Writing a Great Resume Is Both an Art and a Science

There’s an art and science to effective resume writing.

The “art” is writing a resume that a potential interviewer wants to read, rather than do the 6-7 second scan that recruiters give a resume before deciding whether to read further or toss it.

The “science” part is the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) part of resume writing.

This is where you make sure your resume has the keywords and keyword phrases that the Applicant Tracking System has been programmed to look for, so your resume makes it through the ATS, so a human can read it.

Philosophy and Guiding Principles

Your resume is a conversation starter, not the whole conversation

The job of the resume is to get you an interview, not be the interview. There’s no need to include every detail of a successful project you led or pack everything that makes you a great candidate into your resume, just the key takeaways that would make the reader want to talk with you and hear more. Leave them wanting more (not less).

Less is more (up to a point)

This is another way of thinking about the above principle. You want to make your resume as concise as possible, knowing that they will ask you to share more details when you have your interview. That being said, you don’t want to obsess about being concise to the point of leaving out important details that would show that you are a great fit. There’s a sweet spot between “too much” and “not enough” that you want to hit.

Don’t Annoy The Person Reading Your Resume; Make Your Resume Scan Friendly

In some ways, this might be Rule Number One when writing a resume. Keep in mind, the person reading your resume—especially if they’re a recruiter—has to go through dozens, if not hundreds, of resumes for a single position. They are not going to slog through a dense, hard-to-read, or poorly written resume. They don’t have time for that. So you don’t want their initial impression to be “Argggh…who IS this person?” If that’s their reaction, your resume probably won’t get more than a one second glance.
This is why the Less is More principle is important to keep in mind, as well as why it’s important to make sure you have enough white space, so your resume feels inviting rather than daunting. That’s also why you want to make it as concise and succinct as possible. When they glance at it, and then scan it for those 6-7 seconds, you want them to feel interested, not burdened. You want them to think “This is worth reading more closely.”

Think “Marketing Document” vs. “Historical Document” or “Legal Document”

Your resume is supposed to highlight the value you would provide a prospective employer, using the skills you most want to use in the domains you are most interested in. It is not meant to be a chronology of everything you’ve done throughout your career, nor are you required to include aspects of your work experience that you don’t want to play a major role in your future. You get to shape it so it communicates where you want to go and what you have to offer in that realm.

Think “Value Provided”, “Results”, and “Accomplishments”; not “Job Descriptions”

This is so important and one of the factors that separates an “OK” resume from a great one. Recruiters will often say “I don’t want to see the person’s job descriptions, I want to see what value they’ve provided their employers, I want to see what results they’ve delivered.” To help you think in terms of the results you’ve delivered, take your task and responsibility oriented bullet points and ask “What was the result of me doing this?” and “What was the result of me doing this well?”

Example of a responsibility or task focused bullet point:

Created new inventory management processes

Now, here is the bullet point written in a result focused way:

Improved productivity and created efficiencies by building new, more effective inventory management processes

Connect the Dots for the Reader. Don’t Leave it Up to Them

Recruiters will often say “I am not looking for a rock star. I want someone who can do this job. Thus, your job is to show clearly how your skills, strengths, and experience match the responsibilities and requirements of their job description. This is especially critical if you are changing careers. You want to make it crystal clear how your non-traditional background “checks the boxes” for their job description. To connect the dots, use the job description of the position you are going after as a guideline for what to put in and what to emphasize in your resume.

Customize your resume for the specific job you are seeking

Focus on the skills and experiences that are relevant to the job. Use competency, responsibility, and skill keywords and keyword phrases from the job description. Remember, you want to Connect the Dots for them.