Resume Writing Tips
After reading over a million resumes and LinkedIn profiles, here’s what I know:
Write for the end audience
You know your expertise, your company, and your industry, but a recruiter may not, so gear your resume to the reader who’s the least educated about what you do. I’m not saying to dumb it down; just write plainly and succinctly, and make it easy for someone to follow the path you’ve taken and the responsibilities you’ve held.
Spell-check and grammar-check
Make sure your writing is grammatically correct and flows easily. Reading your resume aloud will help identify any errors, and here are some things to double-check:
Is your current role written in present tense?
Are your previous job details in past tense?
Do your subjects and verbs agree?
Are your possessive apostrophes in the right place?
Have you avoided ending sentences with prepositions?
Pro-tip: If you’re not sure about the correct grammar, Grammarly is a super tool.
Proofread, proofread, proofread!
The best way to proofread your resume is to print it then read it from the bottom of the last page to the top of the first page. If you read it line by line, bullet by bullet, and use a ruler to guide your eyes, you’ll catch errors you’ve repeatedly missed.
PDF or Word for resume submissions?
There can be conversion errors when a recruiter uploads your resume into an applicant tracking system, so you’re better off submitting both Word and PDF versions then letting the recruiter choose whichever version is compatible with their database.
My opinion of resume templates
Templates are actually more trouble than they’re worth; for sure, is much easier to fill in the blanks and have a lovely colorful finished product appear at the push of a button, but there’s no guarantee the template resume will upload properly into a database or applicant tracking system. The formatting behind the scenes can get corrupted, and information can get dumped into the wrong database field—or even omitted completely.
Another issue occurs when you want to add new information to your resume; the template’s behind-the-scenes formatting makes it impossible for you to replicate the spacing, so you’ll either give up on the resume altogether and start over or put up with inconsistent formatting. Neither option is appealing since both leave you with a less-than-ideal resume.
The easiest way to create your resume is to start from scratch in a brand-new Word document. You’ll have more control, be less frustrated, and be far better served in the long run.
Tried and true formatting
After looking through countless resumes, these are my preferences:
Arial font, sized 9 or 10 for the body of the text.
Slightly larger, bolded, and capitalized font for headings and section titles.
Regularly spaced font throughout (no expanded or condensed text).
Single line spacing throughout, with blank lines used to create space between sections.
Bullets to list information.
Indents to create an outline format.