how to write a resume for today's job market

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How to Revamp Your Resume for Today's Job Market

Best-selling author Martin Yate, a career coach and former HR professional, answers common reader questions about how to further your career in HR. 

I graduated last year and have a year of work experience but was laid off as the coronavirus hit. Companies are now starting to hire again, and with so many people looking for work, the competition is overwhelming. I'm just not getting any responses to my resume. Any ideas about what I can do to improve my resume?

One of the most common resume-writing problems is misunderstanding how your resume will be found and processed. It is common to try to make your resume appeal to as wide an audience as possible. But the recruiters who search resume databases—where your resume will ultimately be stored when you send it to an employer—are looking for people qualified for one specific job, so you need to focus your resume on one specific job and not try to make it all things to all people. A one-size-fits-all resume is actually less discoverable in database searches, and it will appear to be less relevant and receive a less careful review whenever it is read by a recruiter.

Here are some practical tweaks you can make to improve your resume's performance.

Deconstruct Your Target Job

With job competition as fierce as it is now, I would suggest you pursue one distinct job that you can do now—one for which you have all the skills and experience needed to hit the ground running.

You probably have a good idea of what that job is, but you may lack an understanding of how employers define the job. The quickest way to gain that understanding is to collect six job postings that focus on that particular job. Then comb through them to find the skills and experience they have in common and the words they use to express these needs. These are the words recruiters will use in resume database searches and the words that will determine if your resume will be found or not.

If you want to pursue a different target job, you need to create another resume with a new focus. This isn't as big a chore as you think, because the layout and many of the details on your primary resume will remain the same.

Choose Your Target Job Title

Just as every movie, blog, book and TV show has a title to draw people in, your resume also needs a title. It's best to use the most common job title from the six job postings you collected. This target job title will appear at the top of your resume, immediately after your contact information. It's a headline for the whole document, helps your resume's discoverability in databases, and gives readers an immediate focus on who you are and what you do.

Use a Performance Profile or Performance Summary

Don't use "Objective" as a headline and then describe the job you want because the employer isn't interested in what you want until it makes an offer.

Instead, follow the target job title with a brief summary of what you have to offer—how your skills and experiences relate to the needs identified in the half dozen job postings you collected. Some of the skills and requirements will be common to all six postings, while others might be common to only one or two; focus on the ones that are most common.

[Download this template to help structure your resume.]

Take the requirements common to the collected job postings for this job and write three to six lines describing your ability to execute these requirements .

Whenever you can, use the wording employers use in their job descriptions. When you do this, two things happen:

•  Your resume pops up more often in recruiters' searches.
• Your resume is read more carefully.

Your research demonstrates an understanding of the job, and that can set you apart in a sea of candidates who haven't done their resume prep work as carefully.

If you lack a certain skill or experience, add a sentence about your desire to "work more with" or "gain more experience with" that particular skill. This gets critical keywords in your resume and shows a recruiter that you understand the job's needs.

List Your Professional Skills

A professional skills section identifies the skills required to execute the responsibilities of the job. List these words and acronyms in three columns to help recruiters who are skimming the document.

When a recruiter evaluates this section, each word, acronym or phrase tells the reader of another topic to be addressed at the interview and increases the odds of that interview happening.

Include Your Professional Experience

Include the names of companies you've worked for and when you worked there. Repeat the keywords you first mentioned in your professional skills section to describe each job in which you used them. This puts those skills with the place and time and helps the recruiter put your skills in context.

Forget the One-Page Resume Rule

This rule has been around for decades and is out of date because jobs have become far more complex. Use your resume to tell the story of your professional qualifications as they relate to the target job, but let the content dictate the page count. This doesn't mean you can ramble, though. Keep your resume tightly focused and if you have enough experience to warrant a second or third page, don't worry. Recruiters are unlikely to read the first page of your resume, think you are an awesome candidate, then decide not to see you because you have even more relevant experience on a second or third page.

If you make these changes in your resume, it will be more likely to show up in recruiters' resume database searches, meaning you'll likely get more interviews.

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• How to Write a Modern Resume...

How to Write a Modern Resume in 2024

4 min read · Updated on December 19, 2023

Don't leave your resume in the past.

What is the modern resume? Or more importantly, how does the modern resume compare to the traditional resume? The differences are certainly there, and they focus primarily on telling a career narrative and keyword optimization.

While traditional resumes or CVs can vary in range or length, the typical length of a modern resume usually hovers around one to two pages. In fact, more and more recruiters actually prefer two pages over one page, even if you're an entry-level candidate. 

According to a study that involved almost 500 recruiters, hiring managers, and HR professionals and nearly 8,000 resumes, recruiters are 2.3 times as likely to prefer two-page resumes over one-page resumes, regardless of a candidate's job level. This means if you have enough information to go on to that second page, do so. If you don't, leave it at one page. 

If you have many years of experience, you should still cut your resume down to two pages. Recruiters spend less than 10 seconds reviewing your resume, so it's important to present a succinct document that highlights the recent — and more relevant — parts of your work history, skills, and education.

Format and style

Modern industry standards call for more comprehensive formats and narrative career storytelling. With this, it is essential to “trim the fat” off of your resume and optimize its content. 

This begins with the removal of the objective statement and references from your resume , which have been deemed outdated. These two sections of the resume have been removed to include more comprehensive content, including a career summary and an Areas of Expertise section.

First, it's imperative to insert a career summary in lieu of an objective statement at the beginning of your resume. Career summaries are two to four lines that are typically like your elevator pitch, outlining why you're qualified for the job. Next, you can elect to insert six to nine “Areas of Expertise” bullet points utilizing keywords taken from the job descriptions you've been looking at to highlight your relevant skills and improve visibility on major resume hosting sites.

After these two sections, list your latest experiences up to 15 years — going back any further will just make your resume too long and will include information recruiters aren't looking for. The idea is to get the document to two pages filled with relevant information that highlights why you're the best candidate for the job.

You also want to leave enough room for an Education and Credentials section to wrap up the resume. These are the areas where education, training, certifications, and awards are compiled and listed, serving as rudimentary qualifications in many instances.

Keyword optimization

Believe it or not, your resume needs to include relevant keywords in order to be considered for the job. As mentioned, many recruiters search for specific keywords or terms when finding their ideal candidates. Also, many companies utilize applicant tracking software to help scan through the hundreds of applications they receive for a job posting, looking for the correct terms relevant to the job. This means that if your resume isn't optimized, this system will dispose of your resume before it reaches human eyes.

By strategically implementing relevant keywords, you increase visibility in highly competitive markets and heavily populated resume hosting sites, and ensure your resume gets through to a hiring manager. These terms are a must-add to any resume and are ideal for the “Areas of Expertise” section on any resume.

Resumes have evolved to reflect the times. How does the modern resume compare to the traditional resume? The differences are certainly significant. From more career-narrative development to keyword optimization, the modern resume has distinct features that aid job seekers in competing in a globally competitive market.

Is your resume stuck in the past? Update it today with the help of one of our resume writers .

This article was originally written by Keith Fuchs .

Recommended Reading: 

11 Steps to Writing the Perfect Resume

5 Signs It's Time to Hire a Professional Resume Writer

Your Ultimate Guide to Writing the Perfect Resume

Related Articles:

Do Hiring Managers Actually Read Cover Letters?

How to Create a Resume With No Education

Why You Lose When You Lie on Your Resume: Learning From Mina Chang

See how your resume stacks up.

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How To Write A Resume That Wins A Job In 2024 [7+ Free Templates & Examples]

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Ready to learn how to write a resume that gets you hired? Look no further!

If you want a resume template that will help you land more interviews, head over to our free resume builder !

In this comprehensive guide, we'll cover the strategies and methods behind taking your template and transforming it into a job-winning resume!

Let's Be Honest: Writing A Resume Is The Worst

Writing a great resume is one of the most frustrating parts of the job search. We sift through dozens of articles and compare conflicting advice to make our own decisions on what to follow:

One article says “one page MAX” while another says “use two or three and include all of your experience.”

And yet another tells you to “write a quick summary highlighting your personality and experience” while a different article claims that “summaries are a waste of space.”

You scrape together your best effort and hit “Submit,” sending your resume into the ether. When you don't hear back, you wonder what went wrong:

“Was it the single page or the lack of a summary? Honestly, who gives a s**t at this point. I'm sick of sending out 10 resumes every day and hearing nothing but crickets.”

Writing a resume sucks, but it's not your fault!

The real reason it's so tough to write a resume is because most of the advice out there hasn't been proven against the actual end goal of getting a job. If you don't know what consistently works, you can't lay out a system to get there.

It's easy to say “one page works best” when you've seen it happen a few times. But how does it hold up when we look at 100 resumes across different industries, experience levels, and job titles?

That's what this article aims to answer.

Over the past five years, I've personally applied to hundreds of companies and coached hundreds of people through the job search process. This gave me a huge opportunity to measure, analyze, and test the effectiveness of different resume strategies at scale.

This article is going to walk through everything I've learned about the best ways to write a resume over the past 5 years, including:

• Mistakes that 95%+ people make, causing their resumes to get tossed immediately
• 3 things that consistently appear in the resumes of highly effective job searchers (who go on to land jobs at the world's best companies)
• A quick hack that will help you stand out from the competition and instantly build relationships with whoever is reading your resume (increasing your chances of hearing back and getting hired)
• The exact resume template that got me interviews and offers at Google, Microsoft, Twitter, Uber, and more

The strategies you're about to learn have helped people just like you land jobs at Google, Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, ESPN, Deloitte, Goldman Sachs, and more.

Before we get to the unconventional strategies that will help set you apart, we need to first make sure our foundational bases are covered. That starts with understanding the mistakes most job seekers make so we can make our resume bulletproof.

Resume Mistakes That 95% Of People Make

Most resumes that come through an online portal or across a recruiter's desk are tossed out because they violate a simple rule.

When recruiters scan a resume, the first thing they look for are mistakes. Your resume could be fantastic, but if you violate a rule like using an unprofessional email address or improper grammar, it's going to get tossed out.

Our goal is to fully understand the triggers that cause recruiters/ATS systems to make the snap decisions on who stays and who goes.

In order to get inside the heads of these decision makers, I collected data from dozens of recruiters and hiring mangers across industries. These people have several hundred years of hiring experience under their belts and they've reviewed 100,000+ resumes across industries.

They broke down the five most common mistakes that cause them to cut resumes from the pile:

The 4 Most Common Resume Mistakes (According To Recruiters & Hiring Managers):

Mistake #1:  Sloppiness (typos, spelling errors, & grammatical mistakes). Close to 60% of resumes have some sort of typo or grammatical issue.

Solution:  Have your resume reviewed by three separate sources – spell checking software, a friend, and a professional. Spell check should be covered if you're using Microsoft Word or Google Docs to create your resume.

A friend or family member can cover the second base, but make sure you trust them with reviewing the whole thing. You can always include an obvious mistake to see if they catch it.

Finally, you can hire a professional editor on Upwork . It shouldn't take them more than 15-20 minutes to review so it's worth paying a bit more for someone with high ratings and lots of hours logged.

Mistake #2: Summaries are too long and formal. Many resumes include summaries that consist of paragraphs explaining why they are a “driven, results oriented team player.” When hiring managers see a block of text at the top of the resume, you can bet they aren't going to read the whole thing. If they do give it a shot and read something similar to the sentence above, they're going to give up on the spot.

Solution:  Summaries are highly effective, but they should be in bullet form and showcase your most relevant experience for the role. Think of them as a highlight reel – the Sports Center Top 10 of your resume – instead of a paragraph of who you are and what you're looking for.

For example, if I'm applying for a new business sales role, my first bullet might read “Responsible for driving $11M of new business in 2019, achieved 168% attainment (#1 on my team).” I talk more about resume objectives and summaries in this post.

Mistake #3: Too many buzz words. Remember our driven team player from the last paragraph? Phrasing like that makes hiring managers cringe because your attempt to stand out actually makes you sound like everyone else.

Solution:  Instead of using buzzwords, write naturally, use bullets, and include quantitative results whenever possible.

Would you rather hire a salesperson who “is responsible for driving new business across the healthcare vertical to help companies achieve their goals” or “drove $15M of new business last quarter, including the largest deal in company history”? Skip the buzzwords and focus on results.

You can read more about writing highly effective resume bullets in this guide or you can use our free resume bullet analyzer tool .

Mistake #4: Having a resume that is more than one page. The average employer spends six seconds reviewing your resume – if it's more than one page, it probably isn't going to be read. When asked, recruiters from Google and Barclay's both said multiple page resumes “are the bane of their existence.”

Solution:  Increase your margins, decrease your font, and cut down your experience to highlight the most relevant pieces for the role. It may seem impossible, but it's worth the effort. When you're dealing with recruiters who see hundreds of resumes every day, we want to make their lives as easy as possible.

More Common Resume Mistakes & Facts (Backed By Industry Research)

In addition to personal feedback, I combed through dozens of recruitment survey results to fill any gaps my contacts might have missed. Here are a few more items you may want to consider when writing your resume:

• The average interviewer spends 6 seconds scanning your resume
• The majority of interviewers have not looked at your resume until you walk into the room
• Resumes with a link to a comprehensive LinkedIn profile have a 71% better chance of hearing back
• 76% of resumes are discarded for an unprofessional email address
• Resumes with a photo have an 88% rejection rate
• 58% of resumes have typos
• Applicant tracking software typically eliminates 75% of resumes due to a lack of keywords and phrases being present

Now that you know every mistake you need to avoid, the first item on your to-do list is to comb through your current resume and make sure it doesn't violate anything mentioned above.

Once you have a clean resume, you can start to focus on more advanced tactics that will really make you stand out. There a few unique elements you can use to push your application over the edge and finally get your dream company to notice you.

