Resume Writing: The Definitive Guide

This is the ultimate guide to resume writing in 2023. And let me be clear about something: This is NOT your average “Resume Writing in 2023” how-to article. Yes, I’ll cover the most important resume trends this year. But you‘re also going to see new strategies that are working great right now. So, if you’re looking to improve your resume this year, you’ll love this updated guide.

Resume Writing Fundamentals

In this chapter, we’re going to cover the basics of resumes. Including what it is, why it works, and why it’s still important. I’ll also show you how you can use a resume to reach more of the right employers and gain access to places that you otherwise could be blocked from.

What is a Resume?

A resume is a document that job seekers create to convey their qualifications for a job. It has two purposes. First, to entice employers to interview you. And second, to direct the conversation of your interviews once you obtain them.

Common resumes include contact information, a career summary, skills, work experiences, and education.

Resumes typically have a quicker ROI (return on investment) than many other job search strategies (like networking). Unlike other job search strategies which take quite a bit of time, using an effective resume can be the fastest way to get the word out that you are qualified for a particular position.

They’ve also been a driver of democratizing the hiring process. Twenty years ago, it was all about who you knew. Today, you can obtain experience and qualifications, write about it in a resume, and have access to jobs that you wouldn’t have before.

But with LinkedIn and social networking, do old-school resumes still work?

Let’s find out…

Do Resumes Still Work?

I’m not going to bore you with a million stats. Instead, I’m going to quickly show you why resumes still work GREAT.

For any given job, there will be an average of up to 10 interviews. Of those interviews, an average of 72% will have originated from a resume submission according to our interviews with over a dozen recruiters. This is also in line with my experience as a recruiter.

72% of interviews originate with a resume submission — Note that the complete range varied between 52% and 84% based on the position. We interviewed recruiters at private corporations, Fortune 500s, temporary agencies, executive search firms, and an independent recruiter.

Resume ROI is 21.5:1. Assuming the most recent studies are correct and it takes an average of twenty applications to secure one interview, you would spend twenty-one and a half hours of work to obtain one job interview.

This high ROI compared to other strategies is probably why the majority of job seekers apply for jobs online. (Pew Research Center) If you’re like most people, you probably don’t have many other ways that you can score an interview with approximately 20 hours of work. Unless you’ve built and nurtured a very curated network, it takes a lot more than 20 hours to build up enough trust to network your way into a job interview without a resume.

Why Do Resumes Still Work

Why do resumes work so well?

#1 People WANT to Get Your Resume

This is a big one. Our society has a disposition to not trust people (Our World Data). According to a 2015 study by Tower Watson, it takes seven months to build trust and familiarity with someone. Unless you’ve already put in the work and want to eat lunch and dinner with everyone but your family, you probably don’t have too many hiring managers lined up to hire you. You also don’t want to take seven months to find your next job. And that’s assuming you get it all right on the first try.

Trust takes time. That’s why building large networks like a salesperson is not practical for job searching. I’m not saying don’t network. Quite the contrary. But networking in a job search is not the same as networking in sales and few people understand this.

Applying to a job opening with a resume on the other hand grants you a higher degree of trust. (Provided that you’ve written your resume well). You see, this is a process determined by the employer. They’ve set up the rules and they expect to receive resumes from (hopefully) qualified applicants. Unlike cold emailing or trying to ask someone on LinkedIn on a date for an Informational Interview, the recruiter and hiring manager want you to contact them using a resume.

#2 Democratization

When I was searching for my first jobs, opportunities were most accessible to people who had connections. Dad golfed at the same club as the manager. Your uncle went to the same university and worked the alumni group for you. If you didn’t know the right people, you were shut out of many places.

Applications and resumes don’t care where your dad golfs, what school your uncle went to, or who your friends are. If you put together a story-based resume that is concise, illustrates your qualifications, and paints you as the solution to a hiring manager’s problem, you’re in the door.

#3 With a Resume, You Own The Distribution

With your resume, you control what the recruiter or hiring manager reads and who gets to read it. You can tailor your message from employer to employer, job to job.

That’s simply not the case with LinkedIn or any type of portfolio site. Online, you have to decide what you will be known for specifically or risk not being known for anything. But with your resume, you can be known for a handful of things.

#4 Resumes Convert REALLY Well

Done correctly, a resume can translate into more interviews. Combined with sound job search strategies and activities, we found that most people can obtain one interview for every ten to twenty applications. This was based on additional activities besides hitting the easy-apply button. But when combined with some research, custom emails, and sound follow-up, this was the average number when we examined nearly 300 job seekers’ results.

I don’t know many other ways that produce this level of conversions. Unless you have the right relationships, it’s very unlikely for most of us to make ten to twenty phone calls and obtain an interview afterward. I don’t know many people who can do that. The only other strategy that I’ve found to produce a higher interview conversion is asking for a referral after you’ve interviewed and been rejected for a job.

Why Are Most Resumes Rejected Then?

It’s true, most resumes are rejected. Nearly half of all applicants are not qualified (Robert Half). A better statement would probably be that nearly half of all resumes don’t show that the applicant is qualified.

In my experience as a recruiter, I rejected well over half of all applicants. But when someone articulated their value well in a resume, I paid attention. In fact, I would almost get giddy and laden with excitement reading those resumes. The remainder of this article is dedicated to replicating those resumes that stand out.

How to Format a Resume

The first step of writing any resume is to decide how you are going to tell your story on paper. It’s best to use a format that highlights the most important information and makes it easy for recruiters to find that information. I can tell you from personal experience managing dozens of recruiters that most resumes only get a few seconds on the first scan. Recruiters are looking for things like job titles, industries, company dynamics, and how they can sell you to the hiring manager.

Resume formatting guidelines can vary from industry to industry, so the best practice would be to ask people who have experience recruiting and hiring in the specific industry you wish to be hired into.

What is the Best Resume Format

There are three common resume formats: Chronological, Functional, and Combination. I’ll break down what each one looks like, how recruiters feel about each, and when it might make sense to use each one.

Resume Format 1: The Chronological Resume (Or Reverse-Chronological)

This is the most common and most popular resume format. If you ask recruiters or hiring managers, the overwhelming majority will tell you this is their preference. And because it is their preference, you may want to consider this format. After all, the goal is to give them what they want as simply as possible. From my experience, I suspect the reason this format is everyone’s favorite is that it makes it easy for us to understand your career. It’s easy to see which skills and experiences you have, when you experienced them, and how you used them in the context of industries and other factors.

Here’s what a Chronological Resume looks like.

Notice how it blends experiences and skills into each job in reverse chronological order.

