how to make my resume stand out

How to Make a Resume That Stands Out in 2024: A Guide That Stands Out

In This Guide:

What makes a resume stand out in 2023, key takeaways.

So you want to know how to make your resume stand out to recruiters?

You’re here because the generic “best practices from recruiters” advice you got until now was not very helpful. You already knew it all. You know what the baseline is .

But do you know how to write a visually appealing resume that makes you stand out from the crowd?

What makes a resume pop?

We, at Enhancv , asked ourselves the same questions. To find the standout factors, we did some research and testing.

We started by analyzing our clients’ resumes that helped them secure jobs at the likes of Amazon, Spotify, PwC, Verizon, and other top companies. We identified all the resume components that catch the eye of employers and recruiters. Then, we performed solid A/B testing, and finally, put together all our findings into one test resume . This test resume gathered over 1 million views, got covered by CNBC and Business Insider, and was praised by Mark Cuban .

BUILD MY RESUME LIKE THIS

To put it simply – it stood out and attracted attention.

The following advice helped thousands of candidates get interviews and land jobs at leading companies. We’ll share their resumes as case studies and explore different ways to make your resume stand out from the rest.

Here’s what you’ll learn from this guide:

• How to make a resume that both stands out and gets you interviews in 2023
• Case studies, tips, and professional examples from candidates that successfully landed jobs at top companies
• What resume layouts are getting more interviews and which are getting less
• How to pass automatic HR filters when creating a stand out resume

At the end of the day, you want your resume to stand out and land you a job, not raise HR’s eyebrows or get shared on Reddit for the sake of it.

So we won’t be using fancy fonts or inserting funny pictures. Every example we provide and each template we use has been thoroughly tested with HR systems to pass automatic filters.

This guide will take your resume from good to great, and here’s how.

• First, for every section we’ll cover a baseline, a bare minimum you need to do in order to have a competitive resume. Unfortunately, the majority of career guides stop at that.
• From there, we take it one step further with specific advice on how to make every section of your resume even more engaging and remarkable with out-of-box techniques.
• Finally, we’ll talk about the power of formatting and layout in creating an outstanding resume.

Along the way, we’ll provide case studies and real-life examples that helped candidates land real jobs at the companies they wanted.

Create attention-grabbing header section

The Header is the top section of your resume. It includes your name, location, job title, and contact details.

• Baseline: provide clear, typo-free contact and location details so that recruiters could contact you with zero effort.
• Stand out: include a link to your developed LinkedIn profile, add a custom headline, consider adding a photo.

Looking for ways to make your header stand out? See how you can perfect your resume header and get noticed .

Link to LinkedIn and/or personal portfolio website

Here’s a thing: 70% of recruiters will be checking your social media profiles. But the real bummer is that 79% of employers can reject candidates based on their social media.

Let’s turn this into our advantage and put a link to your LinkedIn profile in your Header section.

This will earn you extra points with recruiters and guide their attention to where you want them to be.

If you have a personal portfolio website that you want recruiters to see, link to it as well.

Gal included a link to his personal website to guide the recruiter’s attention, but also to keep his resume one-page without having to describe all the projects he’s worked on over the decade.

Pro tip: when applying for code-heavy jobs, consider linking to your Github.

Custom headline

Recruiters will spend most of their time analyzing the top third of your resume, and a custom headline is one of the most influential and often overlooked ways to grab their attention.

Headline goes immediately after your name on the resume and can include anything from your job title to a personal slogan.

However, you can do much better than simply putting your job title there., e.g. “System Administrator”.

Below are two amazing standout resume examples of a customized headline in action:

In the past, Daniel had two different jobs: Customer Support Engineer and Systems Administrator.

So he combined both qualifications in his headline, emphasizing experience with both people and systems.

This way he framed his diverse experience as an advantage before the recruiter even got to see the rest of the resume.

Result? Intercom hired Daniel. Check out the resume template that got Daniel the job.

For other jobs, you might want to get even more creative with your headline. For example, how are you going to stand out from hundreds of other marketers?

Wrong example : PPC specialist with 5 years of experience.

Right example : Fighting shady, aggressive marketing.

In his headline, Louis took a strong stance against something that was at the time a massive problem for established brands: shady viral marketing tactics of competition. Later he was hired by Hotjar. Check out the template that Louis used to get his dream job.

Custom headline allows you to frame the rest of your resume however you need, providing a halo effect. Daniel framed his work experience as an advantage for his next job, while Louis stood out from hundreds of marketers with the same skillset.

And the best part? Headlines can be easily tailored to every job you’re applying for, so you can easily switch between experience-based headlines, slogans, or anything related to your next job. Learn more about how to craft your headline here .

Should you include a photo in your resume or not?"?

Short answer: it depends. The best practice is to check company and government policy (including photos is illegal in some countries). For the long answer, head over to our helpful post on the topic .

Sam wanted to switch careers, but her extensive investment banking background made her resume look a bit boring for a startup-tech world.

So she used one of our resume templates, including her photo and adding some personality to her resume , to successfully score a job at Spotify.

To sum it up – you’ll need an attractive header section to make your resume stand out from the crowd. What you’ll also need is a special Summary section…

Use summary that captivates recruiters

The summary section is a short paragraph or bulleted list that briefly describes your professional experience before the rest of your resume.

Sometimes Summary is called an “Objective”, especially if you are using it to explain why you’re applying for the job.

• Baseline : short, easy-to-read, and impactful description of your professional experience
• Stand out : make your Summary memorable, use a proper layout .

Think of your Summary section as a cold email you’re sending someone you don’t know. If it’s a long, boring, and self-centered cold email, no one wants to read that.

But if you research your recipient, create an engaging and short cold email, you have a much higher chance of someone responding to it.

The Summary section, when done right, is one of the most powerful ways of “aligning” you to the position.

Sometimes you’ll hear the opinion that the Summary section takes too much space on your resume.

First, there’s an easy fix to it.

Let’s look at Daniel’s resume once again.

He puts the Summary section to the right of his Experience section. Why?

When recruiters scan your resume, they are checking your experience section first, but that doesn’t mean they don’t want to learn more about you after.

With his Summary, Daniel once again frames the recruiter’s perception, highlighting that he did the majority of his work experience remotely. It helps a lot given that the company he applied for, Intercom, is a fully remote organization.

At the same time, he also provides some insight into his personality, as he knows how important culture fit is in remote companies.

Learn as much as you can about the company you’re applying for to know what’s important to them, and use this information to make your Summary more memorable.

Another great way to use the Summary section is when you’re switching careers, have no work experience, or have gaps in your work history.

Seeing your experience section, recruiters will immediately ask themselves questions: why are they making the career switch? Do they have enough experience?

Be proactive and address the elephant in the room yourself.

Akshay S. Rao put a brief summary section before his experience section to explain why he wants the internship with Tesla in the first place.

Check out the job-winning resume layout that Akshay used to land a promising internship.

Okay, so you’ve mastered the Summary, and you are one step closer to making a creative resume that stands out from the rest. Now, it’s time to understand how to tie results with responsibilities and present your work achievements on your resume.

Always provide quantifiable achievements

One of the most common pieces of advice we hear from recruiters is “provide results, not responsibilities”.

Well, yeah, it’s great advice. But we can do even better than that.

• Baseline: when describing your experience, demonstrate the impact of your work and contribution to the bottom-line of a company
• Stand out: Add quantifiable achievements to other sections of your resume, creating a cohesive “rainmaker” narrative.

Compare these two Experience sections from our job-winning Tech resume guide.

The first example may seem clean and concise, but in reality, it’s generic and doesn’t bring impact.

When you provide quantifiable achievements in your resume, it’s not about bragging with numbers.

It gives recruiters the impression that the person knows the impact of their work and their value to the company. And knowing your impact makes you more effective and loyal, a recruiter’s dream.

Here’s a formula we are using to describe our experience in an engaging and impactful manner:

Accomplished [A] as measured in [B] by doing [C]

Just remember that quantifiable achievements don’t necessarily mean “numeric achievements”. Simply adding numbers to something doesn’t make it impactful.

As long as what you did makes an impact and benefits the company, it will resonate with recruiters.

The best part is that you can demonstrate impact throughout other sections of your resume, instantly making them more engaging and effective: Summary, Projects, even your headline.

Maximilian Malterer, who now works at Amazon, used our “Most Proud of” section and moved it right next to his experience section.

No matter how recruiters will be scanning this resume, they will notice the impact you made.

Access the job-winning resume of Maximilian layout at our library of top-performing templates .

Now, let’s discover what the Achievement section is and how to use it wisely.

Highlight awards and recognitions

• Baseline : candidates rarely have this section in their resumes
• Stand out : adding an Achievements section to your resume sets you apart from the majority of candidates in the hiring pool.

If we were to summarize what sets apart the majority of our customers whose successful resumes we’ve used throughout this guide, we’d say custom sections.

“Achievements”, “Awards”, and “Most Proud” sections are all great examples.

Adding them within our resume builder is a one-step drag-and-drop process, but the most important part is that you can quickly change the whole layout based on your particular needs.

As mentioned before, Maximilian put his most impactful Achievements right next to his Experience section, amplifying the overall impact, which is critical when you work with Amazon partners.

But Julian Prim, who now works with PwC, took a different approach. His high-stakes analyst job required extra attention to detail and next to perfect time-management skills.

After all, that’s what PwC had in mind for their operations specialist.

So Julian put his skills first to let recruiters know he checks all these boxes and added his “Most Proud” section below.

While Maximillians’s resume narrative is an ambitious and impactful account manager, Julian Prim is an efficient and timid analyst. The layouts of their resumes work great for both of them.

Pro tip : with simple drag and drop you can quickly change layouts and thus how your resume narrative.

Julian can easily become an ambitious superstar data wizard and apply for some hot BigData startup by simply dragging his “Most Proud” section to the top. Experiment with resume layouts by using the top-performing templates directly in our resume builder .

Surely, sharing awards and recognition is a way to make your resume stand out from other applicants and land you the job. But if you want to get things to the next level, you’d spend some time tailoring your resume and make it more specific to the position you are applying for.

Tailor your resume

Tailoring your resume to the job description is an extremely effective strategy for landing more job interviews.

Just don’t overdo it, otherwise, your efforts might seem too obvious.

• Baseline : include in your resume skills and keywords from your target job description
• Stand out : group skills and provide context for your core skills to maximize the impact and prove that you actually have these skills.

There are several ways to feature both technical and soft skills on your resume.

The majority of candidates will simply list them, but for recruiters, it’s as engaging as reading someone’s shopping list.

Instead, we have a few more easy-to-read and effective options you can use.

Daniel is a technical person. It was important for him to showcase his technical skills when applying for a job at Intercom, but he didn’t want to scare off recruiters with a poorly formatted list of 100+ technologies he learned during his career in IT.

He mentioned many skills and technologies he worked with when describing his Experience section, but for the skills section he followed the old wisdom of “less is more”.

So he identified four of the most important groups of skills he has and presented them as engaging infographics.

Adapt this layout and try out various visual styles using our freely accessible resume templates .

Julian went for the jugular with his PwC analyst resume. He was perfectly aware that the majority of analysts lack soft skills, and that was a great opportunity to stand out from his competition.

But instead of simply listing soft skills he presented them in a real-world context. Finally, he renamed the whole section “Strengths” to grab the recruiter’s attention.

Pro tip: Don’t be afraid to experiment with the names for your custom resume sections.

Recruiters are tired of seeing thousands of “My skills” sections to the point they automatically skim them.

But try naming them “Core strengths” or “Tech achievements” and you’ll hold their attention.

If you are interested in learning more about making your resume laser-targeted, read our post on the topic .

Did you know that nothing sets your resume apart from the rest more than sharing your personal story in it…

Show your career and personal story

So far, we’ve managed to make every section of your resume stand out and engage recruiters, showcasing your experience and achievement in the most convincing way.

Let’s apply some final effort with custom sections that will push your resume into a league of its own.

Here are the four custom sections our customers most often add to their job-winning resumes:

• Life philosophy

Marcellus Nixon, now Senior Director of Network Operations, had an excellent work history in the network communications sector.

You can access Marcellus’s full resume template here .

But so did every candidate who was aiming for an executive role at Verizon.

At this level, candidates rarely can outperform each other on a skill basis.

At the end of the day, organizations hire humans, and if recruiters feel that there’s a person behind all the achievements on your paper, they will remember you.

That’s why Marcellus decided to add “A Day In My Life” and “Life Philosophy” sections.

With these two custom sections, his resume narrative switched from “experienced network executive” to “experienced network executive with a strong work ethic and a solid plan.”

Exactly what Verizon, a global network mogul, needs.

Still with us? Good.

It’s all fun and games until we mention proper formatting. Are there any tricks to it? What colors and fonts are appropriate? Let’s see how you can make your resume stand out visually.

Apply formatting tricks to create stand out resume

Watch out for white space.

According to an eye-tracking study from Ladders Inc, resumes that lack white space turn recruiters off.

The easier your resume reads, the more chances there will be that the recruiter reads every section of it.

If you have a lot to put on your resume, use smart layout and custom sections.

The two resume examples feature the same amount of information, yet the second one is much more engaging and comfortable to digest.

Pro tip: after you filled all the sections of your resume, look at it with your eyes squinted. If your resume feels like a big cluttered black spot, start decluttering it.

Declutter your resume with minimalism approach

Make a point of using as few words to describe your experience as possible. The worst thing you can do is trying to sound smart.

Bad example: developed an elaborate testing environment throughout a wide array of 22 company and partner software assets

Good example: Launched a test-to-production environment for 22 software products

Use well-tested fonts and combinations

Don’t be afraid to use several fonts on your resume, especially if you want to bold certain parts of your resume like headers or titles.

Just remember to limit yourself to only three fonts per resume , and try using font pairs that were already tested together by designers and user experience experts.

Make colors work for you

Here’s a really elaborate, but effective trick you can use to earn some extra points: try using the company’s brand colors on your resume.

Surely don’t put a company logo or use the exact color palette, go for a subtle effect .

It’s a bit of reverse psychology: in-house recruiters that know brand colors too well may subconsciously gravitate towards resumes with familiar colors.

Proofread your resume at least 3 times

Even the most elaborate and engaging resume can quickly become a recruiter’s kryptonite when a single typo creeps into your sentences.Make sure to proofread your resumes at least three times before you send them out. If you’re using our resume builder, it will automatically check every resume you create or upload for typos.

Study specific cases of resumes that stood out from competition

Writing a resume that stands out with no work experience.

• Put Education and Projects section on the top left and top right
• Hide GPA if it’s below 3
• Add a link to personal industry-related projects or Github if you’re in development
• Include a short objective to frame the recruiter’s expectations
• Use custom sections (e.g. Projects and Certification) to stand out from hundreds of applicants
• DON’T mention passion in your objective.

Successful example: [internship at Tesla]

Tips for making your resume stand out for senior employees

• Use custom section to stand out from your competition and add personality to your top-management experience (e.g. “A Day In My Life” and “Life Philosophy”  sections)
• Frame your experience with a well-researched custom headline on top
• Add links to a business-related profile (LinkedIn)
• Frame Skills sections in a unique way (e.g. name them “Workflows”, “Strengths”)

Successful example: senior manager resume at Verizon

How to create a standout resume with bad work history

• Go for a functional layout resume where skills and workflows are prioritized over the experience section
• Create a proxy item in your experience section, e.g. “Freelancer”, or “Agency” and list your temporary experiences within it
• Write an engaging Summary section to address the recruiter’s questions about your inconsistent work history and turn it to your advantage (e.g. several areas of competence)
• DON’T mention passion in your objective. Just don’t.

Standout resume for different positions

Over years we’ve shared and updated a library of 530+ professional resume example guides with best practices and tips for specific job titles.

Simply type in the job title you’re applying for, and you’ll get a resume guide similar to this one with actionable tips specific to your dream job.

BROWSE RESUME EXAMPLES

• Small details matter: make every section stand out for the compound effect
• Extensively research the company you’re applying for and use your findings in different sections
• Add custom sections to stand out and boost engagement with recruiters
• Visuals and readability matter more than you think. Watch your white space, fonts, and formatting

Did you like the guide? Anything else that we’re forgetting and you might want to add? What are your tips for creating a stand-out resume? Jump in the discussion below.

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7 tips to make your resume stand out and get that job

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The importance of an outstanding resume

How to write a resume, fine-tuning your resume, make your resume stand out, it all starts with your resume.

Looking for a job is like a rollercoaster. 

There are high and low points throughout the process. The unknown of new opportunities excites you, but you feel vulnerable and anxious at the same time. Everyone experiences that turbulence at some point in their job search . 

Need resume help?

Writing a resume is one of the first steps in that journey, and it’s one of the most overwhelming. You want to make a good first impression — which might leave you second-guessing every last action verb and skill you choose to include. Tools like resume builders and ChatGPT can help you brainstorm a first draft, but it’s up to you to perfect it.

Learning how to make your resume stand out may feel like a science, but there are rules and guidelines you can follow to convince a hiring manager that you're the best choice for the role. 

Within a single sheet of paper is the story of your career. Your work history, accomplishments, and skill set weave together an account of your potential as an employee. And on a job application, your resume should grab a hiring manager’s attention based on the story you tell . 

On average, potential employers spend just 7.4 seconds reviewing a resume. While that may sound like an impossibly short amount of time to judge a candidate, it's often necessary. Some positions draw hundreds of applicants pining for their next job. Hiring managers have to quickly go down a new hire checklist to ensure you have the technical skills or experience necessary to perform the job. 

During this time, hiring managers and recruiters also need to filter out mismatched candidates before reaching out for interviews. They’re looking for someone genuinely interested in the new job — someone motivated enough to show how passionate and qualified they are. And if a hiring manager uses an applicant tracking system, they’ll also filter resumes based on keywords and specific skills. You need to survive both the algorithm and their keen eye. 

