How to Write a Resume for the United States: A Complete Guide

To write a resume for the US market, use a one-page document titled "Resume," remove any photo and personal details, and fill it with quantified accomplishment bullets keyworded to the job description. US employers expect a format that differs structurally, culturally, and legally from a UK or European CV, and getting it wrong ends your candidacy before a human reads your credentials.

The US job market is one of the most competitive in the world and runs by its own rules. A US corporate role can attract several hundred applications, often far more than an equivalent UK posting draws. In that environment, a resume that does not conform to American expectations gets filtered out fast.

This guide covers everything you need to write a resume that works in the US market: the critical differences from UK and European CVs, how to format for American ATS platforms, how to write compelling accomplishment-based content, and how to use salary data effectively.

Resume vs CV: Understanding the US Terminology

In the US, the standard job-application document is a "resume" of one to two pages, while "CV" refers only to a long academic document for faculty, research, and medical roles. The word "CV" means something quite different here than it does in the UK and Australia. In the US:

• Resume — the standard 1–2 page document used for most professional job applications across industries
• CV (Curriculum Vitae) — a long-form academic document used exclusively for university faculty positions, research roles, medical residencies, and grants. A US academic CV may be 10–20 pages long

If you are applying for a standard professional or corporate role in the US, what the UK calls a CV, Americans simply call a resume. Do not title your document "Curriculum Vitae" — that signals an academic application and will confuse a non-academic hiring team.

Key Differences Between a US Resume and a UK CV

A US resume is one page with no photo, no personal details, no references section, and a city-and-state address only — unlike the two-page UK CV. These are the non-negotiable differences that US hiring managers and ATS platforms expect.

Length: For candidates with fewer than ten years of experience, one page is the US standard. Senior executives and professionals with 15+ years of relevant experience may extend to two pages. A three-page document is almost never appropriate for non-academic US applications. In the UK, two pages is the standard for most professionals.

No photo: Never include a photograph on a US resume. This is not just convention, it is legally sensitive. Under US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) rules, employers run a real legal risk if they consider visual information about race, ethnicity, age, or national origin in hiring decisions. A resume photo can create legal complications for the employer and will mark you out as unfamiliar with US norms.

No personal details: Do not include your date of birth, age, marital status, number of children, nationality, or religion. These are protected characteristics under US employment discrimination law and have no place on a resume.

No references section: Do not list references or write "References available upon request" — that phrase is considered outdated in the US. Keep your references ready separately; the employer will ask for them at the right stage.

Address format: Include only city and state, not a full street address. Many job seekers include only their city if privacy is a concern. "Brooklyn, NY" or "Austin, TX" is sufficient.

UK grading vs US GPA: If you graduated from a UK university, do not use degree classification in the US format (First, 2:1, 2:2). Convert your classification to an approximate US GPA equivalent or simply omit the grade. "BSc Computer Science, University of Edinburgh" without a classification grade is perfectly acceptable.

The One-Page Rule: What to Cut and What to Keep

Keep your three to five most recent roles, relevant education, and targeted skills; cut roles older than 12–15 years, outdated education details, and generic objective statements. Writing a one-page resume with 5–10 years of experience takes discipline about what earns space.

Keep: - Your three to five most recent and relevant roles (past 10–12 years) - Education that is relevant or prestigious - Certifications that are directly relevant to the target role - A focused skills section aligned to the job description

Cut or summarize: - Roles older than 12–15 years (list them as a brief single line: "Earlier career: Sales Representative, Various SMB companies, 2004–2009") - Education details more than 15 years old (drop the graduation year to avoid age discrimination risk) - References to hobbies and personal interests unless they are directly relevant - Objective statements that focus on what you want rather than what you offer (use a summary instead)

Writing Accomplishment-Based Bullet Points for US Employers

US employers expect quantified achievements in almost every bullet point, written with the CAR framework: Challenge, Action, Result. US resume culture is more explicit about numbers than most markets, especially in tech, finance, and management consulting.

The standard framework is CAR: Challenge, Action, Result.

Every bullet point should contain at minimum an action verb and a result. The best bullets contain all three CAR elements.

Weak bullet (UK-style responsibility-focused): "Responsible for managing the company's paid advertising accounts across Google and Meta."

Strong bullet (US-style accomplishment-focused): "Managed $1.2M annual paid advertising budget across Google Ads and Meta, reducing cost-per-acquisition by 31% over 18 months while increasing qualified lead volume by 44%."

The strong version is specific, quantified, and makes your value immediately clear to both ATS parsing and human review.

Strong action verbs for US resumes: led, built, drove, grew, reduced, launched, negotiated, delivered, restructured, secured, generated, achieved, exceeded, spearheaded, scaled.

