The Job seeker’s guide to a killer resume

”The job quest can feel like hitchhiking through an unpredictable galaxy of recruiters, interviews, and rejection emails. But fear not: The Job Seeker’s Guide to a Killer Resume is your trusty towel and guide, packed with actionable advice and examples to help you survive (and thrive) in the job market. Much like The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy makes sense of interstellar chaos, this guide will demystify resume writing, helping you write a killer resume that gets interviews.” 

Before beginning

Your next job is just two steps away: getting an interview and nailing it. The first step starts with your resume.

Think of your resume as an investment, not homework to go through. You write it once, but its return-on-investment is massive. It can be used hundreds of times for job applications. A well-crafted resume becomes one of your career’s greatest assets, working tirelessly to represent you even when you’re not in the room.

Unlike building a professional network, tackling tough interview questions in real-time, or solving problems under pressure, writing a resume can be done on your pace and completely under your control.

In this guide, we’ll show you exactly how to write a killer resume that gets you interviews. If you’re new to resume writing, this will set you up for success from the start. And if you’ve written plenty before, this is your chance to sharpen your approach and take your resume to the next level.

Understanding resumes

A resume is like a marketing flyer, presenting you as the product. It’s your sales pitch to show recruiters and hiring managers why they should interview you. Its entire purpose is to convince them just enough to invite you to an interview.

How recruiters review your resume

Recruiters spend just 6 to 11 seconds on a resume before deciding if it’s worth a closer look, so clarity and focus are crucial. Your resume undergoes three stages of review.

Scan (6 – 11 seconds):

During this stage, recruiters typically scan resumes in an F-pattern, focusing on the top, left, and occasionally the bottom of the first page. They instinctively search for keywords like skills, job titles, and company names in addition to your name and location.

If nothing relevant stands out quickly, your resume is set aside. To pass this initial test, it’s essential to demonstrate your resume’s relevance within the first 3 seconds.

The best way to grab their attention is to include a Hero Message or headline in bold just below your name that tells your target role and key skills aligned with the job posting.

Keep in mind that 75% of resumes are rejected at this stage, so writing a strong hook is crucial to making it through to the next round. We’ll cover your Hero Message in a later chapter.

First review (60 – 120 seconds):

Once the resume passes the 6-second test, recruiters will take a deeper look. This is when they read the bullet points in your work experience section.

Numbers here will stand out because they’re screaming for attention among dense text. But it’s a fine line: too many numbers can lose their charms and credibility.

Keep in mind that many recruiters are not subject matter experts. Also, they’re not looking for a perfect match. If your resume can convince them you are 60% of a match, you’ll be rolled to the final round, when the recruiter sends your resume to the hiring manager for review.

Second Review (60 – 120 seconds):

This review is done by the hiring manager or a delegate from the team. These are the subject matter experts. Only 5–10% of resumes make it to this stage.

Many hiring managers prioritize the candidate’s work experience. They tend to prefer ready-made candidates—those with direct experience required for the role—over ones with indirect experience or potential.

For example, imagine a position where the primary responsibility is search engine optimization (SEO). One candidate’s resume highlights an excellent track record in digital marketing with some SEO experience, while another candidate’s resume focuses extensively on SEO with a bit of digital marketing experience. In most cases, the second candidate is likely to be chosen for an interview because the resume directly aligns with the job’s core requirements.

This is why your resume should not resemble a career biography. Instead of writing your professional history like it’s a Wikipedia article, you must strategically showcase the experiences and skills most relevant to your target jobs. Including unnecessary details can overwhelm reviewers and obscure your key qualifications.

The Mystical Applicant Tracking System

On your quest through the galaxy of job applications, one of the first obstacles you’ll encounter is the mystical ATS. But have no fear; everything you need to know about successfully navigating past this gatekeeper is right here.

An Applicant Tracking System (ATS) is software used by companies to manage their hiring process. It acts as a central hub where resumes, job applications, and candidate information are organized. When you apply for a job online, your resume is parsed by an ATS. So understanding the ATS is of the utmost importance to savvy job seekers!