Aligning your most relevant qualifications and tuning your language to fit a company's vernacular is a lot of work, but it’s worth it. Effective resume writing targets the job description, and a one-size-fits-all resume can’t do that. The extra effort you spend personalizing every application could put you one step closer to landing your dream position and ending the job search. 

The blank page is daunting to look at. But great resumes start with headings and sections, and starting with an outline helps you fill the page faster. 

Here are the sections you should include:

1. Work experience

Arguably the most crucial section, clearly label your work experience with separate points for every job entry. If you can, only include jobs that highlight your suitability for the role. 

But don't be afraid to include experience that isn’t obviously relevant. While a career change from product engineer to project manager may seem unrelated in technical skills, you can show off the value of transferable soft skills . The key is to include a description or bullet points that make the connection clear.

Each entry should include the following:

Your job title

Name of the organization

Dates of employment

A short description of your accomplishments

Many job seekers opt to organize this section in chronological order from most to least recent. This is likely the best option if your career and skill learning has a clear linear trajectory. 

But sometimes, it makes more sense to put your most relevant experience at the top, even if it's not your most recent job. This is sometimes known as a functional resume . You want your reader to see your best work first. A new parent who quit a full-time job for a part-time job with less hours may want to focus on career highlights rather than recent positions. 

It also might make sense to split your resume into sections for different skills. If you're applying for a management position at a software development company, you might want to have subsections that emphasize management experience and development experience separately. This helps a hiring manager quickly gauge your full potential. 

2. Unpaid work or volunteering 

This section is similar to your work experience but only covers unpaid positions. Follow the same format, instead with volunteer or personal projects relevant to the role or that helped sharpen your skills. This could also include internships. Remember to also include descriptions here so hiring managers clearly see why you chose to include every point.

3. Education

This section will likely be the smallest. List any relevant degrees — associate, bachelor’s, master’s , and even PhDs — in order from most to least recent. Here's what to write:

Name of educational institution

Name of your program or degree

Date of graduation (if you feel comfortable putting this information)

Extra details like Latin honors or GPA (if relevant)

4. Certifications

You may have professional certifications relevant to your role. List them here with the date you acquired them. This is an especially important section if the job you’re applying for requires certification or licensure, legally or otherwise.

If you’re applying for a role that requires something like a driver’s license or certification in a programming language, be sure to highlight it. But non-required certifications fit here as well, like those from online courses. These demonstrate essential soft skills such as self-motivation and initiative .

A summary statement typically goes at the top of your resume, though it usually isn’t recommended. A vague summary or objective statement wastes space. Employers likely don’t want to hear that you’re a “Motivated employee looking to learn new skills” because that doesn’t say much about you. 

If you decide to include a summary, be specific. And if everything you’re saying appears later in your resume, it might be best to omit it entirely. Save this statement for your LinkedIn summary .

List soft skills and technical skills that are relevant to the role. Reinforce each one with practical work experience, metrics, or engaging action verbs that tell a more complete story. The less guesswork a hiring manager has to do, the easier it is to identify the strength of your candidacy. 

This is your space to be as specific as possible. Instead of writing that you have “good communication skills ,” write “thoughtful communicator who uses active listening and empathy to construct strong interpersonal relationships ." And instead of writing “coding,” specify what languages you know and how you’ve used them. You can also emphasize self-directed learning experiences to show your initiative.

7. Link to portfolio

If possible, link to some of your representative work, or at least have a sample 

If relevant, link to some of your representative work or have a portfolio with sample projects ready in case the hiring manager asks for them. In some fields, especially creative, a digital portfolio is standard, so include a link to yours if possible. 

Recruiters and hiring managers may also check your LinkedIn profile and domain-specific profiles, like GitHub, for concrete examples of successful projects. Ensure your resume is consistent with your body of work across all professional platforms.

An effective resume leads a hiring manager's eye to all the right places. Here are three tips for submitting an accurate and concise document: 

1. Include only relevant information

Whether you're a seasoned professional or a recent graduate, including every single piece of professional experience is unnecessary. All of the metrics, skills, and certifications should reflect the specific job you're applying to. Unessential information confuses and distracts potential employers from your value to the role. 

Recent graduates with little practical experience can find ways to highlight relevant transferable skills without filling the page with unnecessary jobs. If you're a recent economics graduate , your job sorting books at the university library shouldn't eclipse valuable internships or coursework — unless that job taught you something about economics. 

2. Highlights accomplishments, not responsibilities 

Managers want to know you can perform. Listing your personal achievements rather than roles and responsibilities shows not only what duties previous positions included, but that you thrived while completing them. Use action verbs or list employee reco gnitions to place the focus on your performance. 

Imagine you previously worked at a public relations firm. Compare these two descriptions:

“I was responsible for the execution of clients’ national media campaigns.” 

“I spearheaded successful national digital media campaigns for clients of varied industries, improving organic engagement by 50%.”

The former tells the recruiter about your job, but the latter tells them about you. The specificity helps readers immediately understand why you were an asset.

3. Keep it short

Like any professional communication, your resume should be short and to the point. It should have clear formatting that guides the eye from one section to another. 

Ideally, you'll fit everything you need on one page. The document may stretch to two pages if you're further along in your career or need to submit a CV instead of a resume . Just make sure everything on those two pages is relevant. Extraneous work history might distract rather than impress. 

Now that you know the basics, here’s how to write the best version of your resume:

1. Consider the hiring manager’s needs

Read the job description closely and explore the company website. Get a sense of company culture by reading its mission statement or company core values . Then, include those elements on your resume to catch a hiring manager's attention and tell them you fit the culture . 

Remember, you aren’t just applying for a job. You’re applying to become part of a team. Show exactly how you’ll add to company culture and collaborate with existing employees. If a company's job ad mentions seeking team players , make sure your resume highlights your history of successful collaboration. 

2. Make sure it looks good

Hiring managers review countless resumes each day. You have some freedom to play with your resume format, but you should follow some general guidelines so it’s easy to read:

Use an appropriate font: Cursive fonts and Wingdings have no place on a professional resume. Consider professional-looking typefaces like Helvetica, Arial, or Times New Roman.

Be consistent: When you pick a design format, you commit to a set of "rules" for your resume. Make sure your bullet points follow the same style, the sizing of your  headers is consistent, and your lines have equal spacing. 

Don't overcrowd it: Leave enough room in the margins so your resume doesn’t fill the entire page. White space helps your reader find necessary information quickly. 

Use a resume builder : There are many free resume builders and templates available online . Your word processor might even have some built-in. Consider using one so you don't start from scratch.

Consider color when appropriate: Adding some colored text or icons helps your resume stand out. Just make sure it’s appropriate for the industry you work in. Illustrators can use a creative resume to show off their artistic skills, whereas a colorful document for a public policy analyst could demonstrate a lack of sincerity. 

3. Proofread for errors

Hiring managers might decide not to hire you from as few as five writing errors . Typos and grammar mistakes show carelessness and poor attention to detail , and they’re an easy way to get a job rejection . 

Make sure to check your writing closely. Apps like Grammarly ensure every comma and apostrophe is in the right place. And reading your resume out loud, to yourself or to a friend, helps you catch errors, improve flow, and check for repetitive language.

4. Demonstrate industry knowledge

Always be learning . Intellectual curiosity and commitment to growth are personality traits many hiring managers look for, whether you're new to the workforce or a seasoned employee. It shows employers that you're proactive, engaged, and open to new experiences. 

Now make sure that growth mindset comes through in your resume. It isn't about saying “I love to learn,” but showing it.

Stay on top of current trends in your field and work them into your cover letter and resume. If there's a new programming tool in high demand, share your know-how in the skills section. Describe how you used it to improve your performance at a previous job.

5. Get an objective eye

Ask someone else to look over your resume and give you honest feedback . Seek out people who you trust to give constructive criticism rather than tell you what you want to hear. Coworkers, colleagues, or anyone you feel comfortable turning to for career advice will likely offer the perspective you need to write your best resume . 

Also consider hiring a professional resume writer or career coach . Both offer valuable insights about industry expectations and effective techniques for leveraging your best skills and experiences. 

Now that you know how to make your resume stand out, you can emphasize the right details and grab hiring managers’ attention. 

Writing the perfect resume takes time, thoroughness, and careful editing. And while it may feel daunting, following common resume rules and paying close attention to the job description puts you one step closer to your dream job. 

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How to Make Your Resume Stand Out (with Examples)

In today’s competitive job market, first impressions are everything — and oftentimes, your resume is the first thing a potential employer sees. Find out how to stand out from the crowd here!

In today’s competitive job market, first impressions are everything, and your resume is usually the first thing a potential employer sees. If you want to secure an interview, it’s essential to make your resume stand out from the rest and ensure that it doesn’t get lost in the applicant tracking system (ATS). In this comprehensive guide, we’ve rounded up all the tips you need to make your resume stand out, complete with examples to help you refine your resume and set yourself apart as a desirable candidate.

How to Make a Stand-Out Resume in 2023

You only have about seven seconds to catch the attention of potential employers when they look at your resume. This means your resume needs to be spot-on if you hope to get an interview. Here are some quick tips for making a stand-out resume:

• Keep it concise and targeted to the job for which you’re applying
• Use action verbs to start each bullet point in your work experience section
• Highlight your accomplishments and use numbers to describe them
• Use bullet points instead of paragraphs for better readability
• Choose a clean and professional font, and use bold and italic formatting to draw attention to key information
• Include relevant keywords from the job description to help your resume pass through ATS software
• Add a personal touch that showcases your unique skills and experiences
• Use white space effectively to create a visually appealing and easy-to-read layout
• Proofread and edit your resume thoroughly to eliminate any typos or errors
• Use a resume template to save time and ensure a polished look

Read on for specific steps to create a resume that’s dressed to impress and gets your foot in the door for an interview.

Step 1 in Making Your Resume Stand-Out: Create a Perfect Resume Header

The resume header is the first section that appears at the top of your resume, and it provides the reader with key information about you as a job candidate. Here’s what to include:

• Any relevant academic and industry credentials, like CPA or RN
• Your professional title, such as "WordPress Developer"
• Your city and state (they don’t need your full address); if you are relocating to a new city, put the new city on your resume
• Your phone number, preferably a mobile number where you can receive texts
• Your email address, making sure that it’s professional and easy to read
• Links to your portfolio and LinkedIn profile

The resume header is important because it immediately tells the reader who you are, what you do, and how to contact you. By including your job or professional title, you let the reader know what kind of role you’re applying for, where you are located, and how to contact you for an interview.

In addition, formatting your resume correctly is vital to ensuring ATS systems can read it. You should not, for instance, put your resume header into an actual header of a document created in Microsoft Word. By using a VisualCV template, you’ll ensure your resume is not only formatted for ATS software, but also catches recruiters’ eyes with an easy-to-read, visually appealing design.

Example of Resume Header That Won’t Stand Out

John Smith Phone: 555-555-1234 Email: [email protected]

This header is basic and lacks any additional details or context.

Jane Doe Unemployed Email: [email protected]

This header includes irrelevant information about the job seeker’s employment status and uses an unprofessional email address.

Robert Brown Experienced Business Professional with a Proven Track Record of Success

This header is too long, too generic, and too difficult to read. It also lacks contact information.

Ashley Kim Developer San Francisco Bay Area

This header fails to state what type of developer and lacks contact information.

Example of a Resume Header that Stands Out

Jane Smith UX Designer | Creative Strategist New York City 555-555-1234 [email protected]

This header includes the job seeker’s professional title and a brief summary of their skills and experience, along with location and contact information.

John Doe Web Developer | JavaScript | React | Node Portland, OR [email protected]

This header includes the job seeker’s professional title and relevant technical skills.

Roberta Brown Copywriter | Branding | Social Media | SEO Chicago, IL 555-555-5678 [email protected] Portfolio | LinkedIn

This header includes the job seeker’s professional title and specific skills related to marketing, plus links to her portfolio and LinkedIn.

David Kim Senior Software Engineer | Java | Spring | AWS San Francisco Bay Area [email protected]

This header includes the job seeker’s seniority level and specific technical skills.

Mark Lee Accounting Manager | CPA | GAAP | Financial Analysis Los Angeles, CA 555-555-7890 [email protected]

This header includes the job seeker's professional title, relevant certifications, and technical skills.

Step 2 in Making Your Resume Stand Out: Write a Perfect Resume Summary

A resume summary, aka career profile or career snapshot, highlights your experience and skills. It’s arguably the most important part of your resume, given its prominent placement at the top and the limited time you have to grab a recruiter’s attention.

The resume summary serves as a personal branding statement that highlights not only your qualifications and skills but also the unique value you bring to the table. Keep it short and intriguing, and follow it with bullet points of notable accomplishments that are relevant to the job you want. If it’s intriguing enough, potential employers will want to read on and learn more — and, hopefully, schedule an interview with you.

Example of a Resume Summary That Won’t Stand Out

• Hardworking individual seeking a challenging position in the field of marketing.
• A creative professional with expertise in marketing strategy development.
• Detail-oriented marketing professional with strong project management skills.
• Self-motivated marketing expert with a passion for delivering high-quality results.
• Experienced marketer with a proven track record of successful campaign management.

Example of a Resume Summary that Stands Out

The resume summary is the elevator pitch for your career. It’s a brief introduction of your skills, experiences, and what you can bring to the table. A perfect resume summary should be concise, clear, and showcase your unique value proposition, like these:

• Innovative and results-driven marketing manager with 8+ years of experience leading cross-functional teams, implementing effective branding strategies, and increasing revenue by 25%. Proficient in digital marketing, social media, and market research. Recognized for exceptional project management skills and a track record of delivering successful campaigns.
• Award-winning marketing manager with a proven track record of driving growth through successful campaigns. Results-oriented marketing professional with extensive experience in brand development, market research, digital marketing, social media, and content creation.
• Creative and strategic marketing leader with a passion for delivering high-quality results. Accomplished marketing executive with a track record of delivering innovative and impactful marketing strategies.

Step 3 in Making Your Resume Stand Out: Quantifiable Achievements in Work Experience

Adding quantifiable achievements to your work experience section helps to showcase your impact on the organization. Think of it not as a list of tasks you completed or responsibilities you held, but rather as a summary of the results you delivered.

Example of Resume Work Experience That Won’t Stand Out

Marketing Manager XYZ Company May 2018 - Present

• Managed marketing campaigns
• Created social media content
• Conducted market research

Example of Resume Work Experience that Stands Out

Notice the difference it makes when you quantify your experience with real results and communicate you are a results-driven professional:

• Increased organic website traffic by 45% by implementing SEO strategies and optimizing content
• Generated $2.5M in revenue by launching new product lines and executing targeted email marketing campaigns
• Led market research projects that resulted in identifying new customer segments and increasing market share by 20%

Step 4 in Making Your Resume Stand Out: Add Awards and Recognitions

Adding awards and recognitions is an effective way to demonstrate your excellence in your field and distinguish you from other candidates.

Example of Awards and Recognitions That Won’t Stand Out

• Employee of the month
• Completed an online course on marketing
• Perfect attendance award
• Completion of routine company training
• Participation in a team-building exercise
• Member of a company committee or club
• Attendance at a professional development seminar
• Completion of a mandatory training module
• Membership in a professional organization without active participation
• Participation in a company-sponsored event or charity fundraiser

Example of Awards and Recognitions that Stand Out

• Recipient of the “Best Marketing Campaign” Award at the 2021 American Advertising Awards
• Winner of the 2022 Forbes 30 Under 30 Award in Technology
• Received the President’s Award for Outstanding Leadership and Innovation
• Winner of the “Innovator of the Year” award at the Annual Industry Conference
• Named “Salesperson of the Year” for exceeding sales targets by 40%
• Recognized with the “Customer Service Excellence” award for consistently high customer satisfaction ratings
• Received the “Rising Star” award for outstanding performance and potential
• Winner of the “Entrepreneur of the Year” award for successful business ventures
• Recipient of the “Excellence in Research” award for outstanding contributions to the field
• Winner of the “Best New Product” award at the International Product Expo

Step 5 in Making Your Resume Stand Out: Select the Right Template

The right resume template can make your resume visually appealing. A professional and clean template can make a positive impression on the recruiter. On the flip side, a cluttered and unprofessional template with different fonts and colors will not pass through ATS systems properly, nor will it get the attention of anyone manually reviewing it.

Example of Resume Template that Won’t Stand Out

• Overly simplistic or plain designs with minimal formatting
• Outdated or old-fashioned templates
• Templates with overly decorative elements that distract from the content
• Generic templates that lack personality or creativity
• Templates with poor color choices or mismatched fonts and sizes
• Templates with poor spacing or alignment that make the content difficult to read

Example of Resume Template that Stands Out

A clean and professional template with a modern design and the correct fonts, font sizes, and styles will help to set your resume apart. VisualCV offers a wide range of templates that can help you highlight your achievements and experiences with a unique aesthetic, including:

• Clean and modern templates with sleek designs
• Customizable templates that allow for personal branding
• Templates with unique formatting or layouts that showcase creativity
• Templates with bold or eye-catching color choices that are still professional
• Templates with clear and consistent typography and spacing for easy readability
• Templates with graphics or icons that complement the content and enhance the visual appeal

For a wide range of visually appealing resume templates, check out VisualCV’s template library . Some of our favorites include:

• Arya : A modern template that’s colorful yet elegant
• Baker : A clearly organized, two-column template that gives your resume personality
• Gallant : An eye-catching template with bold coloring and sleek lines

Step 6 in Making Your Resume Stand Out: Tailor Your Resume

Tailoring your resume to the job you’re applying for is a critical step in making it stand out from the pile and letting employers know you’re a great fit for the role.

Example of Generic Resume that Won’t Stand Out

Objective : Seeking a job in marketing

Experience : Marketing Intern, ABC Company Sales Associate, XYZ Corporation

Skills : Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite Excellent written and verbal communication skills Detail-oriented

Example of Tailored Resume that Stands Out

This tailored resume for a marketing manager role speaks directly to the role with quantifiable results from past efforts:

Experienced marketing professional with a track record of driving successful campaigns and increasing revenue seeking a challenging marketing manager role in the fashion industry.