Resume Format 2: The Functional Resume

This resume format is a skills-based resume and lists skills in categories without the content of when those skills and experiences were used. This is then usually followed by a list of jobs sometimes with and sometimes without dates of employment. While I share Erin’s sentiment (in the image below), until they become more accepted, it may be risky to use this format. I personally can validate Erin’s experience in that I have worked with recruiters who won’t even read a functional resume.

Here’s what a Functional Resume looks like.

Resume Format 3: The Combination Resume (or Hybrid Resume)

You guessed it. This resume format combines ideas from the previous two. Many people write a summary of skills followed by detailed reverse-chronological work experience when using this format. I like to write hybrid resumes a bit differently. Below is an example of a Combination Resume based on one I wrote last year for a career changer entering the Web 3.0 space.

In this format, I maintained the chronological aspect of the resume but broke out the experiences into categories rather than one linear timeline. The Web 3.0 experience was freelancing projects and we didn’t want to appear disingenuous by including them in a resume subtitle of work experience because that wasn’t completely true. Instead, we broke out topics of experience and wrote about them using a hybrid style.

If you are a career changer and you need to illustrate skills outside of your traditional work experiences, a combination resume format could help you do so.

What Format Do Most Employers Prefer for Resumes

So what resume format is best? In most situations, a chronological resume format works best. Until functional resumes have a higher adoption within the talent acquisition community, we have to cater to our audience if we want them to interview us.

If you are a career changer, considering a combination or hybrid resume format could also be advantageous.

How Long Should a Resume Be

You were probably told by your college career center and others that your resume should be one page. I’ve worked with hundreds of employers, hired myself, and consulted with dozens of recruiting firms. I can tell you definitively that your resume DOES NOT need to be one page.

In fact, many resumes are two pages. I’ve even written some that are three and four pages long.

The reason so many of us talk about resume length is not because of some magic number, but rather that your resume must be concise and relevant. And concise, relevant resumes are usually shorter.

Example of Why Resume Length Doesn’t Matter as Much as Content

I’ve written many resumes and reviewed way more. Because I think it will help you, I’m going to give you examples of resumes I’ve written and they’re varying lengths to show you that length doesn’t matter. All of these resumes were successful in generating interviews.

Resume 1 - VP of Operations: This was a one-page resume. Yes, that’s right, one page for a VP. This individual had been with two companies for the past 10 years. Both companies had relevant experiences, but because we only had to include two jobs on the resume, it was much shorter than other VP resumes with multiple jobs. We also decided to only include his last or most recent job title on his previous company because that was most relevant. Instead of listing out everything he did, we mentioned he was promoted and talked about the things that mattered.

Resume 2 - CFO: This was a four-page resume. This CFO had done a lot of M&A activity which meant he moved jobs every three to four years. Private equity companies hired him to come in and get them ready to sell. That provided a lot of relevant experience at many different companies to write for. In addition, he was in a very technical industry which required us to convey more technical information than most other resumes.

The reason I’m sharing this with you is that your role and years of experience don’t necessarily impact how long your resume will be. Your strategy does.

4 Tips to Shorten Your Resume Length

Writing concisely is a skill that requires a fair amount of practice. If this is not your strength, here are four ways to shorten your resume by writing concisely.

Eliminate Adjectives. This is resume fluff and is often void of any meaning or substance. Instead of telling people that you’re results-oriented, simply tell them about your results. You don’t need the adjective.
Limit Resume Bullet Points. When writing about your accomplishments, try to limit your bullet points for each job to five or fewer. This will force you to evaluate each’s importance. You can also find ways to combine bullet points. I often find that two or more of my bullet points are very similar and can be condensed into one.
Remove Irrelevant Job Titles. Many of us have received promotions at the same company. Some of those older job titles may not matter to your next hiring manager. Consider whether it makes sense to only list your most recent job titles and experiences. Sometimes less information is more concise and clear.
Limit Your Job Experience Timeline. No one wants to read a documentary about us. I have nearly twenty years of experience, but I wouldn’t write it all on my resume. Rather than give you the conventional rule of going back ten years, I’m going to tell you to use the job description as your roadmap. Most jobs list the years of experience they are looking for. If a job asks for eight to ten years of management experience, write about the past eight to ten years.

Here are three things you SHOULD NOT DO to shorten your resume length.

Shrink your margins beyond .5 inches.
Shrink your font to fit more onto one page.
Eliminate spaces between text.

How Many Words Should Be in a Resume

While word count fluctuates greatly based on industry and job function, the average resume word count of successful resumes, those that generated interviews, was 474 words. Keep in mind this is an average of all positions and all industries.

As expected, word counts increase with seniority. Executive resumes tend to be longer than manager resumes. Manager resumes are longer than mid-career and so on.

Also, keep in mind that more technical roles tend to have higher word counts as well.

You can read our entire study on resume word counts here: Ideal Resume Word Count [Case Study]

Resume Font, Sizing, and Margins

A lot of people overthink resume fonts and margins. The important thing to remember is to make choices that make it easy for the recruiter or hiring manager to read.

Choosing the Right Resume Font

I would avoid choosing Times New Roman because it is used so frequently and now looks dated. Choosing something mainstream such as Arial or Calibiri is a good choice. Here are some of my favorite resume fonts that will give you a clean, contemporary look:

Arial
Calibri
Roboto
Raleway
Garamond
Georgia
Lora
Poppins
Verdana

Pairing Fonts

Fonts are like wines. They are better when you pair them. For example, I like to do section headers in Poppins and then the body text in Arial. You can copy my suggestion or check out this article about 10 font combinations to pick a pair you like. Remember, don’t overthink it. Your content, which we discuss in the next chapter, is much more important than what font you use.

Resume Font Sizes

Choosing a font size of 10 or greater is a good rule of thumb. Similar to fonts, you can also pair your sizes to give it a clean look. For example, you could write your body text in size 10, your titles in size 11, and your section headings in size 12. Here’s an example of what that looks like.

Resume Margins

The more words you have in small spaces, the harder it is for someone to read your resume. You don’t want your resume to be too dense. That causes people to spend extra brain calories. You want your resume to be concise, but you don’t want to adjust margins to cram things into one page either.

I recommend adjusting your margins after you have finished writing the entire resume and judging what margins look best for your resume. The majority of the resumes I’ve written have a one-inch margin. Less than twenty percent are either .5 or .75 inches. I never adjust the margins to smaller than .5 inches because it will be too dense.

Should Resumes Be in Past Tense

I’m going to break with conventional resume advice here. Most resume writers are taught based on grammar principles, not psychology. This is why they will tell you to use the past tense when describing your jobs because they happened in the past. But unless you’re applying for an editorial position, I say choose psychology over grammar.

There are multiple studies that show using the present tense increases persuasion and behavior (Oxford University). You can influence someone to take action based on your tense choice. Regarding your resume, you want to help the recruiter and hiring manager visualize what it is like to work with you. You want them to visualize what it will be like having you solve their problems. Using the present tense will do this.

