13 Tips on Building Your Resume: Advice from a Professional Recruiter
Between hiring in-house, recruiting for positions at our 12 portfolio companies, and running The Orbit, our community of talent looking to be matched with positions associated with Permanent Equity, Director of Talent Acquisition Kelie Morgan sees… a lot of resumes. Thousands per year.
With stiff competition for individual postings, confusing or obscured hiring practices, the advent of AI resume screeners, and conflicting advice on formatting and creativity, writing a resume that works can seem like a process riddled with pitfalls. And sending it off through a career portal can seem like sending it into the void.
But there are things you can do to make sure your resume stands out, is easily accessible, and tells your story in a concise but effective way. Below are 13 resume dos and don’ts borne from Kelie’s experience. The advice ranges from formatting to storytelling. While some points may seem like no-brainers, the reality is that Kelie sees each one of these happen multiple times… a day.
1. Do: Save your resume as your First & Last Name, plus Resume. (Example: KelieMorganResume). Yours may be the only resume in your documents list, but it isn’t the only one in a recruiter’s inbox. Saving with your name is an easy way to avoid confusion.
2. Do: Use only one font. Variations within that font (bold, italics, sizing) are acceptable.
3. Do: Save your resume in PDF format. The goal here is to make your resume as universally accessible as possible. A PDF format will allow your resume to appear correctly formatted and readable no matter the ATS, TRM, job board, website portal or email address you’re sending your resume to.
4. Don’t: Include a headshot on your resume. Unless you’re applying for a position where looks are highly relevant (I don’t know, body double?), a headshot isn’t necessary and will just take up space and be a distraction.
5. Don’t: If you have an undergraduate degree or beyond, don’t include any high school education or activities on your resume. Yes, even if you were President of your Glee Club.
6. Do: Include both your email address and phone number in your contact information. This seems obvious, but we’ve seen resumes with no contact information at all.
7. Don’t: Let your prolific career highlights take up more than two pages (unless you’re John D. Rockefeller or a Nobel Prize recipient). If the recruiter likes what they see, you’ll have plenty of time to dig into the meat in later discussions.
8. Don’t: Highlight your education over your experience. Put your education below your work experience on the page. The only exception would be for recent or upcoming graduates who would benefit by detailing projects/internships/club leadership, etc. as part of their experience.
9. Do: Read through your resume in reverse order and make sure it accurately reflects the story of your career. Many recruiters read resumes chronologically and look for the story behind the transitions in your career. If there is an abrupt or uncharacteristic transition, it’s worth including an explanation.
10. Do: Make it easy to pass the resume screening. Look through the job description and make sure you have relevant experience listed that speaks specifically to the skillset of the job you’re applying for. For companies that use AI to screen resumes, that AI is looking for keywords and your resume needs to have them.
11. Don’t: Lump multiple roles in the same company together. If you’ve been at one company for several years, show each role you’ve had in that company as a distinct experience with its own bullet points. If your position/title hasn’t changed much over time, call out increasing amounts of responsibility you’ve been given during your tenure (ex. In year 3 with Company, was asked to lead the internship program, hiring and managing 7 interns each summer.)
12. Do: Show ownership in your experiences. Not the “Helped grow the company from 2M to 10M ARR” type of ownership, but specific and measurable results that were a by-product of your direct involvement. You want to show the hiring manager that you’ve done more than take direction and complete assigned tasks, you’ve actively looked for ways to add value and own your area.
13. Don’t: Assume that a hiring manager will look up information that’s not on your resume. So include brief company information about every place you’ve worked. It’s likely that your resume will get under a minute of screening time, so make sure it’s as easy as possible to understand the information you’re providing. If the hiring manager has to google the name of your previous employer to understand what the heck BizCorp Group is, that’s 30 seconds less they can spend understanding your role there.
You want your resume to stand out from the crowd – but only in positive ways. These dos and don’ts will help you look at your resume through a hiring manager’s eyes, so you can highlight your experience with fewer unforced errors.
Not sure what team environment is right for you? We recommend Finding Fit: Talent’s Guide to Big or Small for a self-assessment on where you might find your best fit based on your skills, mindset, preferences, and goals. (We also recommend considering smaller companies!)
If you’re interested in opportunities at smaller companies, sign up for The Orbit – we’d love to connect. And, best wishes on your hunt for a new opportunity.
