How to Start a Resume: Your First Three Lines + Complete Guide

How to start a resume is the question that stops most job-seekers before they type a single word. You open a blank document and freeze—unsure whether to lead with a summary, an objective, or something else entirely.

The answer: your resume starts with a contact header, followed immediately by a professional summary or objective statement, then your work experience section. Recruiters scan these first three elements in the opening 6-7 seconds, so getting them right determines whether the rest of your resume gets read.

Contact header (top of page): Your full name in 16-18pt font, phone number, professional email, city and state, and LinkedIn URL. Do not include your full street address, date of birth, photo, or marital status—these waste space and introduce bias.

Professional summary or objective (directly below header): A 2-3 sentence block that answers "Why hire you?" Use a summary if you have 2+ years of relevant experience; use an objective if you're changing careers or entering the workforce. This section must include your job title or target role, years of experience, and one measurable achievement or skill set.

The resume header is not creative space. Use this exact format:

John Smith (555) 123-4567 | john.smith@email.com | Austin, TX | linkedin.com/in/johnsmith

The professional summary answers three questions in 40-60 words: What do you do? How long have you done it?

Example for experienced candidates: *Marketing manager with 6+ years driving digital campaigns for SaaS companies. Increased qualified leads 340% year-over-year through SEO content strategy and paid social optimization.

Notice both examples use numbers and active voice. Never write "Responsible for managing..." or "Seeking a challenging position where I can grow."

Follow these steps in order to build the opening section of your resume:

1. Choose your format before you type. Pick reverse-chronological (most common), functional (skills-first), or combination.

3. Draft your summary or objective. Write 2-3 sentences.

4. List your current or most recent job. Start with your title, company, location, dates.

6. Repeat for previous roles. Go back 10-15 years maximum.

Here's how the opening section changes based on your career stage:

Using an unprofessional email address. Addresses like partygirl2024@email.com or daddysgirl88@mail.com kill your credibility instantly. Create a new Gmail account if needed: firstname.lastname is free.

Writing "References available upon request." This phrase wastes a line and states the obvious. Use that space for another achievement bullet instead.

Listing "hard worker" or "team player" in the summary. These are filler phrases. Replace with hard skills (software, certifications, languages) or measurable soft skills ("Trained 30+ team members" instead of "Strong trainer").

Centering or right-aligning text. Applicant tracking systems read left to right. Creative formatting breaks ATS parsing and your resume never reaches human eyes.

The strongest resumes are rewritten for every application. Here's how to customize the opening section in under 10 minutes:

Read the job description and highlight 5-8 repeated keywords (skills, software, responsibilities). Copy the exact phrasing—if they write "stakeholder management," use that phrase, not "managing stakeholders."

Reorder your experience bullets so the most relevant achievement appears first under each job. If the role emphasizes data analysis, lead with your data bullet, even if it wasn't your primary duty.

This tailoring process is easier if you maintain a master resume: a long-form document containing every job, achievement, and skill you've ever had. When applying, you copy the master, delete irrelevant items, and reorder what remains.

You do not need to buy resume software. These free resources work for 90% of job-seekers:

Google Docs resume templates: Open Google Docs, click Template Gallery, choose "Resumes." The Serif, Swiss, and Coral templates are clean and ATS-friendly. Download as PDF before submitting.

Free resume builders: Canva and Rezi offer free tiers with basic templates. These are better for creative fields; finance, tech, and corporate roles should stick to Google Docs or Word.

ATS checkers: Jobscan.co (free for 5 scans/month) compares your resume to a job description and shows keyword match rate. Aim for 70-80% match.

Once you've written your header, summary, and first job entry, the rest of your resume follows the same pattern.

Add previous roles in reverse-chronological order (newest to oldest). Include 3-5 bullets per role for the last 5 years, 2-3 bullets for older positions.

Add a skills section if required by your industry. List 8-12 hard skills (software, tools, languages, certifications).

Optional sections: Certifications (PMP, CPA, Google Analytics), publications, speaking engagements, volunteer work (only if relevant to the job or shows leadership). Never include hobbies, marital status, religion, or political affiliations.

What is the best way to start a resume with no work experience?

Start a resume with no experience using a header, then an objective statement that names your degree or skills and target role. Replace the experience section with relevant coursework, academic projects, internships, or volunteer work formatted with the same CAR bullet structure (Context, Action, Result).

Should I start my resume with a summary or objective?

Use a summary if you have 2+ years of relevant experience in your target field; it highlights proven results. Use an objective if you are a new graduate, career-changer, or re-entering the workforce after a gap; it explains your goal and transferable skills.

How do I start a resume if I'm changing careers?

What should I not include when starting a resume?

Do not include a photo, full street address, date of birth, Social Security number, marital status, or references section. Avoid generic objectives like "Seeking a challenging position to utilize my skills." Never start with "Resume" or "CV" as a title.

How long should the opening section of a resume be?

Your header takes 1-2 lines. Your summary or objective should be 2-3 sentences (40-60 words, or 3-5 lines on the page).

Open your template, write those three sections, and you've started. The rest of your resume is repetition of the same pattern: job title, company, bullets with results.

For more guidance on building income and advancing your career, explore our [blog](/blog) and [money and debt section](/money-and-debt).