"It's The Most Common Mistake I See": 18 Expert Tips For Making Your Résumé Look Better, No Matter What You're Applying For
Refreshing my résumé ranks right up there with filing my taxes and deep-cleaning the fridge on my list of "important tasks that I will nevertheless put off doing until I absolutely have to."
MTV / Via giphy.com
But lately, I've been following some HR pros and résumé writers on TikTok who actually make this dreaded chore look easy. So, I reached out to a few of my favorite creators to ask them for tips on updating a dusty old résumé for 2023.
Meet the experts:
Ashley Herd is known on TikTok as @managermethod, where she has over 130,000 followers. She has previously served as General Counsel and Head of HR, and she provides training and coaching to help managers and employees work better.
Daniel Space is a senior HR professional and HR consultant with over two decades of experience in corporate America at media, entertainment, and tech companies. He's known on TikTok as @dan_from_hr, where he has over 150,000 followers.
Erin McGoff (@erinmcgoff) has gone viral on TikTok for her résumé rewrite tips. She's a film director who shares career tips for people in creative fields with her 2.3 million followers and offers résumé resources.
Here's what they had to say:
1.One thing that can make your résumé look outdated right at the top is an objective statement.
Erin McGoff: Résumé trends come and go! Having an "Objective" at the top of your résumé is the first thing that can make a résumé look dated. Instead, try including a "Professional Summary" that details your offerings; here is a tutorial I made.
Daniel Space: The early 2000s format — sections including a professional summary, objectives, hobbies, interests, and references are all examples of more-outdated résumé types.
2.You can also leave off your references, and you don't need to write "references available on request." If they want your references, they'll ask!
Ashley Herd: No need to put people’s contact information out in an initial résumé, and if they expect references, they will request them on their own.
3.Listing skills is great, but tying those skills to actions is even better.
Ashley Herd: People list basic skills, but don’t talk about specific actions they took and what the impact was — it can seem more obvious for sales (eg, “exceeded sales targets by 25% and funded salary for new sales coordinator”) but other teams can as well (eg, in HR, “proactively created HR self-service website on intranet to reduce common employee questions by 20% and increase employee satisfaction with HR from 3.4 to 4.1 out of 5”).
4.Beyond skills and actions, including data that demonstrates your quantifiable results is the fastest way to take your résumé to the next level.
Daniel Space: Data!! It's the biggest thing that can absolutely uplevel your résumé. Giving people context data (size of company, team, budget managed, number of employees directed, number of accounts, size of accounts, etc.) to impact data (increased, decreased, saved, lowered, reduced, earned — etc.) can make your résumé really stand out. Even if it's just estimating, add some data points.
5.You've probably heard you should add keywords to your résumé to get it past applicant tracking systems (ATS). While this is a good practice, you should know that a human is most likely still looking at your résumé, too.
Ashley Herd: Often, recruiters are still scanning résumés personally as well. Whether it’s an ATS or a recruiter, make sure that job description fits what you’ve done and what you want to do, and make sure your résumé includes that.
Daniel Space: Seriously, there has been so much misinformation and myths about what the ATS does and how it works. It's just a digital filing cabinet. You aren't trying to trick it or beat it — it's not out to get you. You can work with it by ensuring your résumé matches the job description using the keyword and keyword strings that the role is looking for.
6.Instead of worrying about how an ATS will look at your résumé, your time might be better spent on networking.
Erin McGoff: ATS is dumb. Literally, it's a dumb software. We have ChatGPT, but ATS can't read a résumé if there are columns? I don't get it. Spend as little time thinking about ATS as you can, and channel that energy into making real-world connections. Network with actual companies. Message recruiters on LinkedIn. Work hard to get your résumé in front of human eyeballs, not a temperamental computer software that could auto-reject your résumé at the sight of icons.
7.But it still might be a good idea to have an ATS-friendly version of your résumé if you're applying through a large job posting site.
Erin McGoff: If you have to submit your application through a large portal like Indeed or LinkedIn, create two résumés: one that's ATS-friendly and one that's human-friendly. Again, people spend too much time thinking about a flawed software. Focus on people — they're the ones hiring you, not the computers.
8.If you're interested in remote work, make sure your résumé reflects any previous remote experience you may have and emphasizes skills like communication. To make your search easier, look for companies that already have remote employees in your state.
Ashley Herd: Emphasize how you’ve been successful in remote environments. If you’re open to hybrid, you’re likely widening your potential opportunities, as many companies in large cities are providing hybrid work. Know that working in states where employers don’t already have employees can be an administrative nightmare for payroll, so searching on LinkedIn to see if the company has employees in your state can be helpful. And if you’re looking to work abroad, most employers won’t support that process, and there can be complex work visa issues, so know that you’ll have your work cut out for you!
