Why You Might Still Be Getting Your Resume Wrong - Here Is Finally The Right Thing To Do

A woman holding a Resume

Anytime you hit the internet and enter this sentence in Google Search, "how to write a proper Resume, the results returned are many. 20 best ways to write the best Resume, 10 best approaches to writing a proper  Resume, Why your resume sucks, how to fix it, 51 essential tips to writing a proper Resume, that's what most searches returned. And then, with high hopes that you have found the right approach, you click the link, go, read that article, and come back, and still feel like you haven't gotten what you want. 

You move to the next link, and in the same way, you feel disappointed again. Why is this so? It is because those websites repeatedly post the same content on their sites without providing any relevant experience. Well, this is different. In the first place, writing on this particular topic, "Why You Might Still Be Getting Your Resume Wrong - Here Is Finally The Right Thing To Do," was a result of a friend of mine who asked me to review her Resume. After the review, she recommended me to some friends whose Resumes I had to review too. 

Having made the time to review each Resume, I observed that a lot of candidates are taking the right steps, but in the wrong order. In this article, I am going to take a time out to give you the right way to do this.

The Right Way to Finally Fix Your Resume

Below is a method I've refined over years of reviewing resumes for candidates who sit in hiring panels. This works across all industries and seniority levels. While other candidates do the same thing, here is a unique approach you can take.

1. Start With a Job Description.

What you need to do is to add a job description to the top half of that first page of your resume. Most people open a blank document and start writing their resume from their mind. That is one of the biggest mistakes you can make. When a Resume is strong, it doesn't begin with you. That Resume begins with what the employers are looking for. This section of the job description should take into consideration the experiences you had in your previous work. 

So, for instance, let's say you are applying for Digital Market Specialist jobs. Your job description can be like the one below:

• Manage Social Media Channels
• Improve engagement
• Use Google Analytics.

In fact, use what you are good at. 

2. Structure Your Resume for Real-World Scanning

My extra research on this topic found that, according to studies by Ladders Inc., recruiters are likely to spend 6 to 7 seconds on an initial scan. What do they mean by this? Assume a recruiter takes your Resume, the first thing he or she does is to take a quick glance at the structure of your Resume. That is why the structure of your resume must be ideal. 

Ideal Resume Structure

To make your resume have an ideal structure, I have provided you with these quick steps.

Header: The header should consist of your name, your email, your phone, and your location (which should factor, city/country only).

Professional summary: The professional summary should include your strongest results in your previous work and not your job description. It should be between 3 - 4 lines.

Core Competencies/ Skills: Your skills, what you are good at. Choose relevant skills of yours.

Professional experience: Your professional experience should revolve around the experiences you had in your previous work. I encourage you to do this using the STAR method (which consists of the Situation, Task, Action, Result). Basically, the STAR method is saying, what happened, what was the task at hand, what was your action, what was the result? 

Education and Certification: You know a little about this already, I guess.

Additional Sections: You can talk about projects, tools, languages you speak, and awards. 

Please take this one from me: Avoid fancy graphics and bad layouts. Even the ATS system will still struggle to read that. If you are wondering what the ATS system is: The ATS system is a type of software that is used by companies and recruiters to 1. Collect  2. Sort  3. Scan and  4. To rank job applications before a human even sees them.

 

3. Master the Professional Summary (Most Candidates Get This Wrong)

Having observed this throughout a lot of Resumes, most candidates still get this part wrong. A professional summary is not where you are to explain your passion for teamwork or tell recruiters about the love you have for innovation.

It is the forum, let me say, the opportunity to answer only one question:

Why should we consider you in less than 10 seconds?

This is an example that can best work for you:

Digital Marketer with 5+ years of experience. Increased the visibility of brands, improved engagement by 40 to 60%, and improved lead acquisition. 

That was simple and short. Make sure all these align with your supporting documents. You don't have to write without evidence. That evidence will win you that job in the first place. 

4. Turn Job Responsibilities Into Achievements

Use the “Challenge,  Action, Outcome” formula to turn job responsibilities into achievements.

• The challenge talks about the problem that existed.
• Actions talk about what you did to the existing problem.
• The outcome is the result that came in after you took action.

So instead of saying "Responsible customer support", say "Resolved customer issues across email and phone by improving customer satisfaction ratings from 3.8 to 4.5 within six months. State the duration and the ratings.

For ATS Best Practices?

1. Use standard fonts (Arial, Times New Roman)
2. Do not include text boxes, tables, icons, or use excessive colors.
3. Save as PDF, please, unless the job post requests a Word Document.
4. Keep the section titles simple. (Experience, Skills, Education).

Sources like Indeed Career Guide and the official LinkedIn Talent Blog repeatedly recommend these formatting practices because they consistently pass ATS parsing.

 A pro tip: If you want to convert your Resume to PDF after typing it in Word or want to convert any Word document to PDF, click here. 

Hint: The first two results work best. 

What You Must Know About the Current Requirements of Resumes

This is not going to be one of those lecture halls where you wouldn't understand anything because I am going to keep it entirely simple. As the world is evolving, so are the demands for Resumes. What recruiters were expecting 10 years ago is not the same for now, and this is to let you know that what recruiters are looking for today won't be the same as what recruiters will be looking for tomorrow. 

This is a reason why you need to frequently update your Resume to meet the current state of what recruiters want. Be it today or in the future. Be it now or in five to ten years to come. Do detailed research anytime before you start preparing a Resume. 

Common Resume Myths You Should Stop Following

❌ “Put all your experience in one CV.”

No. Make it special for each job.

❌ “One page only.”

Not always. Two pages are fine, especially for candidates who have the experience.

❌ “Recruiters don’t read cover letters.”

Some don’t, but when they do, it can make or break the shortlist.

Your Final Checklist for a High-Performing Resume

Always proofread your Resume (at least twice)

Do not use generic or copy-and-paste Resumes. That is a red flag.

Make sure your Resume is clear, has facts, and is professionally written.

Implement your strong achievements. They help a lot.