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Learn How to Create a Professional Resume Using HTML

HTML Resume Tutorial

Personal Website ExampleWritten by Massa Medi

Let's Build Your HTML Resume!

In this tutorial, we'll guide you through creating a modern and effective HTML resume. HTML resumes are a great way to showcase your skills and experience, especially for beginners who are just starting to learn web development.

What You'll Build:

By the end of this tutorial, your resume will include:

  • A personalized header with your name and job title
  • Your contact information
  • A summary or objective statement
  • Your educational background
  • Work experience
  • A list of your skills

✨ Getting Started:

Before we begin, make sure you have a basic understanding of HTML tags and a text editor installed on your computer. If you're new to HTML, don't worry - we'll explain everything step by step!

Setting Up Your Workspace

Let's Get Your Workspace Ready!

Before we start coding, we need to set up our workspace. It's just like preparing your desk before starting homework - you need everything in the right place! 📚

Step 1: Create Your Project Folder

Think of this folder as a special drawer just for your resume files:

For Windows Users:

  1. Right-click on your desktop
  2. Move your mouse to "New"
  3. Click "Folder"
  4. Name it "my-resume-2024"

For Mac Users:

  1. Right-click on your desktop
  2. Click "New Folder"
  3. Name it "my-resume-2024"

Step 2: Choose Your Text Editor

A text editor is like your digital pencil and paper. We recommend Visual Studio Code (VS Code) because it's:

  • Free to download
  • Easy to use
  • Helps you write code better with helpful hints

🔍 How to get VS Code:

  1. Go to "code.visualstudio.com"
  2. Click the big download button
  3. Install it just like any other program

Step 3: Create Your First HTML File

Now let's create your resume's main file:

  1. Open VS Code
  2. Click "File" → "Open Folder"
  3. Find and select your "my-resume-2024" folder
  4. Click "New File" (or press Ctrl+N on Windows, Cmd+N on Mac)
  5. Save it as "index.html" (this is always the main page of a website)

🎉 Congratulations!

You've just set up your web development workspace! Think of it as having your artist's studio ready - now we can start creating! In the next step, we'll start writing the basic HTML structure for your resume.

Creating the Basic HTML Structure

Setting Up the HTML Document

Let's create the basic structure of our HTML document, which will serve as the foundation for your resume. Think of it like building the frame of a house - it's essential!

Step 1: The Basic Structure

Open your "index.html" file and add the following code:

<!DOCTYPE html>

This line tells the browser that this document is written in HTML5.

Next, add:

<html lang="en">

This line starts your HTML document and specifies that the language is English.

Now, add:

<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
  <title>Your Name - Resume</title>
</head>

Let's understand each line:

  • <head> contains meta information about the document.
  • <meta charset="UTF-8"> sets the character encoding to UTF-8, supporting various languages.
  • <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0"> ensures that the resume looks good on different devices and screen sizes.
  • <title> sets the title of the webpage, which appears in the browser tab.

Finally, add:

<body>
  <!-- We'll add our resume content here -->
</body>
</html>

What are these for?

  • <body> is where all the visible content goes (like text and images).
  • </html> closes your HTML document.

👉 Try It Out!

  1. Make sure you have added all the code provide above in your HTML file you created
  2. Save the file (Ctrl+S on Windows, Cmd+S on Mac)
  3. Find your file in your folder and double-click it
  4. It should open in your web browser!

Right now you'll see a blank page - that's normal! In the next step, we'll start adding content to make it look awesome! 🌟

Adding the Header Section

Creating the Header for Your Resume

Let's add a header to your resume, which will prominently display your name and job title. Think of it as the welcome sign for your resume! 🏠

Step 1: Adding Your Name

Insert the following code inside the <body> tags:

<header>
  <h1>Your Name</h1>
</header>

What does this do?

  • <header> creates a special section at the top of your page.
  • <h1> makes the biggest heading (like a title).

Now change "Your Name" to your actual name!

Step 2: Adding Your Job Title

Under your name, let's add what you do. Inside the <header> tags, add:

<header>
  <h1>Your Name</h1>
  <h2>Your Job Title</h2>
</header>

Understanding this:

  • <h2> is a smaller heading than <h1>.
  • "Your Job Title" tells visitors what you're learning or doing.
  • You can change this to anything you want!

🎨 Try This:

After you save and refresh your page, you'll see your name and job title displayed at the top of the page. If they look too plain, don't worry - we'll make them look prettier later with CSS (that's like the paint and decorations for your webpage).