Right now there is a great debate, from LinkedIn to Reddit, to various job boards: Does the ATS reject resumes based on keywords? Recruiters claim that they do not. Online resume-building companies claim otherwise.

Which is true?

The short answer is the ATS does not reject resumes on its own, but it can rank resumes. In the case of mass applications, where some jobs can receive literally thousands of applications, recruiters won’t bother to review resumes with low scores. Also, recruiters can set up ATS to search for specific keywords. The fact is all major ATS vendors, including Workday, iCIMS, SmartRecruit, and Zoho Recruits, can analyze resumes and score them using AI.

For example, Workday says that its HiredScore AI tools help recruiters prioritize candidates by automatically grading and ranking applications. SmartRecruit says it can quickly surface quality candidates, drastically cutting down sourcing time and spending for premium job boards. All these AI ranking systems aim to bring the most paper-qualified candidates to the forefront.

(Source: SmartRecruiters.com)

What should be your strategy to get a good ATS score? Keep your resume layout simple and make your resume relevant to the job description with proper use of keywords. These two actions make your resume ATS-friendly. But remember: it’s the human reviewers you have to prioritize because they have the final say. While machines are attracted to keywords, human reviewers want to know your story. More on that difference below.

Preparation Before Writing

Okay, ready to jump into writing that resume? Not so fast! Taking the time to prepare and plan is a crucial first step that most job seekers skip right past. Don’t be like them.

Before writing your resume, reflect on your work experience. What are your standout skills, achievements, and strengths? Think about the projects you worked on, the customers you served, the goals you achieved, the problems you solved, and the teamwork that brought everything together. Do not underestimate your contributions. Even small daily routines can unexpectedly highlight valuable skills and experiences that potential employers are seeking.

After reflecting, write everything down. This initial write-up does not need to be structured. It is simply a way to collect your ideas and use them as the foundation for your resume. You can follow JobQuest’s Compose framework to write your bullet points. The framework starts by filling out a questionnaire to facilitate resume brainstorming.

Here’s an example using the Compose framework.

Next, search for one or two job postings that genuinely interest you. Study them carefully to understand the skills, qualifications, and experiences employers are seeking. Pay attention to keywords such as job titles, industry jargon, skills, and responsibilities common to these postings. These are signals of what matters most for the roles you’re targeting.

Then, identify your skills, experience, and achievements that are relevant. By aligning your experience with the employer’s needs, you are ready to write a killer resume that gets you an interview.

Pro tip: JobQuest’s Super Editor supports the Compose framework. It writes 6 resume bullet points based on the questionnaire. Think of it like a helpful sidekick on your Quest – and a great starting point to get the ideas flowing.

Choose the right template and tool

The Hero’s Journey follows a familiar path, a well-known pattern of trials and triumphs leading to a final victory. Similarly, creating a standout resume doesn’t mean reinventing the wheel.

When it comes to your resume layout, choose a well-established, standard template that is accessible and appealing to both Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) and human reviewers. Here’s how to make the best choice.

Stick to standard section names

Use clear, universally recognized headings like “Work Experience,” “Education,” and “Skills.” Creative labels such as “Professional Journey” or “Brainy Bits” may sound unique, but they can confuse ATS systems and frustrate recruiters looking for specific information.

One column or two?

Opt for a simple single-column layout for ultimate ATS compatibility and readability. Two-column layouts can confuse text-based ATS parsers because they disrupt the linear flow of text. Most ATS systems process resumes as a single stream of text, reading from left to right and top to bottom. When a resume has two columns, the parser might misinterpret the content by reading horizontally across both columns or misplacing one column entirely, resulting in misaligned or jumbled text.
For a modern touch, you can consider a single-column design with a side panel to list contact information, skills, and education. It’s stylish and still ATS-friendly.

