Skills You Need for Your Resume to Secure a Job
Wondering what good skills to put on your resume? Wonder no more! You’ll find a list of the right skills for your resume, regardless of your job or experience.
Olga Ber
Career Expert
Resumes crafted in a random text editor are a thing of the past. But how do you make a resume that will outshine the competition?
Easy. We’ve scoured the internet for the best resume builders that will craft the perfect resume for you—without leaving you broke.
In this guide:
- The pros and cons of the top 10 best resume builders.
- An overview of available free resume maker features from various resume builder apps.
- How to find a free online resume builder that suits your needs.
Save hours of work and get a job-winning resume like this. Try our resume builder with 20+ resume templates and create your resume now.
What users say about ResumeLab:
I had an interview yesterday and the first thing they said on the phone was: “Wow! I love your resume.”
Patrick
I love the variety of templates. Good job guys, keep up the good work!
Dylan
My previous resume was really weak and I used to spend hours adjusting it in Word. Now, I can introduce any changes within minutes. Absolutely wonderful!
George
1. ResumeLab: The Best Resume Builder Website
Writing a resume is no easy feat. Which fonts should you use? How do you structure the page? And after you’ve settled on a design, what do you actually write in those bulleted lists?
The ResumeLab resume builder is here to answer all of these questions. It comes with 21 customizable fill-in-the-blank templates and an outstanding auto-fill feature that does the heavy lifting for you. We humbly think it’s the best resume builder out there.
Just pick the points that best describe your career achievements, add some unique details, and you’re set. No need to spend hours googling action words or worrying about mistakes if English isn’t your first language.
When you’re done filling in the blanks, just pick a template out of the gallery, tweak it to your liking, and download your resume in the universally accepted PDF format.
And then… make a cover letter in a perfectly matching design. That’s right, ResumeLab also comes with a cover letter builder, complete with professionally designed templates, pre-written blocks of text to help you get started, and pro tips from recruiters.
Here’s what job-seekers like you had to say about ResumeLab:
I really liked how easy it was to create a dashing resume!
Great service, it made writing a CV very easy and straightforward. Lots of options to choose from and add.
I was applying for a job and my CV needed a facelift. This made it so much more sexier. All I had to do was just copy and paste my info. This has been much easier than trying to do it using Microsoft Word, tailoring all the spacing and such. This made it so much less daunting. I also love the cover letter feature where it gives you a skeleton and you can cannibalize whatever you need.
What’s not to like about ResumeLab?
You can create your resume and cover letter for free, but you’ll need a subscription to download your documents. However, a 14-day subscription will cost you just $2.70, which is a tiny amount compared to the time you can save.
2. Zety: The Classic Way to Build a Resume
3,000+ Trustpilot reviews can’t be wrong: Zety is one of the best resume makers on the web. No matter if you’re making your first resume or applying for a senior position, Zety will guide you through every step of building your resume and cover letter.
The Zety resume builder comes with a rich collection of professional templates that range from minimalist to creative. But Zety is so much more than a template library.
During every step of the writing process, you’ll get valuable tips from pro recruiters that will help you avoid common resume mistakes. And similarly to ResumeLab, you can use an auto-fill feature to help you with the most challenging resume sections.
When you’ve filled out your resume, the Zety builder evaluates its strengths and shows areas where it could use some more work. Once you’re satisfied with your resume, all you have to do is fine-tune the formatting and select your preferred file format.
Like ResumeLab, Zety follows a “pay only if you’re satisfied” philosophy. You can play with the builder for free until you’ve created a resume that you absolutely want to download. Then, a 14-day subscription will cost you $2.70.
Keep in mind that your Zety subscription will auto-renew at $23.70 every 4 weeks if you don’t cancel it. If you plan a long job hunt, you can also opt for a subscription that will cost you $71.40 yearly (that’s $5.95 a month).
Are there any downsides to using Zety? Well, there’s no way to add a photo to your resume. This can be a disadvantage if you’re applying for a job in a country where it’s still customary to submit resumes with photos. But if you’re in the USA or Canada, you shouldn’t add a photo anyway.
So go ahead and give Zety a try—after all, you won’t pay anything unless you’re absolutely satisfied with your resume and want to download it.
3. LiveCareer: A Simple App With Great Templates
LiveCareer has helped more than 10 million people worldwide find their dream jobs—and we’re not surprised. This resume builder has been on the market for 15 years, and the team behind it has what it takes to create a truly vast and timeless library of resume templates (and cover letter templates, too, for that matter).
The builder itself is quick, user-friendly, and interactive. Just fill in the blanks and watch your impressive resume build itself step by step, thanks to the instant preview function.