Adding Contact Information

Including Your Contact Details

After the header, let's add your contact information. This is crucial for employers to reach out to you. Think of it as leaving your business card for visitors! 📫

Step 1: Creating the Contact Section

Add this code right after the </header> tag:

<section>
  <h2>Contact Information</h2>
</section>

Understanding the new parts:

  • <section> defines a section in the document, helping us organize related content (in this case, your contact information).
  • <h2> is the heading for the contact information section.

Step 2: Adding Contact Details

Inside the <section> tags, add:

<section>
  <h2>Contact Information</h2>
  <ul>
    <li>Email: your.email@example.com</li>
    <li>Phone: (123) 456-7890</li>
    <li>Location: Your City, State</li>
    <li>LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/yourprofile</li>
  </ul>
</section>

Understanding the new parts:

  • <ul> creates an unordered list for your contact details.
  • <li> represents each piece of contact information.

Step 3: Make It Personal

Replace the placeholder information with your actual contact details. You can add or remove list items as needed. For example:

<section>
  <h2>Contact Information</h2>
  <ul>
    <li>Email: john.doe@example.com</li>
    <li>Phone: (123) 456-7890</li>
    <li>Location: New York, NY</li>
    <li>LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/johndoe</li>
  </ul>
</section>

🎨 Try This:

Save your file and refresh it in your web browser. You should now see your contact information displayed below your header.

Adding a Summary or Objective

Creating Your Professional Summary

A summary or objective statement is a concise description of your professional goals or qualifications. Let's add this to your resume. Think of it as your elevator pitch for potential employers! 📢

Step 1: Creating the Summary Section

Add this code after your contact information section:

<section>
  <h2>Professional Summary</h2>
</section>

Understanding each part:

  • <section> is used to group related content.
  • <h2> is the heading for your summary section.

Step 2: Adding the Summary Text

Inside the <section> tags, add:

<section>
  <h2>Professional Summary</h2>
  <p>
    Write a brief statement about your professional goals, skills, and experiences. 
    This is your chance to make a strong first impression on potential employers.
  </p>
</section>

Understanding each part:

  • <p> defines a paragraph of text for your summary statement.

Step 3: Make It Personal

Replace the placeholder text with your own professional summary. Keep it concise and tailored to the type of job you're seeking. For example:

<section>
  <h2>Professional Summary</h2>
  <p>
    Dedicated web developer with a passion for creating user-friendly interfaces. Proficient in modern HTML and CSS techniques. 
    Seeking a role where I can contribute to innovative web projects and grow my skills in a dynamic team.
  </p>
</section>

🎨 Try This:

Save your file and refresh it in your web browser. You should now see your professional summary below your contact information.

Adding Education and Work Experience

Including Your Educational Background and Work Experience

Your educational background and work experience are essential parts of your resume. Let's add sections to highlight these. Think of it as telling your professional story! 📜

Step 1: Creating the Education Section

Add this code after your summary section:

<section>
  <h2>Education</h2>
</section>

Understanding the new parts:

  • <h2> is the main heading for the education section.

Step 2: Adding Education Details

Inside the <section> tags, add:

<section>
  <h2>Education</h2>
  <h3>Degree Name</h3>
  <p>University Name, Graduation Year</p>
</section>

Understanding the new parts:

  • <h3> is used for the degree name, a level below the section header.
  • <p> contains the university name and graduation year.

Step 3: Adding Coursework and Achievements

Inside the <section> tags, add:

<section>
  <h2>Education</h2>
  <h3>Degree Name</h3>
  <p>University Name, Graduation Year</p>
  <ul>
    <li>Relevant coursework: List some courses</li>
    <li>Achievements: Any academic honors or awards</li>
  </ul>
</section>

Understanding the new parts:

  • <ul> and <li> are used to list relevant coursework and achievements.

Step 4: Make It Personal

Replace the placeholder information with your actual educational background. For example:

<section>
  <h2>Education</h2>
  <h3>Bachelor of Science in Computer Science</h3>
  <p>University of XYZ, 2021</p>
  <ul>
    <li>Relevant coursework: Data Structures, Algorithms, Web Development</li>
    <li>Achievements: Dean's List, Best Project Award</li>
  </ul>
</section>

Step 5: Creating the Work Experience Section

Add this code after your education section:

<section>
  <h2>Work Experience</h2>
</section>

Understanding the new parts:

  • <h2> is the main heading for the work experience section.

Step 6: Adding Work Experience Details

Inside the <section> tags, add:

<section>
  <h2>Work Experience</h2>
  <h3>Job Title</h3>
  <p>Company Name, Employment Period</p>
</section>

Understanding the new parts:

  • <h3> is used for the job title, a level below the section header.
  • <p> contains the company name and employment period.