Experience : Marketing Manager, Fashion Company A Digital Marketing Specialist, Fashion Company B

• Achieved a 30% increase in sales by developing and executing successful marketing campaigns
• Increased ROI by extracting key data from Google Analytics that led to actionable insights
• Led successful project management and team leadership initiatives, resulting in timely project completion and increased team productivity

Step 7 in Making Your Resume Stand Out: Format Your Resume

Formatting your resume is crucial in catching the hiring manager’s attention. A poorly formatted resume can make it difficult for the reader to navigate and quickly assess your qualifications. On the other hand, a well-formatted resume can make a great first impression and increase your chances of landing an interview.

Example of Poorly Formatted resume that Won’t Stand Out

• Cluttered with too much text and information
• Lacks clear headings and sections
• Uses inconsistent fonts, sizes, and styles
• No white space, making it difficult to read

Example of Well-Formatted Resume that Stands Out

• Utilizes a clean and modern design
• Includes clear headings and sections
• Uses consistent fonts, sizes, and styles throughout
• Incorporates white space for easy readability
• Showcases important information such as skills and accomplishments with bullet points and bolding

How to Make Your Resume Stand Out with No Work Experience?

If you lack work experience, highlight any relevant coursework or extracurricular activities that demonstrate your skills and interests. Include any volunteer work, internships, or part-time jobs that you have held, and explain how they have prepared you for the role you are applying for. You can also showcase any relevant skills, such as proficiency in a particular software or language.

How to Make Your Senior Resume Stand Out

Making a senior resume stand out involves highlighting leadership skills, extensive experience, and achievements. Showcase unique qualities that set you apart from other candidates, such as successful team management, innovative problem-solving, and a track record of driving revenue growth. Using a clear and concise format and focusing on measurable results can also make your senior resume stand out.

How to Make a Standout Resume with No Achievements

If you don’t have any achievements to showcase, focus on highlighting your skills and experiences. Consider highlighting any relevant volunteer work, coursework, or internships. Use action-oriented language to describe your duties and responsibilities in a way that shows your potential value to a potential employer.

Creating a standout resume requires careful attention to detail and a focus on highlighting your unique skills and experiences. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can create a resume that showcases your skills and accomplishments in a compelling way. Remember to tailor your resume to the job description, use strong action verbs and metrics to demonstrate results, and choose a professional and well-formatted template.

With VisualCV’s range of templates, you can create a job-ready resume that will impress employers and help you get an interview. Start creating your standout resume today with our easy-to-use resume templates, and take the first step toward landing your dream job.

Copyright © 2024 Workstory Inc.

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How To Make Your Resume Stand Out (With Examples)

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Resumes are more than just words; they are also about style. The keywords you utilize to highlight your accomplishments and qualifications are what will help get your resume securely through the resume reader . How you present those keywords stylistically and structurally is what will grab the reader’s attention.

Keep reading for ten tips on how to make your resume rise above the competition.

Key Takeaways:

Tailor your resume to the specific job you are applying to.

When writing you resume, use industry-specific keywords and buzzwords.

Make sure you resume is well organized and easy to read.

Have someone proofread your resume to catch any mistakes that you may have missed.

10 Tips To Make Your Resume Stand Out

Why it’s important for your resume to stand out, final thoughts, expert opinions.

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Let’s start with a gentle reminder that you don’t have to add all of these tips to get your resume picked out from the rest. Pick the tips that resonate most with you and add a touch of your style.

Ensuring your resume reflects the true you versus a computer is often accomplished by not forgetting your personal touch. With that in mind, here are ten tips on how to make your resume stand out from the rest, both stylistically and structurally:

Use resume buzzwords. The first hurdle you have to overcome when writing a resume is making sure your resume makes it through the resume readers and answers the main question: do you have the qualifications necessary for the job ?

Organize your resume well. Once you’ve completed your resume buzzword brainstorm, you’ll need to use them in the correct format. You’ll want to make your resume well organized and specific to your situation.

Are you a recent graduate or an experienced worker back in the job search ? What about a Veteran? Are you applying for a federal job ? These types of situations require specific resume organizations.

Show evidence. Now that you’ve picked out which buzzwords to use and how you’ll organize your resume, you’ll need to fill in each section. When you do, make sure you show evidence for the skills and accomplishments you claim on your resume.

To best show evidence for your accomplishments and deliverables, put numbers to them. If you managed a team, how many people were on your team? If you improved site traffic, by what percent did you improve it over time?

Keep it short. Most resumes should only be about a page long. If you need to make it two pages, you can but try to make it short. Only include information that can help you stand out from the other candidates.

Make your resume a compelling story. While a daunting sheet of paper, a resume is just a formal story of your work experience . Read over it with that lens and make sure the story makes sense.

Are there any major gaps in it? Does each chapter of your work history make sense and flow into the next?

Add a cover letter. If a resume summary doesn’t explain the transitions or your qualifications enough for the job, definitely don’t forget to write a cover letter .

However, no matter what your current job situation is, adding a cover letter will help you appear more dedicated to the job application. It also gives your resume a more personal voice.

Tailor it to make it job specific. Another way you can make your resume stand out is to make your resume specific to the job application . One of the last things hiring managers want to see is a resume that is so generic, you likely used the same one for every single job application.

Make your resume easy on the eyes. An easy way for your resume to find its way to the bottom of the pile, even if it did make it through the resume scanner , is by having your resume so cramped and difficult to read. You should avoid:

Small fonts

Multiple colors

Too many differing fonts

Removing all your margins .

Remember that your resume readers may not have 20/20 vision and may just chuck your resume away because they don’t want to squint to read it. Consider a few graphics and different ways of organizing and consolidating your information to make it fit better.

Be careful about the graphics you use. With graphics in mind, take special care with how many graphics you use . Unless you are applying for a design position, using too many graphics can sometimes hurt your resume because resume scanners cannot read those resumes as easily.

Proofread. Finally, when you have finished writing your resume, and you think it’s perfect, take a look at it again. You can also have someone else look at it. View it as a practice run for the hiring manager . You should also run the resume through programs like Grammarly to clear it of basic mistakes.

Writing resumes is a tricky business — you want your resume to have the right keywords and phrases so that it can make it through electronic resume readers , but you also want it different enough to catch the hiring manager’s eye.

Your resume is a document that showcases your qualifications for a job. You will want to include your education, experience, skills and other achievements that you have made.

Having a resume that stands out will make a hiring manager stop and take a second look and will see what sets you apart from other candidates. Having a resume that is not visually appealing, has mistakes, or is too long can be the difference from you being considered for a job or not.

Making your resume stand out can be difficult if you’re new to the job application game or if your industry is saturated with candidates. Our guide can help you stand out from the rest.

At the end of this article, just remember that you know yourself best. Use that knowledge and the tips above to deliver a stellar resume.

How do you get your resume noticed?

Murray Schulman Independent Business Owner

Recruiters receive stacks of online resumes. My advice is to keep your resume short and concise. Be bold and powerful from the start. Catch the recruiter’s attention in the first few lines of your resume. Don’t get passed over.

How do you make a resume stand out?

Kolby Goodman Career Coach The Job Huntr

When writing your resume, always remember your audience: your next manager. Too often I see resumes written to remind the candidate of what they can do in a job. Tell your next company not just what you can do, but how you can impact them.

You are presenting yourself as an asset to your new company. Businesses tend to measure the impact of a potential asset in one of 4 ways: making money, saving money, saving time, and reducing risk. If you can align experience and expertise to showcase how they move the needle in one of these areas, you will be leapfrogging your competition.

If you have a hard time taking credit for your work, get proactive in soliciting feedback. Go to the people you’ve worked with ( boss , co-workers, clients/customers) and ask them this simple question “How have I been able to help you?” The responses to this question will help you get some perspective about how your contributions and impact are being felt by others.

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Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.

Don Pippin is an executive and HR leader for Fortune 50 and 500 companies and startups. In 2008, Don launched area|Talent with a focus on helping clients identify their brand. As a Certified Professional Resume Writer, Certified Digital Career Strategist, and Certified Personal Branding Strategist, Don guides clients through career transitions.

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How to Make Your Resume Stand Out

Preparing to apply for jobs within a particular industry requires you to review your qualifications and place them in an appealing resume format. By taking the time to revise your resume and implement tactics that can enhance its quality, your resume can stand out against industry competitors. In this article, you can learn why it is important to make your resume stand out, and eight methods you can apply to your resume’s format and content to give you the best chance at getting noticed by employers.

Why is it important to make your resume stand out?

It is important to make your resume stand out because you can potentially increase your chances of getting noticed by employers. With an increase of companies accepting online applications, hundreds of qualified individuals can discover a job opportunity and apply for a position. By using methods to enhance the quality of your resume, you can increase your chances of your resume being selected for review among hundreds of other applicants.

How to enhance your resume

Here are some ways to enhance the quality and appearance of your resume:

1. First, include a header

In order to help your resume stand out visually, consider centering your personal information at the top of the page. By centering your name and placing your contact information directly underneath it, your identity and contact details can be easily recovered by employers. Centering your header can also help your resume appear more aesthetically pleasing.

                                                                      Robert Smith

                                  555-555-5555  |     [email protected] |     Orlando, FL       

2. Second, limit the usage of fancy fonts and color schemes

You can enhance your resume by limiting the use of fonts and colors that could distract away from the content of your resume. Choose a font that is easy to read as employers reviewing your resume will most likely skim over its contents. If the font you use is hard to read, they might not give your resume and qualifications the attention it deserves.

Example:  Choose a font such as Times New Roman, Avenir, Calibri, Georgia, Helvetica or Corbel.

3. Third, include a customized objective statement

An objective statement is an optional component that can be included in your resume, but if used correctly, it can allow you to provide your reader with a brief statement about your professional qualifications. You should avoid ‘I’ language and choose the best adjectives and qualifying attributes to describe yourself in one to three sentences.

Example:  ‘Determined and hard-working individual with over five years of experience as a marketing professional seeking to join the new business team as an account manager .’

4. Fourth, tailor your objective statement to the company and position you are interested in

Another way you can use your objective statement is by tailoring it specifically to how you and your qualifications can help improve the company to which you are applying. By directly addressing the company, you can make a positive impression on employers and help increase your chances of gaining an interview opportunity.

Example:  ‘Determined and hard-working individual with over five years of experience as a marketing professional. Looking to apply knowledge of marketing principles and design programs to the brand efforts of Wilmington PR. ‘

5. Fifth, add power verbs

You can use power verbs to start each job duty or accomplishment that you list in your professional experience section. 

Examples of power verbs:

• Established
• Coordinated 
• Administered

Examples of professional experience: 

• ‘Organized onboarding procedures for new hires’
• ‘Coordinated between upper-management and accounting professionals to implement effective work habits’
• ‘Established project criteria for team of marketing professionals’
• ‘Generated new clientele through external sales methods’

6. Sixth, use numbers and data to quantify your achievements

Quantify your accomplishments to help employers visualize the results that you have produced during your past professional experiences. This can help employers measure your work ethic and the success rate of your past achievements.

• ‘Increased sales to existing clients by 45% ‘ 
• ‘Improved department productivity by 30%’ 
• ‘Identified an additional $3,000 in available revenue’ 
• ‘Hired 16 IT professionals’

7. Seventh, put accomplishments before responsibilities

Although it might be important to highlight the daily tasks you were responsible for completing in your past jobs, you should make sure to put an emphasis on the things you accomplished through the performance of your work responsibilities. Think about the outcomes of your projects, assignments and productivity to see if there are any resulting factors that you could include.

• ‘Increased sales to existing clients by 45% through the use of new marketing methods’
• ‘Improved department productivity by 30% after implementing an incentivized work system’
• ‘Identified an additional $3,000 in available revenue by completing analysis of company balance sheet data’
• ‘Hired 16 IT professionals while employed as the manager of the IT department. Instructed new hires on Javascript programming during 90-day trial period’

8. Eighth, use language from the job description

Review the original job description. Highlight keywords and phrases that were used to describe the personal traits and qualifications of an ideal candidate. It is important that you only use the words and phrases that accurately describe you. You can implement these keywords and phrases into your objective statement, skills section and professional experience descriptions.

Example of a job posting:

‘Looking for a financial planner with five years of experience working in accounting or a related area. An ideal candidate must be a motivated individual with a passion for continued learning opportunities. Candidates should have advanced knowledge of MS Excel, superb communication and excellent data analysis skills that could positively contribute to the corporate efforts of Louden Publishers Inc.’

Example of highlighted keywords and phrases from the job posting:

• Superb communication
• Advanced in MS Excel
• Data analysis
• 5+ years of experience
• Accounting and Finance industry
• Passionate about continued learning

• Business Essentials
• Leadership & Management
• Credential of Leadership, Impact, and Management in Business (CLIMB)
• Entrepreneurship & Innovation
• Digital Transformation
• Finance & Accounting
• Business in Society
• For Organizations
• Support Portal
• Media Coverage
• Founding Donors
• Leadership Team

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How to Make Your Resume Stand Out

• 08 Aug 2019

At 3.7 percent, the US unemployment rate is lower than it’s been in 50 years, giving those looking for work an advantage. But competition is always fierce for the most coveted roles at the hottest organizations. Before you submit your application, here are eight tips to help ensure your resume will get noticed.

1. Your Online Profile May Matter Most

If you play your cards right, recruiters will come to you. To make that happen, almost more important than a resume is a solid LinkedIn or online profile. Be sure your profile (and resume) tell a story about what you’ve done in your career, why you’ve done it, and the results you achieved. Use clear and simple language, and carefully sprinkle in keywords that are important for the role you desire and field you’re pursuing.

2. Use Keywords and Optimize Your Profile for Search

We live in a Google-centric world, and machines do a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to screening applicants. According to CNBC , 75 percent of resumes are never reviewed by a human. To guarantee that yours is part of the other 25 percent, you should ensure that:

• Recruiters who are sourcing candidates on job boards find you
• Your resume makes it through the machine filtering software the majority of companies use to track applicants

Optimize your LinkedIn and online profiles for job sites like Indeed and Glassdoor, and bolster your resume using keywords commonly used in your field. Buzzwords, specific applications you use, and certifications you’ve earned can all help you rise to the top.

3. Show Your Creativity

You absolutely need to have a text-only version of your resume for uploading to company sites, but since most jobs come through networking , your actual resume and profile should show off your personality. Be sure that the PDF version you send to a personal contact within a company or bring to an interview is visually appealing.

Make yours stand out by using a modern (but not too funky) font, layout, color palette, and punchy copy. A unique twist or fresh look and feel on your resume could be what catches the hiring manager’s eye.

4. Action Speaks Louder than Words

Strong job candidates show, rather than just tell. Delivering a clear story about what you did in your previous roles is a start, but it’s more important to share the results of your actions and prove the impact you had on a project or at a company. Whenever possible, demonstrate your success with numbers that show efficiency, money saved or secured for a business, or goals exceeded.

For some jobs—like software developer, content developer, or social media expert—showing your proficiency may be critical to capturing a recruiter’s attention. You can tease your results on your resume, but actually directing readers to your personal website, social media channels, or developer proficiency site, like GitHub, can really bring your capabilities to life.

5. Tailor for the Job

It’s great to have a summary at the top of your resume that captures what you’re seeking in your next role, along with your core competencies and achievements. Equally important is tailoring your profile for each job. If you’re in the communications field, for example, you might play up your PR experience when it’s specifically called out in the position’s requirements. But if the title is Social Media Manager, Content Creator, or Internal Communications Specialist, the emphasis needs to be on the skills for those particular roles.

Related: How to Land Your Dream Job in 9 Steps

6. Less is More

In today’s tight talent market, HR professionals are short on time. A survey by Ladders says that most recruiters spend less than six seconds reviewing a resume. For that reason, keep your resume short. Limit it to one page if you have less than 10 years of professional work experience, and use succinct bullet points to make it easy to skim.

7. No Typos Allowed

Typos or grammatical errors on your resume can land it in the trash. A sloppy resume can potentially signal that you’re not serious about the role, or simply not buttoned-up and professional. When you’ve stared at your document a million times, however, it can be hard to spot errors. That’s why you should always have someone else proofread your work. Fresh eyes can zero in on mistakes more easily, so ask your most detail-oriented friend to be your editor.

8. Focus on Qualities and Skills

For many jobs, distinguishing qualities like teamwork, attention to detail, and ability to juggle multiple priorities are often considered more important than where you went to school or your GPA. Highlighting those competencies and how you learned and demonstrated them through summer jobs, community service, extracurricular activities , or even group projects at school matters. It doesn’t necessarily require years of professional experience to develop the skills required for certain roles.

Related: Tips for Transitioning from College to Your Career

Achieving Job Search Success

When you’re looking for work, keep in mind that there are many qualified candidates vying for the same job. Like a competitive sport, you need to bring you’re “A game” to your resume and make sure you’re primed for success.

Are you interested in advancing your career? Explore our catalog of online courses , and learn how you can gain the confidence and skills to succeed in business. And be sure to check out our other career development content , such as “ 6 Tips to Prepare for Your Next Salary Negotiation ” and “ How to Properly Follow Up After a Job Interview .”

About the Author

How to Make Your Resume Stand Out, According to HR Executives

A pplying for your dream job can be stressful. And while candidates have the advantage in today’s competitive job market , it’s still hard to land coveted positions. So how do you make your resume stand out among hundreds of applicants?

Hiring managers don’t have a ton of time to thoroughly look over each resume, which means you have to be judicious about what to include. From choosing the right font to deciding whether or not to include that internship, creating a resume in 2019 isn’t easy.

Beyond the basics , a resume should be the space to communicate your story, says Julie Kim, a Senior Recruiter at Jun Group, an advertising agency based in New York City. Your resume should reflect more than just what you did. A good resume includes specifics on what you’ve actually accomplished throughout your career, says Traci Schweikert, Vice President of Human Resources at POLITICO.

