Want to make your resume stand out? You’ve got about seven seconds to make an impression before it ends up in the digital recycling bin. Whether you’re breaking into a new industry or climbing the next rung on the career ladder, your resume needs to do more than list your past jobs—it needs to sell your future potential. In this post, I’m cutting through the fluff and giving you the nitty gritty on the top tips to write a resume that doesn’t just stand out—but stands up and shouts, “Hire me!”
1. Write your resume for your future job, not your past job(s)
If you want to make your resume stand out, it’s critical that you focus on the job you want—not just the jobs you’ve had. This means tailoring your language, achievements, and skills to align with the role you’re aiming for, even if your past experience doesn’t perfectly match. Highlight transferable skills, relevant accomplishments, and any training or certifications that show you’re prepared for the new role.
Accelerate Your Career
Use the job posting as a guide: mirror the language they use, incorporate keywords, and emphasize the results you achieved that relate to what the employer is looking for. Think of your resume as a marketing tool—not a career history—and position yourself as the ideal candidate for the future, not just a reflection of your past.
Want to take it a step further? Describe on your resume how you will solve a problem the employer might not even know they have. How might I do this?! you wonder. Well I’ll tell you. You’ve got to do some digging. Read recent press releases. Comb through the company website. Talk to folks who are currently working in your targeted company, called informational interviewing.
What is the company currently struggling with? What are they trying to accomplish in the short and long-term? What strengths and skills do you have that you could apply to help them achieve their goals or fix their problems?
2. Format your resume for success
To continue to make your resume stand out, use a clean, modern design. Your resume should have enough white space to not look overcrowded. Stick to basic, professional fonts (e.g., Calibri, Helvetica, or Georgia). And unless your targeted career path is the circus or a job in the fine arts realm, your resume should not be too colorful or full of images and graphics.
Use bold section headings and bullet points for clarity. Italics are okay too. But use these tools sparingly. If you bold and italicize almost everything, nothing will stand out.
The recruiter and/or job posting will often tell you in which format to send your resume. If they don’t, send a Word document as well as a PDF, which will preserve the formatting of your resume.
3. Convey your value at the top of your resume
Remember how I mentioned that employers only spend about seven seconds scanning your resume initially? That means you’ve got to pack the biggest punch right at the top of your document. It is imperative that you write a targeted, results-oriented professional summary that clearly conveys your value in 2–3 sentences.
Tailor it to the specific role using keywords from the job posting. For example:
Creative graphic designer with 5+ years of experience in branding and digital media, known for delivering clean, effective design solutions that drive engagement and sales.
4. Write accomplishment-focused phrases
If the words “duties include” are on your resume, you need to pay close attention to this paragraph. Think about it from an employer’s perspective. What are they going to learn about you from reading the basic work tasks you did in your prior roles? Not much. That’s why you have to differentiate yourself. Replace job duties with accomplishments and use metrics wherever possible:
“Increased web traffic by 45% through targeted design updates and SEO-driven graphics.”
5. Use keywords strategically
Using keywords strategically in your resume is about alignment, not overload. Rather than stuffing your resume with every buzzword from the industry and job description, focus on naturally integrating the most relevant terms into your experience, skills, and summary sections. Think like a recruiter and don’t get hung up on trying to “beat the applicant tracking systems (ATS).” Not all companies use ATS, and the ones who do use them don’t typically use them to screen out applicants (yep, it’s not a thing). It’s best to write your resume with a human in mind rather than a bot.
Match your language to the specific role you’re targeting. For example, if the job emphasizes “project management” and “cross-functional collaboration,” show where and how you’ve done those things, using those exact terms in context. Don’t just list keywords, demonstrate how you specifically added value and went above and beyond in those contexts.
6. Highlight tech and AI skills
Employers increasingly value digital literacy. Including digital literacy skills is a quick and easy way to make your resume stand out from the crowd. Here’ some examples of skills you can include:
- Software proficiency (e.g., Figma, Canva, ChatGPT, Notion).
- AI tools you’ve used in productivity or creative work
- Data visualization, analysis, automation, or CRM platforms (if relevant)
7. Include a ‘Key Projects’ or ‘Portfolio’ Section
This is especially important for job seekers who are applying for creative or technical roles. On your resume you can share a clickable link to your portfolio and/or brief bullet points summarizing relevant projects that demonstrate your ability to provide value to your targeted role and industry.
In an interview situation, you can bring a piece of your portfolio to use as a visual component to augment answers to interview questions. This will add credibility to your candidacy and will also provide proof of your prior achievements!
8. Demonstrate your commitment to continuous learning
Highlight recent certifications, online courses, or volunteer experiences that show growth. This is especially important if you have taken a career pause from the paid workforce to attend school or raise kids. Don’t let the hiring committee assume what you’ve been doing during your time away. Take control of your narrative and market the skills and experience you have gained and more importantly, discuss how this makes you a highly qualified candidate.
9. Keep it brief
Unless you are applying for roles in academia or research, your resume should typically be no longer than two pages. Your resume should be one page if you are a student or recent graduate. You might be wondering how you can fit all that amazing information about yourself and your career and education into one small space?!
The answer is, you don’t.
Your resume should not have every single accomplishment from all of your schooling and work experience. The only items that belong on your resume are the ones that relate to one specific job. That’s right. One job. If you aren’t tailoring a different resume to each job, you’re going to be including irrelevant information and your resume will be longer than it needs to be (not to mention more generic).
10. Exclude outdated terms
“References available upon request” does not belong on your resume. This is such an antiquated term, yet I still see candidates listing it all the time. Don’t be that person. Other terms that don’t belong on your resume: “duties include,” “responsible for,” and, well, you get the picture.
In summary
Taking the time to tailor your resume and research each company shows that you’re serious, thoughtful, and already a step ahead of the competition. It tells employers, “I see you. I get what you need. And I’m ready to bring value.” In a sea of applicants who rarely take the time to tailor their resumes, personalization is your secret weapon. So don’t just aim to get noticed—aim to get remembered. Your future job isn’t looking for a copy-paste candidate. It’s looking for you, but only if you show up prepared!
