How to Write a Strong Resume & Cover Letter
Purpose of a Resume
A resume is your personal marketing document. Its job is to show an employer that you have the skills, experience, and results to succeed in the role you’re applying for. Think of it as a highlight reel, not a life story. Employers spend less than 30 seconds on a first scan, so the way you present information is just as important as the content itself.
What to include
Contact information: Your name, phone number, professional email, city (you can leave out full address), and LinkedIn profile link. No photos, personal details, or birthdates.
Professional summary: A 2–3 sentence snapshot at the top. Example:
“Marketing professional with 5 years of experience managing digital campaigns, increasing engagement by 25%, and leading cross-functional teams. Skilled in content strategy, analytics, and project management.”Work experience:
List in reverse chronological order (most recent first).
For each role: Job title, company name, location, and dates of employment.
Under each job, add 3–5 bullet points describing your achievements.
Always lead with an action verb: led, created, improved, managed, developed.
Include measurable results whenever possible: “Increased sales by 15% in six months” or “Reduced response time from 48 hours to 12 hours.”
Education: Your highest degree first. Include school name, degree, and graduation year. If you’re early in your career, you can also add GPA or relevant coursework.
Certifications or training: Only include ones that relate to the job you’re applying for.
Skills section: List technical and soft skills in bullet format or short phrases. Match them to the job description. Example: Excel, SQL, data analysis, project management, public speaking
.
How to make it strong
Tailor it to each job: Adjust your resume for every application. If the job posting emphasizes project management and leadership, make sure those skills are front and center in your bullets.
Show results, not just tasks: Instead of “Responsible for managing a team,” write “Managed a team of 5 and improved project delivery times by 20%.”
Keep it clean and simple:
Stick to one font (Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman).
Use size 10–12 for text and 14–16 for section headers.
Avoid graphics, tables, and fancy templates that ATS can’t read.
Length: One page if you have under 10 years of experience. Two pages max if you have a longer career.
Consistency matters: Line spacing, bullet style, and tense (past for old jobs, present for current role) should all match.
Typical recruiter questions your resume should answer
Does this person fit the job?
Your resume should clearly show the required skills. If the job asks for project management, the words project management should appear.
Can they get results?
Recruiters want numbers and outcomes, not just responsibilities. Example: “Improved client retention by 12%” is stronger than “Responsible for client accounts.”
Is their experience recent and relevant?
Emphasize jobs from the last 10 years. Older roles can be summarized under “Additional Experience.”
Does the resume look professional?
Typos, inconsistent spacing, and poor formatting send a bad signal. A polished document makes you look polished as a candidate.
Key mistakes to avoid
Using one generic resume for every job.
Writing job duties instead of measurable achievements.
Overloading with long paragraphs instead of short bullets.
Using outdated elements (objective statements, photos, fancy templates).
Ignoring keywords in the job description.
Sending resumes with typos or inconsistent formatting.
What is an ATS-Friendly Resume?
What ATS means
ATS (Applicant Tracking System) software scans resumes for keywords before a recruiter ever sees them. Many companies use ATS to filter out candidates. If your resume isn’t ATS-friendly, it may never reach a hiring manager.
Why it matters
Companies get hundreds of applications for one job
ATS helps recruiters quickly identify matches
If your resume isn’t formatted correctly, it can get rejected automatically
What makes a resume ATS-friendly
Standard fonts (Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman)
Simple formatting (no text boxes, graphics, or columns that ATS can’t read)
Keywords from the job description included naturally in your resume
Standard headings (Work Experience, Education, Skills)
Example of ATS keywords
ATS is programmed to look for exact matches. For example:
Job description says: “Experience with social media strategy.”
ATS looks for the phrase “social media strategy” in your resume, not just “Facebook campaigns.”
Job description asks for: “Knowledge of budget forecasting.”
ATS may skip you if your resume only says “financial planning” and never uses the phrase “budget forecasting.”
If applying for a Project Manager role, ATS expects to see: “project management,” “stakeholder communication,” “timeline planning,” “Agile,” or “Scrum.”
How to check if your resume is ATS-friendly
Plain Text Test
Copy your resume and paste it into a plain text editor (Notepad on Windows, TextEdit on Mac).
If the text comes out jumbled, with missing sections or out-of-order formatting, ATS will likely misread it.
Example: if your “Work Experience” headings disappear or bullet points turn into long strings of text, that’s a problem.
Keyword Match Test
Take the job description and highlight the main skills and phrases they use.
Then go through your resume line by line — do those same words appear?
If the job description repeats “data analysis,” but your resume only says “reporting,” you may not score high in the ATS system.
Free Online Scanners
There are free tools (like Jobscan or ResumeWorded) where you can upload your resume and the job description to see your keyword match percentage.
They’ll also flag formatting issues that ATS might struggle with.