17 Expert Resume Tips That Will Get You Hired Faster!
If there’s one thing that almost everyone on this planet has in common, it’s the need for an interview-winning resume. Sadly, that’s not what everyone has tucked away in their resume file.
Not too long ago, all you’d have to do to apply for a job was make a list of the positions you’ve held, indicate what you did at each job, and hit the SEND button. But oh, how things have changed!
Now, not only do you have to get Mr. and Ms. Hiring Manager’s attention, but you also have to impress a computer – the applicant tracking system or ATS.
But how in the world do you do all of that with just two sheets of paper? In this article, you’ll find 17 expert resume tips that will get you hired faster. Not only will the tips and tricks you learn here spruce up your resume, but they’ll help your confidence, too.
The basics - your first resume tips
Formatting, organization, and content – oh, my!
Considering that your resume is likely the first impression you’ll make on a prospective employer, it’s critical that you get it right. That means you have to pay attention to everything from formatting and organization to the content you include on the page (or pages).
When you follow resume-writing best practices, you’ll demonstrate that you have the right level of professionalism and can pay attention to the details before your resume ever says a word.
All of this means that you can no longer rely on simply slapping your work history on a page and throwing it out to a bunch of employers in the hopes that something will stick. In fact, one of the main reasons job seekers are ghosted by companies is that the resume isn’t up to par and the ATS outright rejects it. This means your resume ends up in a digital la-la land never to be seen again.
To avoid rejection by the ATS, there are several things you need to know before you ever put pen to paper – or finger to keyboard.
1. Get your job history together
Of course, you already know that you have to have a list of the roles you’ve worked, what your titles were, when you were at each, and the things you did. It goes beyond that, though. You have to write using action language. So, instead of jotting down what your job description from each role said, you’ll want to focus on the things you accomplished.
For each job you’ve held, ask yourself these questions
What did I do at this company that I was the most proud of? What was going on? What did I do about it? What was the result? Check out this article on using the STAR method in your resume.
Did I get singled out to perform any tasks that were outside my job description?
Did I win any awards or earn any praise?
As you make your notes about each role you’ve held, make a list of skills that you used in each position. The skills will eventually need to be aligned with keywords in the job description. It’s having the right keywords that will be the biggest hurdle you face in getting past the ATS.
2. Pick your format
Once you get an idea of the content you’ll include on your resume, you have to choose which format you want to use. Actually, it’s less of which format you WANT to use and more of which format will serve you better. There are three to choose from:
Reverse-chronological
Functional
Hybrid
Generally speaking, you’ll probably want to use the reverse-chronological resume format. It’s what hiring managers expect to see and what they’re most familiar with. This bit is important because that familiarity means they can quickly find the information about your history they seek.
Expert Tip
There isn’t a human being alive who will read your resume on the first pass through. They’re going to skim through it to see if anything jumps out at them. When something catches their attention, then they’ll read it.
One critical resume tip that you need to be aware of is that the functional resume format has a stigma surrounding it. You may have read about it and wondered if it was true. It is!
Many people use the functional format to minimize the appearance of job-hopping. Hiring managers know this! So, when they get a functional resume, the first thing they do is hop down to the work history section to see if there are any gaps. There’s 2 seconds of their skimming time gone already.
Using the hybrid format is 100% okay if you have work history gaps or want a document that will emphasize your skills over your work history. This format is also great for people who are changing careers since you’ll want to focus on how your history has developed the right aptitudes for you to use in your new position.
3. Know your outline
The content you put into your resume should be arranged in a particular way. Again, you’re trying to make it as easy as possible for a hiring manager to learn as much about your history as possible in the short time they’ll spend scanning through your resume.
Not only that, but the ATS is programmed to scan for particular information – dates, education, keywords. So, using the right layout ensures that you’ll be able to beat the bots.
This is your outline:
Contact information: You want them to reach out to you for an interview, right? Make it easy on them by including your name, phone number, and a professional email address.
Headline: Just below your contact information you need a title or headline that indicates what you want to do next in your career. It needs to be tailored each time so that it mirrors the job description. Check out this article for some examples of headlines for different industries.
Profile paragraph: The next thing on your resume should be a three to five-sentence paragraph that aligns your career history and accomplishments with what the job is looking for. Remember, your goal is always to show them what you bring to the table for their team. Start with how much experience you have, mention some hard skills and some soft skills, and include at least one career achievement.
Core competencies: This is the ‘beat the bots’ section. It’s just a list of no more than 15 keywords and phrases that you found in the job description that you can speak to in an interview. Don’t make the mistake of stuffing every keyword you can into this section – it’s not a dumping ground. Use it strategically to get keywords into your resume that you need to get past the ATS.
Work history/Professional experience: You’re now at the bulkiest part of your resume. This is the section that will take you the most time to write. Focus your resume on the last 10-15 years of experience. You can add more, but anything over 15 years should be listed as “Early Career Experience” and without bullet points. For the last 10-15 years, list the company name, the timeframe you were there, and your position title along with up to five bullet points that speak to your achievements in that role.