Avoid design tools

Skip the tables, graphics, and text embedded as images. While visually striking, these formats often fail ATS parsing. Instead, use standard, text-based formatting to ensure every word is scannable. Tools like Canva or Figma are tempting to use, but they often create a complex PDF file that is ATS-incompatible. PDFs generated from Word or Google Docs work well but they are inconvenient to use and prone to formatting issues. You may end up spending more time fixing formatting issues than writing content.

ATS resume templates

Save time and effort by using JobQuest’s free ATS-friendly templates. These are engineered to balance style with functionality, ensuring your resume efficiently navigates past ATS and recruiters alike. Don’t waste your energy on formatting struggles and deciding what fonts to use. We’ll take care of that so you can focus on writing strong content that highlights your experience and achievements. Plus, we use the most beautiful resume font in the galaxy: Inter.
Choosing the right template and tool saves time and ensures effectiveness. With the right tool, you can create a professional, ATS-friendly resume without anxiety.

Writing your resume

Now, Job Seeker, your training is almost complete. But you are not a Job Quest Hero yet. Are you ready to dust off your trusty keyboard and begin writing?

The recommended length of a resume is 1 to 2 pages, with 400 to 800 words. It takes deliberate effort in highlighting your relevant skills and achievements clearly and concisely. Such resumes follow the norm, allowing recruiters to easily scan key details, and are built around five key sections and two optional sections:

• Contact Information
• Hero Message
• Professional Summary (Optional)
• Skills
• Work Experience
• Projects (Optional)
• Education

Let’s explore how to nail each of these sections.

Contact information

Keep this section straightforward. Include your full name, city/state, phone number, professional email address, and LinkedIn URL. Try to compress information to fit into a single line, apart from the name.

Name: You can use a preferred name instead of your legal name, especially if your full name is long or difficult to pronounce. Ensure that the name on your resume matches the one on your LinkedIn profile. Consistency helps recruiters avoid confusion.

City/State: Include only your city and state—never your full address or zip code. Listing your full address can pose security risks and lead to distance bias, where a perceived long commute might disadvantage you. If you live in a small town, use the nearest major city to improve visibility in recruiter searches. For instance, replace “Naperville, IL” with “Chicago, IL” or “Chicago Metro Area, IL.” If you plan to relocate, clearly indicate this in your location header, such as “San Jose, CA (Relocating to Austin, TX).”

Phone number: Provide your cell phone number, as it ensures you are reachable when needed.

Email address: Your email address should appear professional. Avoid using outdated providers like Hotmail or AOL, as these can create an impression of being out of touch and may even trigger age bias. Gmail is the safest and most widely accepted option. For brevity, limit your email address to fewer than 18 characters, excluding the domain name.

LinkedIn link: It’s highly recommended to include a LinkedIn link, but only if your LinkedIn profile is up to date and showcases compelling details about your professional experience. If your profile is incomplete or weak, it’s better to leave it out. Additionally, update your LinkedIn profile URL to make it clean and easy to share. For example, instead of a LinkedIn handle like “arthur-dent-90ab92126cef3,” you can customize it to something simpler, like “arthur-dent-123”. Write the link as “linkedin.com/in/arthur-dent-123” as opposed to “https://www.linkedin.com/in/arthur-dent-123”. The brevity can allow contact information to be on a single line.

Hero Message

A Hero Message is your professional identity that appears right below your name on the resume. It is a very brief, compelling statement designed to grab the recruiter’s attention quickly from the start.

Think of your Hero Message like a headline in a newspaper. Its goal is to hook the reader to know more about you. This message should distil your most marketable, specialized skills into a format that is instantly recognizable and highly relevant to the jobs you are targeting. It frames your resume and sets the tone for the rest of the document, presenting you as an obvious candidate from the outset.

Here are some examples for different industries:

Alternatively, you can use a brief statement like:

Pro tip: JobQuest Super Editor supports the Hero Message and can generate one based on your resume and job description.

Skills

The Skills section is a dedicated part of your resume that helps recruiters assess your qualifications at a glance. It’s typically a concise list of hard skills (technical or job-specific skills) and occasionally soft skills that align with the job description.