If you’re looking to make your resume stand out , consider these six tips from HR executives.

Customize your resume for your industry

People are often encouraged to include personality in their resume, but unless they are applying for a job in a creative industry, they may want to rethink that strategy. “A lot of pictures and fonts and colors and a whole lot of personality just doesn’t align with the jobs we have here,” says Schweikert, whose team recruits for positions in sales, product and marketing. “If I was in an organization that, for example, was in web design, then I would want to see those design elements in a resume.”

Kim agrees that resume layout is wholly dependent on the position you are applying for. “If you are applying for a designer role, I want to see something creative there. If you’re applying for a finance role, I want to see numbers,” she says.

Include keywords from the original job posting

One of the best ways to make your resume stand out is to use the job posting as a guide. Schweikert says that she often tells people that is the first place they should look when revamping their resume.

“We’ve written the job description with certain words,” Schweikert says. “And when we see a resume with those words on it, those are the resumes that instantly get our attention.”

Some companies actually conduct keyword searches when sorting through resumes, Schweikert adds, which means those terms are even more important to include if you want to secure an interview. It may sound tedious, but taking the time to customize your resume for each individual job you apply to is a surefire tactic to stand out among the pack of applicants, she says.

Be clean and concise

It can be difficult to view your resume from a hiring manager ‘s perspective — but one thing many employers agree on is that simplicity goes a long way.

For starters, you never know exactly how a hiring manager will be reading your resume; they may pull it up on their phone, or go through an applicant tracking system. Schweikert suggests sticking to clean and simple resumes, since they are legible across all platforms. Hyperlinking to your portfolio or LinkedIn profile instead of including that information elsewhere on your resume is also an easy way to preserve space, she says.

Format and font are important, too. Kim says that she likes to see all titles in bold, because they catch her eye. And again, unless you are applying for a creative position, stick to a monochromatic color palette.

When applicable, consider using numbers to back up your success. “I love seeing numbers,” Kim adds. “I am personally a big number person and it can stack up your experience better than two paragraphs explaining what you do.”

Get the latest career, relationship and wellness advice to enrich your life: sign up for TIME’s Living newsletter.

Write a pithy objective

Whether you’re switching careers or feel slightly underqualified for the job you are applying for, Kim suggests including an objective at the top of your resume. This will help hiring managers understand the thought process behind your decision to change industries or why you are applying for the job. She says you can fill the gaps in between your experience by detailing the inspiration and motivation behind your move.

This objective statement should be limited to two or three sentences explaining what you are trying to accomplish and what you can contribute, Kim says.

And don’t be discouraged by the job description: Schweikert notes that it is written for the perfect candidate — and hiring managers know that — so they likely expect that you won’t fit each bullet point on a posting. There’s also a relatively simple way to determine if you’re right for the role. “Most job descriptions are written [from] most important criteria to least important criteria,” Schweikert says. “So if you’ve got a lot of the first couple of bullets of the job posting, you are probably in a pretty good place.”

Research the company’s culture

Take the time to go beyond the job description and do your research on the company. Schweikert suggests simply going on the company’s career website to see what their values are. In addition to including your professional experience on your resume, think about including information relevant to that company’s culture.

For example, if you see that a company participates in a significant amount of charitable work and you have volunteer experience, consider adding that to your resume, Schweikert says. And even if the company doesn’t mention anything about volunteering, you may want to include it anyway — about 80% of “hiring influencers” (employees who have the ability to influence the hiring process), indicated that they believe there is a relationship between volunteering and leadership ability, according to a 2016 Deloitte survey .

Reach out to your network

Arranging informational interviews with people you are connected to can also help your resume stand out, according to Schweikert. Most applications are submitted online, and the volume of resumes that hiring managers must sift through can be overwhelming at times — so establishing a personal connection can help you get noticed, she says. Plus, if you are invited in for an official interview , you can bring up what you discussed at the informational one. “You can say, ‘hey I did a lot of research on the organization and met with Susie Q and they shared this with me,'” Schweikert says.

After your informational interview, you can reach out to that contact and ask that they glance over your resume, making sure to pose as many specific questions as possible about how you should tailor your resume to the company or specific role, Schweikert adds. For example, if you are struggling to decide whether to include your college activities on your resume, reaching out to your connection for advice can provide invaluable insight on whether that might be important to that company.

Kim also encourages informational interviews, as they are a great opportunity to learn more about an industry, company or specific role. There is also significant value in having someone else look over your resume. “A second pair of eyes can bring a lot of fresh perspective,” she says.

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How to Write a Résumé That Stands Out

Share accomplishments, not responsibilities.

It can be hard to know how to make your resume stand out. Start by accepting that it’s going to take some time and effort. Don’t try to sit down and knock it out in an hour – you’re carefully crafting a marketing document. Open strong with a summary of your expertise. Use an accomplishments section after the opener to link your experience to the job requirements. You don’t want to waste space upfront on irrelevant job experience. It’s okay to be selective about what employment, achievements, and skills you include; after all, you should tailor your resume for each position. Give concrete examples of your expertise, quantifying your accomplishments with numbers where you can. Seek input from a mentor or friend who can review it and give you feedback. Lastly, create a personable LinkedIn profile to complement your resume.

The resume: there are so many conflicting recommendations out there. Should you keep it to one page? Do you put a summary up top? Do you include personal interests and volunteer gigs? And how do you make it stand out, especially when you know the hiring manager is receiving  tons of applications? This may be your best chance to make a good first impression, so you’ve got to get it right.

• Amy Gallo is a contributing editor at Harvard Business Review, cohost of the Women at Work podcast , and the author of two books: Getting Along: How to Work with Anyone (Even Difficult People) and the HBR Guide to Dealing with Conflict . She writes and speaks about workplace dynamics. Watch her TEDx talk on conflict and follow her on LinkedIn . amyegallo

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• Resume and Cover Letter
• 17 Best Skills to Put on Your...

17 Best Skills to Put on Your Resume (with Examples)

20 min read · Updated on March 27, 2024

Everything you need to know about adding the right skills to your resume

Whether your resume has been through 19 revisions lately or you're just revisiting it for the first time in years, spending some time taking stock of your skills section can generate more interest in your candidacy and be the key to winning interviews. 

However, there's a lot of conflicting information online and in books about maximizing the effectiveness of this section. 

Do you simply list all of your key skills on the resume? 

What are the right skills to put on a resume? 

What order is best? 

How will a jumble of technical qualifications help you stand out? 

And what about those  soft skills ?

Let's tackle those questions one at a time and learn the 17 best skills to put on your resume – starting at the beginning. 

Why is the resume skills section there in the first place?

The number one reason to spend a fair amount of time crafting your skills list is employability. Being employable means that you have the right skills – academic skills, applied knowledge, technology skills, vertical and lateral thinking abilities, and interpersonal skills – that employers value and are willing to pay you for. 

When the hiring manager picks up your resume to determine whether you're a fit for the role they have open, one of the first things they'll look at is your skill level. Having the right skills on your resume is also important to ensure your CV pops up in recruiter searches. 

There are three key reasons to include the skills section in your resume and to organize it well:

To list your skills and abilities in one place for easy reference and scanning

To highlight the match between your background and the job requirements for the position you're interested in

To get your well-crafted resume through keyword screening by applicant tracking systems

The right mix of resume skills will get you past the first hurdle and towards a conversation. Here's a blueprint for making the most out of your skills section:

Relevancy is critical

Including a jumble of skills on your resume, beefed up with some basics that pretty much everyone knows (like Microsoft Office, as an example) won't help you to stand out. In fact, listing out skills that are considered to be a common baseline can actually hurt your candidacy by making you look like you're scrambling to establish credibility. 

PRO TIP: As a general rule, basic user-level proficiency with Word, Excel, PowerPoint and email applications is  assumed to be a given . However, if you have advanced Excel skills (expert-level proficiency with macros and advanced analysis capabilities, for example), you should list those.  

Rather than go back to basics, you'll want to focus only on skills that look good on a resume.

So how can you tell that a skill is relevant? That's easy! Read the  job description . 

Interpret the job description

As you dissect the job description to learn what will be required of you if you're hired for the position, pay special attention to the “requirements” and “qualifications” bullets, as that's where you'll find the majority of the keywords your resume will need. Again, the goal is to ensure that your resume speaks to that particular job so you can impress the hiring manager. 

Let's say you're applying for a job as an Account Manager. You may see these bullets under the “requirements” part of the job description:

Build lasting relationships with new and existing clients

Maintain client records, including contract renewals 

Develop sales plans to meet key performance indicators

Understand product offerings to meet customer needs and upsell when available

The keywords you need to focus on in each bullet are:

Client relationships

Client records and contract renewals

Sales plans and KPIs

Product offerings, customer needs, and upsell

The question you then need to ask yourself is, “Do I have the skills to back up these keywords?” If the answer is “Yes,” then these skills should appear on your resume. 

This is called  tailoring your resume  and should be done with every job that you apply to. For example, if you are applying to be a Floor Manager at a store that sells musical instruments, your proficiency with inventory management and your ability to play guitar would both be relevant for the job.

The four main types of skills for your resume

As a human being, you have technical and interpersonal skills in a broad range of areas. You might be an expert whitewater rafter, or maybe you have advanced a World of Warcraft character all the way to level 80. Both of those accomplishments require dedication, practice, and technical proficiency, but they're probably not going to help you land a job. 

The general recommendation on standout skills for a resume is to only list skills that will, directly or indirectly, help you to be more effective in your job. 

To do this, you have to understand the different types of skills that employers look for. 

1. Hard skills for a resume

These are learned abilities that you've picked up during your career, either through education, training, or experience. They can be honed over time. When you add hard skills to your resume, you'll want to include numbers –   measurable accomplishments  – as often as possible. 

2. Soft skills for a resume

Soft skills are characteristics you possess that improve your ability to get along with others, solve problems, and communicate effectively. You'll find that hiring managers love soft skills. 

No matter how technical your position is, it will require interacting with people, dealing with deadlines, and adapting to change. It's not as easy to quantify soft skills as it is hard skills, but employers still want you to prove that you possess these traits.

While most skills can be categorized as hard or soft skills, there are other types of skills, too!

3. Transferable skills for a resume

In addition to hard and soft skills, you might consider whether you have any transferable skills. This becomes especially important if you're changing careers, as they allow you to provide tangible proof of your ability to adapt to new circumstances and use lateral or vertical thinking to apply knowledge about one thing to something else. 

When you're leaning on  transferable skills to sell your qualifications  to the hiring manager, you must take the time to relay how those skills will benefit them and their new team. So, rather than saying that you have good time management skills, prove it by demonstrating what you do to manage time and how this has benefitted previous employers. 

4. Adaptive skills for a resume

You can also show resiliency through skills in your resume if you're not changing careers. Let's face it, if there's one thing that's certain in life and work, it's that things change. If you're the type of person to leverage change as a learning opportunity, then you should definitely be highlighting your adaptability on your resume. 

When you talk about adaptive skills on your resume, be sure to provide specific examples as they can be the powerhouse statements that  win you an interview .

The 17 best skills to put on your resume

Now that we've defined what types of skills you can use on your resume, let's explore some specific examples of different skills you can include.

1. Computer skills and programming languages

When the job description wants you to prove that you possess programming skills, you can add “ Proficiency in Python, Java, or HTML, ” for example. This signals to employers that you can do everything from coding to automation and makes you a valuable candidate in the tech space.

Some roles that require an understanding of computer languages include:

Software Engineer

Computer Scientist

2. Data analysis

Saying that you possess data analysis skills allows you to demonstrate that you can interpret raw data and draw actionable insights to fuel change. It's adaptable across industries and can be easily backed by quantifiable data. 

Some roles that require an understanding of data analysis include:

Data Scientist

Marketing Consultant

Senior Accountant

3. Project management

You don't have to be a Certified Project Management Professional to include an ability to manage projects on your resume. If you're good at leading, organizing, and delivering successful outcomes, then you should add that you know how to manage projects. 

Some roles that require an understanding of project management include:

Construction Contractor

Industrial Engineer

IT Project Manager

4. Creativity

Creativity is one of the most highly sought-after skill sets. Not only can you leverage it to create tangible marketing pieces that connect with target audiences, but it can also be used to solve problems and bring fresh perspectives to projects. Creativity also signals that you're adaptable to dynamic environments. 

Some roles that require you to be creative include:

Graphic Designer

Digital Marketing Manager

Brand Manager

5. Languages

The world gets smaller every day, so being able to speak more than one language is a skill that you should definitely include on your resume. Adding multiple languages to your application makes you highly valuable in a globalized, connected working world.

Some roles that require you to be speak other languages include:

International  HR Director

Foreign Exchange  Investment Banker

Some  Teacher  roles

6. Communication

Every job everywhere requires employees to have good communication skills. But instead of simply saying that you are a good communicator, be prepared to demonstrate that you understand the value of everything from active listening to properly articulating complex concepts. 

Some roles that require great communication include:

Sales Representative

Public Relations

Nurse Practitioner

7. Teamwork

A lot of people will throw the word “teamwork” into the skills list on their resume without giving it much thought. However, given the vast amount of hybrid and remote working environments, teamwork is more important than ever. A happy team that works together reduces burnout and increases morale. 

Some roles that require good teamwork include:

Sports Fitness Coach

Product Manager

Scrum Master

8. Leadership

If you're applying for a role that will involve guiding others, then including leadership skills is a must. When you add leadership to your resume, you highlight that you're not afraid to take the initiative to make decisions that drive outcomes. 

Some roles that require you to be a leader include:

Director of IT

Sales Manager

9. Critical thinking

When you're known for making well-informed decisions by analyzing information and evaluating situations objectively, you possess critical thinking skills. You may see this pop up in job descriptions where the employer is seeking someone with high emotional intelligence. Basically, if you can navigate your way logically through problems, then critical thinking is probably something you should add to your resume.

Some roles that require critical thinking include:

Data Engineer

Telecommunications Professional

10. Cultural competence

Diversity, equity, and inclusion have become buzzwords in today's workforce. People want a voice and value having a psychologically safe place in which to get things done. This is even more true when you have people coming together from different cultures. 

Some roles that require you to have cultural competence include:

Military-to-Civilian

11. Quality assurance

Quality assurance has implications across a number of fields, including software development and cybersecurity. There is an emphasis on quality assurance in roles that require you to maintain compliance with regulations or particular guidelines and best practices. 

Some roles that require an understanding of quality assurance include:

Aviation Mechanic

Cyber Security Specialist

12. Time management

Ranking right up there with creativity as far as top-rated skills go, being able to properly manage time is critical in today's workforce. It's not only something that's found in professional settings, but across industries and jobs worldwide. A simple search of job descriptions will reveal that the majority of them want people who can meet deadlines, at the minimum. 

Some roles that require good time management include:

Administrative Office Assistant

Finance Director

Project Manager

13. Conflict resolution

Being able to de-escalate situations with irate clients by demonstrating empathy and clearly defining options for a resolution means you're probably good at conflict management. However, conflict management isn't only demonstrated in client interactions. You may also be able to showcase conflict resolution skills if you've solved problems within team environments, too. 

Some roles that require conflict resolution skills include:

Retail Merchandising

Insurance Agent

Information Technology

14. Sales and upselling

Sales is all about employing active listening to ascertain customers' needs, to sell the right product or service at the right time. Whether you're connecting with target audiences to get them to buy something through a digital marketing campaign or you're trying to sell someone a product, meeting client needs is critical to demonstrating that you're good at sales and upselling. 

Some roles that require you to be able to sell and upsell include:

Marketing Manager

Consulting Manager

Real Estate Manager

15. Data entry

As you progress in your career, showcasing that you're good at data entry will become less and less important, however, there are still some roles that value candidates who can quickly and accurately input data into a system. 

Some roles that require data entry include:

Recent Graduate

Mid-Career Professionals

16. Tech-savviness 

Being tech–savvy means that you're always on the cutting edge and consistently keep up with emerging technologies. It helps you to deliver innovative solutions that help your company remain competitive in the ever-changing IT landscape.

Some roles that require candidates to be tech-savvy include:

DevOps Engineer

Technical Project Manager

Senior Software Engineer

17. Continuous learning

Today's employers value job seekers and employees who are fastidiously committed to ongoing education and skill development. Most even provide some sort of knowledge bank or in-house professional development courses to allow you to engage in continuous learning. 

Some roles that value a commitment to continuous learning include:

Chief Financial Officer (CFO)

Electrical Engineer

Mechanical Engineer

How to add skills to your resume

Keep your skills specific and clear.

A common pitfall when it comes to resume skills is to list broad categories of abilities without going into sufficient detail. The problem with that approach is that it won't get your resume found in keyword searches, because they are looking for specific proficiency statements.

So, instead of writing “familiarity with accounting software,” list “Quickbooks, Quicken, Sage, and Xero.” 

Use numbers and descriptive words where appropriate – 

How many projects have you managed using Teamwork Projects? 

How many people have you trained to use Salesforce? 

A few well-placed quantifiers can position you as a serious candidate with supported qualifications.

Organize your skills list

When creating a long list of skills for a resume, consider how you organize everything. Ordering your skills strategically will make your resume easier to read and call the right attention to the right skills in the right place. 

This is especially true considering that our brains look for patterns. A well-organized skill section on your resume will improve the aesthetics and help the hiring manager to skim through it to find just what they're looking for. 

PRO TIP: There isn't a hiring manager alive who is reading your resume. They're  scanning through it in just a few seconds . This makes keeping things organized all the more important.

Another organizing tip is to list the most important skills for the job first. Specifics will vary by industry, but think through the critical technical skills that will drive your effectiveness and success in the role and put them at the top.

When you're starting to group your skills list together, deciding which is most important depends on the job description. While most employers want employees who are good communicators and can solve problems, you have to take the industry and employer preferences into consideration. 

