Optimizing Resume Content and Structure for Maximum Impact

I want to talk with you today about what SHOULD and SHOULDN’T be on your resume in 2024. Like many of the topics I bring to the podcast, this one comes from resumes I’ve seen lately with very old-school information.

What Should Be Included

-Branding statement & Summary (which I covered in episode #314 last week).

-Professional Experience section, written in reverse chronological order and going back 15-20 years.

-You can include internships in this section if you are a recent college graduate, but will generally be removed once you have full-time, post-graduate experience.

-Remember: a 2-3-line paragraph for your job duties, followed by up to six bulleted achievements that each start with an action verb and lead with results.

-Education section, also written in reverse chronological order but generally without dates

-GPA is good for recent college graduates but should be removed as your college education gets further in your past.

-Include relevant coursework only if you are a recent graduate.

-Certifications and Credentials that are relevant and current (non-relevant certifications can confuse the reader as to your true career goal). They should be spelled out and abbreviated, preferably with the granting body listed.

-Volunteer experience, provided it is recent or current and relevant, without any controversial element to it.

-Foreign languages, with your level of proficiency in each – where this should go will depend on how important it is to your candidacy.

Let’s Talk About the Order of These Sections

Think of this as an inverted pyramid – the most important, relevant, and weighty information goes first.

-Branding and Summary always goes at the top above the fold.

-For experienced candidates, Experience will be next. If you are right out of college, you may think your Education carries more weight – and it might.

-From there, it’s your decision as to whether your Education, Credentials, and Volunteer Experience is more important for your candidacy – and this may change depending on the requirements of the job you are applying for.

What Should NOT Be Included

-An objective, which tells the reader what YOU want rather than what you can do for them.

-“References provided upon request” or the actual reference list.

-Hobbies, unless they are DIRECTLY related.

-A picture.

-Other personal information, such as marital status or children info.

-You have the option of leaving off any position on your resume, so long as you include that position on a job application. You may leave yourself with a gap in employment, so weigh that against your reason for not wanting to include the position. Especially if it was very short-term, the gap in employment may hardly be noticeable.

A Note About a Separate Skills Section

Applicant tracking systems (ATS) score resumes higher when skills are integrated into positions where you demonstrated that skill. While you can have a Skills section – I sometimes find this necessary – you can also try to incorporate as many of them as possible into your Experience section.

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