Steal The Resume Template That Got Me Offers At Google, Microsoft, & Twitter > Click here to get free, instant access to the resume template & bonuses <<

The 3 Elements Of A Resume That Will Get You Hired

My analysis showed that in order to write a resume that was highly effective, it typically includes three specific elements:

• Quantitative results
• A simple design
• Quirky interests section

This section breaks down all three elements and shows you how to maximize their impact.

#1: Quantitative Results

Most resumes lack them.

Which is a shame because my data shows that they make the biggest difference between resumes that land interviews and resumes that end up in the trash.

Here's an example from a recent resume that was emailed to me:

❌ Bad Example of Experience Identified gaps in policies and processes and made recommendations for solutions at the department and institution level Streamlined processes to increase efficiency and enhance quality Directly supervised three managers and indirectly managed up to 15 staff on multiple projects Oversaw execution of in-house advertising strategy Implemented comprehensive social media plan

As an employer, that tells me absolutely nothing about what to expect if I hire this person.

They executed an in-house marketing strategy. Did it work? How did they measure it? What was the ROI?

They also also identified gaps in processes and recommended solutions. What was the result? Did they save time and operating expenses? Did it streamline a process resulting in more output?

Finally, they managed a team of three supervisors and 15 staffers. How did that team do? Was it better than the other teams at the company? What results did they get and how did those improve under this person's management?

See what I'm getting at here?

These types of bullets talk about daily activities, but companies don't care about what you do every day. They care about results. By including measurable metrics and achievements in your resume, you're showcasing the value that the employer can expect to get if they hire you.

Let's take a look at revised versions of those same bullets:

✅ Good Example of Experience Managed a team of 20 that consistently outperformed other departments in lead generation, deal size, and overall satisfaction (based on our culture survey) Executed in-house marketing strategy that resulted in a 15% increase in monthly leads along with a 5% drop in the cost per lead Implemented targeted social media campaigns across Instagram & Pinterest, driving an additional 50,000 monthly website visits and generating 750 qualified leads in 3 months

If you were in the hiring manager's shoes, which resume would you choose?

That's the power of including quantitative results.

Note:  Just because you don't work in sales, marketing, or a “numbers-driven” field, doesn't mean that you can't add measurable metrics to your resume. There are other categories that qualify here, including:

• Time – How long did it take you to achieve something? Was that faster that usual or ahead of the timeline? If so, by how much?
• Scope – What was the measurable scope of the project you worked on? How many people did you manage on this project? How many people use the product you work on? What was the budget for this project? Etc.
• Efficiency / Productivity  – Were you able to save budget? Save people time? Improve outcomes?
• Comparison  – How did your results compare to the past? Did you do things faster? Better? Can you quantify and compare that to previous work?

Finally, every single person at a company has a role there because they impact the bottom line, either directly or indirectly. If you don't feel like you have a direct impact, go find the people who leverage your work who do!

For example, let's say you're a designer who made a brand new pitch deck for the sales team. Can you go talk to the team and:

• Ask how many deals they've closed with your deck vs. the previous deck
• Survey them and ask them to rate your deck compared to the previous deck

If your deck has led to more deals, how much are they worth? You played a role in those results! If your deck has better ratings and feedback than previous decks, add that in!

You can always find a quantifiable way to measure your value if you're willing to get creative.

#2: Simple, Aesthetic Design That Hooks The Reader

These days, it's easy to get carried away with our mission to “stand out.” I've seen resume overhauls from graphic designers, video resumes, and even resumes hidden in a box of donuts.

While those can work in very specific situations, we want to aim for a strategy that consistently gets results. The format I saw the most success with was a black and white template with sections in this order:

• Summary/Objective
• Volunteer Work (if you have it)
• Skills/Interests

This template is effective because it's familiar and easy for the reader to digest.

As I mentioned earlier, hiring managers scan resumes for an average of 6 seconds. If your resume is in an unfamiliar format, those 6 seconds won't be very comfortable for the hiring manager. Our brains prefer things we can easily recognize. You want to make sure that a hiring manager can actually catch a glimpse of who you are during their quick scan of your resume.

If we're not relying on design, this hook needs to come from the Summary section at the top of your resume.

This section should be done in bullets (not paragraph form) and it should contain 3-4 highlights of the most relevant experience you have for the role. For example, if I was applying for a New Business Sales position, my summary could look like this:

Sales Executive Summary Drove quarterly average of $11M in new business with a quota attainment of 128% (#1 on my team) Received award for largest sales deal of the year Developed and trained sales team on new lead generation process that increased total leads by 17% in 3 months, resulting in 4 new deals worth $7M

Those bullets speak directly to the value I can add to the company if I was hired for the role.

#3: An “Interests” Section That's Quirky, Unique, & Relatable

This is a little “hack” you can use to instantly build personal connections and positive associations with whoever is reading your resume.

Most resumes have a skills section but sometimes it doesn't offer enough value.

Research shows that people rely on emotions, not information, to make decisions. Big brands use this principle all the time – emotional responses to advertisements are more influential on a person’s intent to buy than the content of an ad.

You probably remember Apple's famous “Get A Mac” campaign:

When it came to specs and performance, Macs didn't blow every single PC out of the water. But these ads solidified who was “cool” and who wasn't, which was worth a few extra bucks to a few million people.

By tugging at our need to feel “cool,” Apple's campaign led to a 42% increase in market share and a record sales year for MacBooks.

Now we're going to take that same tactic and apply it to your resume.

If you can invoke an emotional response from your recruiter, you can influence the mental association they assign to you. This gives you a major competitive advantage.

Let's start with a question — what could you talk about for hours?

It could be cryptocurrency, cooking, World War 2, World of Warcraft, or how Google's bet on segmenting their company under the Alphabet is going to impact the technology sector over the next 5 years.

Did a topic (or two) pop into your head? Great.

Now think about what it would be like to have a conversation with someone who was just as passionate and knew just as much as you did on the topic. It'd be pretty awesome, right?  Finally,  someone who gets it!

That's exactly the kind of emotional response we're aiming to get from a hiring manager.

There are five “neutral” topics out there that people enjoy talking about:

• Geography (travel, where people are from, etc.)

These topics are present in plenty of interest sections, but we want to take them one step further.

Let's say you had the best night of your life at the Full Moon Party in Thailand. Which of the following two options would you be more excited to read:

• Ko Pha Ngan beaches (where the full moon party is held)

Or, let's say that you went to Duke (an ACC school) and still follow their basketball team. Which would you be more pumped about:

• College Sports
• ACC Basketball (Go Blue Devils!)

In both cases, the second answer would probably invoke a larger emotional response because they are tied directly to your experience.

I want you to think about your interests that fit into the five categories I mentioned above.

Now I want you to write a specific favorite associated with each in parentheses next to your original list. For example, if you wrote travel you can add (ask me about the time I was chased by an elephant in India) or (specifically meditation in a Tibetan monastery).

Here is the exact set of interests I used on my resume when I interviewed at Google, Microsoft, and Twitter:

ABC Kitchen's Atmosphere, Stumptown Coffee (primarily cold brew), Michael Lewis (Liar's Poker), Fishing (especially fly), Foods That Are Vehicles For Hot Sauce, ACC Sports (Go Deacs!) & The New York Giants

If you want to cheat here, my experience shows that anything about hot sauce is an instant conversation starter.

Resume Fundamentals: Format, Fonts, & Pairing With A Cover Letter

Now that you know what mistakes to avoid and what elements to focus on when you write a resume, it's time to get back to the basics. This stuff isn't the sexiest, but you need to make sure that the fundamentals of your resume are on point if you want to edge out the competition and win the job.

What Resume Format Works Best?

This is one of the most common questions I get from people who are planning to write a resume. When it comes to an acceptable resume layout , there are four main templates to choose from:

Resume Format Option #1: Chronological The chronological resume is one of the most common formats, and probably what you're using right now. It focuses on listing out your professional experience starting with your current position and working your way back. If you're leveraging a chronological resume format, you should aim to cap your experience at 10-15 years (when applicable) and don't be afraid to include side projects or part time jobs.

Resume Format Option #2: Functional Functional resume formats emphasize skills and experience over history. This resume is great for people who are chasing new industries that don't have a clear cut path. The blockchain/cryptocurrency space is a great example here – you can't get a degree in blockchain and most of the hires in the industry are brand new to the space so companies prioritize transferable skills over work history. Functional resumes are also great for people who have gaps in their employment. Focusing on your skills and tangible results reduces the spotlight on any lapses you might have and improves your chances of getting hired

Resume Format Option #3: Combination Combination resumes are a cross between functional and chronological. This is typically leveraged by candidates who want to highlight major projects and accomplishments because of their relevance to the position, while showcasing their extensive work history. Combination formats typically split the white space into a section that solely focuses on specific projects and achievements along with a section that highlights experience in a minimalistic fashion (typically the only information listed is the  company name, job title, and dates).

Resume Format Option #4: Creative/Non-Traditional Creative resumes step outside of the 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper and help candidates showcase their experience and skills in a non-traditional fashion. This could be an interactive website like Robby Leondari's , a mock up of the company's website like Philippe's , or a video like Mark's:

When it comes to choosing a resume layout , there is no “best” option for everyone. The smartest thing you can do is reflect on your situation, your experience, and the job you want. Then compare those to the options above and pick one that makes the most sense when you're ready to write a resume.

How To Choose A Font For Your Resume (& Why That Matters)

You might have read that and said, “Font? Seriously!? I've got way more important stuff on my plate right now.”

I used to think the same thing until I came across this article on Font Psychology.  It consolidated information from 75+ academic studies on the subject that all point to a similar conclusion – fonts have a  huge  impact on our perception of the written product be it a paper, a website, or a resume.

There are five main font categories in existence today: Serif, Sans Serif, Monospace, Fantasy, and Cursive. Here's an infographic illustrating the emotions that each of these font families evoke in the reader:

When it comes to the “best” font for your resume , the safest bet is to use something simple and easy to read. In my opinion, Sans Serif fits that bill best so choose from fonts like Avenir, Helvetica, Arial, or Geneva.

How A Great Cover Letter Will Strengthen Your Resume

Many people read this article and come back to me with a single takeaway, “Did you say ONE PAGE??”

How can you possibly fit all of the amazing work you've done in the industry over the past several years along with skills , interests, and references onto a single page?! That's where your cover letter comes in.

The cover letter is your place to expand on the experience, skills, and achievements you highlighted in your resume. Crafting a great cover letter is also going to increase the strength of your overall application. Data shows that 53% of employers prefer candidates who submit a cover letter.

But this article is about how to write a resume that gets results. The main takeaway is that, if done correctly, your cover letter is going to boost your overall application and increase the chances that your (now totally awesome) resume gets a thorough inspection. For a more detailed look into cover letters, check out my guide on Writing A Cover Letter That Actually Gets You Hired .

Finally, when you make it past the final round and the company asks for references , make sure your references match the format and templates you chose for your resume and cover letter.

The Proven Plug & Play Resume Template (With Examples)

Now that we have our fundamentals down, it's time to apply all of these tactics to write a resume. Our goal is to write a resume that increases your chances of hearing back from companies, enhances your relationships with hiring managers, and ultimately helps you score the job offer.

The example below is the exact resume that I used to land interviews and offers at Microsoft, Google, and Twitter. I was targeting roles in Account Management and Sales so this sample is tailored towards those positions. We'll break down each section below:

First, I want you to notice how clean this resume template is. Each section is clearly labeled and separated and flows nicely from top to bottom.

My summary speaks directly to the value I've created in the past around company culture and its bottom line:

• I consistently exceeded expectations
• I started my own business  in the space (and saw real results)
• I'm a team player who prioritizes culture

Next, my Experience section aims to flesh out the points made in my Summary. I mentioned exceeding my quota up top so I included two specific initiatives that led to that attainment, including measurable results:

• A partnership leveraging display advertising to drive users to a gamified experience. The campaign resulted in over 30,00 acquisitions and laid the groundwork for the 2nd largest deal in company history.
• A partnership with a top tier agency aimed at increasing conversions for a client by improving user experience and upgrading tracking during a company-wide website overhaul (the client has ~20 brand sites). Our efforts over 6 months resulted in a contract extension worth 316% more than their original deal.

Finally, I included my education at the very bottom starting with the most relevant coursework.

Steal My Proven Resume Template (For Free!) In order to help you write a resume that gets results, I'm giving away a copy of my proven resume template, access to my Rapid Resume Revamp video course, and a live resume review session. All you need to do is click the link below to get instant access: Click here to get free, instant access to all of my resume resources.

How To Identify Resume Keywords

If you're not already familiar, Applicant Tracking Systems are pieces of software that companies use to help “automate” the hiring process.

After you hit submit on your online application, the ATS software scans your resume looking for specific keywords and phrases.

If the language in your resume matches up, the software sees it as a good fit for the role and will pass it on to the recruiter. However, even if you're highly qualified for the role but you don't use the right wording, your resume can end up sitting in black hole.

Translation? If you want to boost your chances of getting seen and getting hired, you need to write a resume that is optimized the right way, using the right resume template.

This can be a little tricky to figure out on your own, which is exactly why I created a tool called ResyMatch.io !

ResyMatch is a free resume scanner and optimizer that will help you identify the exact keywords, experience, and formatting you need to include on your resume for each job you apply for!

Here's how it works:

First, head over to ResyMatch.io , upload your resume on the left, and paste your target job description on the right:

ResyMatch will scan your resume and compare it to your target job description. The tool will spit out a match score based on four categories – ATS Best Practices, Hard Skills, Soft Skills, and a Sales Index (which essentially grades you on how well you sell your experience in your bullets):

If you scroll down, you'll get a full breakdown of the exact changes you need to make to improve your resume. ResyMatch will show you the keywords you need to include, the formatting you should aim for, and it will show you how to sell yourself through your bullets and content:

When you write a resume, your goal is to include those keywords at the same frequency that you'd find on the job description.

