Resume Content That’s On Point

Strong content will make people want to talk to you after they read (ahem scan 👀) your resume.

As a quick refresh - The 3 high-level components that make up a strong resume are the layout, content, and phrasing. 👈🏽

The truth of the matter is, if your resume is hard to read or scan, people won't read the details and therefore whatever content you put on there, will go to waste. 😩

If you want a quick reminder about how I suggest you lay out your resume, check out this blog post.

Resume Content

Think of the content on your resume as the beginning of your career narrative.

Your resume represents you when you are not in the room, so it's important that the content is compelling enough that it converts to interviews.

All the content should be clear and each section should be relevant to the job you want next.

Not all resumes will look exactly the same, or have the same exact content.

But generally speaking, there are major content themes that all resumes should cover, especially for jobs in tech.

Overall, the goal of the content is to brand yourself toward a single next job you want and show off your relevant skills and past achievements.

Even if you are switching careers, there are ways you can highlight your transferable experience and the impact you've had in past jobs.

Elements to include on your resume:

• Full name and role title

  List the job title of the role you are targeting near your name so your professional branding is clear right away.

• Contact information

  Make your contact info clear and easy to read. Include your location (city & state is enough), phone number, email, LinkedIn URL, and website or portfolio URL (if you have one). Pretty straightforward here, but make sure you keep it simple, so no symbols or extra social media accounts needed.

• A concise profile sentence

  Ideally, this is only 1-2 sentences max and covers your relevant professional strengths. This sentence helps brand you for your next role and gives the reader a little more context about your background. I suggest leaving out the 'fluffy' phrases like "thought leader," "strong communicator," "results-oriented," "strategic thinker," "detail-oriented," etc. Cut the fat and be concise.

  Example Profile sentence: "Expert Copywriter with a strong background in B2B marketing and advertising, with proven experience creating content that unlocks high-impact business outcomes."

• Work experience

  This section is often the hardest for people to flesh out. In the next newsletter, I'm going to go more into detail about how to phrase your past work experience but on a high level, you want to list your most relevant experience and show off the impact you've had in past roles. It's ok to put work experience from different previous career paths. The content you include may be past jobs, internships, self-employment or freelance work, and any explanations of gaps in your work history (i.e. for caregiving, parenting, travel, etc). The key is to talk about your contribution, impact and show off your achievements, no matter the field you're coming from prior.

  Also remember, you don't have to cram every job you've ever done onto your resume. Your resume is like a highlight real, or trailer, that should compel people to want to talk to you and get more details about your career narrative.

• Education

  If you've gone to school and earned an AA, BA, MA or a Ph.D. then list them on your resume. If you have none of these degrees, no sweat. If you've only taken online classes or a bootcamp, then list those trainings. You don’t have to get a traditional degree to get hired in tech, just fyi. Also, if it makes you more comfortable to leave off the year you graduated that's fine (it's also fine to include the year). Please do leave off your GPA. 👀

• Role-specific skills and tech stack

  Lastly, it's helpful to explicitly list your relevant skillset for the role. These should be two separate sections that call out and signal that you have the relevant skills and tech tool knowledge that the employer might be looking for in candidates. List only hard skills (i.e. copywriting, SEO, content optimization, email marketing, etc).

  
  Don't put these things on your resume 👀
  
  Every line on your resume is valuable real estate, and you want to use it to be compelling. Below are items that waste space, and I suggest leaving them off your resume.
  

• Headshots, photos, and images

  LinkedIn has your face on it and it's sufficient.

• Your full home address

  We have email homie, we no longer a need full address.

• Graphics, symbols, icons, logos, tables, graphs or italics

  These might look pretty, but they are distracting and can make your resume harder to read. Also, the ATS does not like these elements.

• Small font

  Nothing smaller than 11pt font, please!

• Your soft skills and flowery phrases

  In general, avoid adverbs (words ending in ly) and also stay away from phrases like "go-getter," "synergy," "go-to person," "results-driven," "team player," "hard worker," "detail-oriented," etc. These kinds of phrases are not compelling because anyone could write them. Listing them on your resume does not prove that they are true. You must show, not tell.

• Your references

  This does not need to be included upfront, and it can come off as presumptuous to employers.

Das it. Hope this will help you sharpen your resume!