What makes a good resume

Writing your resume for your current job search might feel a bit overwhelming. New strategies or formats can be confusing. But the reality is simple—a good resume has always (and will always) include the same things. Consider the list below as you draft your resume:

1 - Use Power Statements

Use action verbs on your resume to highlight exactly what you accomplished in your previous role. By including strong verbs at the start of each of your bullet points (under each title or company header), you can ensure two things. First, you’re creating a parallel and repeatable format for each section and this will make your resume easier to scan and read. And second, you can highlight what you did—implying with the action verb that you were the one who did the work to get the results you’re highlighting. 

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Here are a few great examples of using a power statement: 

“Organized a new marketing team of experts to build the new webinar program.” 

“Hired and trained 10 new sales reps for the engineering vertical team.” 

‍“Managed the existing email marketing program and boosted open rates by 4x.”

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2 - Add in Relevant Keywords

Include the right keywords in your resume to ensure an ATS (applicant tracking system), a recruiter, or hiring manager will clearly see that you are qualified for the role. Need help finding the right keywords to use? Start with a simple Google search to get examples for your role and industry. Then, look at the job description and pull keywords from there. 

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Here are a few examples of ways you can use keywords on your resume: 

Keywords to use: project management, social media, analysis

“Utilized project management skills to lead a team of 6 marketers.”

“Managed all company social media channels including creating content, posting updates, and responding to comments.” 

“Organized monthly reports for the leadership team with detailed analysis.”

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3 - Ensure There Are No Errors

Do your best to submit a resume that is free from any errors—spelling, grammatical, and others. If you’re unsure of your editing abilities, ask a friend to help you review your resume. You can also use an AI program, like Grammerly, to help you find mistakes, suggest changes to your sentence structure, etc. 

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4 - Include An Easy-to-Read Summary

Add in a quick and easy-to-read summary at the top of your resume. While your entire resume will likely be scanned by an ATS, a recruiter or hiring manager may just read the first few lines or the first section of your resume to get a feel for your qualifications. And, if you’re selected for an interview, the top of the first page can help act as a reminder to the interviewer about who you are and why they picked you for this round of interviews. 

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Here is an example of a solid resume summary: 

“Sales director with more than 10 years of experience leading teams in B2B tech. Supervised and motivated a team of 15+ with quarterly and annual goals. Built the sales enablement and training programs from the ground up, implementing both at (company name).”

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5 - Highlight Your Accomplishments

Don’t miss the opportunity to highlight your accomplishments on your resume. Select 3 - 5 wins from each of your previous jobs and make sure they are described accurately. Now is the chance to detail exactly how critical you were in each role and what you accomplished.

Need a few ideas on how to do this? Here are a few examples: 

“Entrusted to work with the top clients at (company name), pitching upsells and converting 30% of every prospect in our ABM plan.” 

“Built a content marketing engine that produced 5 email nurture streams to 5 customer buckets with a 30% open rate across the board.”

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6 - Add in Awards and Honors

Include any relevant awards and honors that may be important to a potential employer. For example, if you’re fresh out of school and you don’t have industry experience, including academic awards or scholarship information can showcase what kind of student you were—translating into what type of worker you will be for the company. If you have industry-specific awards, they can highlight your creativity, innovation, and previous accomplishments. 

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Not sure which awards and honors to include? Consider these ideas: 

• Dean’s List
• Departmental or company awards
• Industry awards
• Scholarships (if applicable and within a few years of receiving them)
• Academic achievements 
• High GPA
• Fellowships
• Community awards

7 - List Relevant Education and Certifications

Education and certifications are another key area to include in your resume. In some cases, your education may not be relevant with the job type, but it can still be a good line item to include—by detailing your education you are showing your commitment to earning a degree, underlining your commitment to the new employer. 

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Here’s a good format to consider when listing your education (or a certification) on your resume): 

(university name) | (city, state) | (years) | (degree name)

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Here's' what that format looks like with two examples: 

University of Denver | Denver, Colorado | 2007 - 2012 | Bachelor of Science in Marketing 

Columbia University | New York, New York | 2018 - 2022 | Master of Business Administration 

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Need more resources? Check out these links:

6 best practices to help you secure a job offer

How to go find a job (in 5 steps)

‍6 signs you will be successful in a new job

What to put for desired salary on application

How to make your job application stand out

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