ResyMatch is free so you can scan your resume and track your progress as you make your updates!

While there's no guaranteed way to beat the online application process, this will definitely help improve your chances of getting your foot in the door!

How To Write Highly Effective Resume Bullets

At the beginning of this article, I talked about conflicting advice that you see all the time when you're ready to write a resume. One page vs. two, summaries vs. objectives, this font or that font…

But the truth is, none of those things matter if the content of your resume stinks.

You could have the best template and the best formatting, but if your bullets are vague and generic, you won't get results!

The problem is, most people don't do a great job of illustrating their value in their resume bullets – and I don't blame them!

When I was job searching, understanding how to write “good” bullets wasn't easy. And most of the time I  thought  I'd finally gotten there, but I still wasn't getting any results.

I realized the problem was that the concept of a “good” bullet was abstract. What made a “good” bullet good and what made a “bad” bullet bad?

I spent the next few years working to develop a formula for great resume bullets to help solve that. It looks like this:

That gave me a starting point for structuring my bullets and it made a HUGE difference.

But applying your bullets to that formula still takes some work. You need to figure out what your skills are, what action words you're using, etc. I wanted to take the guesswork out of it, so I created a resume bullet analyzer tool called ResyBullet.io .

All you need to do is copy a bullet from your resume, paste it into ResyBullet, and the tool will analyze your bullet and give you a score along with objective feedback on how it needs to be improved:

The tool will also save your score history so you can track your progress and A/B test different approaches to your bullets as your score improves.

You can check it out at ResyBullet.io.

Write A Resume With Our Free Resume Templates & Resume Builder

If you're ready to start implementing all of the tips and strategies from this article, check out how to write a resume using our free resume builder .

Like ResyMatch, ResyBullet, and all of our tools, they are free to use:

You can choose from 7 resume templates that are ATS-friendly (meaning the resume robots can easily scan and read it) and have been approved by recruiters from the world's best companies including Microsoft, Google, Barclays, and more.

Next, we give you complete control over the content and style of your resume. You can edit the sections, colors, font, sizing, margins, and a whole lot more!

Finally, you can export your resume as a PDF, a TXT file you can import into Microsoft Word, or you can save it to your Google Drive.

Click here to start building a job-winning resume for free!

Resume Statistics

We recently analyzed 125,000+ resumes to answer one question:

“How many candidates are following best practices and where are there opportunities to create a better, more effective resume?”

We looked at file types and formatting. We looked at contact information, education, and interests. We looked at keywords, skills, and experience. We even looked at the specific language used to write these resumes.

The analysis of these resumes led to some pretty interesting results and the goal of this article is to share them with you so that you can understand how to write an effective resume and get an edge on the competition.

Still Have Questions About How To Write A Resume?

No problem! I tried to include as much as I possibly could in this guide, but everyone's situation is unique.

Feel free to leave a comment below or email me with your question or any feedback you have!

• Connect on LinkedIn
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Austin Belcak

Austin is the founder of Cultivated Culture where he helps people land jobs without connections, without traditional experience, and without applying online. His strategies have been featured in Forbes, Business Insider, & Fast Company and has helped people just like you land jobs at Google, Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Twitter, & more.

18 thoughts on How To Write A Resume That Wins A Job In 2024 [7+ Free Templates & Examples]

Thank you Austin. Awesome article! I’m so happy I found Cultivated Culture. The content you’re posting is absolutely amazing. It has helped me with almost any problem I encountered during my job search. I absolutely love your career advice. Thank you.

As a recent graduate i want to create resume/CV for myself as i am going to start looking for job but didn’t know how and what should i include on resume so started searching over net and found out this article which i think is great help for students like us. Thank You.

Thank you for this informative how-to. I’m recently back on the search for a job after many many happy years at the same place. This is truly helpful for those of us without a tuned-up resume, and will no doubt prove very beneficial.

Thanks again!

>Resume Format Option #4: Creative/Non-Traditional

Just a word of warning – if the job you’re applying to isn’t a creative one, it’s probably best to pass on this option. On the other hand, if you ARE trying to land a job that involves creativity, this might be the best option of them all. Past experience and skills and all that is great, but being able to showcase your talents and genius right there in the resume itself is something that only a few people can do well. And if one of those people is you, then hey, go for it!

Awsome article! It gave me a few ideas of how to re-write my resume. Thanks a lot.

Right on! That’s the whole goal, glad to hear it sparked a few ideas.

Thank you for this wonderful post, Austin! This is extremely helpful.

Do you have suggestions for including or coming up with metrics for your job when it’s hard to quantify the results at your job OR some metrics/numbers are confidential to be published on your resume/cover letter?

My job title is Systems Analyst / Product Owner, and I am looking to apply for Product Management roles.

Do you have any suggestions/templates for coming up with metrics specifically for the Product Owner/Business Systems Analyst role? That is one part of updating my Resume that I am really struggling with. Any help is much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

You bet Ankit! Thanks so much for reading.

There is almost always some way to spin up metrics or results for what you’ve done. The best questions to ask yourself are:

– Why is the company paying me to do this? How are they measuring success? – What teams/people is my work impacting? How can I leverage their results?

For example, if you release a product, how did that product impact sales, increase efficiency, or drive retention? Or if you fixed a bug, how did that improve satisfaction or usability?

Someone is leveraging your work or paying attention to it and saying “it’s worth keeping Ankit around.” You need to find those people, figure out what results they’ve seen from your work, and add those in.

Austin you are just awesome I don’t read so long content but while I was in your blog, I couldn’t stay away as each point is precise and to the point well explained! Loved it

Nice! I’m super happy to hear it keeps you coming back Razor!

Hey there! I am seeking out some ways to enhance my clients resumes. They are all young adults with disabilities and need some amplification to their entry level resumes. If you have time please send over some tips. Best, Taylor

Hey Taylor, sounds like you’re doing really important work. This article is definitely a great place to start, I’d also recommend checking out this resume builder . It incorporates all of the info above and makes it easy to create a resume that gets results. It’s also 100% free!

Thank you Austin for such wonderful article for job-winning resume templates. Your article is extremely helpful and you can also check out other amazing resume writing templates from one des blog.

Thanks Andy, I appreciate the kind words!

I like how you said that when recruiters scan a resume, the first thing they look for are mistakes. My cousin is looking for a job and he says that it’s been hard to find a good job. Thanks for sharing this article, I will suggest to him to find a professional to help him write a nice resume so that he can get a job faster.

You got it Derek! With companies receiving hundreds, if not thousands, of resumes the easiest way for them to slim it down is by looking for mistakes. Running a resume through tools like Hemingway app or Grammarly is an easy way to make sure yours passes that check!

super useful as usual. I have a question though. I ran my resume through Jobscan. it is currently on 1 page and font size 10 (so rather packed…), however the jobscan analysis says I do not have enough characters on my cv.

I think you said that a 1 page resume is better. Currently based in Europe, I am still hesitating between 1 page and 2 pages. The analysis of Jobscan suggests I should probably have a 2 pages resume.

Any thoughts ?

Hey Xavier,

There is no absolute “right or wrong” answer here. Resumes are all about quality over quantity.

A one page resume full of fluff would be awful and a three page resume that’s jam packed with results and accomplishments would work great. On the flip side, a one page resume with amazing results will beat out a three pager full of fluff.

Instead of worrying about the length, I would focus on making sure your bullets follow the formula in this post . That will ensure that you’re using them to illustrate and drive value!

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Top 15 resume writing tips for today’s job market

Discussed in this article.

Writing a good resume for today’s market isn’t as hard as you might think. A few small tweaks can take you out of career limbo and into your next position. With the help of our very own Human Resources Recruiting Coordinator, Maciah Olson, we came up with some tips and tricks that will help you boost your resume, land the job and keep your career moving forward. Here are KSL Jobs’ top 15 resume writing tips. 

1. Keep the format clean and readable

The first thing any hiring manager or resume reviewer will notice about your resume is the way it looks. Removing distractions and keeping it easy to read helps the reviewer find relevant info quickly. You don’t have much to gain by switching things up, but a lot to lose. Trust us, no one’s ever rejected a resume while yelling, “Where’s the pizazz?!” 

From an HR pro:

“Keywords are a big deal. Before applying to a job, you want to read the job description multiple times. When I am applying to a job I copy and paste the job qualifications or skills section in my resume and then highlight my background based on the skills they are looking for.” - Maciah Olson, Human Resources Recruiting Coordinator

2. Remove irrelevant experience

Make your resume as open and inviting as possible. If a job doesn’t feel relevant to the one you’re applying for, it can be left off for readability’s sake. Remember, reviewers are probably reading resumes the way you're reading articles about resumes — skimming for the most important information so they can go to lunch.

3. Use margins to your advantage

If your relevant experience only adds up to half a page, don’t be afraid to play with the margins and spacing. Just a bit, though — margins should never creep above 2 inches and line spacing should never be more than 1.5. (Bonus tip: margins and spacing work especially well to cover up inexperience when combined with the next tip in our list.) 

4. Include a summary statement

This is a short paragraph at the top of your resume that highlights your skills, experience and accomplishments. A summary statement is useful if you’re coming off of a long break in employment or don’t have much experience. It allows you to showcase the positives early on, so your potential employer gets to know your strengths before seeing anything else. 

5. Stick to basic fonts

In addition to using 10, 11 or 12 size fonts you should stick to clean, basic styles like Helvetica, Arial or Calibri. If you’re having trouble grasping the concept, just try to avoid fonts that sound like they live in a van in Little Cottonwood Canyon. Papyrus, Curlz and Wingdings might be fun to climb with — they don’t belong on a resume. 

6. Use active language

Avoid using the phrase “responsible for.” Use active language instead to talk about what you actually got done. Remember the story of the Trojan Horse? Those guards could say they were “Responsible for searching visitors,” and not be lying. Highlight your accomplishments over your responsibilities to demonstrate what you have to offer over other applicants. Be like the Greeks, who can now include “Created innovative solutions to beat the competition,” on their resumes. 

7. Include facts and figures  

This allows hiring managers to see your work in real terms. Even if you didn’t work in a role where you can show the amount of money you brought in or the number of new customers you created, you can still mention things like the frequency of tasks, positive performance reviews or any number of other role-specific goals you met.

8. Add industry keywords

Search sample resumes in your field for industry-relevant keywords. These keywords can also be found by rereading the job description or searching industry websites. Scope out areas in your resume where you can replace plain language with these more eye-catching phrases. Be careful not to use too many though — companies can easily spot keyword stuffing.

9. Seriously, use keywords

We’re doubling down because many companies use keyword-scanning software to weed through large groups of applicants (sorry to break the news if that was your dream job). If you’re not using the right language your resume could get tossed without even being given a chance, so use those keywords like your job depends on it — it just might. 

Keywords are a big deal. Before applying to a job, you want to read the job description multiple times. When I am applying to a job I copy and paste the job qualifications or skills section in my resume and then highlight my background based on the skills they are looking for.” - Maciah Olson, Human Resources Recruiting Coordinator

10. Mention non-traditional experience

Don’t be afraid to include freelance work, contract roles, volunteer opportunities and personal accomplishments, especially if you’ve been out of work. Maybe you picked up a new instrument, trained for a half marathon or helped with a relative’s business — including these accomplishments will prove that you haven’t just been sitting on your hands. 

11. Avoid generic language

The use of industry keywords also helps you avoid using generic language and overly “businessy” terms. Saying that you’re well versed in SEO practices will jump out more than claiming you’re “a hard worker,” “a real go-getter” or a “business synergy consultant.” Whatever that means. 

12. Include only relevant skills

Think about what someone in that field might want to see and include skills and strengths that fit the bill. For example: you’re better off tailoring a resume for a waitressing job to include communication skills than using your “one size fits all” resume that mentions Excel proficiency. If you’re applying to jobs across different industries and don’t want to change your resume for each one, try describing your responsibilities and skills in more general terms. For example, an “Operations Manager” will be more relatable and relevant than a “Salon Manager,” even though they’re essentially the same job. 

From an HR pro: 

“Use general terms. If you’re a personal trainer trying to move into an office job, it’s better to highlight the achievements and be less specific. This goes hand in hand with skills. Most skills are transferable and if you have good communication skills they will be suited for both roles but if you are too specific you may make yourself look unrelatable.” - Maciah Olson, Human Resources Recruiting Coordinator

13. Proofread, proofread, proofread

You don’t want to end up bragging about your “attention to detale.” It’s always best to proofread with a pair of fresh eyes, so take a break when you’re finished writing and come back a bit later in editing mode. Having a friend or family member look it over is also a great way to catch mistakes, but if you can’t stand sharing, there are a variety of web tools you can use to proofread.

14. Save and send as a PDF

Since employers and hiring managers use different programs and operating systems, the universal PDF file will keep your resume accessible no matter what. You can include your first and last name in the file’s title depending on preference, but your last name should always be included. Consider separating words with dashes and/or including the job title as well (ex: John-Writer-Content-Writer.pdf). 

15. Reward yourself 

This doesn’t mean you should hop in the hammock every time you hit “submit,” but taking time to acknowledge yourself for putting in the effort can do a lot for your mental health. Not to mention, a bit of rest can keep you from burning yourself out in the job hunt. If you’ve tailored your resume well, found a job that seems like a good fit and checked for errors until you can’t check no mo’, feel free to celebrate. Recognizing your own accomplishment makes it easier to get to work on the next one. 