Because we are writing a resume, you will want to use the first-person implied present tense as often as possible. This tense necessitates first-person verb tense but leaves out the pronouns (I, we, my, etc.). Writing this way will demonstrate your professionalism and help the reader visualize your qualifications.

Below you can see a job summary written in the first-person implied present tense.

Resume Outline

The final part of preparing your resume formatting is to decide on an outline of sections, headings, and subtitles. After analyzing thousands of resumes since 2015, I can tell you there are five standard sections to every great resume. They are:

Contact Information

This can be placed in the header of your document if you’re using Microsoft Word or a Google Doc and should contain things such as your name, phone number, email address, and website URLs.

Resume Summary

This is where you set the narrative for the rest of your resume. You can tell the reader what your resume is about, the important qualifications you possess, and entice them to read more.

Work Experience

The longest section of any resume is the work experience section. This is where you will expand on the narrative in your resume summary. You will back up your qualifications with evidence and context from each of your job, freelancing, and sometimes volunteer experiences.

Education

If you obtained higher education, you’ll want a section devoted to your degrees. You can also combine certifications with education in a combined resume subtitle.

Technology

This is where you can build out your skills with software, programming, and other technology.

If you want to know more about these 5 resume subtitles and alternative subtitles you may want to use in your resume, read the article 5 Resume Subtitles Your Resume Needs This Year.

Here’s what a completed resume could look like with all 5 resume sections.

Resume Templates

It’s no secret that using a resume template can save you A LOT of time. If you have a good resume template, you could skip nearly all of the formatting involved because the template will already take care of it.

The challenge is finding a template that you can trust. This chapter will discuss how to find resume templates and how to tell if they’re good.

How to Tell if a Resume Template Is Good

First, is it written in Google Docs or Microsoft Word? If so, that’s a good sign. You want to have complete control over customization. In addition, some of the fancy plug-and-play resume builders are terrible when it comes to parsing your information into an ATS (applicant tracking system).

Does it follow our formatting rules? Does it come with paired font, contemporary font choices, and pre-determined font sizing that makes sense? If so, you probably have a good resume template. If not, then I wouldn’t use it. The point of using a template is to save you time. If you have to change everything manually, that’s not saving you time.

Is the template designed for chronological or a hybrid resume format? Depending on what type of resume format you decide is best for you, you’ll need the template to accommodate you.

Is it simple or too busy? I would avoid templates with graphics, testimonial boxes, and charts. Recruiters don’t want to see those and many will tell you that they are distracting. The words are what matter. You want a template that is easy to read and has plenty of white space.

Does it make use of columns or text boxes? If so, don’t use the template. Columns aren’t a deal breaker, but it is harder to write a story-based resume using columns. And text boxes cause all kinds of problems for ATS. These are not good signs.

There are pros and cons to using resume templates. If you want to know more about choosing the right resume template, read the article: Is It Bad to Use a Resume Template [5 Things to Spot]

Resume Template Google Docs

Google Docs is my favorite tool to build a resume. Google offers five free resume templates within its template gallery. The problem I see with these built-in templates is that they clearly weren’t built by a recruiter or resume expert. They have sections that don’t make sense, are missing key sections, and waste a lot of space with columns.

If you’re going to use Google Docs as your resume builder, I recommend building from scratch or utilizing someone else’s template. You can access my resume template library, resume training videos, and over 50 sample resumes when you enroll in the Weekend Resume Makeover.

Resume Template Microsoft Word

You can access Microsoft Word for free on their web version, similar to Google Docs. Similar to Google, they offer several resume templates within their template library as well. In fact, Microsoft has many more templates to choose from. Upon first glance it is quite clear that their templates were created by designers, not resume writers or recruiters. They look pretty, but make no sense for resume writing.

I don’t use Microsoft Word, but I’m sure there are some good templates out there by recruiters or qualified resume writers. Just follow the advice I gave earlier when evaluating them.

Resume Template Canva

Canva has become a popular tool for writing resumes. I haven’t tracked it, but I’d estimate that nearly 30% of the resumes I see are Canva resumes. That isn’t necessarily a good thing. Canva is a graphic design app. It’s built by designers. The templates look pretty, but they don’t follow sound resume principles or structure.

Worse, Canva templates make use of text boxes and when you export these and upload them into an ATS, they are some of the worst for parsing. In other words, a lot of your information never makes it into the system. That’s a real problem. For this reason, I never build resumes in Canva. I love Canva for so many other things, but not for resumes.

Resume Builders

If you search for resume templates in Google, the top search results are always technology companies that sell resume builders. Some are good, many are not. When evaluating resume builders, ask yourself these things.

Can I customize it? Does it force me to fit everything into predefined areas in a predefined structure or can I move things around? You want to customize.
Does it focus on content or graphics? People interview others when they read words that make them want to interview you. Focus on content.
Does it force me to write exclusively in bullet points? It’s really hard to tell a story using bullet points. You need flexibility.
Does it have the right amount of white space? A good rule of thumb is for every three lines of text, put a space before more text. On the other hand, you don’t want too much dead space that makes your resume five pages long.
Does it force me to fit everything on one page? If the resume builder crams everything into one page, that’s not flexible.

If you’re considering a resume builder, I recommend Teal because they have an integration with ChatGPT.

How Do I Get Free Resume Templates

You can find free resume templates everywhere, but they are not all equal. Nor would I use half of them. If you want to get free resume templates that were made by a recruiter (me) and resume writer, you can check out the link below.

Access Five Free Resume Templates in Google Docs

What to Put on a Resume

Now it’s time to show you how to create a resume that gets read and gets interviews. Specifically, I’m going to share my problem association framework that has worked for nearly 1,000 job seekers every year for the past three years (since I created it).

This resume content framework is specifically designed to help you connect with recruiters and hiring managers through your words and content.

So if you’re ready to start sending resumes that recruiters and hiring managers WANT to read, this chapter is for you.

Why Your Last Resume Didn’t Work as Well as It Could Have

How many times have you spent hours finding a job, researching the company, tailoring a resume, and then the company goes dark after you submit your application? You can do everything listed in the job description. You know that you have the skills, potential, and experiences to be amazing in this position. How could they not call you for an interview?

I’ll tell you why. You broke the rules of writing a great resume. Resumes are mostly about content and the delivery of that content. Your resume should do three things:

It must resonate with the employer. They have to want what you’re writing about.
It must differentiate you from your peers. When you read your resume, could it belong to anyone or is it uniquely yours?
It must substantiate your claims. It’s not enough to thump your chest and write about how great you are. You have to back it up with facts.

