Résumé

A résumé or resume (or alternatively resumé) is a document created and used by a person to present their background, skills, and accomplishments. Résumés can be used for a variety of reasons, but most often are used to secure new jobs, whether in the same organization or another.

A typical résumé contains a summary of relevant job experience and education. The résumé is usually one of the first items, along with a cover letter and sometimes an application for employment, a potential employer sees regarding the job seeker and is used to screen applicants before offering an interview.

In the EMEA and Asian countries, a curriculum vitae (CV) is used for similar purposes. This international CV is more akin to the résumé—a summary of one's education and experience—than to the longer and more detailed CV expected in U.S. academic circles. However, international CVs vary by country. For example, many Middle East and African countries and some parts of Asia require personal data (e.g., photograph, gender, marital status, children) while this is not accepted in the UK, U.S., and some European countries.

In South Asian countries such as Pakistan and Bangladesh, biodata is often used in place of a résumé.

The word "résumé" comes from the French word résumer meaning 'to summarize'. Leonardo da Vinci is sometimes credited with the first résumé, though his "résumé" takes the form of a letter written about 1481–1482 to a potential employer, Ludovico Sforza. For the next 450 years, the résumé continued to be simply a description of a person, including abilities and past employment. In the early 1900s, résumés included information like weight, height, marital status, and religion. By 1950, résumés were considered mandatory and started to include information like personal interests and hobbies. It was not until the 1970s, the beginning of the Digital Age, that résumés took on a more professional look in terms of presentation and content. The start of the 21st century saw a further evolution for résumés on the internet as social media helped people spread résumés faster.

In 2003 LinkedIn was launched, which allowed users to post their résumés and skills online. Since, many SaaS companies began providing job seekers with free online résumé builders; usually templates to insert credentials and experience and create a résumé to download or an online portfolio link to share via social media.

With the launch of YouTube in 2005, video résumés became common, and more and more high school students began to send them to different colleges and universities.

In many contexts, a résumé is typically limited to one or two pages of size A4 or letter-size, highlighting only those experiences and qualifications that the author considers most relevant to the desired position. Many résumés contain keywords or skills that potential employers are looking for via applicant tracking systems (ATS), make heavy use of active verbs, and display content in a flattering manner. Acronyms and credentials after the applicant's name should be spelled out fully in the appropriate section of the résumé to increase the likelihood they are found in a computerized keyword scan.