So give yourself a big ol’ high five for reading this article, use these tips to spruce up that resume and be sure to check KSL Jobs for all of the best local job opportunities.

More from KSL Jobs Resources

How investing in employee development through upskilling and reskilling can help your organization, don’t love your 9-to-5 get your gig on, how to get into a trade school in utah, and why you should consider it.

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Home » Career Advice » Resume Tips » How to Create a Resume for the Modern Job Market

How to Create a Resume for the Modern Job Market

Last Updated on February 5, 2024 by Career Reload

Your resume is an essential tool in the constantly evolving job market . It’s a list of your previous jobs and a way to make a strong impression. With new technologies and what employers now look for, making your resume stand out is essential. This guide will show you how to create a resume for the modern job market, helping you stay competitive in the job world.

Understanding the Job Market of Today

Employers increasingly seek individuals who can thrive in fast-paced, tech-centric environments, recognizing the importance of staying ahead in a rapidly evolving digital landscape. Furthermore, social media has emerged as a powerful tool in the job market, with platforms like LinkedIn playing a pivotal role in job hunting and personal branding. Job seekers are encouraged to harness the influence of social media to enhance their visibility and make meaningful connections within their respective industries.

Keeping up with the latest resume trends is essential to impress hiring managers today. Customizing your resume to reflect these new working methods shows you’re ready for a modern digital workplace.

Essential Parts of a Modern Resume

To make your resume impressive and effective, there are a few important parts you should always include:

• Contact details : Make sure to put your professional email address and the link to your LinkedIn profile.
• Summary : Write a brief but powerful summary of your skills and experience. This is better than the old way of writing an objective.
• Work experience: Chronological list of your work history, starting with your most recent job. Most recruiters prefer a chronological resume format.
• Professional development: Showcase any relevant workshops, seminars, or courses you’ve completed to stay current in your field.
• List of skills : Highlight the skills you have that are relevant to the job you want.

These sections are important because they show off your professional side clearly and straightforwardly. This makes it easier for people hiring to see why you would be an excellent choice for the job.

In simpler terms, your resume should include your contact info, a summary about you, and a list of your skills that fit the job you’re applying for. These help you present yourself well and clarify to employers that you’re suitable for the position.

How to Format Your Resume

The presentation of your resume is just as important as its content. Choosing a suitable resume format and design is crucial to make your resume visually appealing and easy to read. There are several things to consider when formatting your resume :

• Types of resumes : You can pick from a chronological, functional, or combined format. Chronological is all about your work history, functional focuses on your skills, and combined is a bit of both.
• Design & layout : Go for a neat resume layout with space and professional fonts, as this helps make your resume clear to read and more appealing.
• Use graphics : Using charts or graphs to highlight your skills or achievements is okay. Just make sure they don’t overshadow the text.

Making Your Resume Fit the Job

Tailoring your resume for each job shows that you’ve taken the time to make it specific for that role. It’s a way to show you’re not just looking for any job but the right one for you and that your skills are a good match for what the company is looking for. This makes your resume more appealing to employers because it directly responds to their needs.

Here’s how to get started:

• Add a personal touch : Change your resume so it matches what each job ad is asking for. Focus on the skills and experiences that are important for that job.
• Use keywords : Read the job listing and use the exact keywords in your resume. This is important because many companies use computer programs to look at resumes first, and using the same language as the job ad can help you stand out.
• Show your achievements with numbers : Use numbers to show what you’ve achieved in your past jobs. This helps prove what you’ve done and can show employers how you might be an excellent addition to their team.

Online Presence and Digital Resumes

Establishing a strong online presence is as important as maintaining an effective paper resume in modern job market. It demonstrates your proficiency in digital tools and enhances your professional narrative, making you a more attractive candidate for many positions.

It’s imperative to project a professional image across all your online profiles, such as LinkedIn and personal websites. Regularly update your information, feature a professional-looking photo, and comprehensively showcase your skills and past work experiences. For those in creative fields, exploring digital options like video resumes or online portfolios can provide a dynamic platform to showcase your capabilities beyond traditional text-based resumes.

Consistency is key—maintain a uniform profile photo across various platforms and ensure a cohesive style, tone, and content to reinforce a strong and coherent professional brand. By paying attention to these details, you can present a compelling and consistent narrative of your skills and experiences to potential employers.

Avoiding Common Resume Mistakes

To make sure your resume gets noticed for the right reasons, avoid these common errors:

• Too much info : Don’t overload your resume with information. Stick to the most important things. Highlight your top achievements and work experience instead of listing everything.
• Check for errors : Spelling or grammar mistakes can leave a poor impression. Go over your resume carefully, or get someone else to review it.
• Don’t use outdated styles : Avoid old-fashioned resume items like objective statements or references. Focus on a solid summary of your skills and experience, and offer references if they are requested.

To make a good resume, stay current with job market trends, reflect your personality, and use online tools. Avoid common mistakes and keep up with the latest developments to showcase your skills and meet employer requirements. Also, update and improve your resume as you advance in your career.

We’re a team of writers dedicated to providing insights and tips for navigating the professional world. With a collective wealth of experience across various industries and roles, our team understands the challenges and opportunities that come with seeking meaningful work and advancing your career. We help job seekers to better their careers by offering career advice & free resources. Download free Word resume templates and resume templates for Google Docs .

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The job market is getting more competitive. How to write a resume that stands out.

The job market is getting more competitive .

There were 8.8 million job openings in November – down 18% from the year prior and the lowest level since March 2021.  

Meanwhile, roughly 85% of U.S. workers are considering changing jobs this year, up 27% from last year, according to a recent survey conducted by Censuswide on behalf of LinkedIn among 1,013 U.S. working professionals in late 2023.

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For job seekers looking for ways to make their applications stand out, here are tips on crafting the perfect resume.

Make it look nice, but don’t worry too much about the design

Resumes should be organized and easy to scan for information. Experts say a little pop of color is fine, but most professions don’t need the job application to show off their design skills.

In fact, too much focus on design could hurt your application if a resume scanning software is unable to pick up on keywords.

“You might stand out with a very bold, graphical resume, but it’s not necessarily going to be in a good way,” Dana Leavy-Detrick, director of Brooklyn Resume Studio , told USA TODAY. “If you over-focus on the design, you're going to sacrifice the optimization of it.”

She said resumes are considered “safe” with a clean look, sans-serif fonts and plenty of white space. Consider hyperlinking text to sites like your LinkedIn profile. 

“Content is always more important than bells and whistles,” said career coach Jenny Foss . “If you are in an industry where style is going to be advantageous or crucial, you can absolutely have a second version if you're able to send a PDF directly to someone or display it on your own website or portfolio."

Use – but don’t lean on – AI

Artificial Intelligence chatbots can be a great start to people drafting up their resumes, but experts warn not to lean on the technology.

“Recruiters and hiring managers are very good at spotting people are using AI to write the resume,” Leavy-Detrick said . “It may sound very well written, but it falls a little bit flat.”

That can hurt a candidate's chances when hiring managers are “looking for authenticity,” according to Leavy-Detrick . 

“ I have seen just pure AI-written resumes, and they're not great yet,” Foss said. “A big part of what they miss is the person. AI’s not going to capture your unique traits and contributions.”

Resume writing: What to include 

Be specific: For instance, don’t just say you’re a good salesperson – say exactly how many deals you closed in a quarter.“You want to put some meat around what you're saying about yourself,” said professional resume writer Lynda Spiegel .

Add a value proposition: Spiegel suggests adding a short paragraph near the top of the resume that makes clear why the applicant would be the right hire. “Your resume is a marketing document. It's not a history of everything you've ever done.  You’re a product, and you're marketing yourself to the buyer, which is the employer,” she said. “(It should tell) the employer, ‘This is why you want to bring me in for an interview. This is I am the answer to the problem you have.’”  

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Focus on the narrative: With each job listed in a resume, Foss writes up a quick sentence or two that describes what the applicant was hired to do and the overarching focus of that job. The following bullet points highlight the achievements made in that position.“I try to tell the evolution of this person's career story as we go through their career chronology in a way that is kind of like, all roads lead to this being the absolute no-brainer next opportunity for me,” she said. “I am seeing and deploying that storytelling approach more than ever before.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: The job market is getting more competitive. How to write a resume that stands out.

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How to Update Your Resume for Today's Job Market

What you need to do to ensure your resume works with current recruitment technology and gets into the hands of a hiring manager..

HIRE EXPERIENCE      |    Jan. 23, 2020

Technology has revolutionized nearly everything about the job search, and today's recruitment experience has changed along with it. Knowing how to update your resume is crucial to take advantage of recruitment technology, secure an interview and, ultimately, land a job.

An applicant tracking system (ATS) can detect your skills based on keywords in your resume, narrowing a pool of candidates based on how their resumes align with a specific role and a company's culture. Make sure you move past this first stage by following these key steps.

1. Keep it Simple

If you're submitting your resume and cover letter through an online system, you can assume it's going through an ATS. Beyond the basics, like avoiding typos, you'll want to use a legible font (think: Helvetica, Arial or Times New Roman) and simple, clear organization. Make sure to follow the requested format so the ATS can process your documents. For example, if the company asks for a PDF but you submit a JPEG, the system may not be able to read your resume.

2. Show, don't tell

Rework your resume so it highlights your accomplishments in terms of outcomes versus responsibilities. Although you do want to mention skills that qualify you for a given job, you also want to demonstrate results. When in doubt, use verbs like "improved," "trained" and "launched" to help you describe the results you produced.

For example, if you worked in a lab designing and conducting experiments, how many did you manage per year? What were the outcomes? If you managed a team, how many people did you oversee and how did the work your team performed contribute to the overall business? Did you grow sales by $50,000? Increase productivity by 30%? The more you can quantify accomplishments, the better.

3. Focus on what you Bring to the Table

Gone are the days of the objective statement. Instead of focusing on your goals and what you want, use your resume to show potential employers what you can do for them. You don't necessarily need to state this at the beginning, but you do want to frame your resume in terms of the value you bring.

At the end of the day, you're trying to convince prospective employers to hire you over all the other applicants. By demonstrating how you can strengthen their company, you can give yourself an edge over the competition.

4. Customize your Resume to the Job

Writing one resume and one cover letter for multiple jobs is a surefire way to have your materials ignored. Use the job description for each role, including desired qualifications and responsibilities, to tailor your resume and cover letter accordingly. Touch on each qualification in your resume, demonstrating how you have that skill. Use your cover letter to expand on your resume and desired skills listed in the job description and how you will help the company check the boxes.

It's also a good idea to review the company's values and use relevant words when they fit with your experience. For example, if the company values "innovation,” list innovative projects from your past roles. Include keywords from the job description in your resume, as well. For example, if Adobe Photoshop is a qualification, make sure you include the word "Photoshop." Although you may be proficient in the entire Adobe Creative Cloud suite, you'll want to incorporate the words the employer uses.

5. Refresh your Social Media Presence

Make sure your social media footprint reflects your resume and the image you want to portray to potential employers. If your profiles are public, you can consider making them private. However, you're missing a huge opportunity if you're not using your social networks to connect with potential employers. For Facebook, you may consider using your profile as a professional platform that reflects your accomplishments and career.

Ask colleagues for recommendations on LinkedIn that will corroborate your skills and experience.  An employer wants to know the time they're investing in you, beginning with the hiring process, will be worth it. You'll also want to make sure your resume matches your profile. For example, if you mention experience from March 2016 to September 2019, make sure your resume doesn't say May 2016 to November 2019.

Remember to always double-check your resume and cover letter before submitting and read through all the instructions within the job posting one more time. You want to make sure you submit all requested materials.

If you've followed all the steps and you still feel like your resume isn't getting the attention it deserves, consider asking an industry recruiter for tips on resume updates that may help get it into the hands of hiring managers. You may be overlooking just a few simple keywords that make the difference between getting sidelined and getting hired.

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Make Your Resume Stand Out in Today’s Job Market [Part 1]

1. Your resume needs to be branded.

2. your resume needs to be focused., 3. show proof of your statements..

Spring Cleaning: 4 Ways To Fix Your Job Search

Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.

In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.

For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.

Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach

Make a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:

• How did I learn about this job?
• How did I apply for the job?
• Did I earn an interview?
• What was the ultimate result?

A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:

Negative Trends

You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.

The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations , and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.

One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.

The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.

This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.

Positive Trends

You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.

The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview . This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.

The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback , and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.

Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.

The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.

Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention

Are you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.

Let's start with resumes!

Every resume should be tailored to the position in order for it to stand out to recruiters and hiring managers . It may seem like a lot of work, but it's actually less work than submitting the same resume over and over again and never hearing back.

The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.

Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.

While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.

As for writing a good cover letter , the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter . When you write a disruptive cover letter , you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.

If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.

Build Your Personal Brand

Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand .

Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"

Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.

By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.

You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.

Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search

Your job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.

There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:

• Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
• Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
• Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle , even better!

Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!

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This article was originally published at an earlier date.

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What Should a Resume Look Like in Today’s Job Market?

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A good-looking resume makes a positive first impression. But we understand the stress that comes with making your resume look perfect. 

What should a resume look like to get you as close to perfect as possible? Your resume should have relevant information in a readable format. 

Keep reading to learn what a resume should look like in structure and content, including:

• How to  format your resume  with fonts, margins, and headings.
• Essential content to include.
• Bonus  resume examples  to illustrate professional-looking resumes.

This guide will help you create a good-looking resume to impress the hiring manager and secure your next job interview.

What does a good resume look like?

How a resume should look starts with the format and key resume sections.

Resume formats

Resumes fall into  3 formats : chronological, hybrid, and functional. 

What is a chronological resume?