If something still doesn’t look right, you can drag and drop the sections around, adjust the fonts and spacing, and play around with the colors until your resume looks perfect. Then, all you need to do is subscribe and download your jaw-dropping resume!
(A word of caution: once you’ve spent time customizing a template, don’t just switch to another one. You’ll lose all your tweaks.)
A 14-day LiveCareer subscription will cost you $2.95 ($23.95/month automatically afterward) + $0.45 for every additional download, print, or email. Alternatively, you can opt for a monthly access option that will cost you $5.95 (or $71.40 if you pay for a full year, though we hope your job hunt won’t last that long).
4. Resume Genius: An AI-Powered Builder Worth Trying
Resume Genius is an AI-powered resume builder that crunches data from real job ads and uses it to generate unique bullet points for the work experience section of your resume.
What does this mean for you? No more writer’s block, no more wasted time, no more awkward job descriptions. Using Resume Genius is like working together with a professional resume writer—for a tiny fraction of the cost.
The template gallery is another thing worth mentioning: it’s vast, bold, and diverse. From conservative templates for corporate jobs to highly visual designs for creatives—no matter what you’re looking for, ResumeGenius has it.
And all those templates have been tested for compatibility with ATS systems so that you can be sure HR software will read and understand your resume.
And that can give you a huge competitive advantage over people with pretty but not machine-readable resumes.
Here’s what you can create with Resume Genius in just a few minutes:
Then you just need to use the cover letter builder, submit your job application, and lean back as you’re waiting for the recruiter to call you back.
Sounds great? Well, everything comes at a price. In the case of Resume Genius, it’s $2.90 for a 14-day subscription. However, if you somehow forget to cancel it, it turns into a monthly plan that will cost you $23.90/month. If you actually intend to spend several months writing resumes, it’s better to opt for the yearly plan that costs $76.80 (aka 12 months for the price of 3).
5. Hloom: A Template Gallery Turned Resume Builder
Hloom started as a collection of downloadable templates for Microsoft Word—and if you’re a DIY kind of person, you can head to the Free Templates sections of their website and find templates for just about anything, from a Christmas coupon to a resume.
However, they also offer a great resume and cover letter builder. In fact, Hloom’s resume builder even helps you pick the right template for your experience level!
With Hloom’s builder, creating your resume is as easy as filling out an online form. It even makes describing your work experience as easy as picking pre-written bullet points and editing them to make them truly your own.
And once you’re done, here’s what you can expect:
The downside? The customization options aren’t as extensive as in our top builders.
Hloom’s pricing is similar to that of other builders on the market: $2.80 for a 14-day subscription that auto-renews at $24.80 monthly if you don’t cancel it. Alternatively, you can pay $125.80 up-front and save 61% with an annual plan.
6. MyPerfectResume / MyPerfectCV: A Site for Desktop and Mobile
MyPerfectResume has helped its users land jobs at Google, Amazon, and Boeing, to name just a few. So you can definitely rely on them when working on your job-winning resume.
The website and the builder are fun, colorful, and inviting. Don’t you just want to try all of those vibrant templates?
But MyPerfectResume is so much more than a template collection. You can also kickstart your resume writing process by accessing a treasure trove of over 1000 resume examples for different professions, all created by career experts.
Here’s what your resume could look like if you give MyPerfectResume a try:
Too busy to build your resume in front of a computer? Don’t worry, MyPerfectResume also comes as a handy mobile app that’s available for both Android and iOS phones under the name MyPerfectCV. If you’ve ever wanted to work on your resume during your train commute, here’s your chance.
Are there any downsides to using MyPerfectResume? Well, the colorful templates might be fun, but most recruiters prefer black-and-white resumes. And, if you want to make multiple resumes using a single subscription, you’ll have to pay extra money.
What about the pricing? It’s $2.95 for the first 14 days (if you don’t cancel, you get billed $23.95/month afterward) + $0.45 for every additional download, print, or email. Alternatively, you can pay $71.40 upfront and save 77%.
7. Resume Now: A Fast Online Resume Builder
Just as the name suggests, Resume Now is a fast-paced resume builder that lets you create a resume in 15 minutes. Pick one out of 64,000 resume examples, select a template, fill out a few simple forms (if you run into any doubts, just follow the on-screen instructions), and you’re almost done.
The large variety of templates makes this resume builder really fun to experiment with, and you can create an impressive-looking resume within minutes. You can also fine-tune font sizes and spacing, though beware: the customization options are somewhat more limited than in our favorite builders. But you can still create a nice-looking resume without much effort:
You can also run a spell check to make sure you didn’t make any nasty typos that would automatically make a recruiter reject you. We recommend you opt for a pricier subscription with more checks, though.