Step 7: Adding Responsibilities and Achievements

Inside the <section> tags, add:

<section>
  <h2>Work Experience</h2>
  <h3>Job Title</h3>
  <p>Company Name, Employment Period</p>
  <ul>
    <li>Responsibilities: List your key responsibilities</li>
    <li>Achievements: Highlight your accomplishments</li>
  </ul>
</section>

Understanding the new parts:

  • <ul> and <li> are used to list responsibilities and achievements.

Step 8: Make It Personal

Replace the placeholder information with your actual work experience. For example:

<section>
  <h2>Work Experience</h2>
  <h3>Junior Web Developer</h3>
  <p>ABC Tech, 2022 - Present</p>
  <ul>
    <li>Responsibilities: Developed and maintained web applications using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript</li>
    <li>Achievements: Successfully launched 3 major projects, improved website performance by 20%</li>
  </ul>
</section>

🎨 Try This:

Save your file and refresh it in your web browser. You should now see your education and work experience sections displayed on your resume.

Adding Skills Section

Listing Your Skills

Your skills are a vital part of your resume, as they demonstrate your technical expertise and abilities. Let's add a section to showcase your skills. Think of it as your trophy case! 🏆

Step 1: Creating the Skills Section

Add this code after your work experience section:

<section>
  <h2>Skills</h2>
</section>

Understanding each part:

  • <h2> is the heading for your skills section.

Step 2: Adding the Skills List

Inside the <section> tags, add:

<section>
  <h2>Skills</h2>
  <ul>
    <li>HTML5</li>
    <li>CSS3</li>
    <li>JavaScript</li>
    <li>React.js</li>
    <li>Node.js</li>
    <li>Git</li>
  </ul>
</section>

Understanding each part:

  • <ul> creates an unordered list for your skills.
  • <li> represents each skill.

Step 3: Make It Personal

Replace the placeholder skills with your own. You can add or remove list items as needed. For example:

<section>
  <h2>Skills</h2>
  <ul>
    <li>HTML5</li>
    <li>CSS3</li>
    <li>JavaScript</li>
    <li>React.js</li>
    <li>Node.js</li>
    <li>Git</li>
    <li>Responsive Web Design</li>
  </ul>
</section>

🎨 Try This:

Save your file and refresh it in your web browser. You should now see a list of your skills displayed on your resume.

Final Steps and Checking Your Work

Testing Everything

Save your file (Ctrl+S or Cmd+S)

Open it in your web browser

Check that:

Common Problems and Solutions

If something doesn't look right:

What You've Achieved! 🎉

Congratulations! You've just:

Next Steps 🚀

To keep improving:

Remember: Every professional web developer started exactly where you are now. Be proud of what you've built, and keep practicing! You're doing great! 💪

Practice Ideas 📚

Try these changes to practice:

Keep building and learning - you're now officially on your way to becoming a web developer! 🌟

Complete HTML Code

Now that we've built everything piece by piece, here's the complete HTML code for your resume:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
  <title>Your Name - Resume</title>
</head>
<body>
  <header>
    <h1>Your Name</h1>
    <h2>Your Job Title</h2>
  </header>

  <section>
    <h2>Contact Information</h2>
    <ul>
      <li>Email: john.doe@example.com</li>
      <li>Phone: (123) 456-7890</li>
      <li>Location: New York, NY</li>
      <li>LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/johndoe</li>
    </ul>
  </section>

  <section>
    <h2>Professional Summary</h2>
    <p>
      Dedicated web developer with a passion for creating user-friendly interfaces. Proficient in modern HTML and CSS techniques. 
      Seeking a role where I can contribute to innovative web projects and grow my skills in a dynamic team.
    </p>
  </section>

  <section>
    <h2>Education</h2>
    <h3>Bachelor of Science in Computer Science</h3>
    <p>University of XYZ, 2021</p>
    <ul>
      <li>Relevant coursework: Data Structures, Algorithms, Web Development</li>
      <li>Achievements: Dean's List, Best Project Award</li>
    </ul>
  </section>

  <section>
    <h2>Work Experience</h2>
    <h3>Junior Web Developer</h3>
    <p>ABC Tech, 2022 - Present</p>
    <ul>
      <li>Responsibilities: Developed and maintained web applications using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript</li>
      <li>Achievements: Successfully launched 3 major projects, improved website performance by 20%</li>
    </ul>
  </section>

  <section>
    <h2>Skills</h2>
    <ul>
      <li>HTML5</li>
      <li>CSS3</li>
      <li>JavaScript</li>
      <li>React.js</li>
      <li>Node.js</li>
      <li>Git</li>
      <li>Responsive Web Design</li>
    </ul>
  </section>
</body>
</html>

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