Job relevance: This goes back to tearing the job description apart to find the relevant keywords

Industry trends: Stay on top of things that may be changing in your industry and highlight any new skills that come into demand

Employer preferences: Take some time to research the company and learn what they do, why they do it, and for whom – this will help you to get a feel for their company culture, so you'll know which soft skills will impress them the most

The best place to put skills on your resume

The placement of the resume skills section itself on the page is up to you. Many people prefer to have it positioned near the top of their resume, but it works at the bottom too.

PRO TIP: If you have a lot of skills to list, consider breaking them up (for example, technical skills at the top and additional skills at the bottom).

No matter where you place the skills section, the layout is critical in catching the eye of hiring managers and showcasing your qualifications in a way that helps you to stand out from the crowd. 

At the top of your resume

Technically speaking, your skills list shouldn't be at the top. The first things on your resume should be your  contact information ,  headline , and  summary paragraph . So, when we say “at the top of your resume,” we mean beneath the summary paragraph. 

When you put your skills list at the top of your resume, you call immediate attention to some key selling points. It's an effective technique if you have a strong set of skills that directly align with the job requirements. 

Here's what a skills list at the top of your resume would look like:

FIRST NAME, LAST NAME

City, ST 12345 • LinkedIn URL • [email protected] • 111-222-3333

REGIONAL MANAGER

Operations Management | Project Management | Sales Management | Business Analysis

Innovative and ambitious executive-level management professional offering extensive experience and an accomplishments-driven career in sales, marketing and operations, and key account management. Leverages an entrepreneurial spirit to orchestrate tactical business plans that challenge the status quo, allowing for reformation of process. Intuitive business acumen and skilled strategist who uses the most up-to-date business practices to create, implement, and oversee business continuity. Naturally assumes leadership roles to oversee and achieve organizational success.

Business Development • Executive Leadership • Strategic Business Planning • Data Analysis • Team Training & Development • Policy & Procedure Development • Marketing & Territory Expansion • Procurement, Sourcing, & Negotiation • Relationship-Selling • Customer Relations

This resume example actually has two skills lists. One just beneath the title and then the regular one beneath the summary paragraph. It's an effective way to separate out the skills that are most important – the specialized abilities that you want to call immediate attention to. However, if you do it like this on your resume, the skills listed beneath the title should only be one to two lines max!

At the bottom of the resume

If you've reached a point in your career where your work history and career achievements outshine your skills, then it's a good idea to place the skills list at the bottom of your resume. 

Here's what your skills could look like at the bottom of your resume:

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

[List your career history in reverse-chronological order, starting with the most recent and working backward about 10 years]

[List the degrees you've earned and the schools where you obtained your degrees. You can also mention any professional development classes you've taken and certifications or licenses you possess]

Core proficiencies:

Project Management | Lean Management | Change Management | Operations Management | 3PL | Inventory Management | Inventory Control | Inventory Planning | Logistics Management | Distribution & Processing | Budgeting | Procurement | Purchase Orders

Soft skills:

Team Leadership | Coaching | Persuasion | Creative Problem Solving | Negotiation

Technical skills:

Epicor | PeopleSoft | XAL(Concorde) | HighStage | Deltek (Costpoint) | KBM | Syteline | Kinaxis | Glovia (Oracle-based) | Oracle | Adept | Workflow | Data Vault (Oracle-based) | Intralink

English |  Spanish |  French

Throughout your resume

Since your resume is more than a list of skills, you should know that your master list of abilities and the keywords you've culled from the job description aren't limited to being placed only in a skills list. You can – and should – include hard, soft, adaptive, and transferable skills throughout your entire resume. 

After your contact information, the first thing that should appear on your resume is a headline. A lot of people will simply put a title, but if you take a moment to spruce it up and turn it into a headline, you'll be able to inject a few keywords on the top line of your resume. 

For example, if you're applying for a role as a Real Estate Broker, here's the difference between a title and a headline:

Title: Real Estate Broker

Headline: Real Estate Broker with Expertise in Property Valuation and Team Management

Put yourself into the shoes of a hiring manager and ask yourself, which of those would give you more information about the job seeker? The headline not only indicates which role you want, but also includes two keywords – property valuation and team management. 

Summary paragraph

As you move on to write your career summary, that appears just beneath the headline, you'll want to continue adding relevant skills from your career that are mirrored in the job description. Doing this will ensure that your resume presents a cohesive and powerful message that your experience and achievements will serve the new company well. 

In sticking with the example of Real Estate Broker, perhaps you find that the new company wants you to coordinate marketing events and client activities, write weekly reports, and have a solid understanding of the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) platform for listing properties. 

The keywords to include in your profile paragraph would be:

Marketing events

Client activities

Multiple Listing Service (MLS)

Thus, your profile paragraph could look like this:

Veteran real estate professional with a strong background in orchestrating impactful marketing events for single and multi-family residences. Specializes in managing client activities that turn passive consumers into active clientele. Proficient in maximizing MLS to enhance property visibility and streamlining documentation and reporting processes. Known for creating a culture of excellence and client satisfaction by maintaining an open-door policy that encourages communication among team members.

As you can see, the profile paragraph isn't a long and drawn-out diatribe of things you've done in your career. Rather, it's a short paragraph that matches your skills to the job you're applying for. 

Work experience

Let's move on to the meat of your resume - the part the hiring manager is going to spend the most time on – your  career history . You may be wondering how you can put future-facing keywords into the historical part of your resume, but all it takes is a bit of finesse. 

For example, if you have a history of closing multi-million-dollar deals in high-end neighborhoods, you could work a few keywords into an achievement bullet like this:

• Closed 5 multi-million-dollar property sales per month by leveraging MLS for property exposure

While you could stop after you say how many multi-million-dollar deals you closed, because that's a great achievement statement, expanding the bullet to include a keyword makes your overall resume all the more compelling. 

TopResume wants to do more than write your resume. We want to give you the tools you need to succeed in your job search and career. Click on the following link for more  resume and career advice .

Stand out from the crowd

When you master including the best skills in your resume, you reach a level of job search preparedness that propels your resume to the top of the pile. The whole idea is to make it easy for potential employers to see how you'll fit within the folds of their organization and team. That's where tailoring the skills on your resume comes in – wherever you include them. 

Want to see how your resume stacks up? Try out our  free resume review  today!

Recommended reading:

How to Write a Powerful LinkedIn Summary

How to Format a Resume for Multiple Jobs at One Company

The Best Resume Format to Get Hired  

Related Articles:

7 Signs Your Resume is Making You Look Old

Don't “Snowplow” Your Kids' Job Search — Set Them Up for Success Instead

Why a Simple Resume Layout is a Successful Resume

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How to Make a Resume in 2024 | Beginner's Guide

For most job-seekers, a good resume is what stands between a dream job and Choice D. Get your resume right, and you’ll be getting replies from every other company you apply to.

If your resume game is weak, though, you’ll end up sitting around for weeks, maybe even months, before you even get a single response.

So you’re probably wondering how you can write a resume that gets you an interview straight up.

Well, you’ve come to the right place!

In this guide, we’re going to teach you everything you need to know about how to make a resume, including:

• The 8 Essential Steps to Writing a Resume
• 11+ Exclusive Resume Tips to Up Your Resume Game
• 27+ Real-Life Resume Examples for Different Professions

….and more!

So, let’s dive right in.

How to Make a Resume (The Right Way!)

Before we go into detail about how you should make a resume, here’s a summary of the most important steps and tips to keep in mind:

• Choose a resume format carefully. In 99% of cases, we recommend the reverse-chronological format .
• Add the right contact details. Leave your headshot out and make sure to include your job title , a professional email address, and any relevant links. (E.g.: your LinkedIn profile , online portfolio, personal website, etc.).
• Write an impactful resume summary. Unless you’re an entry-level professional, always go for a resume summary. If you do it right, it’s your chance to get the hiring manager to go through the rest of your resume in detail.
• Pay attention to your work experience section. Take your work experience section from OK-ish to exceptional by tailoring it to the job ad, making your achievements quantifiable, and using action verbs and power words.
• Add the right skills for the job. Keep this section relevant by only including the hard and soft skills that are required for the position.
• Keep your education short and to the point. Your most recent and highest degree is more than enough for a strong education section. You only need to add more details here if you’re a recent graduate with barely any work experience.
• Leverage optional resume sections. Optional sections like languages, hobbies, certifications, independent projects, and others can set you apart from other candidates with similar skills and experience.
• Include a cover letter. That’s right, cover letters matter in 2024, and the best way to supplement your resume is by adding an equally well-crafted cover letter to your job application. To make the most of it, check out our detailed guide on how to write a cover letter .

To get the most out of our tips, you can head over to the resume builder and start building your resume on the go as you read this guide.

New to resume-making? Give our ‘7 Resume Tips’ video a watch before diving into the article!

#1. Pick the Right Resume Format

Before you start filling in the contents of your resume, you have to make sure it’s going to look good. 

After all, the first thing hiring managers notice is what your resume looks like, and then they start reading it. So, this is your best chance to make a great first impression.

Start by choosing the right resume format.

There are three types of resume formats out there:

• Reverse-chronological. This is by far the most popular resume format worldwide and, as such, it’s the best format for most job-seekers.
• Functional. This resume format focuses more on skills than work experience. It’s a good choice if you’re just getting started with your career and have little to no experience in the field.
• Combination. The combination resume format is a great choice for experienced job-seekers with a very diverse skill set. It’s useful if you’re applying for a role that requires expertise in several different fields and you want to show all that in your resume.

So, which one should you go for?

In 99% of cases, you want to stick to the reverse-chronological resume format . It’s the most popular format and what hiring managers expect to see. So, in the rest of this guide, we’re going to focus on teaching you how to make a reverse-chronological resume.

Fix Your Resume’s Layout

With formatting out of the way, let’s talk about your resume’s layout , which determines the overall look of your resume. 

Does it look organized or cluttered? Is it too short or too long? Is it boring and easy to ignore, or is it reader-friendly and attention-grabbing?

Here are some of the best practices you should apply:

• Stick to one page. You should only go for a two-page resume if you have decades of experience and you’re sure the extra space will add significant value. Hiring managers in big companies get hundreds of applications per job opening. They’re not going to spend their valuable time reading your life story!
• Add clear section headings. Pick a heading and use it for all the section headers so the hiring manager can easily navigate through your resume.
• Adjust the margins. Without the right amount of white space, your resume will end up looking overcrowded with information. Set your margins to one inch on all sides so your text fits just right on the page.
• Choose a professional font. We’d recommend sticking to a font that’s professional but not overused. For example, Ubuntu, Roboto, or Overpass. Avoid Times New Roman, and never use Comic Sans.
• Set the correct font size. As a rule of thumb, go for 11-12 pt for normal text and 14-16 pt for section titles.
• Use a PDF file. Always save your resume as a PDF file, unless the employer specifically requests otherwise. Word files are popular, but there’s a good chance they’ll mess up your resume’s formatting.

Another thing you need to consider in terms of your resume’s layout is whether you’re going for a traditional-looking resume template or something a bit more modern :

If you’re pursuing a career in a more traditional industry, like law , banking , or finance , you might want to stick to the first.

But if you’re applying to a tech company where imagination and innovation are valued, you can pick a more creative resume template .

Want to Save Time? Use a (Free) Resume Template

Anyone who’s ever tried creating a resume from scratch knows how boring the formatting can be.

Before you can even start filling in the contents, you need to tweak the margins, adjust font sizes, and make sure everything fits into one page while still looking good.

What if you could skip past all that and still create a compelling resume?

Try one of our free resume templates . They’re pre-formatted, so all you have to do is fill in the contents.

They’re also created in collaboration with recruiters from around the globe, ensuring that the templates are visually appealing and ATS-friendly!

See for yourself how one of our templates compares to a resume created in a standard text editor:

#2. Add Your Contact Information

Now that we’ve got all the formatting out of the way, let’s get into what your resume is all about— the information you put on it .

The first thing you want to do when filling out the contents of your resume is to add your contact information .

This section is pretty straightforward but crucial. Your contact details belong at the top of your resume in a designated resume header , so the hiring manager can easily find them.

Even if everything else about your resume is perfect, that all flops if you misspell your email address or have a typo in your phone number. If the hiring manager can’t contact you, it’s a missed opportunity.

So, double-check, and even triple-check your contact information section and make sure everything is factually correct and up-to-date.

Must-Have Information

• Full name. Your first and last name should stand out at the top of your resume.
• Email address. Stick to an address that’s professional and easy to spell, like a combination of your first and last name. (E.g.: [email protected])
• Phone number. Add a reliable number where the hiring manager can easily reach you.
• Location. Add your city and state/country. If you plan to relocate for the job or want a remote position, specify it on your resume.

Optional Information

• Job title. Add your professional title underneath. Write it down word for word, whether it’s “Digital Marketing Specialist” or “Junior Data Scientist.” Just don’t make up job titles like “Marketing Wizzard” or “Data Manipulator.” They’re not quirky; they’re just unprofessional. 
• LinkedIn profile . We recommend that you include a link to your updated LinkedIn profile since over 77% of hiring managers use the platform when evaluating a candidate. 
• Relevant links. Include links to personal websites or any social media profiles that are relevant to your field. For example, a developer could include a Github profile, while a graphic designer could link their Behance or Driblle account, and so on.
• Date of birth. Unless this is specifically required in the job ad, the hiring manager doesn’t need to know how old you are. It’s not important for their decision-making, and at worst, it might lead to age-based discrimination.
• Unprofessional email address. Your quirky, old high school email address doesn’t belong on your resume. Instead of [email protected] , go for a [email protected] type of address.
• Headshot. (USA, UK or Ireland) Depending on the country where you’re applying, it might even be illegal to include a picture of yourself on your resume . While it’s the norm to include a picture in most of Europe and Asia, always check the regulations for each specific country or industry you’re applying to.

All clear? Good! Now, let’s look at what a great example of a resume's contact information section looks like:

#3. Write a Resume Headline (Summary or Objective)

It's no secret that recruiters spend an average of less than seven seconds on a resume .

When you receive hundreds, if not thousands, of applications daily, it's physically impossible to spend too much time on each.

So, what the hiring managers do to go through resumes more effectively is to skim through each resume and read it in depth only if it piques their interest.

This is where the resume headline comes in.

Placed right next to (or underneath) your contact information, this brief paragraph is the first thing the hiring manager is going to read on your resume.

Now, depending on how far along in your career you are, your resume headline can be either a resume summary or a resume objective.

So, how do you choose between a resume summary and a resume objective? Here’s all you need to know:

Resume Summary

A resume summary, as the name suggests, is a two to three-sentence summary of your career so far. If done right, it shows that you’re a qualified candidate at a glance and gets the hiring manager to give you a chance.

Here’s what your resume summary should include:

• Your job title and years of experience.
• A couple of your greatest professional achievements or core responsibilities.
• Your most relevant skills for the job.

Here’s an example of a well-written resume summary: 

Experienced Java Developer with 5 years of experience in building scalable and efficient applications. Contributed to a major project that enhanced application performance by 25%. Strong background in Spring Framework and microservices. Aiming to apply robust coding skills to develop innovative software solutions at XYZ Tech Solutions.

Unless you’re a recent graduate or amid a career change, we recommend you stick to a resume summary. Otherwise, a resume objective might be a better option for you.

Resume Objective

A resume objective is supposed to express your professional goals and aspirations, academic background, and any relevant skills you may have for the job.

It communicates your motivation for getting into a new field, so it’s the go-to headline for recent graduates and those going through a career change. As with a resume summary, a resume objective should be brief—around two to four sentences long.

So, here’s what it would look like if you’re a student:

Hard-working recent graduate with a B.A. in Graphic Design from New York State University seeking new opportunities. 3+ years of practical experience working with Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, creating illustrations and UX/UI design projects. Looking to grow as a designer and perfect my art at XYZ Design Studio.

Or, on the other hand, if you’re going through a career change, it might look more like this:

IT project manager with 5+ years of experience in software development. Managed a team of developers to create products for several industries, such as FinTech and HR tech. Looking to leverage my experience in managing outsourced products as a Product Owner at Company XYZ.

#4. Prioritize Your Work Experience

The most important part of your resume is your work experience.

This is where you get to sell yourself and show off your previous accomplishments and responsibilities.

If you manage to master this section, you’ll know most of what’s there to know about how to make a resume.

There are plenty of good practices for writing your work experience . But before we dive into all the nits and grits, let's start with the basics.

The standard format for each work experience entry is as follows:

• Job title/position. Your job title goes on top of each work experience entry. When the hiring manager looks at your resume, you want them to know, at a glance, that you have relevant work experience for the job.
• Company name/location/description. Mention the name of the employer and the general location, such as the city and state/country where you worked. In some cases, you may also want to briefly describe the company, like when the organization isn’t particularly well-known.
• Dates employed. Add the approximate timeframe of your employment at each company. You don’t need to give exact dates since the standard format for this is mm/yyyy.
• Achievements and responsibilities. This is the core of each work experience entry. Depending on your field, you want to list either your achievements or responsibilities. List them in bullet points instead of paragraphs, so they’ll be easier to read.

Here’s a real-life example:

Your work experience entries should always be listed in reverse chronological order , starting with your most recent job and working your way back into the past.

Now that you know how to list your experience, we’re going to show you how to write about it in a way that makes you stand out from the competition, starting with: 

Are you a student with no work experience? We’ve got you covered. Check out our guide to writing a resume with no experience here.

Focus on Achievements Whenever Possible

One of the most common resume mistakes is only listing responsibilities in your work experience section.

Here’s the thing—in most cases, the hiring manager knows exactly what your job responsibilities are.

For example, if you’re a sales manager, your responsibilities would be:

• Reach out to potential clients over the phone or email.
• Maintain relationships with existing company clients and upsell relevant products.
• Tracking and reporting on leads in CRM.

Coincidentally, this is also the same list of responsibilities for every sales manager out there. So, 90% of all other resumes probably mention the same thing.

To stand out from the competition, you want to focus on writing achievements in your resume instead. These can be how you helped your previous company grow, reach quarterly quotas, and so on.

