5 ways to Fix your Resume the right way

  • First off, don’t choose the lazy way. Don’t use an AI app that promises to optimize your resume for a job posting. It won’t solve your resume’s underlying formatting problems. Companies are on the watch for AI fraud. Don’t use an app to fake or fool hiring companies.
  • A good resume will get you more interviews, but only when you go after suitable job opportunities. Your score will help you know if you’re a fit.
  • If you update your resume using these 5 ways, don’t forget to get it re-scored. Get an updated score PDF. It’s your proof of awesomeness.
  • Level up your resume and get more interviews.

5 ways to Fix your Resume the right way (in a few minutes).

From the top of the resume down to the bottom.

1 Headline not Objective

  • If you have an objective at the top, lose it. Replace it with an 8 - 15 word headline.
  • Instead of:
    My objective as a licensed financial advisor is to grow my career to advance to a branch manager role or a back office administration role.
  • Replace it with:
    Over 10 years experience servicing high-net worth clients, as a licensed financial advisor.

2 Summary

  • 4-6 lines of text that showcases “What I Can Do For You” as a direct response to what’s asked for in the job posting.
  • You can use bullets or sentences, but stay at 4-6 lines.
  • Your best guarantee to get the reader paying attention to you, is having a powerful combination of headline and summary.

Tip: a resume is not about everything you have ever done - no one reading your resume has time. You get 3 seconds to attract initial interest, and a hard limit of 2 pages.

3Numeric results - no soft language

  • Whether you use a chronological style resume, or a functional style, you must have numeric results. The human eye picks out numbers and percentages from a sea of text. See for yourself.

  • Reduced printing errors by 27% within 3 months.

  • Increased sales from $1.8 million to over $5 million in 6 years.

  • Managed a team of 7 to launch an online business unit in less than 6 months.

  • Again, everyone has numeric results!

4Formats

  • doc or pdf
  • no images
  • no side sections
  • no color or design elements
  • If you are an artist, designer, programmer etc. and you want to showcase past work, provide a single link to a web-based resource such as a portfolio that is easy to navigate and consume. Don’t require a further download.

5Bottom half of page 2 in order

1Education - post secondary, significant short courses only

2Social footprint - blog, channels, reach

3Licensing and certifications

4Industry Related - memberships

5Personal - volunteerism

Reminder:

Make it easy to figure you out

“What I Can Do For You” not everything I have ever done

Written by Frank Abrams

Frank is a serial entrepreneur specializing in user-facing, data driven decision technologies for HR (front-end jobseeker scoring), retail (in-store promotion optimization at the point of decision), and wellness (hyper-local noise reduction, quiet environments).

Frank is the founder of Geescore