Now that we’re at pricing: a limited 14-day subscription (without the extra resume checks) costs just $2.45 (automatic renewal to $23.85 every 4 weeks). The full 14-day access with the additional quality checks for your resume will cost you $2.85 (automatic renewal to $23.85 every 4 weeks). Alternatively, you can just opt for the monthly plan ($10.45 monthly) or even save 60% by paying for a year in advance (that will be $125.40).
8. Resumehelp.com: A Professional Resume Website
ResumeHelp aims to be a quick and hassle-free resume builder, and we believe it does the job pretty well. It comes with a nice selection of professional resume templates, pre-written bullet points for your job description, and a matching cover letter builder.
Even if you’re making your first resume, the easy-to-follow instructions and writing tips will make the entire process quick and easy.
However, tweaking the layout can be quite difficult because the customization options are less intuitive than Zety’s or ResumeLab’s. You can still create a nice-looking resume, though.
ResumeHelp has a pricing model that’s similar to other resume builders on the market: you can either pay $2.90 for a 14-day trial (which transforms itself into a monthly subscription that costs you $24.90 if you don’t cancel it) or go with a plan that will cost you $7.90 per month (billed annually at $94.80).
9. Resumenerd.com: A Resume Creator App for Space Enthusiasts
ResumeNerd has an awesome space-themed design that just makes you want to click every single button on the site. It makes writing your resume actually fun because who doesn’t love cute colorful planets and spaceships and whatnot?
The problem is that, unlike other resume builders we’ve reviewed, you can’t see your resume taking shape as you’re creating it. When using ResumeLab or Zety, you fill out the info about a job you’ve had and immediately see the entry on the formatted resume page. With ResumeNerd, you have to enter all of your info before seeing what your resume looks like.
The resume builder helps you with the work experience section by suggesting pre-written bullet points. It also suggests skills based on your professional profile.
At the end, you get to choose the template. The builder does a great job explaining what makes each template unique—that’s a feature that other builders don’t have.
Once you’re done selecting and tweaking your template, it’s time to pick your subscription and download your resume. The pricing is pretty standard: €2.90 for 14 days (auto-renewal at €23.90 every 4 weeks) or €76.90 for yearly access (that’s €6.41/month).
10. Resumegig.com: A Sleek and Fast Resume Maker
ResumeGig is fast and easy to use. Like the other builders, it offers a selection of pre-written bullet points, and it also helps you pick the right skills for your resume, so you won’t end up with a bad case of writer’s block.
The templates are sleek and professional, just what you need for corporate jobs:
However, if you’re looking for more creative options, you might be better off with MyPerfectResume or ResumeLab.
ResumeGig costs $2.90 for 14 days (after that, you pay $24.90 monthly), plus $0.50 for each downloaded file. You can also pay $94.80 up-front and enjoy a full year of ResumeGig access.
Double your impact with a matching resume and cover letter combo. Use our cover letter generator and make your application documents pop out.
Want to try a different look? There's 21 more. A single click will give your document a total makeover. Pick a cover letter template here.
Looking for general resume-writing advice rather than the best online resume builder reviews? Check out these resources:
- 20+ Things to Include in a Resume
- How to Create a Resume Outline? Tips & Samples
- How to Make Your Resume Look Great?
- Resume Length: Is One Page Better Than Two?
- Resume Sections to Add to Your Application
- Science-Backed Tips for Writing a Great Resume
- The Best Resume Format & How to Make It
- What's the Best Resume Layout and How to Create It?
Key Takeaways
Resume builders can make your life a lot easier. They come equipped with professionally designed, customizable templates, expert tips for every step of the writing process, and, most importantly—
The best resume builders also do the heavy lifting for you by helping you write impactful job descriptions packed with action verbs and powerful phrases.
That’s something you won’t find in a word processing program like Google Docs or Microsoft Word, and that’s what makes resume builders worth their money.
Especially given the fact that even the very best resume builders on the market only cost a few bucks for two weeks of use. Seriously, that’s like half a coffee.
Do you have any questions about resume builders? Or maybe a favorite resume builder that didn’t make it into our list? We’re always happy to hear from you. Give us a shout in the comments below.
About ResumeLab’s Editorial Process
At ResumeLab, quality is at the crux of our values, supporting our commitment to delivering top-notch career resources. The editorial team of career experts carefully reviews every article in accordance with editorial guidelines, ensuring the high quality and reliability of our content. We actively conduct original research, shedding light on the job market's intricacies and earning recognition from numerous influential news outlets. Our dedication to delivering expert career advice attracts millions of readers to our blog each year.