A chronological resume lists your work history and accomplishments in reverse chronological order, from most recent to older jobs. It’s a popular resume format to show off your valuable achievements and experience.

What is a functional resume?

A functional resume format emphasizes your skills and certifications over your work history. Many job seekers try the functional resume to hide a lack of experience or gaps in work history.  Recruiters hate this resume format , so we don’t recommend using it. 

What is a hybrid resume?

Hybrid or combination resumes take the best features of the chronological and functional resume formats. It first highlights your skills and accomplishments (like in a functional resume), followed by your work experience (in reverse chronological format.)

How to structure your resume

How should your resume look with proper sections? Here are the key headings to include on your resume.

Write a job-specific headline

A captivating headline at the top of your resume can grab the hiring manager’s attention and leave a lasting impression. But you also have to make your  resume headline  compelling.

Here’s an example of a  stand-out resume  headline. It includes the role they’re applying for along with the experience at the top of the resume.

Write a short summary

The best-looking resumes always start with a strong  resume summary . Write a short paragraph with 3 or 4 sentences or bullet points to showcase your most relevant skills and accomplishments. Choose examples that demonstrate how you can benefit the company.

Not all resumes have to start with a summary, but when you’re considering how your resume should look, a summary can be a hook to attract the hiring manager. 

Add relevant work experience

Your work experience section is the meat of your resume. A simple chronological resume is easy to read and understand while showing off your career achievements.

But don’t just list previous responsibilities—telling the hiring manager  what  you did doesn’t show them  how  you did it. Hiring managers hone in on numbers and data. You can still show measurable results even if you’re not in a data-driven field. 

Examples of measurable results:

• “Reduced overhead spending by 15%.”
• “Supervised 25 employees.”
• “Increased revenue by 40% in 2022.”
• “Improved productivity by 30% by streamlining administrative processes.”

A good-looking resume has impactful  action verbs  and numbers to illustrate your history. Action verbs are strong and compelling words to use beyond the boring “responsible for” or “led.” The action verbs illustrate how you achieved something and how you got the job done.

This resume example integrates action verbs alongside measurable accomplishments.

Your  education section  shouldn’t take up much space, especially if it’s unrelated to the job you’re applying for. Some jobs require a bachelor’s or higher degree; if listing your education makes you a stronger candidate, include it. But leave out the education section if:

• You only have a high school diploma.
• Your resume is too long.
• It makes you appear overqualified.
• Certifications

Supplemental education and online courses demonstrate specialized knowledge that supports your skills section. Investing in your continued education shows your future employer that you’re dedicated to growing your skills and that you’re competent in those skills. 

Certifications  are also an excellent way to make up for limited practical experience. 

Resume skills

Your skills section is the most significant support of your work experience. You can integrate your skills into measurable achievements and have your separate skills heading. 

You have  hard and soft skills —hard skills are job-specific, measurable skills essential to your work performance, while soft skills are behavior and personality traits. 

Including stand-out skills on your resume is essential, but you should constantly tailor the skills you include to the job description. A professional-looking resume includes only relevant information, not fluff. 

What should a resume look like for the ATS?

Your resume should look good to the hiring manager, but you must also consider what a good resume looks like to the  applicant tracking system , or ATS. 

ATS overview

Over  98% of Fortune 500 companies use ATS , with smaller companies following suit. 

Online job hunting enables you to apply for more jobs than ever, but organizations are inundated with more resumes than they can handle. Enter ATS software. 

The ATS is a software database that stores resumes submitted by job seekers. This database becomes like a resume search engine for hiring managers. They input specific keywords from the job description, and the ATS parses the resumes to find the strongest candidates according to the search criteria.

If the ATS ranks your resume at the top of the pile, the hiring manager will likely read it. 

However, the ATS has limitations on what information it can read on your resume, so it’s essential to make your resume look a specific way. 

Best-looking resume fonts

Professional-looking  resume fonts  make it look polished and readable by the ATS. The best fonts to use for your resume include:

• Times New Roman

Here’s an example of Roboto—a clear, legible font for a professional-looking resume.

Choose a straightforward font, at 11pt or 12pt size, and use it throughout the entire document to create a good-looking resume. 

One-inch resume margins

Uniform, 1-inch margins leave the right amount of white space to avoid overwhelming the reader. Jam-packed content doesn’t make a good-looking resume, so leave some breathing room.

Avoid using headers and footers to get more space—the ATS can’t read either, so your vital information, like your name and contact details, will be lost.  

Standard resume section headings

Good-looking resumes use standard  resume sections . Avoid showing off your creativity here. Stay away from unusual headings like:

• Personal Attributes
• What Do I Have to Offer?

Standard resume headings are ATS-friendly and communicate the information clearly. You can italicize or bold your resume headings to add visual appeal and ensure they’re visually scannable to the eye. 

Here’s an example of an easy-to-read resume with standard resume headings.

Altogether, both the ATS and the hiring manager will have an easier time with classic resume headings in your resume. 

No graphics and complex design elements

Design elements are distracting and can make your resume hard to read to the ATS. Graphics and design aren’t the keys to a good-looking resume. Clear and readable resumes look best to both the ATS and the hiring manager. 

Using a resume template can help you avoid common formatting mistakes and show you what a resume should look like.

Use Jobscan’s  free ATS-friendly resume templates  and start building your resume that gets noticed by recruiters!

Tailor your resume to the job description

What does it mean to tailor your resume to the job description?

You should identify important, repeated keywords in the job description and ensure you include them throughout your resume. 

Don’t just regurgitate the job description. Your resume should look unique in its content. That means integrating the keywords into your work experience, certifications, and skills section. 

Make the process simple by using Jobscan’s  resume scanner . Let our tool compare your resume to the job description you’re applying to. It will generate a match report and score to illustrate how strong your resume looks for the role.

With Jobscan’s  Power Edit , a premium feature, you’ll get personalized phrasing suggestions for missing skills to help you integrate them into your resume.

What should a resume look like in your industry? Explore our  resume templates  to find out.

Resume examples

Make your resume look good with  resume templates , and let your professional accomplishments personalize your resume. This will help you stand out to the hiring manager. 

What does a recent graduate resume look like?

When your professional experience is lacking, highlighting a strong summary, skills, and relevant projects from your education can be helpful.

This software engineer seeking an entry level position keeps relevant information at the top of the resume, which at this stage in their career, doesn’t include much practical experience.

While the functional resume format isn’t preferred by recruiters and hiring managers, you can also address your lack of work history in your cover letter. A good-looking and well-written resume and cover letter can help you overcome hesitations the hiring manager may have.

What does a mid-level resume look like?

A mid-level resume balances skills learned throughout previous jobs and measurable accomplishments to support your work history. What does this resume get right?

• Target headline including the job description keyword.
• Summary highlighting most critical information about their professional history.
• List of relevant hard and soft skills.
• Work history with measurable accomplishments and keywords pertaining to the job they’re applying for.

What does a highly technical resume look like?

In a highly technical field that values quantifiable information, a detailed resume showing off hard skills with measurable results can help you secure the interview. What does this resume get right?

• Skills integrated into work experience.
• Powerful action verbs throughout.
• Dollar amounts, percentages, and time scales that highlight key achievements.

Find resume templates and examples to suit your industry

Your resume is not one-size-fits-all. In each industry and job you’ll have to alter and tailor your resume to make your resume look its best. What your resume should look like varies and how it looks can make an impact on the hiring manager.

Find the right template for your search with Jobscan’s  resume templates . Use these templates alongside  resume examples  from a range of industries to start making a good-looking resume.

When you’re ready to start applying, use our resume scanner to optimize your resume for the ATS and heighten your chances of landing the interview for your dream job.

Do employers care what your resume looks like?

Hiring managers care that your resume has clear headings, is scannable, and isn’t filled with irrelevant information. They also prefer a chronological or hybrid resume over the functional resume format. 

How should I lay out my resume?

Your resume should look like a blueprint with specific information:

• Work experience

Use our resume templates to create a resume with the perfect layout for the ATS and hiring managers. 

When should you put a photo on your resume?

You should leave a photo off your resume unless you’re looking for an acting or modeling job. 

A professional-looking resume doesn’t need a picture, and it can draw attention away from your impressive experience, qualifications, and skills that matter for the job role. 

More expert insights on this topic:

What to Put On A Resume To Stand Out To Recruiters

You Need to Avoid These ATS Resume Formatting Mistakes

How to Write a Resume Summary (with Examples)

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In-depth Guidance on Crafting a Resume for Today's Job Market

Navigating the modern job market demands more than just a pulse and a LinkedIn profile. You need a strategic weapon, a silent advocate that screams "Hire me!" with compelling clarity. Welcome to the realm of how to write a resume: your passport to interviews and career fulfillment. But navigating the sea of conflicting advice can feel like deciphering hieroglyphics. Worry not, career-driven aspirant! This comprehensive guide on how to write a resume delves into the art and science of crafting a resume that dominates Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) and lands you in the interview hot seat.

 Table of Contents

• Headline/Executive Summary
• Professional Experience
• Education & Certifications
• Additional Sections
• ATS Optimization
• Concision & Clarity
• Visual Appeal
• Impeccable Proofreading
• Master the Art of Tailoring
• Quantify Your Impact
• Action Verbs are Your Army
• Don't Underestimate Soft Skills
• Embrace the Digital Landscape
• Clichés & Overused Phrases
• Embellishments & Fabrications
• Irrelevant Information
• Negative Language  

Structure To Build Your Resume  

1. headline/executive summary.

Think of this as your elevator pitch on paper. Use powerful action verbs and industry-specific keywords to summarize your value proposition: "Seasoned data analyst with a proven track record of increasing sales by 15% through targeted marketing campaigns." Tailor it to each job description, highlighting the skills and experience most relevant to the position while you build your resume.

2. Professional Experience

Your experience isn't just a list of duties – it's a showcase of your impact. Quantify your achievements with concrete numbers and metrics: "Implemented a new CRM system that streamlined lead generation by 20%, resulting in a 10% increase in conversion rates." Use strong action verbs like "spearheaded," "managed," or "optimized" to demonstrate your initiative and effectiveness while you build your resume. Don't be afraid to include relevant freelance or volunteer work; it shows adaptability and dedication, especially if it fills gaps in your paid experience.

3. Education & Certifications

While your experience takes center stage as you build your resume, don't neglect your academic background. List your degrees and relevant certifications, but don't stop there. Highlight specific coursework or projects that showcase skills applicable to the job. For example, mention a research project that involved data analysis or a leadership role in a student organization. Remember, tailor your education section to the specific requirements of the position.

4. Skillset

This is where you prove your mastery beyond keywords. Don't just say "proficient in MS Office" – demonstrate expertise in industry-specific software, programming languages, or technical tools to build your resume. Use bullet points and concise descriptions to list your hard skills, but don't forget soft skills like communication, teamwork, and problem-solving. These are crucial in today's workplaces, and you can quantify them where possible. For example, "Managed a cross-functional team of 10 to successfully launch a new product on time and within budget."

5. Additional Sections

Got awards, publications, or volunteer experiences that showcase your passion and skills? Feature them strategically, but keep it relevant and concise. Remember, recruiters have limited time. A single line describing an award that aligns with the job requirements is more impactful than a paragraph about your high school sports achievements.  

Key Qualities That Make a Resume Truly Stand Out  

1. ats optimization.

Don't underestimate the power of keyword magic in modern resume writing. Research the industry-specific keywords frequently used in job descriptions for your target roles. Weave them naturally throughout your resume, from your headline to your skills section, without compromising readability. Think of it as speaking the language of the ATS robots to ensure your application reaches the right eyes.

2. Concision & Clarity

Recruiters are busy people. Respect their time with a concise and easy-to-read resume. This means that you need to remember how to write a resume in one or two pages, max, with clear headings, bulleted points, and ample white space. Use a professional font that's easy on the eyes and avoid unnecessary formatting flourishes. Remember, less is often more when it comes to clarity in modern resume writing.

3. Visual Appeal

First impressions matter. While visual flourishes shouldn't overshadow your content, a clean and aesthetically pleasing layout can make your resume stand out from the pile. Another thing to remember in how to write a resume is to choose a professional color scheme and font combination that aligns with your industry and personal brand. Subtle design elements can add a touch of personality without being distracting. Remember, presentation matters!

4. Impeccable Proofreading

Typos and grammatical errors are not just embarrassing, they can be career killers. Don't let a silly mistake cost you an interview. Proofread meticulously, use spellcheck religiously, and enlist another set of eyes for good measure. Remember, attention to detail shows professionalism and meticulousness, qualities coveted by any employer.

Here Are Some Key Tips to Create a Resume  

1. master the art of tailoring.

Don't fall victim to the "spray and pray" method. Sending the same generic resume for every job is like firing arrows blindfolded. Instead, become a laser-focused sharpshooter. Study each job description meticulously and adapt your experience, skills, and keywords to mirror the specific requirements. If you know how to write a resume you’d highlight the achievements and projects most relevant to the position, showcasing how your unique skillset directly addresses the employer's needs. Remember, it's not about cramming your entire life story onto a page; it's about demonstrating a perfect fit.

2. Quantify Your Impact

Numbers have a magical way of grabbing attention and proving your worth. Don't just list your responsibilities - quantify your achievements! Did you increase sales by 15%? Saved the company $10,000? Streamlined a process by 20%? Turn your accomplishments into quantifiable metrics that scream "valuable asset!" to recruiters. Use strong action verbs to describe how you achieved these results, painting a vivid picture of your impact on previous roles. Remember, numbers speak louder than words, so let them sing your praises.