Let’s compare how responsibilities hold up next to achievements for the same job:

• Exceeded sales team KPIs by 30%+ for 3 months straight.
• Generated over $24,000 in sales in 1 month.
• Generated leads through cold-calling
• Managed existing company clients

Keep in mind, though, that in some fields, there just aren’t that many achievements you can mention. Let’s say you’re a warehouse worker .

Your day-to-day responsibilities probably include:

• Loading, unloading, and setting up equipment daily.
• Packaging finished products and getting them ready for shipping.
• Assisting in opening and closing the warehouse.

In fields like this, it’s pretty hard to distinguish yourself through achievements, so it’s okay to stick to responsibilities instead. You can still make them shine by following the rest of our advice about listing your work experience.

Keep in mind, though, that in some fields, there aren’t that many achievements you can mention. Let’s say you work in a warehouse. Your day-to-day responsibilities probably involve:

• Loading, unloading and setting up equipment on a daily basis.
• Package finished product and get it ready for shipping.
• Assist in opening and closing the warehouse.

In such fields, it’s pretty hard to distinguish yourself, so it’s totally OK to stick to responsibilities instead.

Tailor Your Resume to the Job

Tailoring is what sets an amazing resume apart from an okay one.

Hiring managers don’t need to know about every single job you’ve ever worked at or every single skill that you have.

They only want to know about your jobs, experiences, or skills that are relevant to the role you’re applying for.

For example, if you’re applying for a job doing Google Ads, you don’t need to talk about your SEO internship from eight years ago.

By focusing your resume on whatever is important for the specific role, you’re a lot more likely to stand out and catch the hiring manager’s attention.

Let’s take a look at an example of a job ad:

As you can see, we’ve highlighted the most important requirements.

To tailor your resume accordingly, you just need to mention how you meet each of these requirements in your resume.

You can highlight your relevant achievements and qualifications in different parts of your resume, such as:

• In your resume summary, where you should recap your years of experience.
• Throughout your work experience section, where you should list achievements and responsibilities that reflect your social media marketing experience.
• In your education section, where you can let the hiring manager know you have the degree that they’re looking for.

Include the Right Amount of Work Experience

If you’ve got over a decade’s worth of work experience, you’re probably wondering whether all of it belongs on your resume. In most cases, you’d end up writing a novel if you listed everything you’ve ever done, and that’s not how long a resume should be .

If you’re new to the job market, on the other hand, you probably don’t have any experience, and you’re wondering what you could even add to this section.

So, here’s how much information your resume should include, depending on your level of experience:

• No experience. If you’re looking for your first job , you won’t have any work experience to fill this section with. So, you can either keep it empty and focus on all the other sections or fill it up with any experience gained in student organizations, extracurricular activities, volunteering, and other projects.
• Entry-level. List all your work experience so far. While some of it won’t be relevant, it can still show the hiring manager that you do have some actual work experience.
• Mid-level. Only mention relevant work experience to the position you’re applying for. There’s no need to waste space on jobs that aren’t related to what you’re after.
• Senior-level. List up to 15 years of relevant work experience, tops. If your most recent experience is as a marketing executive , the hiring manager doesn’t care how you started your career as a junior marketing specialist 23 years ago.

Consider Applicant Tracking System (ATS) Software

Did you know that over 70% of resumes don’t even make it to the hiring manager ?

Most companies these days use ATS to evaluate hundreds of resumes instantaneously and automatically filter out the ones that don’t meet their criteria.

For example, if a resume doesn’t mention a specific skill or isn’t formatted correctly, the ATS will automatically reject it.

Fortunately, there are some easy ways to make an ATS-friendly resume .

Here are a couple of tips to help you get past those pesky robots:

• Stick to one page. Sometimes employers set a limit on how long a resume should be. This means that if your resume is longer than one page, it might get automatically disqualified.
• Incorporate keywords. Tailoring your resume to the job helps a ton with beating the ATS. Just carefully read the job description to find hints for what the ATS will be looking for. Then, whenever you find keywords related to your responsibilities and achievements, make sure to include them in your work experience section.
• Use an active voice. Passive voice is too vague and unclear, so make sure to use active voice as much as possible when describing your previous jobs. (E.g.: “Managed a team of ten people,” instead of “ A team of ten people was managed by me.” )
• Leverage powerful action words. Instead of starting each of your sentences with “was responsible for," make your work experience impactful by using words that can grab attention. Saying that you “spearheaded” or “facilitated” something sounds a lot more impressive than “helped.”

Want to make sure your resume formatting passes the ATS test? Choose one of our tried and tested ATS-friendly resume templates , and you’ll be good to go! 

#5. List Your Education

The next section on your resume is dedicated to your academic qualifications. Let’s start with the basics!

Here’s how you should format the education section on your resume :

• Program Name. Your major and degree type should be listed. (E.g.: “B.A. in Business Administration” )
• University Name. Add the name of the institution. (E.g.: “New York State University” )
• Dates Attended. Use a mm/yyyy format for the dates you attended. (E.g.: “08/2008 - 06/2012” )
• Location. If your university is less well-known, you can also add the location. (E.g.: “Stockholm, Sweden” )
• GPA. Use the appropriate grading system for the country you’re applying to work in. (E.g.: In the USA, it would be “3.9 GPA” )
• Honors. Add any honors and distinctions you’ve been given. (E.g.: Cum Laude, Magna Cum Laude, Summa Cum Laude )
• Achievements. You can mention interesting papers you’ve written, projects you’ve done, or relevant coursework you’ve excelled in.
• Minor. “Minor in Psychology”

Pretty simple, right? Now let’s see what an education section looks like in practice:

This example includes all the necessary information, plus an eye-catching award and relevant classes this candidate has taken.

Resume Education Tips

Now that you know how to list your education on your resume, let’s take this section to the next level.

Just follow these expert tips:

• If you’re making a resume as a student and don’t have any work experience yet, you can list your education section at the beginning of the page instead of work experience.
• You can add your expected graduation date if you’re still pursuing your degree.
• If you already have relevant work experience, just keep this section short and sweet. Recent graduates can expand on their education more and add optional information like projects, classes, academic achievements, etc.
• Always list your degrees in reverse chronological order, starting with your highest degree on top. Your highest and most recent degree is usually enough, so if you have a Master’s degree that’s relevant to the job, there’s no need to mention your earlier degrees.
• Don’t add your high school degree to your resume if you already have a university degree. It doesn’t have as much weight, and you can use the space for something else.
• Only mention your GPA if you had an impressive academic career. Anything below a 3.5 GPA doesn’t need to be on your resume.

Are you in the process of applying for college? Check out our guide to writing a college application resume to wow that admissions officer!

#6. Emphasize Your Know-How in the Skills Section

After your work experience, your skills are the first thing the hiring manager is going to look for. In fact, together, work experience and skills make up 90% of the hiring decision .

So, this is the place where you want to mention all the know-how that makes you the perfect candidate for the job.

There are two types of skills you can include when writing your resume:

• Hard Skills. These are measurable abilities. What you can list here can be anything from coding in Python to knowing how to cook Thai cuisine.
• Soft Skills. Also known as personal skills, these are a mix of communication skills , personal traits, career attributes, and more. They can include leadership, critical thinking, and time management , just to name a few.

Your resume should always cover both hard skills and soft skills . Here’s an example in action:

Now, let’s discuss how you should list your most important skills on your resume.

There are a few essential steps you need to follow:

Always List Hard and Soft Skills Separately

Your resume should be easy and neat to navigate. The hiring manager shouldn’t have to waste time looking for a specific skill because you didn’t separate it into the appropriate subsection.

So, just create separate categories for your hard and soft skills.

Depending on your field, you could customize the name of your “hard skills” subsection to something like “technical skills," “marketing skills," or something else related to your field.

Let’s look at an example of what skills look like on a project manager’s resume :

Methodologies & Tools

• Agile Methodology
• SCRUM Framework
• Waterfall Project Management
• Microsoft Project
• Critical Path Method (CPM)
• Earned Value Management (EVM)
• Risk Management

Soft Skills

• Team Management
• Conflict Resolution
• Negotiation

Tailor Your Skills to the Job

You might have some awesome skills, but the hiring manager only needs to know about the ones that are relevant to the job.

For example, if you’re applying for a job as an accountant, your gourmet chef skills shouldn’t be on your resume.

Look at the job ad and list at least two to three essential skills you have that are required for the role. Remember—there’s no need to list every skill you have here; just keep it relevant.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in Graphic Design or a related field.
• Tech-savvy, with some background in CMS systems such as WordPress.
• Thrives in a stressful environment and juggles multiple tasks and deadlines.
• Strong organizational and time management skills.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Self-reliant, with the ability to manage their own work.
• A can-do attitude and an outside-the-box thinker.
• Proficient in Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Keynote, and Pages.
• Basic understanding of Office software such as Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook.

So, the must-have hard skills here are Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator, Keynote, and Pages. Other good computer skills to have are WordPress or similar CMS systems.

While you can also mention Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook, it’s pretty much assumed that you know how to use them since they’re required for most office jobs.

List Hard Skills with Experience Levels

For each hard skill you list on your resume, you should also mention your proficiency level. This tells employers what they can expect from you and how much training you might need.

• Beginner. You have some experience with the skill, whether it’s from some entry-level practice or classroom education.
• Intermediate. You’ve used the skill in a work environment with good understanding.
• Advanced. You’re the go-to person for this skill in your office. You can coach other employees, and you understand the skill at a high level.
• Expert. You’ve applied this skill to more than a handful of different projects and organizations. You’re the go-to person for advice about the skill, not just in your office but even amongst some of the best professionals in your field.

Just make sure to never lie about your actual skill level. Even if you get the job, once you need those skills you exaggerated, it will be pretty awkward for both you and your employer.

Include Transferable Skills

These are the types of skills that are useful for almost any job out there.

Transferable skills can be both soft skills (e.g.: teamwork, creativity, problem-solving skills, and others) and hard skills (MS Office Suite, HTML, writing, etc.)

Whatever job you’re applying to, chances are you have transferable skills from your experience that can come in handy one way or another. So, feel free to include them, even if they’re not specifically required for the position.

Not sure which skills to mention on your resume for your specific field? Check out our list of 101+ essential skills for inspiration!

#7. Leverage Optional Resume Sections

The sections we’ve covered so far are must-haves for any resume. They’re the bread-and-butter for any job application, and if you get them right, you’ll land any job you apply to.

But if you have some leftover space, there are a few optional sections you can choose from to give your resume a boost!

Are you bi-lingual? Or even better  – multi-lingual? You should always mention that on your resume!

Even if the position doesn’t require you to know a specific language, it can still come in handy at some point. At the end of the day, it’s always better to know more languages than less.

To list languages in your resume , just write them down and assign them the appropriate level:

• Intermediate

You can also use the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFRL) or the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) proficiency scales.

As a given, you should never lie about your language skills. You never know—your interviewer might turn out to be fluent in the language or even be a native speaker!

Hobbies and Interests

If you want to spice up your resume, hobbies and interests could be just what you need.

While this section isn’t a game-changer, it can help the hiring manager see who you are as an individual.

For example, if you listed “teamwork” as one of your skills, hobbies like team sports can back up your claim.

And who knows? Maybe you and your interviewer have some hobbies or interests in common!

Volunteering Experience

If you’re the type of person who devotes their free time to helping others while expecting nothing in return, chances are that you’re the type of employee who’s in it for more than just the money. 

Seeing volunteer experience on your resume tells hiring managers that you’re a loyal employee who’s after something meaningful.

Several studies show that listing your volunteer experience can boost your chances of getting hired, especially if you have little to no work experience.

Certifications

Hiring managers love candidates who invest in themselves, and that’s exactly what they see when you list certifications on your resume .

If you value continuous learning and strive to expand your skill set, that’s always a plus.

Certifications can also show employers how much expertise you have.

For example, if you’re a Microsoft Cloud Engineer and you specialize in Microsoft Technologies, you should definitely include all essential certifications on your resume, such as the Azure Solutions Architect Expert one.

Awards and Recognitions

There’s no harm in showing off a little on your resume. After all, you want to be a candidate that shines above the rest.

So, if you’ve received any awards or recognitions that make you stand out in your field, make sure to add them.

For example, if you’ve been recognized for your contributions to data science or received a hard-to-come-by scholarship , mention it in your resume. Just keep your entries here relevant to the field you’re applying to.

Publications

Whether you’re a freelance writer or a distinguished academic, publications are always impressive.

If you have any published works (online or in an academic journal), you can add them to your resume. Just make sure to include a link so the hiring manager knows where to check your work!

Are you looking for a career in academia? Check out our guide to writing the perfect academic CV to get started!

Working on side projects can show off your passion for your field. Whether they’re university class projects or part-time entrepreneurial endeavors, they’re relevant.

For example, if you worked on a mock software product as part of a university competition, it shows you went through every step of product creation, from ideation to creating a marketing strategy.

This project also shows off your organizational skills , and if you mention it in your resume, you stand a better chance of landing the job you had your sights set on.

But projects can also be personal, not academic. For example, you might manage an Etsy store where you sell hand-made arts and crafts to customers online. This is a great opportunity to highlight your creativity, management, and customer service skills .

Overall, hiring managers love employees who do cool work in their free time, so projects are always a great section to add to your resume.

Looking to kickstart your career? Check out our guide on how to get an internship for useful tips and real-life examples!

Extracurricular Activities

Every college freshman knows that extracurricular experience can make a difference in their application.

Especially if you don’t have a lot of experience outside of school, extracurricular activities are a great way to show potential employers your skills and give them insight into you as a person. Different clubs and after-school projects can help you gain real-life skills and considerably increase your chances of landing your first job after college.

For example, joining a student government organization can hone your leadership skills and teach you how to work as part of a team.

For example, if you’re part of a student government or public speaking club, these activities can help you hone your leadership and presentation skills.

11+ Expert Resume Tips

You’ve got the gist of how to make a resume. Now, it’s time to make it really stand out from the crowd!

Follow these exclusive resume tips to take your resume game to the next level:

• Match the professional title underneath your name to the job title of the position you’re applying for. Hiring managers often hire for several roles at once, so giving them this cue about what role you’re after helps things go smoother.
• Mention any promotions from your previous jobs. Use the work experience entries for them to focus on the achievements that helped you earn them.
• Describe your achievements using Laszlo Bock’s formula : accomplished X as measured by Y by doing Z . This way, your work experience can go the extra mile and show the hiring manager what you can bring to the table.
• Always list your achievements and responsibilities in concise bullet points. This makes your resume more reader-friendly, and it’s more likely that the hiring manager will see your impressive achievements at a glance.
• Don’t use personal pronouns like “I” or “me,” and don’t refer to yourself by name. Stick to a slightly altered third person, like “managed data integrity at XYZ Inc.” instead of “he managed data integrity at XYZ Inc.”
• Name your resume sections correctly, or it might get rejected by the ATS. Swapping out quirky names like “career history” or “expertise” for “work experience” and "skills" makes it easier for the hiring manager to find what they’re looking for, too.
• Prioritize important keywords instead of adding all of them. Make sure the relevant skills, qualifications, and experiences you add all make sense in context, too. Your goal is to get past the ATS and impress the hiring manager.
• Focus on transferable skills if you don’t have a lot of relevant work experience. Any extracurricular activities or personal projects can help you stand out here.
• Add a strategic pop of color to headings, bullet points, or key elements you want to highlight. It can help your resume stand out, but don’t overdo it—you want the information to be more impressive than the color palette.
• Don’t include the line “references available upon request.” Hiring managers already know they can request a list of references from you, so there’s no need to waste valuable space on it.
• Make sure your resume is optimized for mobile viewing. Most hiring managers use their mobile phones as often as desktop computers, so save your resume to a PDF file and make sure your formatting stays intact across any device.
• Rename the resume file you plan to send so it includes your name and the name of the position you’re applying for. It’s a small detail that can turn into a crucial mistake if you forget it.
• Read your resume out loud when you’re done. This is a great way to catch awkward phrases or spelling mistakes you might have missed otherwise.
• Use a tool like DocSend to track your resume. You’ll get a notification any time someone opens your resume, and you can see how long they spend reading it.

FREE Resume Checklist

Are you already done with your resume? Let’s see how it holds up!

Go through our checklist for perfecting your resume and see where you stand!

If you missed some points, just go through your resume one more time and perfect it.

And if you ☑’d everything—congrats! You’ve learned all there is to know about writing a resume, and you’re good to go with your job search.

Need to write a CV instead of a resume? Check out our step-by-step guide on how to write a CV with dozens of examples!

9 Resume Templates for Different Industries

Looking to create an effective resume without dealing with the formatting hassle? Just choose one of the templates below.

#1. Traditional Resume Template

Good for traditional industries like finance, banking, law, and manufacturing.

#2. Modern Resume Template

Good for both contemporary and forward-looking industries, including entrepreneurship, medical technology, and engineering.

#3. Creative Resume Template

Good for creative industries, including entertainment, design, and architecture. 

#4. Minimalistic Resume Template

Good for experienced professionals in basically any industry who want to let their achievements do the talking. 

#5. IT Resume Template

Good for any IT-related profession like software development, cyber security, and DevOps engineering.

#6. Tech Resume Template

Good for the tech industry and everything it encompasses.

#7. College Resume Template

Good for college students and recent graduates alike.

#8. General Resume Template

Good for multiple industries, including HR, education, and customer service.

#9. Executive Resume Template

Good for senior professionals across different industries, including hospitality, marketing, and logistics.

17+ Resumes for Different Jobs

Knowing how to write a resume is one thing, but making a resume that stands out is something entirely different. Without inspiration, even top career experts might stumble on a roadblock or two.

Check out the following effective resume examples for specific jobs to get a better sense of what a good resume looks like:

#1. Nurse Practitioner Resume Example

Check out our full guide to writing a nurse resume here.

#2. Data Scientist Resume Example

Check out our full guide to writing a data scientist resume here.

#3. Business Analyst Resume Example

Check out our full guide to writing a business analyst resume here.

