In the United States, the word 'resume' means something specific: a concise document, free of photos and personal details, focused on measurable achievements. Nobody cares about your birth date or marital status — they care about what you achieved and how. The defining difference of the American resume is its culture of numbers: every bullet in the experience section should carry a tangible result, not just a job description.
Start every bullet with a strong past-tense verb: led, raised, cut, launched, improved, managed. Then attach a number. Example: 'Cut order processing time 40% by automating the workflow.' This pattern reads fast and sticks.
The accepted rule: one page under ten years of experience, two pages beyond that or with many publications and projects. Never exceed two — a US recruiter spends only seconds on the first scan.
US screening systems look for keywords matching the posting. Build a clear skills section containing the tools, technologies and abilities named in the job description. Don't bury skills inside paragraphs — keep them as a scannable list, for both humans and machines.
No photo, no birth date, no marital status, no ID number, no full address (city and state suffice). These details are either illegal to ask about or unwelcome, and they can break the layout for the parser.
No. Photos are unwelcome on American resumes and can get you screened out. Rely on text only.
One page for most cases, two pages maximum for long careers.
No, keep it off the resume. It belongs in the offer stage.
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