Create a Standout Resume

I once received a resume where the candidate said they were “detail-oriented”—and had multiple typos throughout their resume.

Yikes.

Your resume is your first impression to potential employers, so it’s important to immediately demonstrate your strengths and value. Because of these high expectations, writing your resume can feel overwhelming.

Should you use a reverse chronological order format?

Should you include your graduation class year?

Should you use keywords that you think employers are looking for?

Briefly: yes, no, yes—respectively.

I’ve reviewed thousands of resumes as a hiring manager, coach, and mentor, and those that have stood out most follow these four tips:

1.     Clarify Your Unique Contributions

It may be hard to talk about your accomplishments or know which ones to include. Think through what you’ve specifically worked on, though you won’t want to make your resume a replica of your job description. It may help you to first make a list of everything you did and then circle the things you did especially well. Your unique contributions include what you initiated or influenced at the company, recognition received by your boss or colleagues, and any new processes or initiatives you developed. If you were promoted in your current company, it’s also worth clearly indicating this, as it shows your ability to advance in an organization.

Also consider how your experiences relate to the job you’re applying to next and be sure to highlight anything that demonstrates alignment with the new role or company.

For example: Recruited, trained, and managed a board of 15 volunteer leaders who collectively contributed $6 million to the organization.

2.     Quantify Accomplishments

Now that your resume tells the story of how your efforts led to outcomes, you can further distinguish yourself as a candidate by sharing specific results. Add in quantifying numbers and facts to every aspect of your resume. I suggest to clients to go through their resumes line by line to see if a number of some kind can be added into each sentence. Then, be sure to add what changed or improved as a result of your work.

For example: Developed cost-saving initiative with cross-functional team of 10 that led to company savings of $100,000 and received an award.

Though many candidates present with seemingly similar qualifications or skills, this is your differentiator. Remember it’s not so much whether the numbers themselves are huge, but that they’re significant to the project or work you’re describing.

3.     Clearly Format

Formatting is another way to tell your story on your resume. Though there are several options to present your work history, the most universally accepted is reverse chronological (starting with your most recent job.) Employers are hiring you based on your experience, and you want to organize it clearly.

Use bolding or italics sparingly and consistently to call attention to what matters most. If everything is bolded or bulleted, it’s hard to make your highlights—and therefore you—stand out. If you’re earlier in your career, the company may be worth pointing out. If you’ve been working for a while and been able to show upward trajectory in your career, you may want to highlight your titles.

For example: Include a few sentences description of each role you’ve had and save the bullet points to list underneath the description the most significant accomplishments you had in your role.

4.     Feature Your Community and Industry Involvement

Your resume can feature more than your work accomplishments—after all, you’re more than your work. Add a section where you include your volunteer roles, professional development memberships, and committee responsibilities.

These experiences show your commitment to supporting your industry and being involved in the community. This can be especially valuable when you’re transitioning to a new industry and don’t yet have professional work experience in the field.

For example: You may choose to call this section something like “Professional and Industry Affiliations”, “Volunteer Involvement”, or “Community Involvement.”

Even with the best resume, there will be more about you than one or two pages can reveal. This is why I still recommend cover letters, which tell your story from your perspective and help connect the dots between where you’ve been and where you hope to go next. The goal of your standout resume is to get to the interview. From there, you can confirm for the hiring managers why you’re the standout hire.