3. Action Verbs are Your Army

Banish the passive voice and unleash the power of action verbs! Instead of saying "responsible for managing a team," spearheaded a cross-functional team to achieve X result. Swap "developed marketing materials" for "crafted targeted marketing campaigns that increased brand awareness by Y%." Replace "analyzed data" with "uncovered key insights from data analysis, leading to Z improvement." Action verbs are your soldiers as you prepare a resume, charging onto the page and showcasing your initiative, leadership, and problem-solving prowess.

4. Don't Underestimate Soft Skills

While technical skills are essential, in today's collaborative work environment, modern cv writing demands to understand soft skills. Highlight your communication skills by demonstrating how you effectively collaborated with diverse teams. Showcase your problem-solving abilities by describing creative solutions you implemented to overcome challenges. Don't forget teamwork, leadership, and adaptability - weave these crucial qualities into your achievements and experiences, proving you're not just a skilled technician, but a valuable team player.

5. Embrace the Digital Landscape

The job market is no longer confined to paper. Go beyond the printed page and leverage the power of the digital world in modern cv writing. Include your LinkedIn profile URL and other relevant online portfolios, like professional websites or presentations. But remember, quality over quantity. Your online presence should be professional, curated, and aligned with your career goals. Showcase your work, highlight your expertise, and connect with potential employers on a broader platform.

Remember, your resume is a living document. Keep it updated regularly, refine it with each application, and never stop honing your crafting skills. With these tips, you can transform your resume from a mundane document into a potent career weapon, ready to propel you towards your dream job. Now go forth, resume warrior, and unleash your superpower!

Bonus Tip: Don't be afraid to experiment! Explore different resume formats and templates, but always maintain a professional and clear layout. Remember, your resume is an extension of your personal brand, so make it unique and memorable!  

Resume Mistakes to Avoid  

Your resume should be a powerful trumpet announcing your arrival, not a dusty relic languishing in the resume graveyard. Let's shed some light on the pitfalls that can send your application straight to the "Nope" pile:

1.Clichés & Overused Phrases

• "Highly motivated." Yawn. We all are, or should be. Show your motivation by highlighting specific achievements and quantifiable results. Did you volunteer for a challenging project? Spearhead a new initiative? Share concrete examples that go beyond generic buzzwords.
• "Team player." Absolutely! But how? Did you facilitate effective communication between team members? Resolve conflicts collaboratively? Showcase your teamwork through real-world experiences and the positive impact you've had.
• "Passionate about X." Passion is great, but it needs grounding. Demonstrate your passion by mentioning relevant coursework, personal projects, or volunteer work that showcase your dedication and expertise. Remember, action speaks louder than adjectives.

2.Embellishments & Fabrications

• Inflated skills or experience. The internet remembers everything, and exaggeration rarely stands the test of scrutiny. Be honest and ethical in your representation.
• Fabricated achievements. This might land you an interview, but the moment you're asked to elaborate, the house of cards collapses. Integrity is paramount in building a successful career.

3.Irrelevant Information

• High school accolades. While impressive, unless they directly relate to the job you're applying for, keep them off your resume. Focus on showcasing experience and skills relevant to the specific industry and position.
• Personal hobbies and interests. Yes, it's important to be a well-rounded individual, but save the details for the interview stage. Your resume should prioritize professional qualifications and achievements.

4.Negative Language

• Complaints about past employers. Negativity breeds negativity. Maintain a positive and proactive tone throughout your resume. Focus on your strengths and accomplishments, demonstrating how you can contribute to the organization.
• Focusing on weaknesses. We all have them, but the interview is the time to discuss improvement areas. Your resume should be a platform to highlight your value proposition, not dwell on imperfections.

Your resume is a dynamic document. Keep it updated as your experience and skillset evolve, and customize it for each application. With these expert strategies and a proactive mindset, you can prepare a resume that shatters the competition and propels you towards career success. Now go forth, resume warrior, and conquer the job market!

Bonus Tip: Leverage online resume builders and templates for inspiration and formatting guidance. Just remember to personalize and prepare a resume to avoid looking robotic!

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Changing careers doesn’t have to be difficult. It all starts with a resume crafted to highlight your ... [+] transferrable skills.

Your resume is one of the most critical tools during a career transition. Crafted thoughtfully, a career change resume can effectively highlight transferable skills and experiences from your old career to the new one, showcasing you as a prime candidate for your dream job .

Career change resumes offer a different narrative of a person’s experience versus someone looking to advance in their current industry. Transferrable skills are the most important to highlight.

What Success Looks Like In A Career Change

A successful career change doesn’t necessarily mean starting over. It can involve leveraging existing skills in a new context or applying knowledge from one industry to another. Success is about finding a role where you can make a meaningful contribution, and it often requires a blend of determination and strategic planning. The story you tell so far in your career that paints you as the right person for the job is vital to your resume being seen by the hiring manager.

Step-By-Step Guide To Writing Your Career Change Resume

It’s a fine line between highlighting what makes you unique and ensuring your document aligns with industry expectations. Here’s how to do it right.

Identify Your Transferrable Skills

Before opening a Word document or choosing a resume template, the first step is to take stock of your skills. Begin by closely examining your previous roles and jotting down the skills they entailed. Try categorizing them into hard skills—like technical skills and software proficiencies—and soft skills—such as communication and leadership abilities.

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What is your career change story? Who’s the audience that will be listening to it? These are the overarching questions that will guide your resume writing process. You’ll want to combine your reasons for changing careers with your past experiences and future aspirations.

When crafting your career change narrative, consider these critical questions to create a cohesive and compelling story:

• What motivated your career change? Reflect on the reasons behind your decision to shift careers. Was it a pursuit of passion, a need for a new challenge or an inevitable industry change affecting your previous role?
• How do your past experiences contribute to your new direction? Evaluate how your previous roles have equipped you with unique skills and perspectives that will benefit your target industry or role.
• What accomplishments in your career thus far can illustrate your suitability for this new path? Identify specific achievements that demonstrate your capability and readiness for the change.
• How have you prepared for the transition? Consider any additional training, courses or self-led learning you’ve undertaken to bridge any skill gaps.
• What are your long-term goals in this new career? Define what success looks like for you in this new field and how you plan to achieve it.

Choosing The Right Resume Format

The format of your resume is dependent on your career trajectory. A functional resume may be the best way to draw attention to your skills if you’re making a big career leap. A hybrid resume, which combines elements of both the chronological and functional formats, can also work well for career changers, as it allows you to detail your skills while still providing a job history.

Elements Of A Stand-Out Career Change Resume

The typical resume sections are still relevant: Skills, competencies, accolades, experience, volunteer work, education and training. For career changers, add a snapshot of who you are and what you bring to the table. Think of a snapshot as your elevator pitch. Instead of explaining what you are looking for, you highlight your top accolades, position and projects you’re currently working on; it shouldn’t be any longer than three sentences.

For example, “I’m Jane Doe, a marketing professional who brought the newest Target campaign to 100 million Instagram accounts. I’ve excelled in connecting influencers with top brands and have hosted over 150 brand activations.”

Make sure to include all the important elements on your resume to make you stand out. Having a short ... [+] story or narrative of who you are also helps.

Words and Phrases To Include In Resume

When it comes to the actual writing, it’s essential to use language that speaks to both your old and your new career. Choose words and phrases relevant to the job you’re applying for, but also aim to include industry-specific terms from your previous career to highlight the breadth of your experience.

• Cross-functional expertise: Demonstrates the ability to work across various departments, enhancing team synergy and project outcomes.
• Quick Learner: Indicates your capacity to rapidly acquire new knowledge and skills, reducing the learning curve in a new role.
• Innovative Thinker: Shows your capability to think creatively and bring new ideas to the table, driving progress.
• Versatile Professional: Indicates a broad skillset and flexibility, positioning you as a candidate capable of handling various responsibilities

Do’s And Don’ts Of Resume Etiquette

• Do focus on your achievements and how they demonstrate your capabilities, not just the tasks you’ve performed.
• Do quantify your accomplishments with numbers or percentages whenever possible to add weight to your claims.
• Don’t include unrelated job experiences that don’t align with the position you’re targeting.
• Don’t gloss over any employment gaps resulting from your career change. Instead, use these gaps to explain how you spent that time productively, such as through continuing education or volunteer work.

Your career change resume aims to get your foot in the door for an interview. Invest time in perfecting your career change resume, and you’ll find that employers will be more than willing to listen to the rest of your story.

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The Modern Job Search Part 2: 7 Tips for Adjusting Your Search to Today’s Job Market – and Resources to Help

This is part two—you can read part one of this article series here.

The face of the job search market has evolved dramatically over the last decade, and job seekers have had to adjust in order to find the perfect position. How do you get started looking for a job? Where do you look for job opportunities that are a good match for you? The answers to these questions, and other common career questions, have changed with the advent of job search websites and social media for professionals. But basic job search skills such as networking are still absolutely crucial as you look for employment opportunities and try to land your dream job.

Below is some career advice—seven helpful tips from a career expert to help you achieve success in your job search, along with resources to get there.

Find Your Passion

The first thing job seekers need to do to be successful is to determine what they are passionate about by taking a self-inventory, says Chelsea Kerwin, a certified job search professional and client services manager at Great Resumes Fast. Ask yourself what your dream job is and what industry you want to work in. Where do you want your career path to lead? It’s easy to just hop onto a job search engine and search for jobs, or sign up for job alerts, but if you don’t have a clear idea of what you want from your career you can quickly become overwhelmed and find yourself wasting time on application after application and not getting the results you want or getting job offers from places where you just aren’t a good fit.

“This is a great jumping-off point for creating a target job list and resume tailored to what they are interested in,” Kerwin says. “It’s also important for people to know they have to prioritize their job search. What is most important to them? Location? Salary? Company culture? If you can figure out what is most important to you, that will help ensure your job search is successful.”

Work-life balance, whether the company is open to remote work, what kind of clients you want to work with, etc., are other things you can ask yourself about. Even if job listings don’t specifically discuss this type of thing, you’ll have questions ready about these topics that are important to you ready for your interview.

One of the biggest things you can do to advance your job search is to get your social media profiles up to par. It’s important to have an online presence beyond posting your resume on job sites. Kerwin says that although many in older generations haven’t yet embraced the import of social media, it is imperative you have visibility online including a completed LinkedIn profile. Job seekers should also ensure other social media platforms such as Facebook are cleaned up. Don’t ruin your professional reputation by having a sloppy Facebook page where you post inappropriate memes.

“If an employer can’t find you online and there’s no trace of you, that might cause some suspicion,” advises Kerwin. “If you are all over social media doing inappropriate things, that’s not good, either.”

Kerwin says online profiles, particularly on LinkedIn, should highlight what you can bring to an organization. Qualifications, achievements, work experience, goals…all of this should be included on your profile in such a way that it conveys your personal brand. Don’t just upload your resume and leave it at that—they already have your resume, or will when you apply. Use your professional social media profiles to showcase your overall value as an employee.

Researching applicants online is now a part of the hiring process for almost every company. Use each platform as a way to market yourself as a job candidate.

“Companies want to see you online and research you before moving forward with an interview or job offer,” Kerwin says. “Your profile is not just for the job search, but for career management. Even if you are not actively searching for a job, it’s great for your passive job search. Though you may love your current job, LinkedIn can open up opportunities while you sleep.”

With a strong LinkedIn profile, you just might find you get contacted by a recruiter before you even have a chance to draft a cover letter and get your resume edited.

Tap the Hidden Job Market

The hidden job market refers to all job openings that get filled without being advertised or before they have been advertised. Instead of being listed on job search sites, these positions are filled by word of mouth, referrals, internal promotions, and recruiters. Kerwin says networking (referrals, internal promotions, and word of mouth) accounts for 75% of hires in the hidden job market. That means networking is very important to any job search. If you don’t know about an opportunity, you can’t submit a job application for it.

“That has always been true,” says Kerwin, “but I don’t think people realize how important it is, even with all of these social platforms and job boards.”

Network Like Mad

Networking is one of the best things you can do for your job search. By contacting someone you already know within a company you want to work for, they can greatly improve your odds of getting a job interview and being hired.

“Once you get to the interview pool, referred candidates have a 20%-25% chance of being offered the job while candidates without a referral have a 1%-1.7% chance of getting hired,” says Kerwin. “Reaching out to someone in the company is worth doing.”

Stay Organized & Follow Up

To get started, Kerwin recommends making a list of 20-50 organizations you want to work for and then making a list of everyone you know, prioritizing your inner circle of champions. Touch base with the people on your list and see if they know of open positions or know someone in the companies you are interested in applying to. From there, you can make connections with the second generation of your network. Most people want to help—they just need the tools, such as your target job list, to be helpful.

“If you give them more ways to be helpful and clear instructions on what you’re looking for, it’s a more productive way of networking,” says Kerwin, who recommends growing connections through networking events, professional organizations, and existing contacts.

You also need to stay organized and follow up with your network as you search for jobs, which is why Kerwin recommends using lists.

“When you can track who you have been reaching out to, when you reached out to them, how the conversation went, it helps,” she says. “With networking, I think follow-up is a huge deal. Whether you are dealing with your own connections or recruiters, follow-up is key.”

Searching for a job is now a full-time job in itself. While it can seem almost impossible to job search while working, it can be done. Think of evenings, weekends, and even lunch breaks as opportunities to expand your search.

Making time to job search while you’re employed is important because you’re in a better position to land a new job when you already have a job. When you find yourself without a job needing to pay the bills, you may take the first thing that comes your way, which may not be something you are happy with. Plus, adds Kerwin, any whiff of desperation as you apply for jobs can hurt your job search.

Supplement with Job Boards

Many people base their job search on job boards such as Indeed, LinkedIn, and Monster, but Kerwin says that’s a mistake. She says there exists a 118-to-1 ratio on job boards, which means you have to apply for 118 jobs on average to get one interview.