Aim for 6-12 skills that are highly relevant to the job you’re targeting. This keeps the list focused and ensures you’re highlighting the qualifications that matter most.

Prioritize hard skills over soft skills unless the role specifically demands the latter. Hard skills, like software expertise or technical tools, are easy for recruiters to identify and evaluate. Also, list only the skills you’re confident in using.

Avoid the temptation to rate your skills. Think about it. Why list a skill if you’d only rate it to 2.5 stars? It can undermine your expertise.

Steer clear of generic or common skills like “Communication skills”. Focus on rare or specific skills that set you apart. For example, list “Public speaking” or “Objection handling” instead of “communication skills.”

Two popular formats are used to list skills. Use a simple list when you want to keep your resume minimalistic or focus on a few, highly relevant skills. Choose grouped skills with bullet points when you have multiple technical or domain-specific ones to showcase.

Example of a simple list for sales representative

Example of a grouped list for a full stack software engineer

Professional summary (Optional)

The professional summary can be a valuable addition if you have 3+ years of experience, serving as a concise introduction to your expertise and accomplishments. The section should be kept under 85 words or 3-5 sentences. Write it in clipped style. Omit subjects such as pronouns.

Start with the target job title: Begin with the target job title or career focus, followed by your years of experience, to provide immediate context. Skip adjectives and focus on establishing credibility. For example, “Marketing specialist with 5+ years of experience in digital campaigns.”

Mention Key Skills: Identify two to three core skills from the job description and weave them into the summary. Use these skills to demonstrate your ability to add value. For example, “Skilled in driving multi-channel strategies that increase customer engagement.”

Add a key achievement: Include a specific, impactful result from your past roles that aligns with the job. Quantify your impact if possible. “Increased lead conversions by 20% through a data-driven content strategy.”

Close with a Value Statement: Wrap up with a statement that hints at your professional goals or ongoing value to the company. “Passionate about building customer-first solutions to drive business growth.”

Here’s an example.

Pro tip: Avoid using adjectives such as detail-oriented, data-driven, strategic, dynamic, etc. They are filler words that don’t add values. Instead, show what make you detailed-oriented or data-driven.

Work experience

The Work Experience section is where all your preparation comes to life. It’s often the first place recruiters review after your resume passes the initial 6-second skimming test, making it critical to get this section right. By backing up your Hero Message and the claims made in your Professional Summary with real-world examples of accomplishments and impact, this section demonstrates your qualifications and relevance to the role.

Arguably, it’s also the most challenging part to write. Striking the right balance between showcasing achievements and maintaining brevity can be tricky. This is why preparation is so important. Reflecting on your standout skills, achievements, and experiences, analyzing job postings for key requirements, and refining your write-up ensures that your Work Experience section aligns with employer’s expectations.

With thoughtful preparation and write-up, this section can transform from a dull list of past roles into a compelling narrative or story that connects your qualifications with the employer’s needs, grabs attention, and lands you an interview.

Order of work experience

The work experience section is a structured summary of your professional history. It is (and should be) arranged in reverse chronological order, starting with your most recent or current position and working backward. This format helps recruiters quickly understand your career progression and relevance to the role you’re applying for.

Do not deviate from this rule to highlight a prestigious or “rock star” company from your past. Rearranging the order can come across as misleading and may raise concerns about your transparency. Stick to reverse chronological order to maintain professionalism and build trust with reviewers.

Company name first or job title first

Deciding whether to list the company name or job title first in your work experience depends on your situation. If you’ve held multiple positions at the same company, list the company name first. This approach groups all your roles under one organization, making it clear that your career progression occurred within the same company. It also avoids the clutter of listing the same company repeatedly, which can confuse recruiters.

For roles at different organizations, either approach works. However, it’s important to maintain one consistent style throughout your resume. Choose one format and stick to it.

Work experience components

Work experience comprises the company name, location, job title, work period, and description.