Start With the Employer’s Problems - Avoid the Spam Resume

How many times have you received an email from someone new, opened it, and deleted it within seconds? Probably too many to count. We call that spam.

Many times those emails are self-absorbed and are all about the person who sent it. Buy this, hire me to do this, take this action because I need you to. None of them offer solutions to our problems or create enough value for us to read them, let alone take action on them.

You don’t get people to pay attention to you by telling your entire life story, information dumping, or using impressive words. If you want people to pay attention to you, you have to talk about their problems. And you have to do it quickly and concisely.

Here’s what you need to know about resumes. When someone opens your resume, they are asking one question. How can this person help me survive and thrive? They want to know exactly what kind of problems you can help them solve. Your career history doesn’t help them survive. Solving their problems helps them survive.

It’s our job then as the resume writer to connect the dots and show employers how our experiences can lead them out of their problems.

So, how exactly do we talk about an employer’s problems in a resume? I’m glad you asked.

Make a List of Potential Problems

Before you write anything, you need a controlling idea. Some people call this a branding statement, but I like to think of it as the overarching problem you solve for an employer. This is something a recruiter or hiring manager can latch on to, relate to, and need.

The first step is to make a list of these problems. Read job descriptions and talk to people who do the job you want to do. Make a list of all the problems this job solves for the employer.

After you’ve brainstormed all of the potential problems this role solves, rank them from 1 to 10 with 1 being the most important.

Finally, circle the one’s that you have the most experience solving.

Take the top three or four and talk about those frequently in your resume.

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Coming Up With a Resume Narrative

Story-based resumes are super effective because most people write what I call a documentary-style resume. It ends up being a laundry list of information in no order. And that makes it hard for the recruiter and hiring manager to process your information.

It’s hard to remember new information. Think about it. If you’ve moved to a new address, it took you a while to remember that new address. It’s hard work. We remember things that we repetitively read and are exposed to. Most of you probably know the Nike slogan, “Just do it.” That’s because you’ve seen it over and over again.

A story-based resume does the same thing. It ties everything together with a controlling message, supported by two to three supporting pillars. This helps the reader metabolize and memorize your message. And if it’s the right message, that’s a big win for you.

How do we determine our resume narrative and supporting pillars?

It starts with that list of problems you just made. Start collapsing them into categories. If you used a job description to come up with your list, you probably have several items that are very similar or the same thing. Put them in one category.

Also, pay attention to which categories have the most items and are repeated the most. That should indicate to you that they are most important. Once you’ve narrowed it down to three or four categories, now come up with an overarching theme or message that encompasses all of them.

For example, if I was an HR Business Partner, it wouldn’t be uncommon for me to come up with these items from a job description:

Organizational Design
Compensation Analysis
Employee Engagement
Training and Development

If those were my top categories, I could roll them all up into a controlling message about how I increase profit per employee. By tying everything back to this central message of increasing profit per employee it helps the reader of my resume retain the information. In addition, it tells them why all these things I do matter.

The problem I solve is increasing profit per employee. Organizational design, compensation analysis, employee engagement, and training are simply how I do that. They themselves are not the problem.

Resume Framework

Now that you have a controlling message and supporting pillars of information, you can use this like bumper pads in a bowling lane. This will make sure you stay in your lane. If you try to add content to your resume that is outside of your narrative, you will want to ask yourself why you are adding it. The more focused and the more you stay within a defined narrative, the more success you will experience using a resume.

When you follow this framework you will end up with a unique resume that is specifically yours. It won’t read like everyone else’s.

Things That Make Employers Pay Attention

If you’re new to writing resumes, identifying problems employers care about can be challenging. Here are nine problems that most employers care about.

Saving money
Saving time
Increasing revenue
Eliminating costs
Increasing profitability
Scaling organizations
Launching new products
Retaining customers
Better analytics

Impactful, But Not Over The Top

There’s a lot of talk about resume action verbs and adjectives on the internet. In my experience working with about a hundred different recruiters over the years, no one really cares about your action verbs that much. And most recruiters hate adjectives.

Of course, it’s best to claim the highest level of skill. If you led a project, you don’t want to say you supported it. If you started it or spearheaded it, you don’t want to say you assisted with it. Words do matter, choose the right word that associates with your skill level and contribution. Chances are you will be more modest, so error or the side of greater.

But what I’ve seen over the past few years is writers and professionals going over the top with their action verbs and words. This is really common with adjectives. Here are some recent resumes samples I’ve read:

Renowned leader delivering $30M in savings for global clients.
Unparalleled experience igniting 100% talent retention and propelling employee engagement scores by 20%.
Epitomized fundraising prowess.

These are all over the top. No one wants to ignite anything in my opinion. The danger with language like this is it can easily make you look like a narcissist. If you want to know more about narcissistic resumes (and yes, that’s a real thing), read the article: What is a Narcissistic Resume and Do You Have One?

What Do Employers Prefer on a Resume

I’m frequently asked whether to talk about skills or experience on a resume. The answer is employers want to see both, but there is always a preference for experience. There’s a big difference between the two.

Skills refer to abilities and competencies you possess. They demonstrate your potential for a job. Transferable Skills fall into this category. You can learn all about how to write about transferable skills in this article: Are Transferable Skills Important?

Experience, on the other hand, is the application of a specific skill to a specific situation. The more senior the position, the more important it will be to write about experiences over skills because this is demonstrated success.

If you want to know how to write both skills and experience in your resume, read the article: Skills vs Experience in a Resume.

What NOT to Put on Your Resume

I’ve talked quite a bit about what to put on your resume, but what about things to avoid? Over the past two decades, there has been a growing use of cliches or resume buzzwords used by job seekers and (unfortunately) resume writers alike.

In short, a resume buzzword is any word or phrase that is overused, lacks substance, is vague, or is so industry specific that no one understands it. Most of these words are adjectives. Adjectives are not your friend when writing a resume. They’re an easy way to write, but they won’t produce results.

I’ve compiled 24 of the most common resume cliches that I’ve seen over the years in my article, Resume Cliches and Buzzwords to Avoid This Year. In that article, I also give suggestions on what you could write instead. It’s a real gem.

How to Write a Resume

Now it's time for me to show you how to put all that content into a cohesive resume. Specifically, I’m going to share 4 proven resume formulas to make this easy.

These formulas are specifically designed to help you crank out super valuable resume content that employers will love.

So if you’re ready to start sending resumes that recruiters and hiring managers WANT to read, this chapter is for you.

Resume Summary Formula

Most people agree that objectives are outdated and unnecessary on a resume. But so are most summaries. Most people write them as a recap of everything else, but no one needs a summary of a summary. The entire resume is a summary if written correctly. In addition, many summaries are filled with resume fluff. They have words that sound meaningful but mean nothing.

