If you’re looking for a new job, here are my top tips to constructing a resume that will actually be read.
Thank you to my dear friend Anna Langston for helping me update this same list I used during the GFC/Great Recession when I was a professional career and job search coach.
1️⃣ Hiring managers will spend only about 15 seconds reading a resume so make yours stand out.
2️⃣ Let the content tell the story. Use a simple template with consistent formatting/grammar/punctuation so the reader doesn’t get distracted by fancy formatting.
3️⃣ Format in 3 sections: Summary – what you can do for them, Professional experience, Education.
4️⃣ Content AND white space are both important for the reader’s eye to process the information. Use #s instead of numbers to draw the reader’s attention.
5️⃣ Use keywords from currently posted job descriptions that describe the role you are targeting to get through autoscans
6️⃣ Bullets should be achievements rather than tasks and should be action-oriented and reflect measures: Accomplished X, as measured by Y, by doing Z.
7️⃣ Max size per bullet is 3 lines – no more, ever and better shorter.
8️⃣ Max pages are 2 – no more, unless the resume is an academic one vs. professional.
9️⃣ Older experience = fewer bullets.