Example — Sarah, a data analyst applying for mid-level roles in San Francisco:

Sarah's original bullet read: "Worked on reporting and data analysis for the sales team."

After rewriting: "Built automated Tableau dashboards for a 45-person sales team, reducing weekly reporting time from 6 hours to 40 minutes and enabling real-time pipeline visibility that contributed to a 19% improvement in quarterly forecasting accuracy."

The rewritten version names her tool (Tableau), states her scope (45-person sales team), quantifies the time saved, and ties the work to a business outcome.

Formatting Your Resume for US ATS Systems

US employers screen resumes with applicant tracking systems like Workday, Greenhouse, Lever, iCIMS, and Taleo, all of which read clean, single-column formatting best. Each platform parses documents slightly differently, so optimize for the lowest common denominator: simple structure and a standard layout.

Recommended US resume format:

1. Header: Name (16pt bold), City and State, Phone, Email, LinkedIn URL — all on the first two lines
2. Professional Summary: 3–4 sentences. Front-load your most impressive credentials and keywords
3. Core Competencies or Skills: 10–15 bullet points in a two or three-column list (acceptable for skills sections — the column issue applies to experience and education sections)
4. Professional Experience: Reverse chronological. Company, title, dates (month and year), city. 3–5 bullets per role
5. Education: Degree, institution, graduation year. GPA only if 3.5+ and within 5 years of graduating
6. Certifications: If relevant, particularly for technical and regulated roles

File format: Submit as PDF unless the job posting specifically requests Word. Many ATS systems now handle PDFs well, and PDF preserves your formatting.

Font and sizing: Calibri, Arial, or Georgia at 10–12pt for body text. Your name at 16–18pt. Section headers at 11–13pt bold.

US Market Salary Research: Sources and Approach

Research US salary ranges before you apply using Glassdoor, LinkedIn Salary, the Robert Half Salary Guide, Payscale, Levels.fyi, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Knowing the market rate lets you answer salary-expectation questions, which arise earlier in US hiring than in the UK. Key resources for US salary data:

• Glassdoor — company-specific salary data submitted by employees; filter by city, role, and experience level
• LinkedIn Salary — requires LinkedIn Premium but provides highly specific data by company, role, and metro area
• Robert Half Salary Guide — published annually; covers hundreds of roles across technology, finance, marketing, and operations in US markets
• Payscale — good for detailed compensation breakdowns including bonus, equity, and benefits data
• Levels.fyi — specifically for tech roles; includes base salary, equity, and bonus by company and level
• Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics — official US government data; useful for broad industry benchmarks

Illustrative US salary ranges for reference (major metro areas):

• Entry-level software engineer (New York/San Francisco): $85,000–$110,000 base
• Mid-level marketing manager (New York): $75,000–$105,000 base
• Senior financial analyst (Chicago): $90,000–$120,000 base
• Data analyst (Austin): $70,000–$95,000 base

These figures vary significantly by metro area, company size, and sector. Always research the specific market you are targeting instead of relying on national averages.

Adapting Your Summary and Keywords for Each Role

Tailor your professional summary and skills section to mirror each job description's exact keywords before you apply. US hiring managers review large volumes of resumes and discard generic content quickly, so adapting each application meaningfully improves both your ATS score and your odds with recruiters.

A practical approach:

1. Read the job description and note the top 10 keywords and phrases
2. Open your resume and check how many of those exact phrases appear in your document
3. Adjust your summary and skills section to incorporate missing keywords naturally
4. Run through Jobscan or Resumeworded for a final keyword match score

This process takes 20–30 minutes per application and meaningfully improves both ATS scores and recruiter engagement.

FAQ

What is the difference between a US resume and a CV?

In the US, a resume is the standard one-to-two-page document for professional roles, while a CV is a long academic document used only for faculty, research, and medical positions. If you are applying for a corporate role, submit a resume, and do not title it "Curriculum Vitae."

Should a US resume have a photo?

No. A photo on a US resume is not standard practice and is legally sensitive, because the EEOC discourages employers from factoring race, age, or national origin into hiring decisions. Leave out your photo, date of birth, marital status, and nationality.

How long should a US resume be?

One page for candidates with fewer than ten years of experience, and up to two pages for senior professionals with 15 or more years of relevant experience. Three pages is almost never appropriate for non-academic US applications.

How do I make a US resume pass the ATS?

Use a single-column layout, standard headers, and keywords copied directly from the job description, then save as a PDF unless Word is requested. Test it against the posting with an ATS checker such as the Epimoni CV analysis tool before submitting.

For guidance on applying in other markets, see our full guide on what a CV is and how it works and our dedicated ATS optimization guide.

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