“Only 5%-15% of hiring happens through job boards,” said Kerwin. “That is not the place to be spending the majority of your time. Use other strategies and make this a supplement to your search.”

Resources for Your Job Search

There are a number of free or inexpensive career assessment and self-assessment tools online to assist you in identifying your passions and career goals. Kerwin recommends the O*Net Interest Profiler™ for self-assessments and the infographic “Making the Most of LinkedIn” to help build a strong professional profile online.

You can also sign up for Google News Alerts. Simply plug in the key terms for the target industries you are interested in and Google will start sending you a batch of articles from a time frame you designate.

A job search coach or a career coach can also be a great resource for professionals who are struggling with finding a position that is the right fit for them. Kerwin says there are also a number of books on job searches to keep you inspired and get you hired. Some books she recommends include:

-What Color is Your Parachute? 2018 edition by Richard N. Bolles -The Social Media Job Search Workbook: Your Step-By-Step Guide to Finding Work in the Age of Social Media by Joshua Waldman -I’m in a Job Search—Now What???: Using LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter as Part of Your Job Search Strategy by Kristen Jacoway and Jason Alba -Guerrilla Marketing for Job Hunters 3.0: How to Stand Out from the Crowd and Tap into the Hidden Job Market Using Social Media and 999 Other Tactics Today by Jay Conrad Levinson

Are you tired of your resume being rejected by applicant tracking systems? I know how frustrating it is to submit your resume and receive no response. I hate seeing qualified people never breakthrough the screening process. It shouldn’t be that way. That’s why I created this guide and I encourage you to download the FREE PDF so you can start seeing better resume response rates!

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About the author

Jessica hernandez, president, ceo & founder of great resumes fast.

Hi, I’m Jessica. I started this company back in 2008 after more than a decade directing hiring practices at Fortune 500 companies.

What started as a side hustle (before that was even a word!) helping friends of friends with their resumes has now grown into a company that serves hundreds of happy clients a year. But the personal touch? I’ve kept that.

You might have seen me featured as a resume expert in publications like Forbes, Fast Company, and Fortune. And in 2020, I was honored to be named as a LinkedIn Top Voice of the year!

I’m so glad you’re here, and I can’t wait to help you find your next perfect-fit position!

[…] So what are the most effective modern strategies for job hunting? Read The Modern Job Search Part 2 to find out. […]

Research the job market: Conduct research on job postings and industry trends to understand which skills are currently in demand.

Adjusting your job search to the current job market can be challenging, but there are several tips that can help you navigate the process. First, research the industries and sectors that are thriving in the current market, and focus your job search on those areas. This may involve developing new skills or qualifications that are in high demand. Second, be open to remote or flexible work arrangements, as many companies are adopting these models in response to the pandemic. Third, leverage your network and make connections with professionals in your desired field or industry. Fourth, consider pursuing short-term or freelance work to gain experience and build your network. Finally, be patient and persistent in your job search, as it may take longer to find the right opportunity in a competitive job market.

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Improve Your Resume: Download Your Free Executive Resume Template Today

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How To Write A Resume: The Resume Writing Book That Helps You Crack Today's Tough Job Market Kindle Edition

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• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0096YIJLI
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 6, 2012
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• File size ‏ : ‎ 979 KB
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Thomas Tucker is an author and Information Technology professional with over 20 years of business experience. Thomas uses his business knowledge to deliver common sense career information to individuals seeking to improve their work life.

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8 Myths About Writing a Great HR Resume Debunked

Craft a standout hr resume with myth-busting insights and essential rules for today's job market..

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Crafting a standout HR resume is crucial to landing your dream job in the human resources industry. But with hundreds of pieces of advice out there, it can take time to decide which tips to follow and which are simply myths.

The good news is that you’ll be better equipped after reading this article.

In This Article

The traditional (outdated) definition of a good resume.

For far too long, job seekers (in the HR field and others) have relied on outdated methods to craft their resumes. This is dangerous territory. Getting a resume wrong can cost you an interview and, ultimately, a job.

Traditionally, resume recommendations dictate listing basic information like education, work history, accreditations, and skills. The focus of this document heavily relies on work experience. The trouble is that if job seekers don’t have vast experience in their industry or haven’t held many positions, it can make them feel insecure about prospects when looking for a job.

On average, recruiters look at resumes for six to seven seconds before deciding whether to pass it through initial screening. This means the first reader will, at most, glance at the job titles and companies listed under work experience. Traditional resumes don’t successfully indicate how applicants have grown or shared their knowledge in past roles or their unique value.

An applicant’s experience goes beyond just resume-friendly roles gained in positions held by companies listed on LinkedIn or Indeed. Let’s debunk some myths about writing a good resume so that your next job application gets you past a seven-second read.

Myth 1: Your Resume Should Fit on One Page

One of the most pervasive and misguided beliefs is that your prospective employer wants you to cram all necessary information into one page. However, unless otherwise requested by the employer (which happens rarely), two pages are perfectly acceptable. Readability is more important than the number of pages. Keep your resume well formatted with clear headings so that relevant information is easy to find.

You’re not just writing a clear and concise document for recruiters but also for screening software. Applicant tracking systems (ATS) are often fitted with artificial intelligence that picks up on headings and keywords relevant to the role. The software uses this information to pass top candidates through automated screening and recommend them to hiring teams.

Related resource: Writing an ATS Friendly Resume

The focus should always be on providing concise and comprehensive details of relevant qualifications and experience in order to stand out from other applicants.

Myth 2: Always Include an Objective Statement at the Top

Traditional advice suggests including an objective statement at the beginning of your resume.

An objective statement is usually a paragraph or two, tailored to the role, that describes the value you can add if you get hired. Much like a cover letter, the objective statement outlines what attracted you to the role and how your skill set makes you a good fit.

This practice has more or less fallen out of favor with employers recently; these objectives often fail to provide any real value or insight into why someone would make a great candidate. It's now seen as more of a “bonus” than an essential element.

Myth 3: Include Detail Every Role in Your Employment History

Keeping your resume concise and focused may be difficult if you include the details of every job and experience that you’ve had, especially if you're applying for a role with 10+ years of relevant experience. How do you keep the focus on your most appropriate roles and achievements?

Some advice may suggest cutting roles from earlier in your career, but that can come back to bite you if an employer notices the absence of certain positions.

It's always best practice (unless otherwise specified) to list all positions since leaving school or university; simply keep the descriptions short and focus on successes and accomplishments in the positions you’re most proud of without adding too much fluff.

Myth 4: Include Personal Information

Some believe including personal information such as marital status, age, or religion could help them stand out from other candidates. In reality, though, these details will have no bearing whatsoever on employers’ decisions. At worst, inducing this information can lead to unlawful discrimination.

Myth 5: List All Your Soft Skills

Soft skills, such as strategic thinking and effective communication, can be critical in many roles. To avoid your resume reading like a dating app profile, follow these two rules:

Rule 1: Take a cue from the job listing. Note the attributes the employer is looking for and include these in your resume.

Rule 2: Show, don’t tell. Anyone can say they are data-driven problem solvers. You, however, should give a specific example of how you use this skill.

Keep this section of your resume brief. Highlighting only the most relevant skills will do more to show employers why you're qualified for their position than a shopping list of vaguely relevant skills.

Myth 6: Add Your Photo or Headshot

In many countries, it's illegal for employers to demand headshots during application processes. Requesting these photos can be considered discriminatory.

With advances in communication technology and applicant screening through social media , employers can easily find out who you are and what you look like. They can learn all this without a photo on your resume, so it’s best to leave it off in case it counts against you.

Myth 7: Use Industry Jargon and Fancy Words

Advice on “repertoire building” suggests applicants should include many big words and industry jargon in their resume to appear professional.

This is a bad idea. “Fancy” language can complicate otherwise easily understandable statements, making it more difficult for recruiters and employers who may not be industry experts to truly understand your resume’s message. It’s best to keep things natural and simple.

A friendly, professional tone makes you seem more human and, therefore, more likable.

Myth 8: Create Separate Resumes for Different Positions

Many job seekers believe creating multiple resumes tailored to each job description is key to their success. There’s some merit to this, but it can also be incredibly time-consuming.

The best approach is to have one principal, up-to-date resume that you can tailor slightly to the job you’re applying for. You can move and highlight specific attributes and skills instead of completely rewriting your entire work history.

Resume Rule-Breakers that Actually Work

While writing a robust, professional resume involves following certain basic rules, there are also rule-breakers that can inject your document with energy while helping employers take notice.

You Don’t Have to Be Boring

If you apply for an HR role in a creative industry like marketing or design, using color to highlight headings and titles in your resume may be more beneficial than using simple black text. Just remember to keep it focused on what matters most so information isn’t overlooked by recruiters.

Don’t Be Coy

Recruiters want to see evidence of your past success, so don’t bury your most significant wins on page two.

Instead of adding bulleted lists like “Successfully increased company profits by 20%” under each position, consider a separate section titled ‘Achievements’ at the top of the page.

This approach makes resumes easier to scan since all achievements are listed together without having to scroll through work history information. Ensure these accomplishments tie directly back to points mentioned in other sections and use data wherever possible for maximum impact.

Ideally, your resume should portray who you are and make a connection with the employer’s needs as soon as possible. They’re hiring to solve a problem in their organization. Sell yourself as the solution to that problem.

5 Resume Rules You Should Absolutely Follow

Now, let's talk about resume rules you should absolutely follow to construct a great resume.

Rule 1: Highlight Accomplishments Over Responsibilities

While a job description helps convey what you do in your daily role, it doesn’t reveal the story behind the title. Showcase key instances where you went above and beyond or leadership initiatives that drove change in your organization.

Real-life examples of your contributions help hiring teams understand your way of thinking. If you’re applying for a title you’ve not held before, this assures them you are capable of taking on additional responsibility outside of what's outlined on paper.

Rule 2: Incorporate Keywords and Technical Language

Include accreditations, software, and skills mentioned in the job posting without going overboard with jargon.

It’ll help interviewers easily match your application with the necessary markers to fill the position. These are also likely the keywords their ATS is programmed to look for in initial candidate screening.

While using unique terms like “employee experience wizard” or “interview guru” may be tempting, screening tools won’t recognize these terms and will likely ignore them. 

Rule 3: Define Sections on Your Resume with Clear Headings

When reading through hundreds of resumes, recruiters look for essential pieces such as certifications or unique experiences that could quickly be beneficial to their organization’s bottom line.

Arrange all the information you convey in your resume into separate sections. Name these sections using the common vernacular — Education, Work Experience, HR Accreditation s, etc.

Make it substantially easier on them by incorporating headings and concise, bulleted points to list your education, skills, and work experience.

Rule 4: Bold or Italicize Important Words

Don’t go crazy and bold entire sentences, but making keywords stand out will help ensure your resume isn’t lost amongst other documents containing plain paragraphs on a crowded desk.

Whether or not this trick gets an extra two seconds of the recruiter’s attention is up for debate. Still, it does convey your key skills and qualifications quickly and efficiently.

Rule 5: Proofread Your resume Before Sending It

Ensure there are no spelling or grammar errors in the document. Even minor typographical mistakes could make a recruiter question your attention to detail— an essential skill needed across practically any occupation.

Have a friend or family member take a look as well. Better yet, professional proofreaders can offer peace of mind that you’re portrayed as the capable professional that you are. They can also give other resumes tips and tricks so that yours stands out above the rest.

A Few Final Thoughts on Your HR Resume

Navigating the intricacies of HR resume writing requires you to set aside notions you may have learned from common myths and rules about job applications. Don’t be afraid to embrace the evolving definition of a good resume, emphasize storytelling, and showcase modern skills so you can successfully navigate a competitive job market.

Also, don’t forget to write an HR cover letter that stands out from the crowd.

Dominique Vatin is a Staff Writer and Career Advisor at Resume Genius. A Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW), Dominique enjoys leveraging her knowledge of the career space to provide invaluable guidance for job seekers looking for more fulfilling work opportunities.

With an M.A. from Yonsei University GSIS (Seoul, South Korea), Dominique’s insights have been quoted across the internet by authority websites like Yahoo! Finance and We Work Remotely .

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How to use ChatGPT to write an outstanding resume

Produced by: Priya Singh

AI-generated resumes are red flags: Recruiters

A Resume Genius survey conducted on 625 managers revealed, “53% of hiring managers have reservations about resumes that include content clearly created by AI, with 20% seeing it as a critical issue that could prevent them from hiring a candidate.” Hence, you need to use AI tools like ChatGPT smartly instead of copying and pasting what these tools tell you. Here are the tips that you can follow

Give detailed account  of yourself

While writing a resume using AI tool, you need to give your detailed background of yourself that includes educational qualifications, certifications, skills, past work experience. This will help the tool understand the variations in your career graph and how you can mould it in a way that it doesn’t look odd on the resume. Always use 2-3 bullet points to summarise job role at a company

Personalise it heavily

While AI tools like ChatGPT will give you a generic content based on the job role you are applying to, your educational qualification, past experience, but you need to personalise it heavily to give it a human touch instead of making it look like computer-generated. Read it carefully and edit to showcase your personality and fit for the company culture.

Spellcheck and typos

Once done, enter the text and ask the AI tool to do a spell check and fix the typos. Do note that this will make your resume look more polished and error-free. It helps you maintain a professional attitude and attention to detail.

Optimise with keywords

You need to leverage the AI tool's ability to identify relevant keywords from the job description and incorporate these keywords strategically throughout your resume to improve Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) scans.

Highlight relevant skills

Tell the AI tool about the job role you are applying for and ask to detect the relevant skills from your resume that you can highlight for that specific position based on your job experience.

