Let’s cut through the noise, crafting your resume and building cover letters is not about listing every job you’ve ever had, nor is it about writing flowery prose about your “passion for excellence.” They’re about one thing, and one thing only, getting you in the door for that job interview.
Whether you’re a recent graduate with limited experience, a career changer trying to explain why you’re switching fields, or someone reentering the workforce, your application needs to tell a compelling story. You’ve got about 6-7 seconds to grab a recruiter’s attention and even less time to get past any auto screenings before they move on to the next candidate.
Here’s how we can help make those seconds count.
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Your Resume: Greatest Hits
When crafting your resume, think of it as more of a highlight reel rather than an autobiography. Focus on what’s relevant to the specific role and what the employer is looking for. Your resume is often your first impression, so make it count.
Contact information that works
First things first, if you are still using that email address from your early teens, odds are it’s time for an upgrade. Be sure the personal email you list is workplace friendly; a lot can be said (or unsaid) given the email address you list as your primary point of contact.
Secondly, make sure your phone number is current and has a professional voicemail greeting. Skip the ringback tones and save the clever jokes for the in-person interview. Keep your automated greetings short and sweet so employers know they’ve reached the right person.
Lastly, feel free to include your LinkedIn profile, the city of which you live, and state. These days you can skip listing your full street address as that trend is now considered a tad outdated.
A summary (only if it’s specific)
Ditch the “detail-oriented professional seeking to leverage skills” garbage. If you’re including a summary at the top of your resume, make it count with real numbers and specifics (“Marketing professional who grew social media engagement 200%+ for B2B tech companies”). Otherwise, skip it, a bad summary is worse than no summary at all. However, pay attention to tthe job listing. Some employers may require specific elements like summaries to weed out applicants who aren’t paying attention.
Experience that shows results
This is where the magic happens. List your jobs in reverse chronological order, but don’t just list what you did, show what you achieved. Be sure you use numbers, percentages, and concrete results whenever possible as these specifics will help to make your accomplishments real to the employer. A few examples of what this could look like is as follows:
- General: “Responsible for managing social media accounts”
- Specific: “Grew Instagram from 2K to 15K followers in 8 months, driving 35% increase in website traffic”
- General: “Worked with customers to resolve issues”
- Specific: “Resolved 50+ complaints weekly, maintained 95% satisfaction, reduced escalations 40%”
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Education and skills
You’ve done the hard part in earning the degree or certifications needed to apply for this job, now it’s time to put them on display. Recent grad? Put your education accomplishments near the top. Graduated but have been part of the work force a few years? Bottom of the page is fine. Be sure to include your degree, school, graduation year (or expected graduation date), and relevant honors. GPA only matters if it’s above 3.5 or you’re applying to grad school. For skills, list real technical abilities such as software, certifications, and any additional languages you may be able to speak fluently.
Something important to remember here, be honest. If you claim “advanced Excel,” you better be able to handle those pivot tables in your sleep.
What to leave off
You’ve got limited space (try to keep that resume to one page if possible), so use it wisely. Unless you’re in design, stick with a clean, professional format and stay away from abstract fonts and multicolored text. A few other things to keep off the resume include:
- Generic objective statements
- References (unless otherwise noted within the job posting)
- High school info (unless you’re currently a high school student)
- Every job you’ve ever had (keep it to within the last 10-15)
- Personal details like age, marital status, photos
Resume Submission: Combating the Robot
In today’s job market, your resume usually hits an automated screen before any human sees it. Most companies use applicant tracking systems (ATS) or, software that filters and manages resumes by scanning for keywords and qualifications. Depending on the employer’s filters, you might face extra hurdles that didn’t exist years ago. Here are a few more tips to help your resume reach an actual decision maker:
- Use standard headings like “Work Experience” and “Education” (not “My Journey”)
- Include keywords from the job description (abstain from using the job description verbatim – aim for industry standard terminology)
- Avoid tables, text boxes, headers, and footers (they have the potential to confuse the ATS software)
- Stick to standard fonts
- Save and submit your resume as a PDF or .docx. (again, pay attention to the job description for any specifics when submitting)
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Career Changers: Reframing Your Resume
The challenge? Show how your past is relevant to your future. This means reframing your work experience through the lens of transferable skills.