Now that we’ve discussed what not to do in your summary, let’s break down a formula to write a resume summary that gets employers to read more.

Here’s the formula

Over X years of experience (solving a problem) for (type of company) by (doing X, Y, Z) resulting in (result)

Resume Summary Example

Here’s what it could look like for a Customer Success Manager.

Over 4 years of experience creating memorable client experiences one win at a time for B2B Saas accounts by onboarding for strong adoption, advocating for customers with internal teams, and leveraging data in “fun on one” monthly reviews to drive an 80% retention rate.

A summary like that one will resonate, differentiate, and substantiate that you are more than qualified for this job. By reading this summary anyone can tell what this person is good at, how they do it, and who they do it for. It sets the tone for the entire resume.

It’s that simple. Of course, putting it all together can take some time, but the formula itself isn’t complex.

Resume Highlights Formula

I don’t always write a career highlights section in a resume, but when I do it replaces the old-school skills section typically found below the summary. I use this to show career-encompassing achievements that support my summary. Sometimes I use the resume subtitle “Career Highlights” or “Key Qualifications” for this section.

Here Are the Formulas

(Career-wide encompassing #/%) + (Noun)

#/% (Increase/Decrease) in (Noun)

Resume Highlight Examples

Here’s what it could look like for that same Customer Success Manager I used in the resume summary example.

Key Qualifications Include:
- 550 New Business Referrals to Sales Team From Happy Customers
- 22% Reduction in Client Issue Resolutions
- 80%+ Retention Rate

Job Experience Summary Formula

Most job experiences are a laundry list of bullet points that resemble my grocery list. Random thoughts in random order. They may all be relevant, but their not cohesive and they don’t tell a story. That means you’re probably not being memorable when recruiters and hiring managers read the resume. You may get lucky and check off enough boxes to get that first interview, but instead, I’m going to show you a formula that will have recruiters saying, “Where is that one resume I read? I want to call them first.”

First, I write a short summary for each job in story format.

Here’s the formula

(How you obtained the job) + (What problem you were hired to solve) + (For what type of company). Responsible for (3-4 key ways you solved that problem).

Resume Job Experience Example

Here’s what it could look like for a Customer Success Manager job.

Promoted to double retention rates for B2B SaaS enterprise accounts. Responsible for onboarding 20+ accounts annually, expanding adoption to new departments, fielding over 100 client questions monthly, and preparing monthly business review presentations for assigned accounts.

This provides a lot of great information to the reader about how you were promoted and what you were tasked with. The great thing about writing like this is that you will make your interviews easier. A sentence like this prompts the hiring manager to start asking questions about how you doubled retention rates. That will lead to a great conversation about where you started, what you were able to accomplish, the challenges you faced, and so much more. You are setting up your interview for success by leading the manager to talk about things you want to talk about.

Resume Bullet Point Formula

After your job experience summary, I use three to five bullet points to substantiate and expand upon my summary. These are my evidence pieces to make the reader believe that I’m really good at solving the problem this job wanted me to solve. I usually title this with a subtitle of “Key Contributions” or “Key Achievements”.

Here’s the formula for resume bullet points

(Relevant result) + (Optional Timeframe) + (Key contributing factor)

Resume Bullet Point Examples

Here’s what a resume bullet point could look like for that same Customer Success job we used previously.

Increased retention rate by 22% within 3 months by creating feedback loops that expedited issue resolution timelines.
Improved adoption of enterprise software modules by designing a reonboarding program for low utilization accounts.
Doubled client retention rates within year 1 and added $2.5M in revenue by mushrooming accounts.

There are three bullet points examples that would drive home my qualifications and support my job summary.

What if I Don’t Have Any Accomplishments to Talk About?

I’ve heard this from many job hunters over the years during my resume consultations. I have yet to meet one who didn’t have great accomplishments to write about. I’ve never not been able to dig out great material from a client. The challenge that many of us face is tunnel vision. We’re too close to our work and we only see it through our lens.

If you’re fortunate enough to hire a resume writer, a good one will find material for you. But if not, here are some suggestions.

Guessing vs. Estimating

First, recognize the difference between a guess and an estimate. A guess would be me coming up with numbers for you based on what other people have told me. It may be an educated guess based on industry norms, but it’s a guess and it will most likely be wrong.

An estimate on the other hand is based on your real experiences. It’s based on all those people who told you that the numbers were improving. It’s based on all those customer compliments you received. And based on that real information, you can estimate numbers and percentages. That is not a guess. It’s a real estimate based on actual experiences. There is nothing wrong with estimates.

Create KPIs

Second, use the problems and duties list you made from Chapter 4 as a roadmap. If you wrote down that organizational design was important because you saw it on a job description three times. Ask yourself, how can I show that I’m good at this? If I was the manager, what KPI would I assign to myself to indicate that my organizational design efforts were a success? The answer to that question is what you should write about.

Sending Your Resume to Employers

Let’s face it. Sending a resume isn’t the most interesting topic in the world. Most of us would rather spend time writing and changing our resumes. But in my opinion, sending your resume is one of THE most important parts of resume success.

After all, what good is a resume if no one actually sees it?

In this chapter, you’re going to learn how to get your resume read.

The Black Hole ATS

Black hole is probably a little overdramatic, but it can feel that way sometimes. You should ALWAYS submit your resume via the job board or application method a company has outlined. Any company bigger than your mom’s bootstrap succulent store probably uses an ATS (applicant tracking system) to coordinate and document candidate interactions and communicate about candidates with team members.

Step one should always be to apply via the company’s defined method.

Not Sure Where to Start?

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Resume PDF or Word?

If you want to see a firestorm of conflicting information, google this title. In summary, it really won’t make a difference. Both work fine. Every ATS system I’ve ever used, and I’ve used dozens, read both Word and pdf resumes just fine. However, I prefer to send my resume as a pdf, and here’s why.

PDF versions rarely have any formatting issues. When using Microsoft Word, you’ll experience formatting issues when converting it to another file. If the hiring manager is on a Mac or using another viewer, that could be a problem.
Although you can tamper with a pdf, it requires more effort. It’s super easy to edit a Word document. I don’t like making it easy for someone to edit my resume without my permission.

Followup Emails

Eight percent of job seekers will stop after applying online, but not you because you’re reading this article. Once you’ve applied, do some research. You can use LinkedIn and tools like Hunter.io to find the names and contact information of the recruiter and hiring manager. Once you have that information, you can send an email to make sure your resume gets noticed.

Will you get a response from every email? Probably not, but if you write a compelling email, they may take a look at your resume.

You may be asking, but won’t they have seen my resume in the ATS already? Maybe. But maybe not. I can think of many situations when I managed recruiting teams and they stopped reading resumes. As a recruiter, time management is really important. You have to fill as many openings with qualified candidates as possible.

