Resume tips that get you interviews

Before a person reads your résumé, software filters it. When a person does read it, they skim it in seconds. You are not writing an autobiography. You are trying to get past two quick screens, and these tips are written for that.

Write it for the role and use the posting’s words

A generic résumé sent to twenty jobs loses to a targeted one sent to five. Read the posting closely and use its wording. If it asks for “project coordination” and you have done that, use those words, not a synonym. Applicant tracking systems match against the posting’s terms, and recruiters scan for them too. Of all the edits you can make, this one helps the most.

Lead with results, not duties

“Responsible for managing inventory” tells a reader what your job was. “Cut inventory shrinkage 18% by redesigning the count process” tells them what you did about it. Everyone in your role had the same duties. Your results are what set you apart. Start each bullet with the outcome and the action behind it, and leave the duty implied.

Quantify everything you can

A reader who is skimming stops on numbers. Dollars saved, percentages improved, people managed, tickets closed, deals closed, time cut: put a figure on your work wherever you honestly can. “Grew the account 40%” says more than “grew the account significantly.” A rough estimate you can defend is better than a vague adjective.

Keep the format clean and ATS-friendly

Elaborate designs often break in applicant tracking systems, and if the software cannot read your résumé, no person will see it. Keep it simple:

• Skip tables, text boxes, columns, and graphics. Parsers scramble them.
• Use standard section headings: Experience, Education, Skills.
• Stick to a common font and save as the format the posting asks for, usually a .docx or a text-based PDF.
• Do not put important information in the header, footer, or an image. Some systems never read it.

Your résumé has two audiences: a program that decides if a human sees it, and a human who decides in seconds. Write for both.

Put the most relevant experience up top

The reader may only get through the first third, so put your best material there. Order bullets within each role by relevance, not by date, and put your most on-target accomplishments first. If your best-fitting experience is not your most recent, a short summary line near the top can bring it forward.

Cut the filler

Vague objective statements, “hard-working team player,” “results-driven professional”: everyone uses these phrases, so they tell the reader nothing. Delete them and use the space for a concrete accomplishment. Every line should tell the reader something specific and true about what you can do.

Match the job title

If your title was “Client Success Lead” and the posting says “Customer Success Manager,” a recruiter scanning quickly may not connect the two, and the ATS may not either. Where it is accurate, use the wording of the roles you are applying for, or add the common equivalent in parentheses. That is not inflating your title. It makes an honest match easy to see.

Proofread it

One typo will not always cost you the job, but it raises a small doubt about your attention to detail, and when the other résumés are strong, small doubts matter. Read it aloud, check every date and number, and ask someone you trust to look it over. They will catch what you have stopped seeing.

Then get it in front of people who are hiring

A good résumé still has to reach someone who is hiring. A recruiter can help by matching your background to open roles and sending it straight to the hiring manager. When yours is ready, send it to us and we will look for roles it fits.

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