Are you a teacher moving to corporate training? Emphasize curriculum development, presentation skills, and your ability to assess learning outcomes. Retail manager going into project management? Highlight budgets, team leadership, problem solving, and your experience managing competing priorities under pressure.
Consider creating a “Relevant Experience” section that pulls from different roles to prove you’ve got what it takes, even if your job titles don’t scream “perfect fit.” The key is making the connection explicit, don’t assume the recruiter will figure it out on their own.
Cover Letters: Be a Human
Most people think cover letters are just resume summaries in paragraph form. Wrong. This is where you explain why you’re the solution to their problem. It’s your chance to show personality and make a connection that a resume can’t.
Start with why this job at this company
Do research. Visit the company’s website, check out recent news, look at their social media, and take note of what you find. Mentioning something specific that appeals to you, shows you care and have done some due diligence.
Connect your experience to their needs
Pull 2-3 key requirements from the job posting and show how you’ve done exactly that. This is how you can bring your resume to life with a bit more context and storytelling.
Making a career change
Briefly explain your transition. Keep it positive and forward looking. Don’t apologize for what you lack, but focus on what you bring.
Close with confidence
Express enthusiasm and let them know how you’d love to discuss where you can make a positive impact with their company.
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You’ve Submitted…Now What
Set a reminder to send a thank you email within 24 hours of any interview. Again, short and sweet is the key here. Express your appreciation, reiterate your interest, and reference anything specific from any prior conversation. Squeaky wheels get the grease.
If you haven’t heard back after a week or two, it is acceptable to send a polite follow up. Keep it professional, brief, and remember, the time and effort you take in applying matters. Don’t stew over lack of communication. Do your part, and let yourself be okay with moving on to the next one.
Mistakes That Matter
Typos
This is the easiest way to get your application tossed. Read it out loud and use spell check. It may even help to have someone else read it as a fresh pair of eyes is more likely to catch something you may be overlooking.
Buzzword vomit
“Results driven team player with excellent communication skills” is meaningless without proof. Everyone says this. Remember, show this with concrete examples instead.
Too long
We mentioned it briefly above and we’re going to mention it again, here. A good rule of thumb is to keep your resume to one page if you have under 10 years experience. Two page resumes have their place (such as when you are in academia or research) but more often than not, a recruiter is working to quickly parse through applicants; two pages could be an easy way for them to cut down their list.
Generic applications
If you’re sending the same resume and cover letter to every job, and not hearing back, that could be why you’re not getting interviews. Customize as needed upon each submission. Adjust your summary, reorder bullet points to emphasize relevant experience, rewrite that cover letter for each application, and remember to pay attention to any fine print within the job listing. You don’t need to move through a complete overhaul every time, but it will need to be tailored.
It’s a Numbers Game
Even with a perfect resume and cover letter, you’re going to get rejected. Probably a lot. It’s nothing personal, just how the job market works. Companies get hundreds of applications for every position, daily, and sometimes the job is or can be filled internally. Don’t let rejection kill your momentum.
Keep applying, customizing, and working to improve based on what you learn. Track your applications so you know what you’ve sent where and when to follow up. Set a goal for how many jobs you’ll apply to per week and stick to it. Make it a routine, not something you do only when you feel motivated.
Your resume and cover letter are tools, not magic spells. They open doors, but you’re the one who has to walk through them. That said, make these documents as strong as possible, then shift your energy to preparing to actually sell yourself when you get that call.
The work you put in now (the customization, the research, the careful editing) will compound over time. You’ll get faster at it. You’ll get better at spotting what matters. And eventually, you will get that interview. You’ve got this. Now get to work.
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