If an opening already had hiring manager interviews scheduled, some recruiters may stop looking at resumes. If a strong shortlist was submitted to the hiring manager, recruiters may stop reading resumes for that job opening.

This can be frustrating to job seekers, but this actually makes these recruiters good at their job in my opinion. They simply have to move on to other positions to fill more openings.

As a job seeker, you won’t know how engaged a recruiter is on an opening so it’s best to send an email. If you send a compelling email, most recruiters will look at your resume and if it’s a good resume, they may move you forward in the hiring process.

Are you doing their job for them? Honestly, you might be a little bit. But if you’re a qualified candidate, I don’t know many recruiters who would hold you back even if they are in the interview stages. Send the email.

Writing Compelling Emails - The Cover Letter Email

The key here is to realize that these recruiters and hiring managers are inundated with emails every day. Just think about it. Worldwide there are over 347 billion emails received each day. That’s a 4.3% increase from last year. (Oberlo)

If you want your email and your resume to be read, you’re going to have to follow some basic guidelines.

Get to the point -fast.
Use names, not sir or madam.
Convey value to the recruiter or hiring manager reading your email.
Keep it short. Don’t make them work to understand why they should read your resume.
Make it easy for them to take action. Attach your resume (politely). And don’t forget to include multiple ways they can contact you in the email.

I personally hate writing cover letters, but I love cover emails. I take the best elements from a cover letter and turn it into an email with my resume attached. Here’s my three-step process for writing a compelling cover email.

Step 1

Address the hiring manager or recruiter by name and reference a common connection or referral (even if you only spoke to someone at the company briefly in the past).

Step 2

Call attention to the problem the hiring manager will need you to solve. Empathize with them and express two to three qualifications you possess.

Step 3

Convey excitement and show off your qualifications.

This is the same 3-step formula I use to write cover letters. You can see examples of each of these three steps by reading this article: Has the Format for Cover Letters Changed?

How to Get Super High Responses and Interview Requests

Now it’s time for me to show you how to get SUPER high response rates and interview requests.

In fact, I’ve tested my skills a couple of times over the years in good market conditions and economic downturns and I’ve consistently received 35%+ responses to my resume. That’s over double the average (US Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Let’s get into the strategies.

Optimize Your Apply Time with Automation

It’s no secret that the early bird gets the worm. You want to apply as soon as possible to a new opening. As I mentioned in the previous chapter, a recruiter could stop reviewing resumes for an opening once they have a shortlist of candidates. Many times applications are reviewed upon the order they are received. You want to be toward the front of the line.

Most job search websites have the ability to set up job alerts. This will save you time searching for relevant jobs and help you apply early.

Here’s an example of setting up a job alert with Indeed.com.

Go to the homepage and type in the job or keywords you want to search for and your location. Then you’ll see filter options below your search bar. Select “Date posted” and choose 24 hours.

This will perform a search of all new jobs posted within the last day for the job title you entered.

Scroll all the way to the bottom of the jobs list and you’ll see the alert opt-in for the search you conducted. Enter your email and activate the alert.

Now you’ll receive an email every day with a list of all the new jobs listed for the position you searched.

This is just one example of one job board, but you can do this with almost every job board on the internet.

Now every day you’ll receive emails with all the new jobs listed on that job board. You can check it once per day, keep track of your job leads, and apply within 24 hours.

Send a Great Email After Applying with a Short Subject Line

Everyone loves someone who goes the extra mile. After you apply online, send an email to the recruiter and hiring manager. Be sure you let them know that you followed instructions and make them feel special. Here’s an email I used that worked really well:

Cole,
I’ve spoken with Tim in your accounting department in the past and I recently saw that you have an opening in accounts payable. I did apply on your webiste; however, I wanted to personally write you as well because I saw that you were looking for someone who could do X, Y, and Z.
I’ve spent the past six years working for Company X doing X, Y, and Z, and so naturally when I saw the opening with your company, I couldn’t help but write you. Tim spoke so highly of the accounting department and I’m confident my skill set would contribute to the department’s goal of doing X this year.
At the risk of being too forward, I did take the liberty of attaching my resume so you don’t have to search for it in your database.
I look forward to the possilbity of moving forward in your hiring process.

Every time I’ve sent an email like that, I almost always get a response.

Some of my favorite subject lines are written like these:

AP referral from Tim (or use whatever job function you’re applying for)
AP Candidate - Processing 1,000+ invoices weekly

Name Drop

You probably noticed in my example email that I name-dropped someone at the company, Tim. Referencing someone that works for the company or that the hiring manager might know makes a world of difference.

It’s all about trust. We trust people we know and are familiar with. You are unfamiliar. But by name-dropping, you can leverage the familiarity and trust of someone else. Reference any referral and their title in the opening of your email. Even if you’ve only spoken to the individual one time on LinkedIn, mention them.

You don’t want to be deceptive, but there’s nothing wrong with writing “I recently had a conversation with Anne in your customer success department and I found this position that I am a fit for.”

Follow the 80/20 Rule

The 80/20 rule for using your resume is simple. Eighty percent of your efforts should be spent on twenty percent of the jobs you find.

For example, I build three tiers for all the jobs I may be interested in applying to.

Tier 1 are the jobs that I am very qualified for and highly interested in. I spend the majority of my time here. I’ll go the extra mile to tailor my resume, send a cover letter style email, network with contacts at these companies, and do other job search activities.

Tier 2 are the jobs that I am somewhat qualified for and somewhat interested in. I spend less time on these and only do extra activities when I’ve exhausted my efforts with my tier 1 job leads.

And finally, tier 3 are the jobs that I’m not that qualified for or not as interested in. I’m shooting my shot on these. For these, most of the time, I only submit a resume and move on.

This rule ensures I spend the majority of my time where it will produce the most results.

How to Beat the Applicant Tracking System

In this chapter, I’m going to quickly review applicant tracking systems. There’s no single applicant tracking system, or ATS, that everyone uses. There are hundreds of systems sold to companies and recruiting agencies. In addition, many job boards such as LinkedIn and Indeed have an ATS built into their platforms that employers can elect to use.

There are also many myths about these systems, sadly propagated by mostly resume writing tech companies and some resume writers who want you to buy their services.

So if you’ve been wondering about the ATS and how to optimize your resume for them, this chapter is for you.

What is An Applicant Tracking System?

An applicant tracking system (ATS) is software used by recruiters and hiring manager to track candidates throughout the hiring process. Some recruiters have described it as a digital filing cabinet. You could compare it to a customer relationship manager (CRM).

An ATS stores all your information in one central place along with notes and records of any communication between you and the company. Many of them can record phone logs and emails which are attached to your file.

