Microsoft Word Resume Template

Step-by-Step Guide

1. 1

   Step 1: Browse the resume templates available.

   You can access a wide variety of Word templates either online, by clicking here or by starting a new document in Word 2007 or later and selecting Resumes & CVs as the document style.
   
   There are over 250 different templates available.
   
   If you have Word 2007 or later, start a new document and select "Resumes and CVs" from the list of document styles.
   
   You'll be able to browse between various options and download the template of your choice.
   
   If you have an earlier version of Word, search the templates online and select the template of your choice.
   
   You can choose between templates for particular goals or careers, or a variety of basic templates.
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   Step 2: Select the resume template most closely associated with your career.

   There are many pages of templates, so take your time and find the right one.
   
   You can also look for specific resume types in the search field at the top of the page.
   
   You'll have the choice between the following template styles:
   Basic resume templates feature simple design and basic categories of information applicable to many different career fields, and are the most useful for entry-level employees.
   
   Select the"Entry-Level Resume" if you're just getting started or are a recent graduate, which will highlight other experience, skills, and education over previous employment.
   
   Job-specific templates are organized to focus on specific career-centered information and experiences that wouldn't be included on other types of resumes.
   
   An academics resume, for instance, would likely have a section for teaching experience and publications, while a driver's would likely have a section for particular vehicle class certifications.
   
   Situation-specific templates refer to different organizations of information, which may be appropriate for highlighting experience and or complicated work histories.
   
   A chronologically-organized resume, for example, would organize your recent job history in order, rather than into different categories.
   
   This is a good choice if you're switching careers. , Once you've selected a template you like, click on the thumbnail of the template.
   
   You will see a page with a larger version of your chosen resume template.
   
   Click the green Download button on the right to Download the template to your computer and open it in Microsoft Word to edit.
   
   Try to find the simplest, most professional-looking template that's appropriate for your job.
   
   Fonts like Times New Roman are appropriate, while fonts like Comic Sans are not if you're looking for a job.
   
   Once you find one that looks good to you, stop looking, download it, and get to work.
   
   All of the options can be a bit overwhelming, but the look of the resume is the least important part.
   
   In general, you shouldn't have to spend more than 5 or 10 minutes at the most searching for a template that looks right.
   
   You're not going to get the job because your template was fancier than other applicants. , Open the downloaded template file, and locate all the gray text boxes in which you can click to fill in your information.
   
   At a quick glance, the template will appear to be already filled out.
   
   The text boxes exist to tell you what information to put where.
   
   In the top corner of most templates, for instance, will be a text box with the words "Name" and "Address," formatted correctly for the information being asked for. , Select the various headings you want to include on your resume, and make sure they're either already there before starting into the document and filling in your information.
   
   It's hard to make changes after you start editing the document.
   
   On some templates, you can fill in the types of headings you want, the headings are pre-set.
   
   Common headings include, but are not limited to: work experience, school experience, special skills and other training, awards, and contacts. , All resumes, at the top of the document, need your basic contact information: name, address, email address, and telephone number.
   
   These will be filled in with filler information, which you can highlight, and change to your own. , Go through the document slowly, filling out all the necessary information.
   
   Take the time to double-check phone-numbers for your contacts, addresses for previous employers, and the dates of your employment.
   
   Be as specific as possible, especially when describing your duties and responsibilities as an employee.
   
   It would look pretty foolish to turn in a resume with the default answers still filled out in one of the latter sections.
   
   Even if you think you've filled out everything, check again. , If you've chosen a template with a specific category or blank for information that doesn't apply to the job you're applying for, you should neither try to make something up to put in it, nor should you leave it blank.
   
   Highlight the box and remove it from the document if it's not appropriate for the job.
   
   A good example of this is something like, "Rewards" or "Achievements" on some academic resumes.
   
   It doesn't look good to have the category but leave it blank.
   
   Just delete it. , Losing your progress can be frustrating, and it's also likely that you'll want to go back over the resume and make changes later, so be sure to save the document, even if you're planning on printing it to make copies.
   
   Make sure you have a digital copy of your resume.
   
   When you're finished, consider saving a copy of your resume as a .pdf file under the "Format" list after you select "Save As." When you're finished, you'll be able to open the file on any computer without having to worry about formatting issues.
   
   If you're sending an electronic copy of your resume, though, make sure the company accepts .pdfs first.
   
   Don't lose your resume! Save it somewhere you'll be able to remember, like Dropbox, or a thumb drive, and keep it on you so you won't have to go through this process again.
   
   You'll always need a resume on hand, and it's hard to tell when you'll need it again.
   
   You won't have to start form scratch next time if you save it now, and it'll be much easier to update. , If you're starting on a large-scale job search, it would be best to make one basic resume and send that resume everywhere right? Wrong.
   
   Different places of employment will likely be looking for different things, so unless you're looking at identical positions at identical places of employment, you're probably better off doing a little bit of research first and making the best possible resume for each place, by making little changes.
   
   Spend some time researching each prospective employer's website or hiring statement, taking time to note any special language they use in the ad.
   
   If an employer is looking for "Someone who can follow directions explicitly" and your resume highlights your "Strong-minded leadership qualities," you might be out of line with the job.
   
   There's a lot you can do to change the little things in the job descriptions to match the advertisement language.
   
   The more the employer thinks you've done your homework, the more you'll stand out in the crowd. , It can get confusing quickly if you choose a template with a bunch of individual cells you'll have to figure out, and possibly reformat.
   
