Mini Resume Template and Examples

What's a mini resume, and how can you use it to help your job search? A mini resume contains a brief summary of your career highlights and qualifications. The mini resume highlights your accomplishments rather than presenting a full-length account of your work experience, education, and achievements.

When to Use a Mini Resume

In most cases, your traditional long-form resume will be appropriate. A mini resume, however, comes in handy at job fairs or networking events when you're meeting with many people and want to leave them with something more than a business card, but less bulky than a full resume.

Having a mini resume on hand in the format of a business card can be useful since it's easy to carry, and you can pass it on to potential employers, clients, and business contacts you meet unexpectedly. Arranged thoughtfully, the mini resume can impart far more information than your basic business card.

Mini Resume Template

Contact Information
The first section of your resume should include information on how the employer can contact you, or this contact information can be printed on the front of a standard-size business card with your career highlights on the back. (A professional printer may be able to generate a slightly larger card if you have more information than can fit on a standard business card—but remember, your goal is conciseness.)

Think about including your LinkedIn address, as well as your basic contact information. This will allow interested employers to access your full resume immediately.

First Last Name
Street Address (optional)
City, State Zip
Phone
Email Address
LinkedIn Address

Career Highlights

•  A mini resume lists your key achievements and skills.
• The best way to present your information is in a bulleted list format.

Mini Resume Samples

Writing Tips for Your Mini Resume

Be Brief. This is your highlight reel, so don’t go too long. Around 50 words is probably the best length to aim for.

Keep It Simple. Remember to keep the backdrop of your mini resume simple—black text on a white or cream background is preferable. Since you want the text itself to pop on the page, avoid distracting colors, logos / initials, fancy fonts, or borders.

Choose Readable Fonts. Standard fonts are best—Times New Roman, Courier New, or Verdana. And make sure to choose a font size that won’t leave readers squinting. You don’t want a hiring manager to have to find their reading glasses in order to register that you’re a candidate worth interviewing.

Be Consistent. End one bullet point with a period? End all of them the same way. Make sure that you don’t switch tenses or go from full sentences to fragments in similar sections. These minor details can make a big difference. Consistency signals professionalism. A contact might not know why your mini resume seems off, but they’ll register the wrong impression and that’s the last thing you need.

Carefully Proofread and Edit. How many mistakes could a person make in 50 words? You might be surprised. Before you hand out your mini resume, make sure it’s perfect.

Software packages, in particular, are easy to get wrong, because they frequently include random mid-word capitalizations and other style choices that you might not expect, e.g., Microsoft PowerPoint. Getting these things right will signal to prospective employers that you’re someone who cares about the details. Have an eagle-eyed friend take a look, too, before you finalize your mini resume.