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What Companies Use Applicant Tracking Systems

With the exception of small and micro businesses, the vast majority of companies have adopted some formal ATS (JobScan).

Will My Resume Pass Applicant Tracking System?

Most likely, yes. How can I make such a blanket statement with hundreds of applicant tracking systems in use today? That’s easy, I know recruiters who use these software systems. Here are some ATS facts that you don’t see in many places on the internet because it’s dominated by resume tech companies who want you to believe that the ATS is a mastermind robot that you have to somehow get past.

To support my claim, I’m going to rely on a survey of over 200 recruiters conducted by Russell Ayles. Here are some of the findings that align with my experience.

Only 1% of those recruiters surveyed said that their ATS can auto-reject resumes without a recruiter seeing them first
16% of recruiters said the ATS will auto-reject applicants for knock-out questions, but not because their resume lacked keywords
Less than 10% of recruiters said that their ATS can even rank candidates based on keywords and that they use it to do so
Only 2% of recruiters said that the ATS can reject candidates based on keywords and use their system to do so

So will your resume pass the applicant tracking system? I don’t think this is something you should worry about with less than 2% of recruiters using their systems to auto-reject you. In other words, someone will read your resume. If you wrote it well following this guide or with the help of a qualified resume writer, you should be fine.

How to Leverage the ATS with Keywords

Now that we’re all on the same page with what an ATS can do and how people actually use them, let’s talk about how you can actually leverage your resume in an ATS.

Russel’s survey asked recruiters about how they use their applicant tracking systems to review resumes submitted to their job openings. But it didn’t consider how many recruiters use an ATS to find candidates that didn’t apply. Yes, you read that correctly.

Let’s say you applied to my company last week and I rejected you. But this week I have a different opening. Perhaps it’s with another manager, another department, or a position that requires less experience.

All smart recruiters will turn to their ATS and conduct a search - usually first before even posting a job ad. Think of it like a Google search. They open their ATS, and start typing what is called a "Boolean Search.” This usually involves searching for job titles, industries, and keywords. For example, if I’m looking for a tax accountant with indirect tax experience, I may type in “Tax Accountant” and “Indirect Tax”. The ATS will then scan through resumes in my database like Google searches websites for those words and deliver to me a list of people.

If you have the right keywords in your resume you could be receiving phone calls for jobs you didn’t know existed. This can be a huge win when job searching - bonus job opportunities that you didn’t have to seek out. This is partially why I have Tier 3 jobs that I only send my resume with that easy apply button. I find that this happens most often with larger companies and recruiting agencies that do quite a bit of hiring.

Resume Writing Services

Let’s face it, writing a resume is a terrible experience for most of us. I can remember writing my first few resumes. It was grueling and I spent a lot of time “figuring it out.”

But that doesn’t mean everyone needs or should rush out and hire a resume writer. In this chapter, I’m going to quickly review everything you should know about resume writers before you buy anything.

Is it worth paying for a resume service?

I like to think of everything in terms of opportunity costs. If I do this, what am I giving up? If I pay someone else to do something for me, what could I do with that time I now have?

Resume writing is a skill and like any other skill, it can be learned and improved with the right practice. Like other skills, some people have skills they use in their everyday jobs that are similar to the skills used in resume writing and may be more prone to pick up resume writing quicker than others.

Resume writing involves three main skill sets:

Knowledge of recruiting.

If you know how recruiting works, how recruiters and hiring managers find people, and what they look for when reading resumes, you can probably write your own resume if you have the below two skills as well. For example, I’ve had hundreds of conversations with different hiring managers and many different companies over the years as a recruiter. I’ve picked up on trends and I know what will work and what won’t work on a resume from all that exposure. If that’s you, you may want to consider writing your own resume.

Copywriting.

If your job requires you to write compelling copy that is designed to make a memorable impression on readers and encourage them to take action, writing your own resume may be something to consider. I spent several years working at two marketing agencies where I learned how to balance clarity and curiosity in my writing. Now of course, it would still be difficult for me to write my own resume because I have the curse of knowledge. But I could easily grab a couple of friends to help me ensure I’m writing simply and that I’m not missing anything in my story-based writing style.

Psychology.

This is similar to copywriting because a good copywriter knows a bit about human psychology, but I decided to break it out separately because it’s that important. If your job requires you to understand how people absorb and retain information you may want to consider writing your own resume. If your job requires you to understand intimately what makes people take action, you may be well-positioned to write your own resume.

It really takes all three of these core skills to write a good resume. They can all be learned. The only question for most of us is how long will it take us to learn them and whether we are ok investing the time and resources to do so before we get our next job.

If you have all the above skills and a straightforward career, it should only take about 10 hours to write an effective resume.

If you need a job sooner rather than later or you simply don’t have any more time because you’re already working full-time, it may be worth paying for a resume writing service to write the resume while you focus on your other strengths in finding a job. You’ll get twice as much done in half the amount of time this way and you won’t have to worry about learning how to write a resume.

So the short answer is, yes, for the vast majority of us, it’s worth paying for a resume service.

If you’re still unsure about the opportunity cost of writing your own resume, read the article How Long Does It Take to Write a Resume.

How much does it cost to have someone write your resume?

Like most things, there is a huge price difference among resume services. Let’s break down the different price points that I’ve seen.

$100 - $200 Resume Writing Service

I’ve seen some resume services that charge $100 to $200. Usually, the services at this price point fall into two categories.

They use outsourced writers, typically from Asia and the Middle East.

There’s nothing wrong with that, but I’ve reviewed many resumes from those that have applied to be resume writers with Optim over the years and it’s rare that I find a good one. The culture is different, they typically lack recruiting experience, and they rarely have real copywriting skills. Most of the time you get a reorganization of your resume and that’s not worth paying for.

They are new resume writers just starting out.

I can honestly say I’ve learned a lot over the years working with resume clients and participating in their journeys. A new writer doesn’t have that expertise. They may have skills, but not experience to apply those skills. That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t consider hiring a new resume writer. When I started writing, I had spent over five years in recruitment and two years in marketing. If you find someone with a similar background who is just starting out, you may be able to score a deal and get a pretty good resume.

$300 - $700 Resume Writing Service

There are many resume-writing services that charge between $300 and $500. This price range I find harder to navigate than the lower price ranges because it’s harder to tell who is qualified and who isn’t. There’s a greater variety of services at this price point, but if I had to generalize, I’d categorize them as follows.

Solo resume writers.

Many individual resume writers with a few years of experience under their belt price their services in this range. Some are really good at what they do. Many are not. There’s no bar to entering the resume writing business, so it’s important to vet individual resume writers well. Pay attention to their backgrounds and experience.

Boutique resume writing services.

