Free Resume Samples and Examples

Erin Kennedy has made these sample resumes available to help you see how you might prepare your resume.

Below you will find descriptions of 12 typical situations faced by job seekers.

For each situation, you will find a description of the problems faced and how the job seekers addressed the situation with their resumes.

Today, a single version of your resume is not sufficient.

For best results, match the requirements in the job description with your qualifications and accomplishments, as you will see in these samples.

Samples for Many Different Situations

Below find sample resumes for special situations (entering or re-entering the job market, making a career change, unemployed, older candidate who wants to look younger, and more) as well as a standard employed job seeker.

Read the detailed explanation for each resume to help you understand the issues the job seeker faced and how they were resolved in the sample resume.

Choose and carefully examine the resumes closest to your situation. Also check out the other resumes to see how different experiences are handled by a professional resume writer.

  2 Versions of Each Sample Resume  

Because of the impact of technology used by recruiters and employers, we have provided 2 versions of each sample resume:

1. The formal version of the resume –

This is the traditional version of the resume designed to appeal to live humans. This is the resume sent directly to recruiters and members of an employer’s staff.

Leverage your word processing software’s functions to make it appealing and easy to read.

2. The simpler ATS-friendly version of the resume –

When you look at this resume, you won’t be particularly impressed by what you see because this is the simplified version of your resume that you would submit to most job boards and to employer applicant tracking systems (ATS).

Automated systems require a very plain format which can be processed by the software, generating the fewest errors in understanding the content of the resume. These ATS samples were prepared with assistance from JobScan.co.

The Sample Resumes

The challenges faced by these job seekers is explained in the article that accompanies the resume and should explain the particular challenges each job seeker faced. The job seekers range from executive to college student and everyone in between.

Each sample resume illustrates how to resolve several issues that the job seeker had.

Do read the explanation of the situation the resume is addressing before you look at the resume samples. That will enable you to see what “problem” the job seeker had that the resume addresses.

  Standard Situation:  

The Details: Average Joe Job Seeker

This “regular guy” — Eduardo Hortiz (not his real name) — has been working for several years and is looking for a non-management job in his current field. Learn more about how he stands out without changing who he is.

1. The formal resume: “Average Joe” Resume
2. The simplified ATS version: “Average Joe” Resume

  Typical Challenges:  

• The Details: Making a Career Change

  This executive job seeker, Joseph J. Monroe (not his real name), wants to change industries from healthcare to technology. Learn how he emphasized his accomplishments in technology to make the transition.

  1. The formal resume: Making a Career Change Resume
  2. The simplified ATS version: Making a Career Change Resume

• The Details: Older Job Seeker Looks Younger

  This older job seeker, Karen Coffey (not her real name), competes with much younger job seekers in a “young field.” Learn how she made herself look younger to compete successfully.

  1. The formal resume: Older Job Seeker Looks Younger Resume
  2. The simplified ATS version: Older Job Seeker Looks Younger Resume

• The Details: Highlighting Education

  In some fields education is very important to employers, so this job seeker, Frank Ford (not his real name), needs to emphasize that aspect of his background. Learn how this management consultant emphasized his education several ways to highlight his qualifications.

  1. The formal resume: Highlighting Education Resume
  2. The simplified ATS version: Highlighting Education Resume

• The Details: Non-Profit Executive with No Degree

  This successful senior manager, Ryan Meade (not his real name), did not finish his college degree and is now seeking an executive director position, typically requiring at least one degree. Learn how he managed the missing degree.

  1. The formal resume: Non-Profit Executive with No Degree Resume
  2. The simplified ATS version: Non-Profit Executive with No Degree Resume

  Entering or Re-entering the Job Market  

• The Details: A Mom Returning to Work

  This job seeker, LaDonna Davis (not her real name), faced two big challenges – handling the employment gap when she was home taking care of her family and also changing the direction of her career when she returned to the workforce. Learn more about how she managed each challenge.

  1. The formal resume: Mom Returning to Work
  2. The simplified ATS version: Mom Returning to Work

• The Details: College Student

  Graduating next May, this student, Loretta Perkins (not her real name), is getting a jump start on her post-graduation job search. Read how she combined her experience, both on the job and off, to impress potential employers.

  1. The formal resume: College Student Resume
  2. The simplified ATS version: College Student Resume

• The Details: New Grad

  This new accounting grad, Landon Jones (not his real name), wants to follow up on experience he gained during an internship. Read the issues this job seeker faced and how she handled education.

  1. The formal resume: New Grad Resume
  2. The simplified ATS version: New Grad Resume

  Unemployed Job Seekers  

• The Details: Job Seeker with Gaps in Employment

  This job seeker, Anna Gonzalez (not her real name), used her volunteer work to disguise her gaps in employment. Learn more about how she handled employment gaps.

  1. The formal resume: Handling Employment Gaps Resume
  2. The simplified ATS version: Handling Employment Gaps Resume

• The Details: Older, Laid-Off Worker

  Appropriately presenting all the experience that this older job seeker, James Carpenter (not his real name), brings to an employer can be challenging. Read how this job seeker resolved three tough issues.

  1. The formal resume: Older, Laid-Off Worker
  2. The simplified ATS version: Older, Laid-Off Worker

• The Details: Just Fired

  A job search after you’ve been fired can be difficult. Read how this experienced manager, Betsy Charles (not her real name), handled being fired.

  1. The formal resume: Just Fired Resume
  2. The simplified ATS version: Just Fired Resume

• The Details: Unemployed with a Chronic Illness

  This job seeker, Sandi Patterson (not her real name), faces two challenges, a chronic illness (MS) and being currently unemployed. Learn how she handles both her chronic illness and being unemployed.

  1. The formal resume: Job Seeker with Chronic Illness Resume
  2. The simplified ATS version: Job Seeker with Chronic Illness Resume

The Bottom Line on Resume Examples

Your resume is an extremely important personal marketing document, essential for job search today. Keep that perspective in mind as you create your resume. A resume must be truthful and focused on the employer and opportunity.

More About Resumes

• Effective Resumes Home
• 3 Smart Tips to Beat the ATS Systems
• Why 95% of Resumes Don’t Get Read and What You Can Do About It
• Why a General Work-History Resume Doesn’t Work Now
• 7 Deadly Resume Mistakes for New Grads to Avoid
• How to Triple the Value of Your Resume

About the author…

Erin Kennedy is a Master Career Director (MCD), Certified Master Resume Writer (MCRW), Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW), and Certified Empowerment & Motivational Coach (CEMC). She has been helping clients since 1999. Erin is also the President of Professional Resume Services, Inc.. Visit her website and connect with Erin on LinkedIn and Twitter.
More about this author…