Company name:Include the full name of the organization, avoiding abbreviations unless they are widely recognized. Avoid adding a stock ticker to the company name, as it is unnecessary and can clutter the presentation. If the company is not well-known, you can optionally include a one-line description before listing your achievements. For example, you might write, “Solaris is a startup company specializing in solar panels”. These details help ensure your experience is presented clearly and provides recruiters with essential context about your professional background.

Location:Providing the company’s location, such as the city and state (or country for international roles), is optional but can offer helpful context for recruiters.

Job title:Job titles are one of the first items recruiters skim through during initial screening. Be specific with your job titles to ensure they clearly convey the scope of your role. Generic titles like “Marketing Manager,” “Product Manager,” or “Supervisor” can make it harder for recruiters to understand what you actually did. Instead, add context to make your roles more apparent. For example: write “Marketing Manager | Social media,” “Product Manager | Network security,” or “Supervisor | Accounting.” You don’t have to use your official job title exactly as it appears in company records. As long as it accurately reflects your responsibilities and doesn’t inflate your seniority, you can tweak it for clarity and relevance. This approach makes it easier for recruiters to quickly understand your qualifications and how relevant they are to the role you’re applying for.

Work period: Including the month and year for each job period is the standard practice. It provides a clear timeline for recruiters to evaluate your career progression. If you have more than a decade of experience, you can simplify this by listing only the years to avoid drawing attention to minor gaps. If your career spans more than 15 years, it’s not necessary to include every role. Focus on the last 15 years of experience, as this is typically the most relevant for recruiters. Older roles can be summarized in a brief section, such as “Additional Experience,” without specific dates. Or you can entirely skip them.

Description: Write your narratives using bullet points that illustrate achievements. Use the PAR (Problem-Action-Result) or AR (Action-Result) method to structure each bullet point and include metrics or numbers sparingly. Start every bullet point with an action verb. For current roles, use either present or past tense. For past roles, always use past tense. Optionally, you can start with a brief overview of your role, responsibilities, or contributions to set the stage for your accomplishments. Aim for 3 to 6 bullet points per role, prioritizing recent experiences with more detail than older ones. Bullet points should typically be 8 to 25 words long. If bullet points become longer, reduce their total number to maintain clarity and brevity.

Here’s an example.

Projects (Optional)

The Projects section of your resume is to highlight your accomplishments in a specific context. Consider adding a Projects section if:

• You have three years or less of work experience or
• Your work is heavily project-based or involves working with clients.

For seasoned professionals, it might be unnecessary unless the projects are particularly relevant to the job you’re targeting. Instead, include the achievements from projects in the Work Experience section.

If you’re a freelancer, your strategy should be different:

• Consolidate your freelance work under one comprehensive role in the Work Experience section.
• Use the Projects section to detail some of key individual assignments.

Resist the temptation to list every single project or client work you’ve ever worked on. Instead, focus on projects that support achievements in your Work Experience section or projects directly relevant to the target positions.

Each project entry should include the project name, organization, duration, and description.

Project name: Choose a clear, descriptive title that reflects the project’s purpose or outcome.

Organization (Optional): Mention the organization, school, or client for which the project was. developed.

Duration (Optional):Provide start and end dates (month and year). You can list only the end month or end year.

Description: Describe what the project is about if the project name is obscure. Write your detailed contributions and achievements, using 1 or 2 bullet points.

Here’s an example.

When presenting your projects, you have two options: reverse chronological order (starting with the most recent) or by the significance of their impacts. If you choose the latter, skip the duration entirely.

Education

Your education section is a crucial part of your resume. Here’s a quick guide to filling it out effectively, based on your experience level and unique circumstances:

Include only what’s relevant: Start with your degree, major, and school name. Keep it clean and straightforward. If your degree is from a foreign institution, add the country name to ensure clarity.

GPA: Only include your GPA if it’s a standout (3.5 or above) and you’re a recent graduate (or have less than five years of experience).