Education/Credentials: This section of your resume should take up very little space and most often comes in after your work history. There are some caveats to that if you’re still working on your degree.
4. Proofreading is critical
Just because you have the outline and are ready to fill in those blanks, doesn’t mean you should start. Put a sticky note on the side of your monitor to remind yourself to proofread your resume. So many people skip this step.
Go on LinkedIn and type “manger” into the search bar, then click “People.” You’ll see that there are 21 million people who misspell “manager.” Don’t be one of those 21 million people – do better.
Not only should you proofread it, you should get a friend to proofread it, too. When you read it, your brain will interpret the words on the page based on what it knows is supposed to be there. Your friend – who doesn’t know what’s supposed to be there – will likely find more errors than you will.
Put it together – resume tips for writing
Now you’re at the fun part – actually putting words on the page. It should be fun at least. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, you can follow some simple rules, or resume best practices, to make it a bit easier.
5. Rule number one – the one that’s most often broken
The first resume tip or rule when you’re in the writing phase is supposed to make things easier on you. Have you ever used the acronym K.I.S.S. – keep it short and simple? That applies to resume writing.
You’re not going to get anyone’s attention with big walls of text, especially considering the fact that your resume is being skimmed, not read. In fact, when a hiring manager picks up a resume – or opens the file on their computer – and is hit with a bunch of words crammed on the page, they’re pretty likely to just move on to the next applicant.
Expert Tip
The word resume means “summary.” It’s not a chronicle of everything you’ve ever done during your career.
This is where the resume bullet point comes in. Use bullets instead of paragraphs to help your career history be more easily digestible to the human being who’s scanning through it, and about 100 other resumes.
6. Focus on achievements
This resume tip is just as important as the K.I.S.S. rule!
Since the goal isn’t to talk about everything you’ve ever done, you should focus on career accomplishments. You already know that you can use the STAR method to talk about
Situation
Task
Action
Results
But there is another method you can use to talk about achievements, too. It’s called the CAR method. It breaks things down into three steps instead of four:
Challenge
Action
Result
You’ll notice that both methods get you to talk about results. That’s ultimately all a prospective employer cares about because when they are able to see things you achieved in past jobs, they’ll have an idea of what you can do for them.
7. Tailor the language of your resume
As you write your concise bullet points that focus on achievements, remember that you have to tailor the verbiage so that it is aligned with the job you’re about to apply to. This resume tip cannot be overlooked as tailoring your content with the right keywords is what will get you past the ATS.
As you read through the job description to learn what the company needs its new hires to do, highlight the main points of each bullet so you can find the keywords you’ll need to use in your resume. Here’s a very simplified example:
Job Description: Data Analyst
We are looking for a detail-oriented data analyst with expertise in SQL, data visualization tools, and statistical analysis. The successful candidate will work closely with stakeholders to gather requirements and provide actionable insights. Strong analytical and problem-solving skills are a must.
Dissected Keywords:
Data analyst
SQL
Data visualization tools
Statistical analysis
Stakeholder collaboration
Analytical skills
Problem-solving
If you can get those keywords into your resume, then you’ll win half the battle – the part that requires you to get past the ATS.
8. Use the right language
Beyond getting the right keywords into your resume, you have to use the right language. For this resume tip, you’ll want to delete a few phrases from your resume-writing vocabulary. They are:
Responsible for…
Charged with…
Accountable for…
Keep in mind that employers aren’t going to care about what you were responsible for doing. They’re only going to know what you actually did. Let’s face it, there are a lot of things people are responsible for that simply never get done.
Instead, you should be using action words and power verbs.
Resume tips for optimizing your resume
After you get your resume written and proofread, don’t start waving the checkered flag because you aren’t done yet. There are some things you need to verify that are done correctly.
9. Save it using the right file type
A lot of job seekers wonder if they should use the Word version of their resume or a PDF to apply for jobs. Though it is becoming less of a problem, some ATS can’t properly parse information from a PDF. So, the overarching recommendation resume tip for file type is to use a Word document.
It would be terrible to get rejected by the ATS simply because the system can’t read your PDF. For this resume tip, it’s best to err on the side of caution.
10. Formatting resume tips
Speaking of things that ATS can’t read correctly, you should also avoid using things like columns, tables, and images, too. One of the easiest things you can do to verify if the ATS will properly read the items on your resume is to copy and paste all of the text into Notepad as Notepad will remove all formatting and convert everything into text. This is exactly what the ATS is doing. So, if it looks right in Notepad, it’ll be okay to push it through the ATS.
It’s also fairly crucial to make sure that you’re consistent with headings, fonts, indentations, and spacing. Nothing can throw off the aesthetics of your resume worse than having your bullet points all askew. While having headers with different fonts and bullets that aren’t lined up probably won’t hold you up in the ATS, it’ll be unpleasant for the hiring manager who’s physically looking at your document.