9.Let's talk formatting. Since recruiters and hiring managers are often glancing at résumés quickly, make sure that the most important stuff you want them to know about you is right at the top of the page.
Erin McGoff: Put the most important info at the top of the page, and it should get less important as your eyes scan down. Use one or two simple fonts and their bold/italics to accentuate headings and sections.
10.Your résumé doesn't need to be aesthetic — clear and simple is always best.
Daniel Space: A résumé is a perfect example of function over form. People get scammed and misled paying hundreds, if not thousands, for these beautifully designed résumés, but really, a basic, boring résumé that is easy to read and clear is the best thing to do.
Make four clear sections (Contact Info, Professional Experience, Skills, Education), use Times New Roman or Arial, keep it black and white, give the reader natural eye-breaks, and keep it sterile. If you are in a creative profession, link to your portfolio info.
Erin McGoff: I personally love a functional résumé for a highly-skilled person. Going from the top of the page to the bottom, start with your name, contact info, a two-to-three sentence professional summary, a short, bullet list of your relevant hard/soft skills, three to four examples of relevant experience, and your education at the bottom. This format works for most people.
11.Seriously, whatever format you choose, make sure that your résumé is easy to read.
Daniel Space: Résumés that have walls of text, small fonts, columns, graphics, and charts, etc., can all be a strain for someone who is trying to review 50+ résumés a day and may quickly get you in the "pass" pile.
12.And make sure that your grammar is correct and used consistently throughout your résumé.
Erin McGoff: The most common mistakes I see slip through the cracks are grammar inconsistencies. Make sure all your tenses are consistent. If one bullet point has a period, they should all have periods. Make sure everything is aligned and you use hierarchy. Make it easy to read!
13.If you're getting stuck writing your bullet points, it's okay to use tools like ChatGPT for inspo. Buuut you're gonna wanna check its work, and you'll need to be VERY specific in what you write in your prompt.
Erin McGoff: Honestly, ChatGPT is pretty great for bullet point inspiration! Grammarly is my go-to for spellcheck (I have the Chrome extension). I love Zety.com, Novoresume, Pinterest, and The Muse for finding sample résumés. My favorite résumé builder is Google Docs or Word, but Canva also has a good builder.
Ashley Herd: I think ChatGPT actually can help people think differently here. Don’t just copy and paste, but if you type “How would you describe [role] on a résumé?” it can you think of different ways to frame things. I have a friend, Samy Jones, who runs @win_the_job on TikTok, and she provides awesome, reasonable résumé prep. Or, ask a few of your friends you trust to read your résumé and if they think there is anything you’re missing on. They’ll want to see you succeed!
14.Your résumé shouldn't just reflect what you've done in your career so far. It should also show potential employers what you hope to do next.
Ashley Herd: Make sure you’re framing your résumé for the job you want, not just listing what you did. If you’ve been a manager, but don’t want to be a manager anymore, don’t make your résumé all about how many people you managed. The potential employer will likely pass you over because they think you still want to be a manager. Focus more on business goals you met and your skills that fit this next role.
15.Should you link to a social media profile? Well, it depends on if it's relevant to your work.
Bravo! / Via giphy.com
Erin McGoff: Only link social media profiles if they're an extension of your résumé. So, for me, I showcase my film work on my Instagram, so it's like an extension of my portfolio. But don't link them if you're working in an industry where they won't strengthen your application (which is the case for most people). Always include your LinkedIn, though!
16.Outside of your résumé, an engaged and professional LinkedIn presence can help put you on recruiters' radars.
Daniel Space: While résumés are still here to stay, you are missing out on a HUGE part of the job search by not having an active and updated LinkedIn profile! There is a huge value in understanding the difference between applying for roles individually, or being set up to be discovered for thousands of roles at once by recruiters looking for you.
17.And don't believe everything you see online — even this post! Every industry has different résumé standards, so get to know what's working for folks in your field and use your common sense.
Erin McGoff: I'd like to add that there is a lot of career advice floating around on the internet — take it all with a grain of salt, including mine. Please use common sense and don't just do something because you saw a viral video saying you should do it. Be human, be professional. Take your time; navigating your career gets easier as you go. You have time, and everything is going to be okay!
18.And finally, it can't hurt to send a note to a hiring manager after you submit your résumé. Sometimes, a personal touch can go a long way.
Ashley Herd: If you see a role you love, I’ve seen success when applicants apply to the job online through the employer’s website, and then try to figure out the hiring manager (who the role reports to) and send them a short note via LinkedIn explaining why you are especially qualified and interested, and ask them to be considered for the initial interview. It won’t always work, but it can help you stand out when they may receive 500+ submissions for the role!