Graduation years: Be strategic. You can leave out your graduation year if you have over 10 years of experience. For those with 15 or more years of experience, it’s recommended to skip it to avoid potential age bias. While many recruiters may not pay attention to it, seeing that you graduated 25 years ago could unintentionally influence their judgment. If you had gap years during your education, it’s best to keep it simple by listing only the graduation year. If you’re still in school, make sure to include your expected graduation year.

Relevant coursework: Including 3 to 5 relevant coursework is beneficial for recent graduates with little to no work experience. List courses related to the job you’re applying for and avoid generic or unrelated classes. Place it in a separate section called “Relevant Coursework” instead of under “Education” as a distinct qualification, making it easier for recruiters to see. This approach avoids overcrowding the education section and gives your resume better structure and clarity.

Here’s an example.

Tailoring a resume for different jobs

Customizing your resume for each job application can significantly increase your chances of landing interviews. Believe it or not, recruiters love tailored resumes.

However, it can be too time consuming to tailor resumes for each application. That said, you don’t have to do it for every single role. Instead, prepare 2 to 3 tailored resumes based on the types of jobs you’re targeting. Here’s how you can do it, step by step.

Pro tip: Check your JobQuest Job Match Score. Job Match Score is a measure of how well your resume matches the job description. If it is below 75, consider customizing your resume.

Discover keywords from job description

Carefully review the job description and identify keywords that stand out, such as required skills, job titles, and specific responsibilities. These keywords are what recruiters and applicant tracking systems (ATS) look for, so incorporating them thoughtfully into your resume is key. Many recruiters do not have domain knowledge but scan resumes for those keywords. If they cannot find out what they want in 6 seconds, your resume is out.

Pro tip: Leverage JobQuest’s Job X-Ray to discover keywords automatically.

Adjust or create your Hero Message (easy & most effective)

The Hero Message is the attention-grabbing statement at the top of your resume. Modify it to reflect the specific job title and key competency for the role. The Hero Message is the most important part of your resume to survive through a 3-second carnage of resume review. You can call it a click-bait. Here’s an example.

Revise the Professional Summary (time-consuming but effective)

You can optionally tailor this section to emphasize the most relevant skills and achievements for the target role. For example, if the job focuses on project management, your Professional Summary should be about it. While this step can take time, it’s worth the effort for high-priority applications.

Customize the Skills Section (easy & effective)

Replace, add and reorder skills to match keywords found in the job posting. For instance, if the target job emphasizes “data visualization” and “Power BI,” include these terms along with a cluster of related skills such as dashboard creation, report automation, data storytelling, DAX (Data Analysis Expressions), and VBA scripting. Rephrase keywords to match the job description naturally while highlighting proficiency in tools like “Tableau”, “Power Query”, and “Python for data analysis”. This approach ensures your resume aligns broadly with the job’s requirements.

Update recent work experience & job title (time-consuming but effective)

Adjust the job title for your most recent role to align with the target job, as long as it accurately reflects your responsibilities. For example:

Edit work experience bullet points to make them relevant to the job description. For example, if React and Redux were mentioned as key qualifications in the job description, here’s what you can do.

Pro tip: JobQuest AI Customize enables you to tailor your resume with a single click. It generates a Hero Message, customizes your Professional Summary, and fine-tunes your most recent work experience. This feature is a time-saver and can offer insights into how to effectively optimize your resume.

Submitting your resume

Before submitting your resume, check your Job Match Score. If it’s below 60, confidently reject the job. This means either your resume requires significant updates, or the job simply isn’t the right fit. Target jobs that align with your resume and qualifications.

PDF is highly recommended over docx for submission because it universally preserves the format and layout of your resume. Many ATS are optimized for PDFs, with features that store native PDF files and display the first page exactly as intended to recruiters. Keep your file name simple and clear, such as FirstName_LastName_Resume.pdf (e.g., Arthur_Dent_Resume.pdf).

Lastly, stay positive through your job quest journey. Every ‘No’ brings you closer to that one ‘Yes.’ You got this!