Every resume can use improvement. If you’re here, you already know the basics, so let’s get down to the pro-level tips.
Unless you are a student or recent graduate, your first primary section (after your biographical information) should be your professional experience. Use reverse chronological order. Put the most recent experience on the top of the page, and work backwards.
The most recent experience should have the most content. For instance, if you’ve had three jobs, the current one should have five bullets listed. The previous jobs might have three bullets each.
You don’t have to list your entire work history. Most people confuse a resume with a CV. A resume is designed to highlight achievements. A CV is a comprehensive history of professional experiences.
If you’ve worked for a less famous company, always make sure you add a high-level description so readers understand the context of your work.
Start every bullet point with a verb. Never use the same two verbs back to back between bullets.
Quantify your results and contributions whenever possible. Don’t just say you did XYZ task. Explain that the task created X% cost savings, improved $ABC revenue, or was used by ABC number of people.
Formatting is king. Recruiters spend less than 1 minute viewing your resume. Yes, they “view” not “read” your resume. Use white space, margins, indentations, and appropriate font to create a legible and comfortable resume. Don’t go smaller than 10 point font. Never choose a serif font. Bold your job title. Use colors sparingly (if at all) and no more than two colors ever.
Emphasize different capabilities. Even if you have had the same role at different companies, don’t always talk about the same type of experience or tasks or accomplishments. Spread out your diverse skills over different job experiences.
Keep the bullet points’ sentences simple and avoid too many clauses. Stick to basic vocabulary and avoid using too much technical jargon. Readers want to know you contributed value, and care less about the technicalities of what you did. Save that for the actual interview.
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