Quantify your  achievements

AI tools can help you quantify your achievements effectively based on your past work experience. You can ask it to analyse your work experience and suggest specific metrics or numbers to demonstrate your impact and effectiveness. This will make your resume stand out from those who usually write about their tasks instead of giving an outcome of those tasks

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US job market shows signs of cooling, with just 175,000 jobs added in April

From CNN's Alicia Wallace, Elisabeth Buchwald, Nicole Goodkind, Krystal Hur and Bryan Mena

Leisure and hospitality jobs still not back to pre-pandemic levels

The leisure and hospitality sector was the poster child of the employment devastation wreaked by the pandemic, losing half of its workforce (a whopping 8 million jobs) in two months.

The March jobs report this year seemed to indicate that this sector had finally reached its pre-pandemic employment levels .

Not so fast, my friend.

Following revisions to recent months' employment estimates, the key consumer-facing industry is back to being just shy of pre-pandemic form. As of April, there were an estimated 16.897 million leisure and hospitality workers versus 16.899 million in February 2020, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

The leisure and hospitality industry, which was one of the key employment drivers in 2022 and 2023, saw a net gain of only 5,000 jobs last month .

Federal data is frequently subject to change as more detailed and accurate information becomes readily available. The monthly jobs report is no exception: The initial monthly estimates are revised twice more (and subject to later annual benchmarking revisions ).

The overall revisions seen in April were comparatively mild to those seen in the past. February's and March's estimated gains were revised down by a combined 22,000 jobs. February's estimates dropped by 34,000 to 236,000 net jobs added, while March's strong job gains of 303,000 were revised up by 12,000 to 315,000.

Labor force participation of prime working age women is at a record high

The employment rate of women in their prime working years just hit an all-time high in April.

The labor force participation rate for women between the ages of 25 and 54 climbed 0.3 percentage points to 78% last month, Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows.

In recent years, women’s labor force participation rebounded from a pandemic “she-cession”  and returned to  its pre-pandemic form  of making progressively historic labor market gains.

Prior to the pandemic, women’s labor force participation rates rose faster than their male counterparts as female-dominated industries such as health care and caregiving saw rapid growth; educational attainment for women rose substantially; and there were greater inroads by women into traditionally male-dominated fields such as construction, agriculture, and maintenance.

Since the pandemic, other developments helped serve as further drivers: increased work flexibility and strong job gains in female-dominated industries such as health care.

Bill Adams, chief economist for Comerica Bank, said better labor force participation was one of the main reasons why the overall unemployment rate ticked higher in April to 3.9%.

"The employment-population ratio for workers ages 25-54 was near the highest since 2022 and for workers 16-24 was near the highest since 2008," Adams wrote in a note on Friday.

Still, the overall labor force participation rate (workers 16 and older) was unchanged at 62.7%, nearing its post-pandemic high. Labor force participation rates have been on the decline since 2000 due to demographic shifts (largely, aging Baby Boomers). The pandemic effects (early retirements, deaths, long-Covid, caregiving needs) have played a role as well.

Black unemployment rate falls after unexpected spike in March

Friday's jobs report helped to quell concerns that Black Americans were seeing a steady rise of unemployment.

The jobless rate for Black workers in April fell back down to 5.6%, a rate last seen in February, after suddenly spiking to 6.4% in March , the highest since August 2022.

When that rate rocketed higher, economists cautioned that it was likely (and hopefully) a statistical anomaly. The household survey that feeds into the jobs report is typically more volatile, so it was possible that sudden leap wasn't fully representative.

The return to 5.6% in April was reassuring, Elise Gould, senior economist for the Economic Policy Institute, told CNN in an interview.

It's certainly a measure to keep watching she said, adding that it's viewed as a "canary in the coal mine."

"When things are going to get soft in the labor market, historically disadvantaged groups are often going to feel that first," she said. "It's still important to keep an eye on, but I think it's promising that it has dropped."

How 175,000 monthly job gains stacks up historically

Since the pandemic started to ease, US employers have added hundreds of thousands of jobs each month. For instance, in 2022, employers added an average of nearly 400,000 jobs each month and in 2023, they added around 225,000.

So, compared to that, April's 175,000 gains may sound paltry. But it's certainly nothing to sneeze at, looking back in time.

Though it's slightly below the 183,000 average monthly gains in the decade before the pandemic, it's well above the 125,000 average gains from 1939 to 2019. It's also above 2019's average monthly gains of 166,000 jobs.

Chicago Fed President: April jobs report was "very solid"

Chicago Federal Reserve President Austan Goolsbee views April's 175,000 job gains as "very solid."

It's a sign the economy is shifting back toward pre-Covid "conventional times," he said Friday in a Bloomberg TV interview.

"In a previous world, if you said you know you're getting jobs numbers in the 175,000 to 200,000 range, people would be quite happy with that," he said.

Goolsbee, who isn't voting on monetary policy decisions this year, didn't want to say whether or not this jobs report would make him more supportive of rate cuts this year — or rate hikes, which some of his colleagues have floated recently .

But jobs reports like April's are a positive development in that they give officials more confidence that the economy is not overheating, he added.

Biden touts "great American comeback"

President Joe Biden acknowledged that America's job market remains strong, saying in a statement that "the great American comeback continues," even after the latest batch of employment figures came in below expectations.

"When I took office, I inherited an economy on the brink, with the worst economic crisis in a century," he said in a statement Friday.

"Now we are seeing that plan in action, with well over 15 million jobs created since I took office, working-age women employed at a record high rate, wages rising faster than prices, and unemployment below 4 percent for a record 27 months in a row."

Wage growth cooled further in April

Americans' paychecks grew at a slower pace last month, but wage growth remains strong and April's softer earnings figures could be viewed favorably by the Federal Reserve, which is still fighting inflation.

Private-sector workers earned $34.75 an hour in April, on average. That was up 7 cents from March, or 0.2%. From a year earlier, wages grew 3.9% in April, which was the weakest annual rate since May 2021. That's not particularly concerning because workers are still commanding historically strong wage gains — by a very comfortable margin, too.

Annual wage growth never rose above 3.6% from 2007 (the earliest available data) to the spring of 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic distorted economic data. Wage gains still have a way to go before even returning to pre-pandemic levels — and they're still outpacing inflation.

But the steady slowdown over the past few years, since reaching a peak in March 2022, is generally seen as a good thing by the Fed. The central bank has been fighting inflation for about two years now and a tight labor market is seen by officials as a potential source of inflationary pressure. They want wage growth to "be consistent" with their inflation target of 2%, so cooling wage gains could help them tug inflation lower. Workers can still command robust wages — if productivity growth is at the very least keeping up. It remains to be seen if 2023's burst of productivity will persist. 

Dow opens 500 points higher after weak jobs report

US stocks soared higher on Friday morning after new data showed that US job growth slowed considerably last month.

The Dow opened more than 530 points higher, the S&P was up 1.2% and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.8%.

The US added just 175,000 new jobs in April, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Friday. That's far below economists expectations for 235,000 jobs and the 315,000 jobs added in March. The unemployment rate ticked higher as well, to 3.9% from 3.8% the month before.

While that's bad news for Main Street, Wall Street celebrated the news.

That's because the Federal Reserve is working to slow the economy by hiking interest rates — the only tool it has to fight inflation. A still-robust job market means the central bank could continue to keep rates elevated without fear of sending the economy into a recession. If the labor market weakens, the Fed is more likely to consider a rate cut.

Here's why the Fed likely isn't worried about this jobs report

For the first time in a while, the latest US employment figures came in below economists' expectations. Job growth in April was sharply weaker than in the prior month and the unemployment rate edged higher, instead of holding steady as economists projected. The job market clearly slowed down this spring, but it remains robust.

Fed officials have said they want to see the job market come "into better balance" to help bring inflation lower. They got that with the April jobs report. But they're not necessarily popping champagne bottles, either.

For starters, this is just one month's data, so it remains to be seen whether this softening momentum will continue. Fed Chair Jerome Powell also said in his latest news conference — after the central bank held interest rates steady for the sixth-straight meeting — that policymakers would be concerned to see an "unexpected weakening in the labor market."

That means officials prefer to see a steady and orderly slowdown.

A string of unexpectedly weak labor data in the coming months could force officials to consider cutting rates sooner than expected, since the Fed is also mandated by Congress to maximize employment, in addition to stabilizing prices.

It's too soon to tell whether April was just noise or the start of a trend, but at least the Fed doesn't have worry about the job market heating back up.

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Top 15 resume writing tips for today's job market

By ksl jobs | posted - feb. 21, 2022 at 7:00 p.m., (jirapong manustrong/shutterstock.com).

Estimated read time: 6-7 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

Writing a good resume for today's market isn't as hard as you might think. A few small tweaks can take you out of career limbo and into your next position. With the help of our very own KSL.com Human Resources Recruiting Coordinator, Maciah Olson, we came up with some tips and tricks that will help you boost your resume, land the job and keep your career moving forward. Here are KSL Jobs' top 15 resume writing tips.

Keep the format clean and readable

The first thing any hiring manager or resume reviewer will notice about your resume is the way it looks. Removing distractions and keeping it easy to read helps the reviewer find relevant info quickly. You don't have much to gain by switching things up, but a lot to lose. Trust us, no one's ever rejected a resume while yelling, "Where's the pizazz?!"

–Maciah Olson, Human Resources Recruiting Coordinator

Remove irrelevant experience.

Make your resume as open and inviting as possible. If a job doesn't feel relevant to the one you're applying for, it can be left off for readability's sake. Remember, reviewers are probably reading resumes the way you're reading articles about resumes — skimming for the most important information so they can go to lunch.

Use margins to your advantage

If your relevant experience only adds up to half a page, don't be afraid to play with the margins and spacing. Just a bit, though — margins should never creep above 2 inches and line spacing should never be more than 1.5. (Bonus tip: margins and spacing work especially well to cover up inexperience when combined with the next tip in our list.)

Include a summary statement

This is a short paragraph at the top of your resume that highlights your skills, experience and accomplishments. A summary statement is useful if you're coming off of a long break in employment or don't have much experience. It allows you to showcase the positives early on, so your potential employer gets to know your strengths before seeing anything else.

Stick to basic fonts

In addition to using 10, 11 or 12 size fonts you should stick to clean, basic styles like Helvetica, Arial or Calibri. If you're having trouble grasping the concept, just try to avoid fonts that sound like they live in a van in Little Cottonwood Canyon. Papyrus, Curlz and Wingdings might be fun to climb with — they don't belong on a resume.

Use active language

Avoid using the phrase "responsible for." Use active language instead to talk about what you actually got done. Remember the story of the Trojan Horse? Those guards could say they were "Responsible for searching visitors," and not be lying. Highlight your accomplishments over your responsibilities to demonstrate what you have to offer over other applicants. Be like the Greeks, who can now include "Created innovative solutions to beat the competition," on their resumes.

Include facts and figures

This allows hiring managers to see your work in real terms. Even if you didn't work in a role where you can show the amount of money you brought in or the number of new customers you created, you can still mention things like the frequency of tasks, positive performance reviews or any number of other role-specific goals you met.

Add industry keywords

Search sample resumes in your field for industry-relevant keywords. These keywords can also be found by rereading the job description or searching industry websites. Scope out areas in your resume where you can replace plain language with these more eye-catching phrases. Be careful not to use too many though — companies can easily spot keyword stuffing.

Seriously, use keywords

We're doubling down because many companies use keyword-scanning software to weed through large groups of applicants (sorry to break the news if that was your dream job). If you're not using the right language your resume could get tossed without even being given a chance, so use those keywords like your job depends on it — it just might.

Mention non-traditional experience

Don't be afraid to include freelance work, contract roles, volunteer opportunities and personal accomplishments, especially if you've been out of work. Maybe you picked up a new instrument, trained for a half marathon or helped with a relative's business — including these accomplishments will prove that you haven't just been sitting on your hands.

Avoid generic language

The use of industry keywords also helps you avoid using generic language and overly "businessy" terms. Saying that you're well versed in SEO practices will jump out more than claiming you're "a hard worker," "a real go-getter" or a "business synergy consultant." Whatever that means.

Include only relevant skills

Think about what someone in that field might want to see and include skills and strengths that fit the bill. For example you're better off tailoring a resume for a waitressing job to include communication skills than using your "one size fits all" resume that mentions Excel proficiency. If you're applying to jobs across different industries and don't want to change your resume for each one, try describing your responsibilities and skills in more general terms. For example, an "Operations Manager" will be more relatable and relevant than a "Salon Manager," even though they're essentially the same job.

–Maciah Olson

Proofread, proofread, proofread.

You don't want to end up bragging about your "attention to detale." It's always best to proofread with a pair of fresh eyes, so take a break when you're finished writing and come back a bit later in editing mode. Having a friend or family member look it over is also a great way to catch mistakes, but if you can't stand sharing, there are a variety of web tools you can use to proofread.

Save and send as a PDF

Since employers and hiring managers use different programs and operating systems, the universal PDF file will keep your resume accessible no matter what. You can include your first and last name in the file's title depending on preference, but your last name should always be included. Consider separating words with dashes and/or including the job title as well (ex: John-Writer-Content-Writer.pdf).

Reward yourself

This doesn't mean you should hop in the hammock every time you hit "submit," but taking time to acknowledge yourself for putting in the effort can do a lot for your mental health. Not to mention, a bit of rest can keep you from burning yourself out in the job hunt. If you've tailored your resume well, found a job that seems like a good fit and checked for errors until you can't check no mo', feel free to celebrate. Recognizing your own accomplishment makes it easier to get to work on the next one.

So give yourself a big ol' high five for reading this article, use these tips to spruce up that resume and be sure to check KSL Jobs for all of the best local job opportunities.

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