US Resume Format: How to Write a Resume for American Companies

In the United States, the document you send with a job application is a resume, and it is short. A CV is a different document there, reserved for academia, medicine, and research, where a full record of publications and appointments is expected. Send a three-page CV with a photo to a US posting that asked for a resume and it will not be read the way you hoped.

American conventions differ for three practical reasons. Employers are careful about collecting details that touch on protected characteristics. Popular roles draw large applicant pools, so recruiters skim fast. And most mid-size and larger companies run applications through an applicant tracking system before a person reads them. Nearly every rule below follows from one of those three.

What to Leave Off a US Resume

Much of what is standard elsewhere is unwelcome on a US resume. Leave off:

• A photo. US employers generally do not want one; it says nothing about ability and invites bias claims.
• Date of birth or age.
• Marital status, children, or family details.
• Nationality, religion, caste, or political affiliation.
• Your full street address. City and state ("Austin, TX") is enough.
• "References available on request." It is assumed, and the line spends space saying nothing.

The reasoning is consistent: US anti-discrimination law makes it risky for employers to hold information about age, family status, national origin, or religion, so many recruiters would rather never see it.

Length and Layout

One page is the default for under roughly ten years of experience. Two pages is acceptable for senior candidates with a lot of relevant history; a third page is rarely read. Use a single column. Two-column templates look tidy on screen, but ATS software can read them out of order and mix your skills into your job titles. Our resume length guide covers when a second page earns its place.

Dates, Phone Numbers, and Paper Size

Order. Reverse-chronological, most recent role first, is what US recruiters expect and what parsers handle best. Our comparison of resume formats covers the rare exceptions.

Dates. Write them as Month YYYY (June 2023 – Present) rather than 06/2023; numeric dates are read differently in different countries.

Phone. Write a US number as +1 (555) 123-4567. If you are applying from abroad, include your country code (+44, +91, +61) so the recruiter can actually dial it.

Paper. US documents print on Letter paper, 8.5 × 11 inches, slightly shorter and wider than A4; a resume laid out for A4 can lose its last line. In the ATSVerse builder, the Design & Layout section has an A4 / US Letter page-size switch. Choose US Letter before you export, and the preview and PDF follow.

Write in American English

Small language choices signal whether you know the market.

• US spelling: organize, program, analyze, center. "Resume" without accents is fine.
• Action verbs first. Start every bullet with a past-tense verb (Built, Reduced, Negotiated); our action verb list is a good source.
• Quantify where you honestly can: team size, budget, percentage change, time saved.
• No personal pronouns. "Managed a team of six," not "I managed a team of six."
• Avoid phrasing that reads as foreign: "passed out of college" (say "graduated"), "curriculum vitae" or "bio-data" as a heading (the document needs no heading), "pursuing" a degree (say "expected May 2027"), and school-leaving exam results (omit them).

The tone is direct. Modesty formulas such as "humbly request" or "kindly consider" are not read as polite; they are read as unfamiliar.

Sections in the Usual Order

A US resume follows a predictable order, which helps skimming humans and parsers alike:

• Contact: name, city and state, phone, email, LinkedIn URL.
• Summary (optional): two or three lines on what you do and your strongest qualification; skip it rather than write a vague one (see our summary examples).
• Experience: company, title, location, dates, then three to five bullets each.
• Education: degree name, school, graduation year. No marks, percentages, or GPA unless the posting asks or you are a recent graduate with a strong one.
• Skills: a compact list of tools, languages, and methods, grouped if long.
• Projects or Certifications: only when relevant to the role.

Recent graduates can place Education above Experience.

Work Authorization: Brief and Honest

US postings often ask whether you are authorized to work in the United States and whether you will need sponsorship. Answer in the application form, truthfully. Leave it off the resume itself unless the posting asks; "Authorized to work in the US" is fine when true. Claiming authorization you do not have is a misrepresentation that ends the process, sometimes after an offer. If you need sponsorship, say so when asked and let the resume carry the rest.

Before and After: One Line, Translated

Here is a typical passage from an India- or UK-style CV, rewritten for a US reader. The company and figures are illustrative.

The rewrite drops the percentage, replaces "passed out" with a standard degree line, removes the pronoun, and turns "responsible for handling" into a result.

US Resume Checklist

• No photo, date of birth, marital status, nationality, or religion.
• City and state only, no street address.
• One page (two at most), single column, reverse-chronological.
• Dates as Month YYYY; phone number with country code.
• US spelling, action verbs, numbers where honest, no "I".
• Education shows degree, school, and year; no marks unless asked.
• No "References available on request" line.
• Work authorization answered truthfully in the form.
• Exported as a PDF on US Letter, then run through an ATS check.