#4. Digital Marketing Resume Example

Check out our full guide to writing a digital marketing resume here.

#5. Software Engineer Resume Example

Check out our full guide to writing a software engineer resume here.

#6. Construction Project Manager Resume Example

Check out our full guide to writing a construction project manager resume here.

#7. Customer Service Resume Example

Check out our full guide to writing a customer service resume here.

#8. High School Resume Example

Check out our full guide to writing a high school resume here.

#9. Student Resume Example

Check out our full guide to writing a student resume here.

#10. Server Resume Example

Check out our full guide to writing a server resume here.

#11. Actor Resume Example

Check out our full guide to writing an actor resume here.

#12. Web Developer Resume Example

Check out our full guide to writing a web developer resume here.

#13. Engineering Resume Example

Check out our full guide to writing an engineering resume here.

#14. Computer Science Resume Example

Check out our full guide to writing a computer science resume here.

#15. Architect Resume Example 

Check out our full guide to writing a data analyst resume here.

#17. Remote Job Resume Example

Check out our full guide to writing a remote job resume here.

#18. Sales Associate Resume Example

Check out our full guide to writing a sales associate resume here.

#19. Receptionist Resume Example

Check out our full guide to writing a receptionist resume here.

Want to see more examples? Check out our compilation of 80+ resume examples for different fields .

• Administrative Assistant Resume
• Bartender Resume
• DevOps Engineer Resume
• Executive Assistant Resume
• Flight Attendant Resume
• Graphic Designer Resume
• Paralegal Resume
• Pharmacist Resume
• Recruiter Resume
• Supervisor Resume

Next Steps After Your Resume

Now that we’ve covered everything you need to know about how to make a resume, it’s time to talk about the rest of your job application.

After all, your resume is only the first step in your job search. To land the job you deserve, you also need to write a captivating cover letter and ace that upcoming interview. Here’s how:

#1. How to Write a Convincing Cover Letter

The companion piece to every resume is the cover letter.

Most job-seekers flinch when they hear that they have to write a cover letter. What do you even mention in a cover letter, anyway? If you were good at writing cover letters, you’d be applying for a job as a writer !

In reality, though, writing a cover letter is very simple once you know its purpose.

Think of your cover letter as a direct message to the hiring manager. It’s your chance to briefly explain why you’re such an awesome fit for the position. And with a few cover letter tips to point you in the right direction, you’ll write the perfect cover letter for your job application.

Just follow this structure:

• Add the contact details. Include the same contact information as on your resume, plus additional contact details for the hiring manager, including their name, job title, the company’s name, and location.
• Introduce yourself. Start your cover letter by mentioning who you are, what your work experience is, and why you’re interested in the position. Mention a standout achievement or two, relevant skills, and what you’d like to do for the company you’re applying for.
• Explain why you’d excel at the job. Find the requirements in the job ad that you meet, and elaborate on how you fulfill the most important ones. Research the company so you know what you like about it, and mention it in your cover letter. Make sure to convey your enthusiasm for the job and confidence that you’ll be a great fit for their team.
• Wrap it up politely. Conclude your cover letter by recapping your key selling points and thanking the hiring manager for their time. Then add a call to action, such as “Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me at the provided phone number so that we can discuss my application in greater detail.” Then, add a closing line and follow it with your full name.

Sounds easy, right? Here’s a real-life example to drive the point home:

Do you need more help perfecting your cover letter? Learn what the most common cover letter mistakes are and check out cover letter examples for all professions here.

#2. How to Ace Your Next Interview

Once you’ve perfected both your resume and cover letter, there’s only one thing left.

It’s time for the final step—the dreaded job interview.

Whether you’re an extrovert or an introvert, you probably hate the interviewing process. No matter how experienced you are, it can be nerve-wracking. Sitting there while someone’s prodding into your past experiences and judging you isn’t fun.

But did you know that most interviewers ask the same questions?

That’s right—all you have to do is learn how to answer some of the most common interview questions, and you’ll be an interview away from landing your dream job!

Just check out our complete guide to the 35+ Job Interview Questions and Answers and learn how to ace your next interview.

FAQs on How to Make a Resume

Do you still have some questions about making a resume? Check out the answers to the most frequently asked questions below!

#1. What does a good resume look like in 2024?

For your resume to look good in 2024, make sure it’s organized and clean and isn’t longer than one page.

Be sure to include information that adds value to your application—leave out the focus on your relevant work experience and skills that you can back up, and list as many achievements as possible. 

If you’re using a resume template, choose one based on your industry. Conservative industries like law, banking, and business require more traditional resume templates. But if you’re going for an industry like design, architecture, or marketing, you can go for a creative resume template . 

Remote work is also big in 2024, so if that’s what you’re after, tailor your resume to match the job you want.

#2. How do you make a resume in Word?

The best way to create a resume in Word is to use a pre-designed Microsoft Word template. To access them, you should: 

• Open MS Word
• Click “file” from the menu bar 
• Select “new”
• Type “resume templates” in the search bar 

That said, Word resume templates are generic, hard to personalize, and overall not very stylish.

Want a resume that looks good and is extremely easy to make? Check out resume templates to get started!

#3. How do I write a resume for my first job?

If you’re writing your first-ever resume for an entry-level position, the hiring manager won’t expect you to have any work experience.

However, you can make up for your lack of experience with your skills and academic achievements.

For example, you can take advantage of extracurricular activities, internships, volunteering experiences, and other non-professional experiences. You can use them to highlight the skills you’ve gained and what you’ve achieved so far.

So, your first job resume should have a resume objective, emphasize your education, and replace your work experience with any internships, volunteering, independent projects, or other experiences.

#4. How to make a resume on Google Docs?

You can make a resume on Google Docs by choosing one of their templates and filling it in on the go.

All you have to do is go to your Google Drive’s template gallery, choose your preferred template, fill in your information, and your Google Docs resume is ready to go! 

That said, Google Docs templates aren’t the most user-friendly choice. You don’t have much flexibility with the layout and formatting isn’t that easy. For example, you tweak a section to the slightest, and the whole resume becomes a mess.

If you want an easier option, check out our resume builder !

#5. What kind of resume do employers prefer?

Typically, employers prefer one-page-long resumes that follow the reverse chronological format. 

Hiring managers receive hundreds of resumes every day, so they don't have the time to read three-page resumes. Try one of our one-page resume templates so you don’t go over the recommended resume length.

Meanwhile, the reverse-chronological format is the most popular because it draws attention to your most recent jobs and professional achievements, which is the #1 most important thing hiring managers look at when evaluating a resume.

#6. How many jobs should you put on your resume? 

You should only include relevant job positions on your resume.

This means that your work experience section should be tailored to the job you are applying for. If you’ve worked five different jobs and they can all add value to your current application, then you should include all five. 

If, on the other hand, you’re applying for, say, a customer service position and some of your past jobs don’t have anything to do with customer service, you should skip them.

#7. Should I put my address on my resume? 

You can put your location (city, state, or country) on your resume, but you don’t need to put your entire physical address.

Putting a physical address on a resume was the norm back when companies would contact you via mail. In today’s world, everyone communicates via email, which is why adding a correct and professional email address to your contact information section is far more important than putting your physical address. 

So, just include your location or-–if you’re a remote worker—specify you prefer to work remotely by writing “working remotely from [location].”

#8. What information should I leave out of my resume?

As a general rule, you shouldn’t include your birthday or your headshot on your resume. This norm varies from country to country but it applies to the USA, Canada, and UK.

If you have plenty of achievements to list under your work experience, then you can leave your basic work responsibilities out of your resume. 

In your education section, you should only include your highest and most recent degree. So, if you hold a Ph.D., you can list that and your Master’s degree and leave your Bachelor’s degree and high school diploma out.

Finally, leave out any skills that aren’t relevant to the job you’re applying for.

#9. Is a resume a CV?

Depending on where you are, a CV (Curriculum Vitae) and a resume might be completely different things.

In most of the world, though, including Europe and Asia, they are used interchangeably for the same document. Both CVs and resumes are one to two pages long, and list skills and experiences relevant to the position you’re applying for.

Sometimes more detailed resumes that go over one page are referred to as CVs. These are typically only used by senior professionals, executives, CEOs, etc.

In the USA, however, a CV is a completely different document. Typically, CVs are detailed and comprehensive documents that highlight your entire academic and professional history. They’re often used for academic, scientific, or research positions, which is why this type of CV can also be referred to as an academic CV.

You can create your CV using one of our CV templates !

#10. Should I write my own resume?

Yes, you should always write your own resume.

Your resume is your opportunity to show the hiring manager your communication, writing, and presentation skills . Employers also evaluate you based on how effectively you can convey information about yourself, and there’s no one that can represent you better than yourself.

Writing your own resume lets you introduce yourself authentically. You have the best understanding of your skills and experiences, and you can personalize them to make your resume stand out.

And, as a bonus, the experience of writing your resume yourself can be reflective and insightful, so it might help you understand your professional journey and career goals better.

#11. Can a resume be two pages?

Generally, we strongly recommend that your resume stick to one page.

Hiring managers go through hundreds of resumes every day, and keeping your resume to one page increases the odds that they’ll see your qualifications faster.

In some cases, like when you have a lot of relevant experience, your resume can go over two pages. But this exception is reserved for senior professionals with over a decade of relevant experience and tons of skills and achievements that simply can’t fit on one page.

#12. Is a simple resume okay?

Absolutely, a simple resume is often more than okay—it's preferable.

Before your resume even gets to the hiring manager, a complicated layout could get it rejected by the applicant tracking system (ATS). A simple resume template can help get your application straight to the hiring manager.

A clean layout can also make sure that your resume is easily readable and looks professional. This can focus the hiring manager's attention on your work experience and skills without excessive clutter or flashy colors to distract them.

Key Takeaways

And that’s a wrap!

If you’ve followed all of our advice until now, congrats! You’re probably an expert on how to make a resume.

To recap, let’s go through some of the most important lessons we’ve learned so far...

• Use the right resume builder to make the process as smooth as possible. You don’t want to mess around with formatting for hours before even starting to work on your resume!
• Focus on your achievements over responsibilities. This can help you stand out from all the other applicants, especially if you back your claims up with data.
• Include all the must-have sections, like the resume summary, work experience, education, and skills. Then leverage optional sections if you have leftover space.
• Tailor your resume for the job you’re applying for. Everything listed on your resume should be relevant to the specific job you’re applying for, and you should write a new resume for every new job application.
• Take the time to perfect your cover letter. It’s just as important as your resume, so make sure you pay as much attention to it!

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How to Write a Resume That Stands Out

You finally found it! The perfect job for you. Now, all you have to do to get the process started is to submit your resume. The problem is that hundreds of your peers are probably thinking exactly the same thing. How do you stand out?

You finally found it! The perfect job for you. Now, all you have to do to get the process started is to submit your resume. The problem is that hundreds or even thousands of your peers are probably thinking exactly the same thing about exactly the same job. So how do you create a one-page document that will make you and your accomplishments stand out from the crowd?

Your resume is a key part of the job application process: it is the first document that an employer reviews to determine whether they will interview and eventually employ you. Remember that employers often have very limited time to perform this duty. Crafting a strong resume really matters!

Resumes communicate who you are and what you have accomplished. They may be the only document an employer sees to evaluate your record before making a decision to move forward with your application, or they may be used in conjunction with resources like LinkedIn or professional networking profiles and/or a cover letter. A resume that “stands out” in a positive way is one that has been written thoughtfully, clearly and concisely, effectively communicating your abilities and strengths in a very brief space.

Six basic tips will help you build an outstanding professional resume. Note that resumes may vary by professional field (e.g. engineering vs. non-engineering), by location or by other factors such as professional degree. These tips are designed around some of the most common sections and most useful points for resumes across different types.

Tip 1: How to Write an Education Section that Stands Out

The education section demonstrates that you have the academic qualifications for the position. The key questions you should ask yourself while writing this section is, “Have I clearly communicated the strongest and most relevant aspects of my educational experience?” The next question is, “Is this section organized in a way that is easily readable by the employer?”

The education section is important for all applicants but may be weighted differently depending on how long it has been since you graduated from a degree program. For instance, an employer may have a different level of interest in the educational history of a college senior, compared to someone who has been professionally working for several years after college. Understanding this fact may influence where you choose to place this section on your resume.

In general, you should include all of the higher education that you may have had, including undergraduate, graduate, or professional schooling.  You may also consider including online courses, certificates, and completed programs through companies like Coursera. Most people list their experiences in an order called reverse chronological, meaning that they list the most recent experience first, and work backwards down the page.

For each listed school, provide the full name of the school or online program, the years of your attendance, your major or majors, if applicable, as well as a minor if applicable. Include the type of degree received (e.g. a Bachelor of Arts or Master of Science) and the year of graduation. If you are graduating soon, include the month and year of graduation so employers know when you will be available to work. If you have studied abroad, include the institution, program of study, and any relevant coursework.

You may want to include which semesters you qualified for special academic recognition, if any.  Other special awards, scholarships, or competitive grants can also be listed in this section. If you have non-academic awards, such as for sports or community service, you may choose to create a separate section of your resume for honors and awards.

Tip 2: How to Make the Experience Section Stand Out

Along with education, your experience is one of the most important ways to show that you are qualified for a position. Use this section to clearly convey your strongest professional experiences, whether paid or unpaid. Be sure to give detailed aspects of your roles and responsibilities for each listed position. Emphasize any relationships or similarities between your past experiences and the job you want. You should also include the start and end dates of your involvement with each organization, and any key accomplishments from the role. Don’t forget to include where the company is located, including city and state/province, or even country if different from your home country.

Ask yourself: while involved with the company, did I win any awards, get any special recognition, make new discoveries, start a new program? If so, what happened and what were the results? Quantify your experiences when you can! As the expression goes, “Show don’t tell.” In other words, you can more effectively convey a point by giving concrete examples, rather than through vague descriptions. Consider the following examples.

Instead of:

Improved worker productivity significantly, leading to recognition from upper management.

(A resume reader may ask: What does ‘improved’ mean? What does recognition mean? How much have you improved it by?)

Improved quarter returns by 25%, exceeding projections and leading to the Top Manager Award, given to only one manager in the company per year.

When it comes to language, be honest about your job functions while thinking of professional ways to present your experiences.

Sometimes people fall into a trap of thinking that their job or internship experience won’t sound impressive enough to list. The job may have felt like “sitting at a desk, answering the phone.” True, but you may have been performing other responsibilities or developing useful job-related skills without realizing that you were!

When you were at a desk, were you at the FRONT desk? Were you the only person or the main person in this position? Were you overseeing anything while you were sitting there? Were you the sole person responsible for any tasks? Did you have to learn how to deal calmly and confidently with any customer issues? Did people occasionally ask you to take on additional responsibilities, even for a short time?

It is fair to say that a person sitting at a front desk, may have been MANAGING the front desk, or even managing the desk when the person’s boss was away. Time during which an individual is placed in charge of a business or an office, even if for a limited time, can convey responsibility to a prospective employer.

Look at your accomplishment bullet and ask yourself:

• What did I do in the job?
• Using what?
• To what extent or impact?

Sometimes you may need to pare down your list in order to avoid making your resume too lengthy. Try to select the accomplishments based partly on how impressive they are and partly on how well they relate to the position you want. To describe your experience, always use more than one sentence or bullet. That said, word economy in your bulleted descriptions is also important. Try to keep each bulleted description or sentence to one or two lines at most. You can often rephrase a description, eliminating words while keeping the meaning. The more information you can present clearly and concisely within the short resume format, the more the employer will understand what you can do for them.

Remember that by providing relevant details in each statement of your experience, you will give the employer enough information to evaluate you and also provide them with ideas of what they might want to discuss with you in an interview.

Tip 3: How to Create a Leadership and Activities Section that Stands Out

For many people, especially students and recent graduates, a Leadership & Activities section can be a fantastic differentiator for your resume. If you have not been in the workforce for long, or if you have only worked summers and part-time, then you may not have much relevant content to add to your Experience section. A strong Leadership & Activities section can help you fill that gap while also telling an employer something about you as a person.

When creating the section, you should first consider what student organizations and activities you would want to include. Then, you should consider what you would want to write about each one. In general, this section is much like the Experience section, except that it is about what you have done in a personal, rather than professional, setting.

Of course, because student organizations and activities are personal, you should be careful about which ones you choose to list; they should be appropriate to a professional setting. For example, you should probably not choose to share that you were chosen “Top Drinker” of your college’s “Beer Keg of the Day” club. On the other hand, if you volunteered at a food bank, wrote for a school publication, or had a membership in an honor society, those accomplishments would be worth sharing.

Most importantly, you should include student organizations and activities where you have made significant contributions or held leadership positions. Just as you did in the Experience section, you should think about what you did in the organization, any responsibilities you had, any skills you used, and any knowledge you gained. If you made improvements to the student organization or activity, definitely include concrete examples. Make sure to consider if any of your experiences with student organizations and activities could be related to the position you are applying for. Could any of the skills you have learned be useful in the job?

Because student organizations and activities can offer students leadership opportunities and experiences that are often limited to experienced professionals in companies, this section is your chance to show not only that you are qualified for the position but that you have even greater potential. Make the most of this opportunity to show the employer what you can do!

Tip 4: How to Highlight Your Skills

Another important component of what defines an attractive candidate in the modern economy is their skill set. Because employers want people who can quickly start being productive, they care about what skills a job prospect has, particularly in certain technical fields. In most cases, skills are incorporated into the Experience section, if you acquired skills as part of your internship or job, and in the Education section, if you obtained the skills through coursework, research, or projects. Sometimes people with additional skills, such as technical skills, foreign language, or certifications obtained outside of university, will place them into a separate section at the end of the resume. Whichever format you choose, you still need to emphasize the skills you have, so that an employer can easily see how you can help them.

You should ask yourself a few important questions. What skills do I have? What skills are my target employers looking for? Are my skills hard skills (i.e. technical, like computer programming) or soft skills, such as the ability to listen?

