10 Tips for Writing a Stellar Resume in 2024

What is the most important thing to include on a resume?

Contact information, professional summary, work experience, education, and skills are all essential elements of a stellar resume. Your resume should be tailored to each specific job description and highlight your skills, experience, and value proposition in a way that makes it clear that you are the ideal candidate to fill the role.

• Contact information that allows potential employers to reach you quickly and easily, including your name, email, phone number, and LinkedIn URL.
• A professional summary that showcases your key skills, experiences, and career goals in a concise and engaging manner.
• A work experience section that details your relevant job history, including your job titles, the companies you worked for, the dates of your employment, and your key accomplishments in each role.
• An education section that lists your educational qualifications, including your degrees, the institutions you attended, and the dates of your graduation.
• A skills section that lists your technical and soft skills, highlighting those that are most relevant to the job you are applying for.

How do I write a resume that will pass the ATS scan?

Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) are used by many companies to screen resumes and identify the most qualified candidates. To ensure that your resume passes the ATS scan, you should:

• Use a keyword-rich resume that includes the keywords that are most relevant to the job you are applying for.
• Use a standard resume format that is easy for the ATS to read and parse.
• Avoid using fancy fonts or graphics that can confuse the ATS.
• Save your resume in a PDF format to prevent it from being garbled by the ATS.

How do I quantify my accomplishments on my resume?

Using specific numbers and metrics to quantify your accomplishments on your resume can make your resume more impressive and convincing. To quantify your accomplishments, you should:

• Use numbers to show the scale of your accomplishments, such as the number of people you managed or the amount of money you saved the company.
• Use percentages to show the impact of your accomplishments, such as the percentage of sales you increased or the percentage of errors you reduced.
• Use specific metrics to show the value of your accomplishments, such as the ROI of a project you led or the customer satisfaction ratings you achieved.

What are the most common resume mistakes that I should avoid?

There are a number of common resume mistakes that you should avoid, such as:

• Using a generic resume that is not tailored to the specific job you are applying for.
• Including irrelevant information on your resume, such as your hobbies or personal interests.
• Making your resume too long or too short.
• Using a unprofessional font or design.
• Including typos or grammatical errors.

How do I tailor my resume to specific job descriptions?

Tailoring your resume to each specific job description is essential to increasing your chances of getting an interview. To tailor your resume, you should:

• Read the job description carefully and identify the key skills and experience that the employer is looking for.
• Highlight your skills and experience that are most relevant to the job in your resume summary and work experience section.
• Use keywords from the job description throughout your resume.
• Customize your resume for each job you apply for to show that you are genuinely interested in the position.

What is the best way to format my resume?

The best way to format your resume is to use a clean and professional design that is easy to read and navigate. Your resume should be:

• One page in length, unless you have a lot of relevant experience.
• Organized into sections, such as contact information, professional summary, work experience, education, and skills.
• Use a standard font, such as Arial or Times New Roman, in a size 11 or 12 point font.
• Use white space to make your resume easy to read.
• Proofread your resume carefully for any errors.

What font should I use on my resume?

The best font to use on your resume is a professional font that is easy to read, such as:

• Arial
• Times New Roman
• Calibri
• Helvetica
• Cambria

What is the ideal length of a resume?

The ideal length of a resume is one page. However, if you have a lot of relevant experience, you may need to use two pages. Your resume should be long enough to showcase your skills and experience, but it should not be so long that it is difficult to read or navigate.