   Because the formatting of the templates often doesn't account for the amount of information you'll be typing into the individual boxes, the formatting can get messed up and it can be difficult to reformat the document correctly.
   
   While tables, even invisible tables, can help to structure text, it can make customizing the document very difficult.
   
   If you're not experienced with formatting tables in word, don't get into it now. , Highlight parts of the section titles that you don't like and rename them.
   
   If "Work Experience" would be more suitably-titled "Construction Experience" or "Travel Experience," or whatever topic you'd like to highlight, highlight the offending term, change it by typing in the new heading, content, or title, and check to make sure you haven't messed up the formatting.
   
   If changing something messes up the sizing, or the font, and you can't figure out how to change it back, you've got a couple options.
   
   It's likely the text has changed back to the Word default settings.
   
   You can either use the Style setting to make the document uniform (discussed in the following step) or go in manually.
   
   To find what you want it to be, start by clicking elsewhere in the document, on text with the correct-looking style, and examine the toolbar at the top of the Word window to see how it's changed.
   
   Go back and highlight the text you want to change, and change it to the correct format in the toolbar, now that you know what it is. , If making changes has messed up the formatting, sizing, or the fonts, click on the area of text that you want your messed-up text to look like.
   
   Select the entire paragraph, or group of text, right-click, select Styles, then Update style name to Match Selection.
   
   Now, highlight your messed-up text, and select "Match Selection," and the text should reformat like you want it to., If you're applying for a job as a mason's apprentice, you need to highlight experience working with your hands outside, and your ability to follow instructions, not your experience as the leader of a punk band that went on tour last summer.
   
   Customize each resume to the job you're applying for, and eliminate any extra information that won't be helpful. , It's a sad truth that the average employer looks at a resume for no more than a few seconds.
   
   Make sure that all the important information is easy to find, at right up front to give yourself the best shot at getting an interview.
   
   The best resumes are the briefest, highlighting all the necessary information in about the front side of one piece of paper, and no more than two pages.
   
   It's a common misconception that longer resumes look better to employers.
   
   This is not the case at all.
   
   If you're worried about a lack of experience, it's better to let your resume be brief and efficient, than to pad it with desperate-looking descriptions of your leadership at a yard sale, or the obstacles you overcame as the captain of the soccer team.
   
   Always defer to the job description.
   
   If an employer is looking specifically for something with charisma and a sense of humor, like at a web start-up or a magazine, it might be appropriate to include a witty description of your yard sale leadership, if it's appropriate.
   
   Use your best judgment.
   
   Your resume doesn't need to "sound smarter" than you are.
   
   Don't waste a bunch of time looking up 20-dollar words to describe something simple.
   
   Nothing will get you the job faster than relevant experience and seriousness. , One of the most common ways to make your resume pop is to use vibrant descriptions of your previous employment responsibilities.
   
   Your descriptions of your duties and responsibilities at your previous employers should be short and sweet.
   
   To do this, there's a particular technique of standing a sentence with an action word to give your short bullet points or descriptions the most punch.
   
   Buzz words that are always good to use include: innovated motivated facilitated organized simplified managed examined , If your template is organized into bullet points and sub-points for your description of each job, you don't need to use complete sentences for the bullets, but it does make it important to be consistent in the style.
   
   They should all have the same sentence structure, even if they're not complete sentences.
   
   If one bullet starts with "facilitated" the next can't start with "I worked to." Instead, it should read "worked to," so they'll be parallel. , Your job descriptions are the best way to give yourself credit for things you deserve credit for, but that might not necessarily show up on a cold description of your job written by somebody else.
   
   Make yourself look good.
   
   It's not lying.
   
   If you were the only person at your previous job to ever clean up the mess at the end of the day, you might say that you "facilitated teamwork by organizing the work site more efficiently." If you organized a carpool, you might say that you "streamlined the office commute by incorporating co-operative ride sharing."
   
   Most resumes will ask for personal or employment contacts.
   
   It's a good idea to think about these seriously beforehand and talk to your contacts, coaching them slightly on the nature of the job and what it is you're applying for.
   
   It doesn't look good if an employer cold-calls your contact and they're not expecting it, not available, or unwilling to give you a glowing recommendation.
   
   Only pick contacts who will say good things about you.
   
   If you were fired from your last job, provide personal contacts with a relevant knowledge of your work history who can vouch for your reliability and your seriousness as a candidate, and older employers.
   
   Call and ask politely if you can use them as a reference.
3. 3

   Step 3: Download the template appropriate for you.

4. 4

   Step 4: Launch Microsoft Word and open the template to start editing.

5. 5

   Step 5: Define the sections you need.

6. 6

   Step 6: Fill out your contact information first.

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   Step 7: Fill out all the necessary information.

8. 8

   Step 8: Remove unnecessary blanks or categories.

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   Step 9: Save the draft frequently.

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    Step 10: Customize each resume you send out.

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    Step 11: Stay away from tables.

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    Step 12: Don't be afraid to delete and rename sections.

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    Step 13: Make the document uniform by selecting "Styles."

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    Step 14: Put the most important information first.

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    Step 15: Keep it brief.

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    Step 16: Use action-oriented words to describe responsibilities.

17. 17

    Step 17: Make sure all your bullet points use the same structure.

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    Step 18: Let yourself exaggerate

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    Step 19: a little.

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    Step 20: Contact your contacts beforehand.

Detailed Guide

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