The US resume is the most standardized job document in the world, and also the one that most people get wrong when they arrive from somewhere else. That includes Americans who spent years working abroad and picked up a two-page CV with a photo along the way, people who have never written a resume for this market, and foreign applicants who translated a document built on other conventions. A recruiter in Chicago spots the mismatch in seconds.
This guide covers what the US market expects: what the document is called and how long it runs, what never goes in, how experience is written, how foreign degrees and languages are presented, how to state work authorization in one line, which job boards matter, and the mistakes that mark an applicant as new to the market. The vocabulary question (resume versus CV) has its own page in the resume vs. CV guide.
In this guide
Resume, not CV: name, length, and paper
In the United States the application document is the resume. "CV" means the long academic curriculum vitae used in universities, research, and medicine, and using the word in a cover email or file name signals unfamiliarity with the market. The file should be Firstname-Lastname-Resume.pdf.
Length is one page for most profiles and two only with more than ten years of relevant experience or at director level. Paper size is Letter (8.5 by 11 inches); a PDF laid out on A4 prints with clipped margins and immediately reads as foreign. Order is reverse chronological, experience first; education moves to the top only for recent graduates. Single-column resume templates already set on Letter remove the layout work.
What stays out: photo and personal data
US anti-discrimination law leads employers to avoid any information that could bias a decision. A resume with a photo can be discarded outright by internal policy, and the same applies to date of birth, nationality, marital status, and any identification number (no SSN, no passport number, no foreign ID).
The header holds name, city and state, phone with country code, a professional email, and a LinkedIn URL. The full street address is unnecessary: Denver, CO is enough, or the current city plus a relocation note for applicants still abroad (Relocating to Miami, FL in January). References do not go on the resume, and neither does the line "References available upon request"; they are assumed to exist.
Experience: achievements with numbers
Each position lists title, company, city, and dates with month and year, followed by three to five bullets. Every bullet starts with a past-tense action verb (present tense for the current role), has no subject, and ends in a measurable result. "Responsible for" and "duties included" describe the job; the reader wants to know what changed because this person held it.
- Increased regional sales 23% in 12 months by restructuring the distributor network (14 accounts).
- Cut invoice processing time from 5 days to 48 hours by automating approvals in SAP.
Employers outside the US that nobody in the hiring team will recognize get a one-line context in italics under the name (Largest pharmacy chain in Colombia, 6,000 employees). Amounts are converted to dollars or labeled with the original currency, and numbers follow US format: comma for thousands, period for decimals. Dates read Jun 2022 to Present, never 06/2022.
Degrees, licenses, and languages
Foreign degrees are translated by concept, not by name: a licenciatura or a three-year European bachelor is a Bachelor's degree; a maestría or mestrado is a Master's degree; a two-year technical program is an Associate degree. The university keeps its original name with the country in parentheses. In licensed professions (healthcare, law, civil engineering, public accounting) a foreign degree does not authorize practice on its own; the resume cites the credential evaluation if one exists (WES evaluation: equivalent to a U.S. Bachelor's in Nursing) or the licensing exam in progress.
Languages go in a short section at the end, with a verifiable level: the CEFR scale (Spanish: C1) or a test with score and year. "Fluent" and "advanced" are read as self-assessments. For applicants translating from Spanish or Portuguese, a resume translation tool applies these conversions along with the language.
Work authorization in one line
Almost every US application form asks two questions: whether the applicant is authorized to work in the United States, and whether they will need sponsorship now or in the future. The resume does not detail visa categories or immigration steps; one clear, verifiable line in the header or at the end is enough:
- Authorized to work in the U.S. for any employer.
- Work authorization: EAD valid through 2027.
- Requires visa sponsorship.
Leaving it out does not help: the form asks anyway, and an inconsistent answer ends the process. US citizens returning from abroad can state U.S. citizen if their resume otherwise reads as foreign. Applicants without authorization do better concentrating on employers that sponsor, a subject covered in the first job abroad guide.
ATS and format
Most mid-size and large US employers receive applications through an ATS (Workday, Greenhouse, Lever, iCIMS) that extracts the text of the PDF and compares it with the job description. A two-column resume with icons, tables, or text inside images arrives garbled; a single-column document with standard headings (Experience, Education, Skills) and a common font arrives intact. The ATS-friendly resume guide covers the details.
Keywords come from the posting, spelled exactly as written there and only when true. Adjusting the title line, the summary, and the skills for each application is standard practice in this market, not an exception. An ATS check before sending shows what the system reads and what gets lost.
Job boards and hiring customs
The general boards are Indeed, LinkedIn, and Glassdoor (which also publishes employer reviews and salary ranges by role). Handshake connects students and recent graduates of US colleges with employers and requires a school account. Many roles are filled through referrals: a short message to someone at the company before applying changes where the resume lands in the pile.
The typical process runs through a short HR phone screen, one or more interviews with the team, and sometimes a practical exercise. Two customs that surprise applicants from other markets: the salary expectation question comes early and is answered with a range, and a thank-you email within 24 hours of each interview is expected rather than optional. Cover letters are requested less than before; when asked for, half a page aimed at the specific role is the norm.
Mistakes that mark an applicant as new to the market
| Avoid | Better |
|---|---|
| Photo in the top corner. | No photo; the space goes to the header. |
| Date of birth, nationality, marital status. | City and state, phone, email, LinkedIn. |
| Responsible for the sales department. | Led a 6-person sales team; grew revenue 18% year over year. |
| Licenciatura en Administración. | Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Universidad de Chile (Chile). |
| Two A4 pages in three columns. | One Letter page, one column, standard headings. |
| No mention of work authorization. | One line: Authorized to work in the U.S. or Requires sponsorship. |
Before sending, find three LinkedIn profiles with the target title in the target city and compare titles, length, and vocabulary. Anything none of them uses is probably a carry-over from another market.
Sample header
A header for an applicant relocating from Buenos Aires to Texas:
María Fernández
Austin, TX (relocating January 2027) · +54 9 11 5555 0000 · maria.fernandez@email.com · linkedin.com/in/mariafernandez
Supply Chain Analyst · Authorized to work in the U.S. for any employer
A three-line summary follows, with years of experience, industry, and two results with numbers, and then the experience section. Nothing else goes in the header: no photo, no street address, no ID number.
Frequently asked questions
Does a US resume include a photo?
No. US employers avoid receiving photos, age, marital status, and nationality because of anti-discrimination rules, and many discard resumes that include them. The header carries only name, city and state, phone, email, and LinkedIn.
How long should a US resume be?
One page for most profiles. Two pages are accepted with more than ten years of relevant experience or at director level. Paper size is Letter, not A4.
Should visa status go on the resume?
Not the visa type or the immigration process. One line stating whether the applicant is authorized to work in the United States or requires sponsorship is enough, because the application form will ask the same question.
How is a foreign degree written on a US resume?
By concept: Bachelor's degree or Master's degree followed by the field, with the university's original name and the country in parentheses. In licensed professions, the credential evaluation is cited if it exists.
Which job boards are used in the United States?
Indeed, LinkedIn, and Glassdoor cover most published openings; Handshake serves students and graduates of US colleges. Many hires happen through referrals, so contact with someone at the company counts as much as the board.