Make a list! Separate the skills into hard skills and soft skills. What skills are most in demand (on both lists) for the position you are interested in (One good way to decide this is to look at job listings for many similar positions and note how often a particular skill is listed.)? How can you highlight your proficiency in these skills?

Lead with your strongest skills and/or the ones that seem the most marketable. Let’s say you know the programming language Python. How well do you know it? How many years have you used it? Do you have any specialized knowledge and ability that may set you apart from a competing applicant? Do you have demonstrations of your work anywhere for a prospective employer to see?

Here’s an example of a skills entry that might be included into the Experience section:

Programming: 8 years of experience with Python and similar scripting languages, wrote MyFirstPythonProject software available on GitHub

Useful tip: Artists may have portfolios for their artistic work. Examples of appropriate work, such as for coding, may not be a bad idea to have available in addition to a resume!

Even if your field is not technical, you may still have important hard skills. Do you have experience with popular office software, such as Excel, PowerPoint, or Access? Do you know any foreign languages, even at a basic level? Think about not only what might be required in the day-to-day performance of the job, but what other skills could potentially be useful to the employer.

You will want to include all the relevant skills to demonstrate your qualifications, without including too much less-relevant information which could distract from your message. Think carefully about which skills you want to include, and which could be left out. Remember to choose your words economically to maximize content in a minimum of space. With a little effort, your skills details can transform your resume from a simple list of accomplishments to a document that gets an employer thinking about all the great ways you could contribute!

Tip 5: Formatting and Making the Resume Look Professional

Believe it or not, the appearance and organization of a resume can greatly affect the response. The first hurdle for any resume is to get the employer to read it. An attractively presented, concise resume is easy for a recruiter to pick up. On the other hand, if a resume is 5 pages, written in 6-point font, a prospective employer may not think that it is worth the time to find a magnifying glass and read it. In most cases, a resume should not exceed one page (sometimes two pages, mostly for more experienced candidates, or in scientific and technical fields where publication lists can be lengthy), which has a few key sections that are separated from one another or clearly delineated.

Here are some suggestions to make the format stand out positively:

• Use 10-12-point font or larger. (10 point may even sometimes be too small, and the choice can depend on the chosen font.) Your audience should easily be able to read the size of the writing. Often prospective employers may not have perfect vision, so readability may create problems if the text is too small.
• Use a clean, professional-looking font. Don’t use fonts that are overly artistic and hinder the ability for the reader to understand them. Some find fonts like Times New Roman most clearly readable; others find competing fonts better. The font is just an aspect of the writing; don’t let it overpower the words themselves.
• Use respectable margins. Don’t try to deviate too much from 0.5 margins at either side. Also, don’t make the margins too large, beyond 0.75 or 1 unit on either side. Around 1 unit on the top and bottom should be acceptable.
• Use adequate spacing.
• Abbreviate months of employment.
• Include proper contact information. Most people include full name, address, email address and at least one phone number at the top of the document.

Tip 6: Revision and Review 

One of the most important steps to writing a good resume is having others you trust look it over. A small spelling or grammar error on a resume could cause problems by making it seem like you lack attention to detail.

You can start with standard spelling and grammar checking programs. However, while these programs are very helpful, they are not enough by themselves. For example, the programs may not flag errors with homophones (e.g. hair and hare). They also have difficulty with uncommon, technical, or foreign words that may not be in their dictionaries. In addition, they are not looking for formatting inconsistencies or at the overall appearance of the resume. While computer programs can help with many issues, there is still no substitute for the human eye.

Start by printing a copy of your resume and looking for errors and inconsistencies yourself. Then, present copies to others along with a description of the job or educational opportunity that you are applying for. When presenting your resume to others, consider at least two kinds of people: a peer, and an experienced professional or teacher. Each may identify different issues with the resume.

Ask the reviewers to provide two types of notes: technical revisions and feedback on the writing, organization and effectiveness of the resume.

Once you get feedback, discuss it with them for a few minutes. Remember, don’t take constructive criticism personally! They are trying to help you, and their points of view may be similar to that of the employer. Your goal is to create a resume that most people will appreciate.

Once you obtain proper feedback, you can work on improving your resume. Try to incorporate your reviewers’ suggestions. Their ideas may even make you think of other ways to improve your resume! Most importantly, always remember that once you have made your revisions, review your resume again before you send it out!

The stronger your resume, the better your chance of getting an interview and landing a meaningful job. Just by following these simple tips, you will be well on your way to resume success, creating a clear, detailed, and concise document designed to impress employers. So, get writing and get yourself noticed!

A good resume can help you land an interview, but even minor errors can take you out of the running.  Schedule an appointment with a counselor  to ensure it will be effective.

Quick Resume Tips:

• Use the position description to decide what to include.
• Pick a standard and consistent format.
• Describe your experiences with specificity and strong action verbs.
• Record accomplishments and contributions, not just responsibilities.
• Revise carefully!
• Don’t include personal information about your age, religion, health or marital status.
• Photos are generally not preferred for U.S. resumes.
• Typically, you will not be expected to share past salary information on a resume.
• Employers assume that “references will be available upon request,” so you don’t need to include them on your resume unless asked.
• Employers may use keyword scanning on resumes, so know what words are relevant to the industry and position and ensure they appear in your resume.

How to structure your résumé so it gets recruiters' attention

• The F-method helps recruiters identify key info by structuring résumés for how they read them. 
• This approach can help job seekers because recruiters might spend only seconds looking at a résumé.
• Highlighting key skills and accomplishments up top can help hiring managers and scanning software.

Sometimes, an F can be a good thing .

Take the so-called F-method. It's a way of organizing your résumé so that a recruiter can read the most important parts across the top — like the upper portion of the letter F.

The next most essential info goes farther down with keywords or points sticking out like the arm on an F.

The idea behind the framework is to help someone looking over your résumé get to the good stuff right away. That's because recruiters might spend only seconds scanning your work history and other accomplishments, and you need to make sure you really stand out, really quickly.

"The skills section on my résumé is in that 'F.' It's in that direct line of sight," Lee Woodrow, owner and principal consultant at Bigger Fish Executive Branding , told Business Insider.

Highlighting the top information right away is all the more important in an environment where it's getting harder to get desk jobs — and where the ease of applying means recruiters are often overrun with applications.

'Buzzword bingo'

Woodrow, who's been writing résumés for others for many years, said the top of a CV built around the F-method should include essential information about the value you bring: details like who you are professionally, what area your expertise is in, and which industries you've worked in.

"It's an elevator pitch," he said. That information belongs at the top near your name, he said, so that it gets seen. "That entices the reader to read on."

It's also important, Woodrow said, to have the right words and phrases up high where a busy recruiter can see them.

"It's like buzzword bingo," he said.

This is often important when recruiters are trying to fill technical roles. They might not have a lot of background in the particulars of a job, so they might be on the hunt for phrases or words that a hiring manager has flagged.

Related stories

Setting your résumé up with the F-method can mean a break from traditional formats, such as listing your work experience in reverse chronological order, which may surprise some.

But Woodrow said floating the most important ideas to the top makes sense if, for example, your most relevant experience for a job isn't tied to your latest role. Or, in other cases, he said, a job posting might call for someone with a master's degree or a Ph.D.

"Why would you put it lower down on page two or three? You'd want it on page one somewhere — highlighting it in that area which is in the 'F,'" Woodrow said.

In any case, he said, it's important to keep the most relevant information on the first page of a résumé.

Have a few goals in mind

Woodrow said one goal for your résumé should be ensuring it can be easily read by the applicant-tracking software companies often use to sift through job applications. Another aim should be having clear section titles so the document is a breeze for a recruiter to navigate. Highlight things like relevant job experience for a role you're going for, he said.

Last, Woodrow said, a résumé needs to influence a decision-maker by giving proof of your accomplishments. He recommends including three brief examples on the first page about how you solved a problem. To do this, describe a situation, give context, and use metrics from the business, if possible, to demonstrate how you improved a situation.

It's an abbreviated version of the STAR technique , sometimes used in interviewing, and involves describing a situation or task, actions, and results.

Kyle Samuels, founder and CEO of the executive search firm Creative Talent Endeavors , told BI that using the F-method to lay out a résumé can make sense for technical roles where a recruiter needs to know you have a certain amount of experience with, say, a particular programming language or modeling.

But in other cases, where a job might be more senior, artificial intelligence tools that do a first pass on a stack of résumés might make the F idea somewhat moot because AI bots can scoop up huge volumes of information.

"It kind of feels like a poor man's AI," Samuels said, referring to the F-method.

He said that with a role like a VP of marketing, you might have several candidates who would be a great fit.

"We're not expecting to see the exact same formatting or skills or experience, and so we really pore through the résumé," Samuels said.

That's why, especially when recruiting for more senior roles, there's little substitute for reading a résumé thoroughly, he said.

"I study it like the Torah," Samuels said.

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8 strategies for students and recent grads to stand out when applying to jobs

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8 strategies for students and recent grads to stand out when applying to jobs was originally published on College Recruiter .

In a highly competitive job market, standing out is crucial. We asked eight professionals, including a Chief Human Resources Officer and a Head of Growth, to share their unique strategies. From harnessing the power of cover letters to telling a compelling career story, here are their insightful responses.

Harness the Power of Cover Letters

Don’t forget to send a cover letter when applying for a job. Cover letters are still best submitted together with a resume when applying for a job. They are a great way to further explain your skills and experiences and how these can help you complete the tasks stated in the job description.

Cover letters can also be a great way to fully introduce yourself and what you can do for the company. They can be a great way to catch the attention of the hiring committee prior to the interview. This is very important, as it may lead to your inclusion on the list of people for the interview. Hence, submit a cover letter unless stated otherwise.

Steven Mostyn , Chief Human Resources Officer, Management.org

Establish a Strong Online Presence

In today’s digital age, personal branding and an online portfolio are critical to standing out in a competitive job market. I have created a strong online presence by developing a personal website and using social media to highlight my work and experience.

To use this technique, start by developing a personal website or blog that promotes your professional accomplishments, projects, and ideas in your sector. Make sure your LinkedIn page is up-to-date and accurately represents your personal brand.

Share papers, case studies, or films showing your knowledge. Consistency is essential. Maintain an active and professional presence on platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter, and industry-specific forums. Take part in debates and share useful content. This establishes you as a thought leader and allows you to network with specialists in your field.

Timothy Allen , Sr. Corporate Investigator, Corporate Investigation Consulting

Showcase Your Versatility and Adaptability

To stand out in a competitive job market, I emphasized my adaptability and versatility as a candidate. I demonstrated a broad range of abilities, including both hard and soft skills. Assess your skills and discover areas where you may increase your experience before using this technique.

Develop your soft skills, such as communication, teamwork, and project management, even if your field is highly technical. In contrast, if you are in a people-oriented profession, develop your technical abilities. Highlight these different abilities on your resume and in interviews.

Employers frequently look for applicants who can wear many hats and adapt to changing conditions. By displaying your capacity to thrive in numerous parts of a job, you become a more valued and appealing candidate. Share examples during interviews that show your versatility and adaptability, such as times when you successfully took on new duties.

Claire Jill Parker , Director of Business Management, GoVisaFree

Tailor Your Job Application

In my experience, personalized job applications are pivotal in excelling in a competitive job market. At our company, we’ve recognized that adopting a one-size-fits-all approach simply doesn’t suffice. Instead, I’ve learned that carefully scrutinizing the job description and aligning your qualifications with the specific skills and requirements sought by the employer is the way to go.

By tailoring your resume and cover letter to accentuate your pertinent experiences and proficiencies that directly correspond with the job prerequisites, you exhibit a genuine enthusiasm for the role.

This approach not only simplifies the recruiter’s task of assessing your suitability for the position, but it also underscores your dedication. Drawing on my journey, I’ve realized that this strategy is a game-changer when vying with many applicants. It magnifies your commitment, significantly elevating your likelihood of securing your desired job.

Nick Edwards , Managing Director, Snowfinders

Identify and Brand Your Unique Strengths

Take some time to assess your skills, experiences, and qualities that make you stand out from other candidates. What are your unique strengths, talents, and expertise? Knowing what sets you apart is crucial.

Your personal brand is the image and reputation you present to potential employers. Create a personal brand statement that reflects your strengths, values, and career goals. This should be a concise and interesting message that defines who you are as a professional.

Tailor your resume, cover letter, and online profiles (LinkedIn, personal website) to align with your personal brand. Use keywords and examples that showcase your unique strengths and experiences. Highlight specific achievements that show your value.

Tyler Guffey, CEO, Sycamore Net

Invest in Continuous Learning

In my experience, in a highly competitive job market, it’s imperative to invest in your skills by pursuing relevant certifications or courses. At our company, we’ve seen that employers truly value candidates dedicated to personal and professional growth.

This investment not only enriches your knowledge and expertise but also underscores your unwavering commitment to staying at the forefront of your field.

By acquiring certifications or engaging in courses that align precisely with your desired job’s requirements, you exhibit a proactive approach to skill development.

It differentiates you from other candidates, showcasing your willingness to do what it takes to excel in your role. From my perspective, continual learning and upskilling are integral in staying competitive and securing the job you aspire to.

Leonidas  Sfyris , CTO, Need A Fixer

Optimize Your LinkedIn for Personal Branding

In my experience navigating the competitive job market, I’ve learned that cultivating a robust personal brand is a game-changer. It sets you apart as a standout professional. At our company, we place great emphasis on this strategy.

It starts with optimizing your LinkedIn profile to create a lasting first impression. I’ve found that using a professional headshot and crafting an eye-catching headline reflecting your expertise is key.

Your summary should highlight your unique value proposition and career aspirations. Sharing thought-leadership content, like articles, posts, or comments on industry-related topics, positions you as a knowledgeable and passionate expert in your field.

Engaging in conversations, networking with peers, and following relevant organizations is a must to boost your online presence.

Nilesh Rakholia , Director, Abelini

Tell a Compelling Career Story

In a competitive job market, I focused on crafting a compelling narrative about my career journey. I shared my experiences through blogs and social media, highlighting the challenges I’d overcome and the lessons I’d learned.

This strategy helped me connect with employers who resonated with my story. My advice is to embrace storytelling, showcase your unique path, and let your passion shine through. It can make you memorable in a sea of applicants.

Michael Chen , Head of Growth, Notta

Companies are starting to care more about skills than degrees — here’s how to still make your resume stand out

S kills-based hiring is becoming increasingly popular among companies, while formal qualifications like degrees are becoming less important — especially as labor markets remain tight.

Many firms are still struggling to fill roles, and the way they currently approach hiring might be making this even more challenging, Sue Duke, vice president and head of global public policy at LinkedIn, told CNBC Make It.

"The difficulties we face as we struggle to fill roles, weather economic shifts, and create a diverse and resilient workforce will only grow unless we change our approach to finding and nurturing talent," Duke said.

One way companies are changing their approach is by focusing more on skills, rather than qualifications like college degrees or previous work experience. According to LinkedIn data shared with CNBC Make It, 45% of companies are now explicitly using skills-related metrics to find candidates, 12% more than a year ago.

Daniel Pell, vice president and country manager for the U.K. and Ireland at HR tool Workday, has also noticed a shift.

"HR has shifted to a skills-based economy," Pell told CNBC Make It.

How skills-based hiring works

Hiring based on skills can have a wide range of benefits both for workers and employers, Duke said.

"Our research showed a skills-first approach could increase the global talent pool by nearly ten-fold. And a larger talent pool means less competition with other companies over the same candidates," she said.

But the benefits are thought to go beyond expanding the number of available candidates.

According to Workday's Pell, skills-based organizations are "far more likely to outperform their traditional counterparts" when it comes to innovation, efficiency, and adaptability.

The trend has been boosted by new artificial intelligence and machine learning products, Pell said, as those can help companies identify the right candidates.

Another major benefit for both workers and employers is that skills-based hiring can be vital for building a more diverse workforce.

"It levels the playing field for workers who may have been overlooked," Duke said. This includes people who have not attended or completed university, women, and younger generations.

"For example, in jobs where women are underrepresented, the proportion of women in the talent pool could increase 24% more than it would for men, which leads to more women being hired," she said.

This also increases opportunities for job-seekers, as well as making the job application process more transparent, according to Duke.

Companies that focus on skills also often provide development opportunities to their employees, Pell said. That means workers have more opportunities to grow and add to their existing skillset, helping them be successful long term, he said.

Tailoring your resume

As skills come into focus, the way job applications are assessed may change — a shift that can be difficult for job-seekers to navigate. However, they can also use it to their advantage, recruitment specialists said.

"Applicants can optimize skills-based hiring by making sure their CVs are tailored to this type of hiring," Gaelle Blake, director of permanent appointment at recruitment company Hays, Told CNBC Make It.

This does not, Blake said, mean turning your application into a long list of skills.

"Candidates should make sure their CV showcases their individual skills and abilities; rather than listing the generic, in-demand skills," Blake said. Tangible examples or data points that demonstrate these skills are also crucial, she added.

Amanda Augustine, a career expert at TopResume and certified career coach and resume writer, agreed.

"When crafting a skills-based resume, it's important to follow one simple rule: 'show, don't tell,'" Augustine told CNBC Make It.

Evidence of candidates having suitable skills can then be woven into the application, for example by adding it to bullet points outlining previous job experience, Augustine said.

Job-seekers might also want to change the structure of their resumes by adding slightly unconventional sections like "Core Skills" or "Areas of Expertise" to them, Augustine said. This could mean listing a skill, followed by proof of it through a brief anecdote or data.

Candidates can show their personality and why they would be a good fit for the company through their skills, Blake said.

"Candidates who connect the relevant skills to who they are as a person are likely to catch the attention of the employer," she said.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Blake and Augustine both said there is one thing candidates should never overlook before tailoring a resume: the job description.

"Checking the job description for key words is a useful way of identifying the most relevant skills an employer is looking for," Blake said. And that information is crucial for candidates trying to make sure their resume fits the bill — and gets them an interview.

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