Resumes are pretty much the very first step while applying for almost any job. They give potential employers a first-hand idea of who you are and why you might be a good fit for that job before they even get to meet you. So your resume needs to be top-notch.

In this Best Courses Guide (BCG), I’ve selected the 10 best free and paid resume writing online courses for you from the 50+ resume writing courses in our catalog by following our well-defined methodology that you can find below.

Click on the shortcuts for more details:

• Top Picks
• What is Resume Writing?
• Stats
• Why You Should Trust Us
• How We Made Our Picks and Tested Them

Top Picks

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What is Resume Writing?

A resume is a formal document, typically of one to two pages, that highlights a candidate’s education, experience and skills. Job seekers write resumes while applying for a job so recruiters can evaluate their competency and worth. Employers may collect resumes in person, through a company’s career website, a job search engine, or a professional social media page.

The word “resume” originally comes from the French word ‘résumé’, past participle of résumer which means “to summarize”. However, this term is primarily used in America and Canada to represent a document that showcases your skills and work experiences, and not in France and other parts of Europe where a curriculum vitae (or CV) is used instead. In India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, biodata is often used in place of a resume.

Fun fact: Did you know that Leonardo da Vinci was the first recorded person to write a resume in the 15th century (even though it was more of a letter)?

Why are Resume Writing Skills Important?

Resumes create your first impression to potential employers. Indeed notes down a few more reasons why resumes are important:

• Provides an opportunity to market yourself to employers
• Outlines your skills, background and education so employers can easily see how your experience can contribute to the success of a company
• Helps employers eliminate unqualified candidates
• Allows you to demonstrate your written communication skills

Stats

• Combined, these courses have accrued over 780K enrollments and views.
• 4 courses are free or free-to-audit and 4 courses are paid.
• The most-represented course providers are Udemy and YouTube, with 2 courses each.
• All 8 courses are in English including 1 with subtitles in Hindi.
• The Resume Writing subject is followed by over 8.6K learners on Class Central.

Best Free Course for Resume Writing and Job Search Basics (LinkedIn Learning)

My pick for the best resume writing online course is Writing a Resume, available for free on LinkedIn Learning. In fact, LinkedIn Learning is a great resource for free and paid resume-writing courses, which is no surprise given their focus on networking and career advancement.

In this course, you’ll learn:

• Basic components of Resume Writing: objective statement, skills, work experience, education, and technical skills
• Customization: tailor resume components to match specific job requirements
• Enhancements: upgrade resume with achievements, awards, and publications
• Formatting: choose the right layout and formatting for an effective resume
• Alternative designs: explore different resume designs for various industries and regions
• Handling challenges: address career changes, employment gaps, and long-term unemployment in resumes
• Stand out: use the resume to showcase skills, achievements, and stand out from other applicants
• Job search strategies: conduct a successful job search by focusing on objectives, desired skills, education, and volunteer work
• Best practices: learn how to use resumes in online applications, interviews, networking, and informational interviews
• Proactive job search: identify potential companies, determine fit, and find contacts for a proactive job search.

Stacey Gordon is focused on improving workplace cultures. Her mission is to reduce bias in global talent acquisition and management. She offers diversity, inclusion and career related online courses on LinkedIn Learning. Her book, “UNBIAS: Addressing Unconscious Bias at Work”, is an ‘action manual’ for you to remove barriers and ensure equity throughout your organization.

LinkedIn Learning courses on writing specific types of resumes include:

• Writing a Tech Resume (1 hour)
• Resume Makeover (2 hours)
• Designing a Resume for Creatives (1-2 hours)
• Designing a Resume in InDesign (<1 hour)
• Creating a Video Resume (<1 hour)
• Find Your Dream Job: Interview Techniques and Resume Writing (2 hours)

Best Intermediate Course for Business Style Resumes (University of Maryland, College Park)

Writing Winning Resumes and Cover Letters is a free-to-audit course for intermediate learners with B2 English skills who want to grab the attention of prospective employers using the language they already speak inside their organization. You’ll get answers to any related questions that you might have, and convert a boring resume into a dynamic asset statement. By the end of this course, you’ll be able to write your resume in a language that employers understand.

You’ll learn to:

• Customize resumes for specific job opportunities
• Rank high in relevance scales used by top organizations
• Craft powerful accomplishment statements
• Summarize experiences in language employers understand
• Choose the best format for career goals
• Prepare for electronic submission
• Write an effective cover letter
• Know what information to exclude from your resume
• How to follow up after an interview

Charles Duquette is a lecturer and Marketing Coordinator at University of Maryland, College Park. He studied Biology at Georgetown University, Finance at University of Maryland, Mechanical Engineering at The Catholic University of America, and Computer Science at Johns Hopkins University.

Best Beginner Course to Design Professional Documents and Build InDesign Skills (Skillshare)

Are you a student, a marketing professional or a freelancer? Redesign Your Resume: Designing Professional Documents will teach you how to design professional documents and use InDesign to enhance communication. Using resumes as the starting point, you’ll explore some great examples by creative professionals. You’ll also build InDesign skills that you can apply to other documents as well.

In this course:

• Take inspiration from resumes, CVs and general documents
• Work on key design concepts, layouts, text boxes, and details in InDesign
• Create master pages, learn design terms and concepts
• Discover tips for working with fonts and type
• Finalize your document.

Anne Ditmeyer is an American designer and creative coach based in Paris, France.

Best Free Short Course for Beginners (Professor Heather Austin)

Within just a couple of hours, you’ll have a great resume that will get you noticed, with How To Write A Winning Resume – Top Resume Writing Tips by Professor Heather Austin on YouTube.

