If you’re not sure how to write a resume, we are here to help. It’s one of the most common things candidates tell us when they first reach out. The good news is that once you know what goes in it, and why, the rest comes together fast.
A resume is a document, typically one page, that summarizes your work history, skills, and education for a potential employer. Its only job is to get you an interview. It doesn’t need to tell your entire career story.
If you’ve never written one, or yours is years out of date, here’s exactly what every strong resume needs.
The Six Sections Every Resume Should Have
Contact Information
This goes at the very top and includes your full name, phone number, email address, and city and state. You no longer need to include your full street address. City and state is enough.
Make sure your email address looks professional. If yours includes numbers or random characters from an old account, create a simple new one (firstname.lastname@gmail.com) before you start applying.
Professional Summary
A professional summary is two to three sentences near the top of your resume that give a hiring manager the quick version of who you are. Think of it as your headline.
Here’s what that looks like across the three specialties we place most in the Dallas market:
- Accounting resume example: “Accounts payable specialist with 4 years of experience in high-volume invoice processing and vendor management. Proficient in QuickBooks and NetSuite. Detail-oriented with a consistent record of accurate month-end close support.”
- Administrative assistant resume example: “Executive assistant with 6 years supporting C-suite leaders in fast-paced environments. Strong background in calendar management, travel coordination, and cross-functional communication. Known for anticipating needs before they’re asked.”
- Finance resume example: “Financial analyst with experience in budgeting, variance analysis, and monthly close reporting. Proficient in Excel and SAP. Skilled at translating financial data into clear summaries for non-finance leadership.”
- Entry-level or no experience: Focus on transferable skills and the direction you’re headed, not the experience you don’t yet have. A sentence about your goals and what you bring to the table goes a long way.
Work Experience
List your jobs in reverse chronological order, most recent first. For each role, include:
- Job title
- Company name
- City and state
- Start and end dates (month and year)
- 3 to 5 bullet points describing what you did and the results you produced
The biggest mistake on most resumes is listing duties instead of accomplishments. “Processed invoices” tells a hiring manager very little. “Processed 200+ vendor invoices weekly with 99% accuracy” tells them what you’re capable of.
Use numbers and specifics wherever you can. How many accounts did you manage? What dollar amounts were you responsible for? How many people did you support? These details make your experience real.
For more on how to write this section well, our post on the right way to display your work experience on a resume goes deeper on formatting and phrasing.
If you have gaps in employment, don’t try to hide them with creative formatting. A recruiter will ask about them, and a straightforward explanation is always better than one that looks evasive on paper.
Education
List your highest level of education first: school name, degree type, field of study, and graduation year. If you’re still in school, include your expected graduation date.
If you don’t have a college degree, that’s fine. Include any coursework, vocational training, or community college credits you do have. For accounting and finance roles especially, relevant certifications can matter as much as a degree.
Certifications and Professional Development
List any credentials relevant to the work you’re pursuing. For accounting, finance, and administrative roles, common ones include:
- CPA (Certified Public Accountant)
- CMA (Certified Management Accountant)
- CPP (Certified Payroll Professional)
- Microsoft Office Specialist (Word, Excel)
- QuickBooks Certified User
- Any ERP or software-specific certifications
If you’re actively working toward a certification, include it with an expected completion date. It shows initiative.
Skills
A skills section gives hiring managers and the applicant tracking systems many employers use a quick snapshot of what you know. For accounting, finance, and administrative roles in Dallas-Fort Worth, the most in-demand skills right now include:
- Software: QuickBooks, Microsoft Excel (pivot tables, VLOOKUP), NetSuite, SAP, Salesforce, ADP, Workday
- Accounting and finance: Accounts payable, accounts receivable, general ledger, bank reconciliation, payroll processing, financial reporting, month-end close
- Administrative: Executive support, calendar and travel management, CRM systems, meeting coordination, document management
- Soft skills worth including: Attention to detail, time management, written communication, confidentiality
Keep this section focused on what’s relevant to the roles you’re actually applying for. A shorter, targeted list is more useful than a long one that reads like a data dump.
How to Write a Resume With No Experience
If you’re just starting out, changing careers, or returning to the workforce after time away, knowing how to make a resume with no experience feels like the biggest hurdle. It really isn’t.
Your professional summary becomes your most important section. Lead with the skills you do have and what you’re looking to contribute, not an apology for what’s missing. Employers hiring for entry-level accounting, finance, and admin roles in Dallas are often more interested in reliability, attention to detail, and willingness to learn than in a long work history.
For the experience section, include anything relevant: internships, volunteer work, school projects, freelance work, or jobs in unrelated fields where you built transferable skills. Relevant coursework and certifications can go where work history is thin.
If you’re targeting a specific career path, our post on how to become a staff accountant in Dallas walks through exactly what that path looks like, including what hiring managers are actually looking for in candidates without years of experience.
Formatting Tips
The content is the most important thing, but presentation matters too.
Use a clean, readable font. Georgia, Garamond, or Calibri at 10 to 12 points all work well. Leave enough white space that the page doesn’t feel cramped. Use consistent formatting for dates, bullet points, and headings throughout.
Save your resume as a PDF unless a job posting specifically asks for a Word file. PDFs preserve your formatting across different devices and systems. Name the file with your name (JaneDoe_Resume.pdf, not “Resume_Final_v3”).
Aim for one page if you have fewer than 10 years of experience. Two pages is reasonable for senior-level candidates with significant depth to cover.
Ready to Write Yours? Use Our Free Resume Builder
If putting all of this together still feels like a lot, we built a free resume builder in Dallas specifically for accounting, finance, and administrative job seekers. Search “resume builder Dallas” and you’ll find it, or go straight there: PrideStaff Dallas Resume Builder.
It walks you through each section with prompts, so instead of staring at a blank page, you’re just answering questions. When you’re done, your information goes directly to our team at PrideStaff Dallas, and a recruiter will reach out if there’s a role that’s a fit. There’s no fee to use it and no obligation.
Build Your Resume Now | Apply Now
Ready to Talk to a Recruiter?
Once your resume is together, the next step is a quick call with one of our recruiters. It’s a low-pressure conversation and it takes less than 30 minutes. Read our guide on how to prepare for a recruiter call so you know exactly what to expect before you pick up the phone.
If you’re targeting a senior or executive-level role, G.A. Rogers and Associates handles manager-to-executive placements in accounting and finance across the DFW area. And for specialized accounting and finance staffing at all levels, PrideStaff Financial Dallas is the right starting point.
How to Prepare for Your Recruiter Call | Connect with a Recruiter