Expert Tip
Aesthetics can get you rejected just as quickly as improper content.
11. Avoid keyword stuffing
Did you notice in the outline resume tips, the Skills section should have no more than 15 keywords and phrases? Yes, this is the ‘beat the bots’ section, but you’re not going to get past the ATS by stuffing every available keyword into your Core Competencies section.
There used to be a trick going around that said to copy and paste the job description into your resume using 1 pt, white font so that humans couldn’t see it. The bad news is that the ATS can see it and your resume will be booted.
Stuffing keywords either by overloading your Skills section or by using any tricks you find online will not serve you very well and are resume tips you should avoid.
12. Balance your skills
With that said, you do want to ensure there is a good mix of hard and soft skills in your Core Competencies.
Hard skills are the things you need to know in order to get the job done and include things like software proficiencies, project management tools, engineering skills, and marketing abilities.
Soft skills are interpersonal abilities that allow you to work well with others and solve problems. These can be anything from collaboration and teamwork to leadership abilities and emotional intelligence.
Yes, hiring managers want to know that you can get the job done, but they also need to determine where you’ll fit within the company’s culture.
Going the extra mile resume tips
You can prove a lot of great things about your candidacy for a job by taking additional steps to ensure that you’ll be a good fit for a position. These extras could be just the thing that moves you from the ‘maybe’ pile to the ‘yes’ pile.
13. Research the company
When you’re working on determining the appropriate soft skills to put into your resume, a bit of research goes a long way. Check out the company’s website and social media to learn about their values, culture, and any projects they may be working on.
When you learn what they stand for and what they’re currently doing, you can better tailor your resume to the needs of the company for the role they have open. You’ll also learn if it’s a company you even want to work for.
14. Inject some personality into your resume
Having some clues as to the company’s culture and ongoing commitments will allow you to let your personality shine. Hiring managers see tons of resumes written in stuffy language that doesn’t help the job seeker stand out.
Using a personable tone in your writing, based on what you’ve learned about the company will improve the impression you make as you’ll be writing in a way that matches how the company performs. It will give the person reviewing your resume more insight into your passions and enthusiasm.
15. Include extras in your resume to help your personality shine through
In addition to the language you use in your resume, adding links to your LinkedIn profile or online portfolios can also give some insights into your personality. This is especially true if your LinkedIn profile or online portfolios are properly optimized. After all, your resume, social profiles, and portfolios all work together to create your personal brand.
You should be using LinkedIn to set yourself apart as an expert in your field. Participate in groups and make posts about things going on in your industry. This type of activity helps prospective employers know that you have a full understanding of industry norms and they’ll become aware of the fact that they have someone available to them that can help lead them to success.
16. Leverage your network
Not only does your LinkedIn profile complement your resume, it also gives you access to a broad network of like-minded professionals. Did you know that 95% of recruiters use LinkedIn to source candidates for open positions. If you’re on that platform and using it to network with other professionals in your industry, chances are that you’ll run across a recruiter or two who need someone with your talents to fill an open position.
On top of using LinkedIn to get in touch with recruiters, people in your network may know about open positions that aren’t advertised publicly. If you can get someone to point you in the direction of a role that no one else knows about, you’ll have a leg up against the competition – other job seekers.
17. Don’t forget the ever-important cover letter
Among all of these resume tips, one that can’t be overlooked has to do with writing a cover letter. Cover letters are sometimes the unsung heroes of job applications. You should have a cover letter that complements your resume instead of one that regurgitates the same information already contained in the resume.
One great thing about a cover letter is that it can explain any faux pas found in your resume – think about employment gaps, sabbaticals, or lay offs. If something has happened during your career that you feel needs more explanation than what can be done on a resume, use your cover letter.
Your resume should tell a compelling story
By now, you should have a resume that tells a riveting story about how your career history and achievements align with what a hiring manager needs in a new hire. In moving past the simplicity of listing out your job history and duties, you create a narrative that showcases your skills and accomplishments so they can see what you’ve done in the past to get an idea of what you’ll do in the future.
As you fill in each section keep asking yourself, “Is this the thing that’s going to win me an interview?” This will ensure that everything you have on that document serves a specific purpose and will help you reach the goal of securing an interview.
Since your resume is the first impression you’ll make on a hiring manager, make it count by using concrete examples of your achievements. These examples will breathe life into the story of your career, wow the socks off the hiring manager, and help you stand out as an expert in your field.
All of this can be quite a daunting task. If you’d like some help, ZipJob can give you some guidance. It all starts with a FREE REVIEW of your resume.
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Written by
Marsha Hebert, Professional Resume Writer
Marsha is a resume writer with a strong background in marketing and writing. After completing a Business Marketing degree, she discovered that she could combine her passion for writing with a natural talent for marketing. For more than 10 years, Marsha has helped companies and individuals market themselves. Read more advice from Marsha on ZipJob's blog.
