# How to write a great resume: the MrAdib method

> A machine-readable resume-writing framework by John Adib (MrAdib): 102 points of impact across the sections below. Use it to draft, rewrite, review, or score any resume.

Human guide: https://mradib.com/resume
Score a resume out of 100: https://mradib.com/resume/checklist
Portable skill for AI tools: https://mradib.com/resume/skill.md

## How to use this

- Work through the sections in order. Together they are the whole resume.
- For every rule, do the "Do" and never the "Avoid".
- Points mark impact, so spend effort where the points are. A resume scores out of 102.

## Template & structure (15 pts)
Guide: https://mradib.com/resume#template
- Resume format (5 pts). Do: Use a clean single column template with standard headings and export to PDF. Avoid: The layout is hard to scan and may break in an ATS.
- Essential sections (3 pts). Do: Include contact, summary, experience, skills, and education at minimum. Avoid: A core section is missing, so the resume feels incomplete.
- PDF format (2 pts). Do: Export to PDF so the layout stays fixed, unless the posting asks for Word. Avoid: A Word file can reflow or look broken on another machine.
- Consistent formatting (2 pts). Do: Use one font family and the same spacing and bullet style everywhere. Avoid: Fonts, bullet styles, and spacing change across the page.
- File size (1 pts). Do: Keep the PDF under about a megabyte by compressing images. Avoid: A heavy file is slow to send and slow to open.
- Font and colours (2 pts). Do: Use one clean font and at most one accent colour. Avoid: Loud fonts or colours pull focus from the content.

## Contact details (13 pts)
Guide: https://mradib.com/resume#contact
- Contact details (4 pts). Do: Add full name, phone, professional email, and city at the top. Avoid: Key contact details are missing or hard to find.
- Headline title (3 pts). Do: Add a short role title under your name that matches the job you want. Avoid: There is no target title under the name, so the aim is unclear.
- Professional email (2 pts). Do: Switch to a name based address such as name.family@gmail.com. Avoid: The email looks casual and undercuts a professional impression.
- LinkedIn link (2 pts). Do: Add your LinkedIn URL, and a portfolio link if you have one. Avoid: There is no LinkedIn or portfolio link to follow.
- GitHub link (1 pts). Do: Link GitHub only when it shows real contributions, otherwise drop it. Avoid: A GitHub link with no real activity adds nothing.
- File name (1 pts). Do: Name it Firstname-Lastname-Resume.pdf. A version like v2 at the end is fine to track the latest. Avoid: A name like resume-final.pdf or myresume.pdf looks careless.

## Summary (8 pts)
Guide: https://mradib.com/resume#summary
- Summary length (5 pts). Do: Write two to three lines stating your role, strengths, and target. Avoid: The summary is too long or missing, so the headline gets lost.
- Clichés and buzzwords (3 pts). Do: Replace clichés with specific, provable achievements. Avoid: Phrases like hardworking and team player say nothing.

## Work experience (29 pts)
Guide: https://mradib.com/resume#experience
- Relevant experience (5 pts). Do: Keep the roles that match the target job and trim the rest. Avoid: Unrelated roles dilute the story and bury what matters.
- Achievements (8 pts). Do: Rewrite each bullet as an achievement, with a number where you can. Avoid: Bullets describe duties, not results, so impact is invisible.
- Clear roles (5 pts). Do: Name the company and your exact title for every role, with no vague entries. Avoid: A role is vague about the company or the title you held.
- Work history (2 pts). Do: Cover about the last ten years and focus on recent, relevant roles. Avoid: The history runs too long or too thin for the target level.
- Order (2 pts). Do: List every role from newest to oldest, the most recent one on top. Avoid: The roles are out of order, so the latest job is not on top.
- Pronouns (2 pts). Do: Drop all pronouns and lead each bullet with an action verb. Avoid: Bullets use I, my, or other pronouns, which reads informal.
- Dates (3 pts). Do: Show Month Year to Month Year for every role, consistently. Avoid: A role is missing a clear start or end month and year.
- Gaps and overlaps (2 pts). Do: Explain breaks briefly and make sure role dates do not overlap by mistake. Avoid: There are unexplained gaps or overlapping dates between roles.

## Skills (6 pts)
Guide: https://mradib.com/resume#skills
- Relevant skills (6 pts). Do: List skills that match the role and belong together, and cut the outliers. Avoid: The skills are off target or a scattered mix that lacks focus.

## Education (2 pts)
Guide: https://mradib.com/resume#education
- Education (2 pts). Do: List the degree and institution, and cut rankings and course lists. Avoid: Education is missing, or padded with rankings and coursework.

## Extra sections (4 pts)
Guide: https://mradib.com/resume#optional
- Expected sections (2 pts). Do: Drop sections a recruiter does not expect and keep the standard ones. Avoid: An unexpected or vanity section clutters the resume.
- Personal details (2 pts). Do: Remove personal details and let your work speak. Avoid: Age, marital status, or a photo invite bias and waste space.

## Length (7 pts)
Guide: https://mradib.com/resume#length
- Resume length (4 pts). Do: One page under ten years, two to three beyond, never more than three. Avoid: The page count does not fit the years of experience.
- Readability (3 pts). Do: Use short bullets and white space so a recruiter can scan it fast. Avoid: Long paragraphs and little white space make it hard to skim.

## Tailoring & ATS (8 pts)
Guide: https://mradib.com/resume#ats
- Tailoring & ATS (8 pts). Do: Tailor the wording to each posting and include its core keywords. Avoid: The resume is generic and misses the posting keywords.

## Action verbs (4 pts)
Guide: https://mradib.com/resume#action-verbs
- Action verbs (4 pts). Do: Open each bullet with a strong, varied action verb. Avoid: Bullets start weakly or repeat the same verb.

## Final review (6 pts)
Guide: https://mradib.com/resume#checklist
- Spelling & grammar (4 pts). Do: Run the text through a grammar checker and fix every flag. Avoid: Spelling or grammar mistakes slip through and cost credibility.
- No references (2 pts). Do: Remove references entirely; share them only when asked. Avoid: A references section or an available on request line wastes space.