This short, free course will guide you through the process, including important resume writing tips and secrets that will put you ahead of the crowd. You’ll explore examples of good resumes and also get to know where to find sample resume templates that you can download and tailor to apply for your next job.

In this course:

• Start with a template and examples
• Write a resume summary
• Create an ATS-friendly resume
• Craft a resume with little or no work experience
• Increase chances of getting hired
• Format a resume quickly and effectively
• Include achievements in a resume
• Access additional resources for resume writing

Heather Austin is the host of #TheCareerClub on Facebook and the creator of ProfessorAustin.com. She teaches professionals how to navigate the job search process from building a solid social media presence on LinkedIn to nailing those tough interview questions.

Best Course for Resumes and Cover Letters with Free Certificate (Saylor Academy)

PRDV102: Resume Writing is designed to guide you through the intricacies of crafting a compelling resume and cover letter. It’s comprehensive, covering the basics of resume structure and advanced techniques for making your application stand out. You’ll learn how to effectively communicate your skills and experiences, tailor your application to specific job descriptions, and avoid common pitfalls. This course is accessible to anyone looking to improve their job application with up-to-date advice and practical tips.

What you’ll learn:

• The fundamental structure and essential elements of a resume and cover letter
• How to tailor your resume and cover letter to match job descriptions
• Strategies to enhance the appeal of your resume and cover letter
• Common mistakes in resume and cover letter writing and how to avoid them.

Saylor Academy is a nonprofit organization established in 2008 to offer free and open online courses to all who want to learn.

Best Free Course for Data Science Resumes (Great Learning)

If you want to break into the data science field and secure a job in top companies, this free course is for you. Great Learning offers How to Write an Effective Data Science Resume designed to guide freshers on crafting an effective Data Science resume. It emphasizes the importance of a well-constructed resume, highlighting that it is often the first step to getting noticed by recruiters and hiring managers. The course covers why a good resume is crucial, provides an 8-step process to build a Data Science and Machine Learning resume and offers a checklist for resume creation. This course focuses on the specific needs of the data science industry and is particularly beneficial for those with no prior experience in resume writing for this field.

What you will gain from this course:

• Understand the significance of a well-crafted resume in the data science job market
• A step-by-step guide to creating a Data Science and Machine Learning resume, including layout, format, and cover letter
• How to craft a professional summary, detail technical skills and expertise, and present work experience effectively
• Tips on showcasing academic or personal projects, education, and other relevant details
• Guidance on creating a GitHub profile to enhance your resume
• Answers to frequently asked questions about Data Science resume creation.

Great Learning aims to make quality education accessible to anyone who wants to learn.

Best Course for InterviewIng, Resume/LinkedIn, and Networking Skills (Udemy)

The Complete Resume, LinkedIn & Get Your Dream Job Course! is a 3-part course that teaches you the three most important topics for getting a job: interviewing, resume/LinkedIn and networking skills. No matter at what stage of your career you’re at, this course will help you get the job you want.

You’ll learn to:

• Build the perfect resume
• Interview better than others
• Make the best LinkedIn profile
• Network better than anyone else
• Get your dream job.

Chris Haroun is the founder and CEO of the online Haroun MBA Degree Program and the founder and CEO of Haroun Education Ventures. He’s also the author of a book, “101 Crucial Lessons They Don’t Teach You in Business School”.

Also Great Course for Resume and Cover Letters, Interview and Networking Skills (Udemy)

No matter what stage you are in your career, you’ll learn resume writing, LinkedIn profiles, cover letters, interviewing and networking skills in Career Hacking: The Ultimate Job Search Course (Now w/ AI!). These skills are necessary to get the job of your dreams, and this course makes it all possible.

You’ll learn to:

• Prepare a keyword-rich, targeted resume
• Present yourself powerfully on LinkedIn
• Interview competently and persuasively
• Create career opportunities using traditional and non-traditional methods
• Build relevant professional networks
• Set the stage for a rewarding career
• Now with AI prompts for ChatGPT & Claude.

Davis and Ludell Jones are, respectively, Chief Learning Officer and COO of Eazl courseware, that launched in 2013. Today, Eazl courseware helps teams at many leading organizations make faster progress on their goals.

Why You Should Trust Us

Class Central, a Tripadvisor for online education, has helped 60 million learners find their next course. We’ve been combing through online education for more than a decade to aggregate a catalog of 200,000 online courses and 200,000 reviews written by our users. And we’re online learners ourselves: combined, the Class Central team has completed over 400 online courses, including online degrees.

I (Archisha) am a Guided Project Instructor and a Beta Tester at Coursera, having tested many courses before they’re officially launched. I have taken over 50 online courses in various subjects. Throughout school and college, I was taught to write good resumes as part of my curriculum. I scored high and landed a pretty decent job!

My experience as an online learner and teacher has given me some perspective on what to look for in an online course. I used my experience to evaluate the courses in this list.

How We Made Our Picks and Tested Them

I built this guide following the now tried-and-tested methodology I used previously (you can find them all here). It involves a three-step process:

1. Research: I started by leveraging Class Central’s database. Then, I made a preliminary selection of resume writing courses by rating, reviews, and bookmarks
2. Evaluate: I read through reviews on Class Central, Reddit, and course providers to understand what other learners thought about each course and combined it with my own experience as a learner
3. Select: Well-made courses were picked if they presented valuable and engaging content and fit a set of criteria: comprehensive curriculum, release date, affordability, ratings and enrollments.

The end result is a unique selection of courses that combines a decade of Class Central data and my own experience as an online learner. I’m confident these recommendations will be a reliable way to learn how to write a quality resume.

Pat revised the research and the latest version of this article.