Refreshing your resume
Resumes are an essential tool for your job search. They allow you to highlight your technical and professional skills, summarize experiences that demonstrate the application of your skillset, and showcase why you are a good candidate for a given opportunity.
In addition to explaining your qualifications, resumes are opportunities to show (or demonstrate) your writing skills, attention to detail, and ability to communicate clearly and concisely.
Resumes
Resume structure & formatting
✔ Use 11-12 point font – Choose a standard, readable font
✔ Make sure the document has 1” margins
✔ Keep the document to no more than 2 pages (1 page if entry-level or recent grad)
✔ Include a professional email address
✔ Include links to your LinkedIn profile and/or portfolios
✔ Bold your name in a larger font (14-16 pt)
✖ Delete generic objective statements
✖ Delete references from the resume itself
✖ Do not include headshots or photos
✖ Do not include a street address (not necessary)
Resume language
Resume
Action verbs show how you accomplished or achieved something. Descriptors like “led a…,” “managed a…,” “oversaw the…,” and “responsible for the…” state what you did but do not provide information about how you accomplished things. An effective action verb used to demonstrate your experience answers the question of how you accomplished something.
| Example action verbs for when you led or managed: Administered, Arranged, Chaired, Coordinated, Directed, Executed, Delegated, Organized, Orchestrated… |
| Example action verbs for when you oversaw or were responsible for: Planned, Produced, Programmed, Operated, Built, Developed, Engineered, Established, Formalized, Implemented, Incorporated, Initiated, Instituted, Introduced, Launched, Proposed, Accelerated, Boosted, Consolidated… |
To see more action verbs for specific accomplishments and achievements,
see this list and this list.
Experience descriptions
Instead of listing your past roles' duties, showcase what you have accomplished in your experience descriptions.
| Tip: Use numbers and details wherever possible. |
| ✖ Attended group meetings and recorded meeting minutes. | 🠊 |
✔ Recorded weekly meeting minutes and compiled them into a Microsoft Word file for future organizational reference. |
| ✖ Worked with children in a daycare setting. | 🠊 |
✔ Developed 3 daily activities for preschool-age children and prepared them for a 10-minute holiday program performance. |
| ✖ Updated department files and role documentation. | 🠊 |
✔ Reorganized 10 years' worth of role documentation files, making them easily accessible to new hires and department members. |
Objective statements & professional summaries
An objective statement or professional summary is an optional, short statement that generally goes at the top of a resume.
An effective objective statement highlights your specific qualifications for the job you are targeting, summarizes your experiences, and focuses on what you can provide to your target employer.
To decide what to include in a professional summary, ask yourself the following questions:
- Why am I qualified for the type of job I am targeting?
- What about my education, experience, and skills make me a good fit for this job?
-
How have I used my skills to create results and provide value to previous clients
or employers?
Reconsider including an objective statement in your resume unless it is focused on the needs of the employer and the specific skills you could bring to the role and organization.
Editing guidelines
- Use the job listing as a guide to determine specific wording for your resume.
- Swap weak verbs for strong, action/power verbs.
- Remove unnecessary/irrelevant sections. Space is limited in your resume – leave room for specific things hiring managers want to see, and prioritize content that will improve your chances of getting hired.
- Avoid “fluff words” or overused buzzwords, such as:
- “Hard worker”
- “Go-getter”
- “Proven track record”
- “Team player”
- “Works well under pressure”
- “Quick learner”
- “Out-of-the-box thinker”
- “People person”
- “Problem solver”
- “Strong work ethic”
- “Perfectionist”
- “Best-in-class”
- “Bottom-line focused”
| Tip: Instead of buzzwords and cliches, use your work experience to show that you possess these qualities. |
Here is a sample resume for an example of these tips in practice:
Additional resources
280+ Resume Buzzwords to Use and Cliches to Avoid in 2023 (Zety)
15 Things You Should Not Include in a Resume (TopResume)
11 Things You Shouldn’t Include on Your Resume (Indeed)
How to Write a Standout Career Summary (TopResume)
Top Reasons Why Generic Resume Templates Don’t Work (Monster.com)
Words and Phrases to Remove from Your Resume Right Away (TopResume)
The Best Resume Words Are Lurking in Job Ads (Monster.com)
Ask Amanda: How Are a Resume Objective and a Resume Summary Different? (TopResume)
The 10 Worst Resume Mistakes to Avoid (Monster.com)
We offer these tips and more in our Job Search Guide,
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