This is where Optim’s resume writing service would fall. There aren’t many services in this category. These resume writing firms are typically run by an industry expert who oversees every single project. For example, with Optim’s Resume Revision service, I personally review each client’s desired job targets, craft the narrative for a story-based resume, and review all associate writers’ work before a client ever sees a resume draft. It runs very much like a law firm. Associates meet with me on a regular basis and I give them feedback and help them develop. Clients interact heavily with Associates, but all of them are trained and closely supervised by someone like me.

Resume networks.

There are many resume services that only specialize in selling resumes. They don’t actually do any of the work in-house. Instead, they match you to a contracted resume writer in their network and split the profits. Oftentimes they have resume writers who specialize in every niche market imaginable. You won’t know that they outsource the work, because these sites look like it is all in-house so ask if the person you’re talking to will be involved in writing your resume or if they’re just the face for sales and marketing.

In exchange for connecting you to a niche writer, they keep a portion of your fee. In my experience, this drives up the costs of the services or results in poor service because the resume writers don’t work for the company.

Resume farms.

These are big companies that spend a lot of money on ads and SEO to rank high in Google. You’ll almost always find them in the sponsored search results on Google. Sometimes you’ll find these in the $100 to $200 range, but they can be more expensive. The increased cost does not mean increased quality. Typically they have a very qualified resume writer who does free written resume reviews to hook you. Then after you purchase, you get shoved off to some low-level writer that you may not even speak with.

I have yet to speak with one person who has used one of these large resume services and walked away happy. In fact, the majority of the clients that come to me for help rewriting a resume that they paid someone else to do typically come from a resume network or resume farm.

$1,000+ Resume Writing Services

While there are some resume networks that have prices in this range, the majority I find are from boutique executive resume services. They are very white-glove, high-end services that cater to executives. Keep in mind that just because the price is over $1,000, that doesn’t mean it’s a quality service. The one’s that I recommend in this price range typically have small teams of two or three writers that work very closely with one another to write your resume.

Which resume service is best?

You have a lot of choices out there. Here I will give you a list of resume services that I trust and would refer clients to. I always recommend people use botique resume services where they speak to the people involved in writing their resume from the start. I also suggest you work with people who will collaborate with you via phone or zoom rather than fill out forms. Resume writing has to be a collaborative effort.

Boutique Firms

For VP, Directors, Mid-Career, and Early-Career professionals, I always recommend Optim’s Resume Revision Service. It’s reasonably priced and you’ll get two resume writers for the price of one.

For C-Suite, I would recommend Briefcase Coach, run by Sarah Johnston. Sarah has a very small team and a similar set up to Optim and she was someone I looked up to when I first started back in 2015.

Certified Professional Resume Writers

Many people ask me if it’s a safe investment to work with certified resume writers. Sadly, a CPRW (certified professional resume writer), NCRW (nationally certified resume writer), or any of the other resume certifications guarantees you’ll get quality work.

In fact, I personally have elected not to obtain a certification from these organizations. Having one of these certifications only means you can pass a test to identify spelling and grammar errors, recognize acronyms, and explain methodologies for writing a resume. You simply have to pass a timed test. It doesn’t necessarily mean you’re a good resume writer.

Furthermore, the test and certification to become a certified professional resume writer require no practice time. Unlike a CPA exam where you have to practice so many hours under another CPA, anyone can take the test, pass it, and claim their certification.

This is a huge problem within the resume-writing community. It’s like we’re simply selling certifications.

Instead, I would propose that to obtain a certification, one would have to write a resume, and submit it to a panel of recruiters and hiring managers who then would determine its quality based on whether they would interview the person for the role based on the submitted resume. The closest to this is the NRWA’s certification program which requires 10 CPEs and a submitted resume that passes a committee.

But overall we’re nowhere close to using certifications as solid credibility for writers, so no, I don’t think you should use a certification as a determining factor in whether or not you hire someone to help you with your resume.

Advanced Resume Writing Strategies

In this chapter, I’m going to share a handful of advanced tactics that I’ve picked up over the years. So if you’re ready to get more from your resumes, this chapter is for you.

Let’s dive right in.

Try Text Resume Layouts

Beautiful resume templates are bad for job searching. Fancy design does nothing but distract people from the content of your message. Instead, I recommend writing resumes in Google Docs or Microsoft Word that are predominantly text.

Take a look at this simple resume format. This resume was sent to 12 employers. Eight of them responded with an interview request.

Repeat Yourself

Most people are afraid to repeat themselves in a resume, but repetition is a good thing. Part of why the resume theme strategy is so successful is because it forces us to repeat the same message throughout our resumes.

Of course, you’re not going to type the same sentence in every job. But rather, you’ll be writing about the same ideas, the same problems, the same strategies, and the same type of wins.

People have a really hard time remembering new information. If you want to be memorable, you’re going to have to repeat yourself.

Effective communication is an exercise in repetition.

Use the Why, Not the How

Most resumes tank because they don’t go far enough. People write about things, but they don’t tell people why they matter.

Before you write anything, put yourself in the employer’s shoes and ask yourself, “Why does this matter?” It’s a question I ask my resume clients all the time. Many times the answer seems obvious to both of us, but here’s a simple truth.

You have to tell people where to go, what to do, and why something is important. Otherwise, they won’t do it and they won’t process it. It’s not because they’re dumb or lazy. That’s just how our brains work.

Don’t tell someone you completed the project 2 months ahead of schedule. Tell them how you were able to complete 2x the number of projects, saving the company $400,000 because you completed them 2 months ahead of schedule.

You have to tell people why you matter.

Paint Pictures

Remember show and tell back in grammar school? How boring would it be to sit there and listen to kids tell about their toys without bringing them into the classroom? It would really change the fun of show and tell. No one wants to be lectured or read a bland documentary. They want to see it, imagine it, and be there. It’s probably why movies became such a hit. We can feel the emotions like we’re there in the film.

Your resume should do the same thing. You want to write in such a way that the other person can envision what it would be like working with you. Here’s what I mean.

Take this sentence: Made outbound calls to borrowers to lock in their rates.

Can you envision it? Is it exciting? Is it clear? No. Not even close.

But now, let’s change it: Made 100 calls daily to borrowers in four states, encouraging 62% of them to lock in their rates same day.

See how much more vivid it is. Here’s the beauty of writing this way. You can convey more images beyond the mere words on the paper.

With a sentence like this, I don’t have to say I have an extreme work ethic. I know this by the fact that you are making 100 calls per day. I don’t have to say I’m organized or that I have excellent communication. All of that is clear too. And now, instead of telling, I’m showing.

Use AI

AI is infiltrated every area of our life. Resume writing is no exception. You can use tools like ChatGPT to write your resume using resume prompts. Here are some ways I’ve helped others use ChatGPT to write their resume: