I've shared this advice over the years, most recently when a number of friends & colleagues found themselves hunting for jobs. Both then and now, I've had people reach out to me to say "oh my gosh, this really works!" or "I applied to a TON of jobs, didn't get any call backs, but then got an offer within WEEKS of putting this advice into practice."
So look, I'm not some sort of job application sorcerer, and I'm not saying that the current job market doesn't have challenges because it does. I'm just a lady who used to be a recruiter that noticed which applications made it to the interviewed short list and which ones didn't. If you've read my advice before, I've updated it with advice for covering a Covid furlough/layoff, how to use ChatGPT to write resumes and cover letters, and why Indeed Easy Apply is hurting your chances.
And yes, this does take some initial time investment up front, as well as customizing resumes and cover letters BUT I promise that you'll spend less time making that initial investment versus applying to anything and everything with the same generic bullet points that have no metrics or proof.
If you only take two things from this, they should be:
1) Your resume should SCREAM "I'm an amazing HR Lady/Lion Tamer/Project Manager/Columbian Drug Lord/whatever." (In reference to the Colombian Drug Lord, have you watched Narcos on Netflix? It's good--you should watch it in between writing your resumes and job hunting.)
2) Whatever you say you're good at, or that you've done, YOU. MUST. PROVE. IT. With SPECIFIC examples.
Outside of that, the rest of my advice here is just that--my advice. You could ask 10 different HR Professionals, and you'll get 10 different sets of advice, some of it conflicting. Take what you think is useful here, and feel free to ignore what doesn't work for you.
OBJECTIVE
Let's start with the Objective. In my opinion, you only need this when you are posting your resume on Indeed, LinkedIn, or similar. But most importantly, it should NOT look like this:
To obtain a job within my chosen field that will challenge me and allow me to use my education, skills and past experiences in a way that is mutually beneficial to both myself and my employer and allow for future growth and advancement.
If you wrote this--congratulations--you belong to an exclusive group of people called Every Job Seeker Ever! The above example is a total waste of words--what's your chosen field? What are your education, skills, and experience?
For those times you need an objective, it should SCREAM "I'm a phenomenal (job you’re applying for) and I fit your requirements!" For example, if I was applying for an HR role at one of my past companies, and the ad mentioned an ambiguous environment, increasing retention, and ensuring compliance, I might write something like:
Tenured HR Wizard that specializes in disasters, has successfully reduced attrition by over 60% in a high-turn industry, and just got a tattoo of the Family Medical Leave Act of 1993, seeks an HR Lady Role with an amazing and respected company that rhymes with Schmerox.
Okay, okay, so that's a little overly colloquial. But I want you to get away from writing in business-speak, because it's forgettable. A good resource to help you do this is Harvard Business Guide to Better Business Writing. It's inexpensive, a fast read, has a section on resumes (and performance reviews, once you get the job!), and is written in a conversational style.
Case in point: When I was hiring Sales Reps, one of the best objectives I read was something along the lines of: Driven Business Development Specialist eager to put my love of cold-calling, prospecting, and networking to work for (your company), in order to replicate my success of achieving 100%+ of quota for the past five years.
In one sentence, this person shows me that they GET IT. They know what it takes to be successful, they have experience doing it, and they threw in a metric to prove it.
SUMMARY
aka Executive Summary or Summary & Skills Profile or Professional Summary
I invite you to consider using a Summary instead of an Objective when applying to specific jobs. Recruiters are looking at LOTS of resumes very quickly, and this is their "cheat sheet" for what you offer. Based on the posting, take the top 4-5 things the company is looking for, and PROVE how you meet those. Put it in a box at the top of your resume, right under your contact info.
Yes, this means that for every job you apply to, you will need to modify your Summary a bit. But because you're applying to companies where you have connections in a targeted way, and not applying to Every Job Ever (right? RIGHT!?!?), you won't have to modify this 100 times.
Important Note: if you're going to say that you're an excellent communicator, excel in time management or multi-tasking, or are a team player, you absolutely need some concrete proof of this. EVERYONE thinks they are good at these things, just like EVERYONE thinks that he or she is an above-average driver. (But, like, statistically, that’s not true for 49% of people, you know?)
The reality is that most people are just okay at these things. If you say you're an excellent communicator, and your resume is a hot mess of business-jargon, generalities, and disorganization, now the Hiring Manager has every right to be worried that you have no self-awareness. Tread very carefully.
WORK EXPERIENCE
Now that you've written your Summary with PROOF, you'll be a pro at proving your accomplishments from your prior experience, so do the same thing for each job. Make these job-specific for the position you're applying for. Again, this means you'll be changing these a bit for every job you apply to, because you're being very targeted in your approach and working your network.
Here are some situations that might come up in the work experience section:
Gap in employment - If it's a long gap of several years, you can include a one or two sentence note. Some examples:
May 2017- September 2019 | Worked as a stay-at-home parent to care for two young children, while expertly managing the household budget.
July 2021 - February 2022 | Relocated to Hoth for spouse's employment. (Note for military spouses: savvy recruiters can figure this out based on your job locations alone, but you should still spell it out)
March 2015 - January 2016 | Took time off to care for an elderly parent.
August 2009 - May 2013 | Returned to school, earned a degree in Underwater Basket Weaving.
And don't worry, I see these two a LOT:
March 2020 - January 2021 | Pursued employment/career change during furlough/layoff (Thanks, Covid.)
February 2008 - June 2009 | Pursued employment/career change after layoff (Thanks, Housing Crisis.)
Another Important Note: Yes, you should put the months for all jobs or gaps, or you look like you are hiding something.
Promotions
Yay--kudos to you! Again, make it easy for the Recruiter & Hiring Manager by listing these all together by putting your employer first, then your roles with years (months aren't necessarily needed here), then your key accomplishments.
Job hopping
If you have one job with a short tenure, don't worry about it. If you have LOTS of jobs with short tenure, you can try grouping them together like below.
One thing I can't solve for you is if you change jobs like most people change socks. You need to find somewhere and stay there for a smidge, and/or you need to show commitment elsewhere on your resume--memberships in professional societies, volunteering (more on that in a minute), side hustles, certifications, degrees.
Seeking a Career Change or Moving
This has to go in your Objective or Summary AND in your Cover Letter. "New resident to the DC Metro Area seeks..." or "As a recent transplant to Dantooine due to the closure of Starkiller Base, I'm ready to put my skills as a Sith to work..." Otherwise, the recruiter might assume that you are just applying for literally any job in the country, even ones that you don’t live near, aren’t remote, and don’t offer relocation. Why would they assume that? Because a lot of people apply for literally any job in the country, even ones they don’t live near, aren’t remote, and don’t offer relocation. Yes, really.
Avoiding Age Discrimination
You don't need to go back to every job you had since 1965 unless specifically asked. Chances are that your experience from that time is out-of-date anyway. Remember all those people that helped with the Y2K changeover? That was only two decades ago, and already no one cares. You can solve this with a section called:
Additional Experience
One Final Note on Accomplishments
For the love of God, don't put that you "attended meetings." You literally just told me that you can sit in a chair for a long period of time. Is that what you want to communicate about your abilities as a prospective employee? (I mean, maybe? I don’t know you. But I don’t recommend it.)
Okay, Another Final Note on Accomplishments
"But I don't have any awards, results, certifications, promotions, recognition, etc!" a couple of suggestions:
Get thought partnership from a trusted friend or colleague that might help you uncover quantifiable accomplishments or think in a different way
Ask ChatGPT to help you think through what you might have accomplished in your current role based on a job description you provide it (more on this later)
CONSERVATIVELY estimate in a way that you could explain in an interview if asked for more details
Write some SMART goals to achieve things in your current job or volunteer work
EDUCATION
Refrain from adding the years of your degree(s), unless you're a recent grad. Age discrimination is unfortunately A Thing. Feel free to put relevant coursework whether you’re a recent grad or recently completed professional development courses. New grads, feel free to add your GPA (only if it is good!), since you may not have as much experience compared to other candidates.
VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE
Recruiters and Hiring Managers LOVE candidates with volunteer experience, especially if it is long term--it shows passion, dedication, and a willingness to go the proverbial extra mile. Again, this is another opportunity to PROVE your contributions and show tenure, like so:
OTHER?
If you have something human interest-y that will make you memorable, this is the place to put it. For example, if you won Jeopardy!, that goes here. Champion of your kickball league? Sure! It shows you're competitive. Do you knit scarves for the homeless? Fantastic! Go ahead and show off your altruistic side.
(Fun fact: this is my friend Kyle when she won Jeopardy! I was one of her studio audience guests. She put it on her resume. The Jeopardy win, that is. Not my participation in the live, studio audience. Also, Alex Trebek talked for a REALLY LONG TIME about squirrels eating his sprinklers.)
What this isn't good for is a litany of your interests--this isn't a dating ad. No one cares that you enjoy long walks on the beach and getting caught in the rain.
STYLE
Use a Sans Serif font--Futura, Proxima Nova, or Arial will work. Times New Roman is old and busted unless specifically requested (some government positions ask for it, among others.)
Mind your e-mail address. The Oatmeal did a hilarious cartoon about this. Having your own domain shows you're technologically with it, as does a gmail account. (By the way, your email address can inadvertently be a clue to your age and technology proficiency, even when you don't put your birth year in it.)
If you have a Hotmail or AOL account, it's time to forward that to a new gmail account you set up. Also, do I need to tell you that this isn't the place for your cutesy or clever email? I STILL remember "Sourstrawberry87@whatever.com" from many years ago--she was born in 1987, and was a sarcastic redhead. Also, no one cares that you're CadensMommy2022@whatever.com. In fact, Caden's Mommy, they might decide that you'll call out a lot to take care of your sick toddler. (I'm not saying this type of discrimination is right or legal, but I am saying it happens.)
Don't put References Available Upon Request. They know. If they want them, they’ll request them. Don’t take up valuable real estate with this throwaway line.
Keep it to two pages. Your resume should only be two pages. Yes, really. If it's anything more than that, I assume you can't communicate concisely and precisely, which is a good thing to be able to do in most jobs. The exception to this is certain professions and types of work–academia, government, and medicine come to mind.
USING AI TO HELP
ChatGPT can be a huge help when it comes to writing resumes and cover letters. Notice, though, that I said HELP. Apply your own judgment, make your own edits, and iterate on what ChatGPT provides–either in the tool or outside of it.
Recruiters and Hiring Managers can tell when all of your materials were 100% written by AI, and you want to guard against the perception that you take too many shortcuts and don’t review your work. Like really. My brother-in-law is a Hiring Manager at an online company named for the longest river in South America and EVERY time I see him, he (rightly!) tells me HOW TIRED he is of reading resumes and cover letters written by ChatGPT.
Here’s a prompt to get you started with a resume update or rewrite:
After AI delivers its first offering, prompt it to continue rewriting (one of my favorite things is to ask it to use simple language to help remove corporate jargon) or rewrite it yourself.
Here’s a prompt you can use for cover letters:
A WORD ABOUT INDEED EASY APPLY…
I went to an Indeed conference one year (yep, that’s a thing!) and my biggest takeaway was that almost HALF of applicants run Indeed wide open, which is to say that they put absolutely ZERO search criteria for job title, keywords, or company. The presenter from Indeed literally told us “half of all applicants just want ANY job.”
And that’s all well and good, because truly, if we’re getting all Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs here, people work to make money that they exchange for food, water, shelter, clothing, and other basic needs. BUT! It costs companies roughly one to one-and-a-half times your salary to hire you, onboard you, and train you. So love it or hate it, it’s in your best interest to personalize your resume and cover letter to the company making the investment.
Think about it this way: if you wanted to get engaged, and you went to a bar with a generic diamond ring and loudly announced “WILL YOU MARRY ME?!” to everyone in the place, do you think anyone would take you up on that offer? And if they did, do you think they’d be the type of person you’d want to spend the next 5-50 years with?
All kidding aside, don’t use Indeed Easy Apply. Recruiters/Hiring Managers can tell when you do (it shows up in the Hiring Source and your resume and cover letter are formatted differently). It’s fine to use Indeed to FIND jobs, but either go to the company’s web site and apply directly, or at least don’t use easy apply.
I will now step off my high horse and/or soap box.
…AND A WORD ABOUT RETYPING ALL OF YOUR INFO IN THE APPLICANT TRACKING SYSTEM
Okay, except that I won’t. I want to touch on companies that make you retype everything on your resume. In my experience, this can happen for a couple of reasons (none of which I think are particularly GREAT reasons, but I’m making this point so that you can apply this perspective to your job searching if you want). The reasons could include:
No one knows how to use the Applicant Tracking System (ATS) and left that feature on. Which could be a commentary on the maturity of the organization and/or Recruiting team. And look, some companies are small and have an HR person of 1. Nothing wrong with that (you might prefer a start up!) it just could be a clue about how scrappy you’d have to be at the company.
The company is insanely risk averse and thinks that this will insulate them from liability. Perhaps you like risk averse companies because they don’t move fast and break things. Perhaps you think they are overly bureaucratic. If the Recruiter says “yeah, I hate that we make applicants retype all of that, but the legal team said…” then that’s a data point for you.
Depending on where you live or where you’re applying, there could be some compliance headaches that make this an attractive option to the employer. Government and Government Contracting come to mind, since they have to submit Annual Affirmative Action Plans, and having all this info easily organized makes that Herculean task that much easier. (So, like, if you’re applying to a Government or Government-adjacent organization and expecting an easy application process, well… you might want to recalibrate your expectations.)
There’s a lot said about how applicants have to retype everything because a machine reads their resume and disqualifies them. I’ve NEVER seen that be the case. Not saying it doesn’t happen, but I am saying that I don’t think it’s common. What I have seen (and always did) as a recruiter is to set up qualifying questions.
For example, if I’m hiring a French translator, and one of the requirements is that the applicant must read and write fluent business French, then a question I’d ask is “do you read and write fluent French?” If the applicant checks NO, then I don’t even see their resume–the ATS automatically rejects the application and sends them a rejection note. And before you say “honestly, who would apply to a translation job without knowing the language they’re translating” the answer is A LOT OF PEOPLE. Like, almost half? And they did it with Indeed Easy Apply!
Generally, I tell applicants that the overall job description is a Hiring Manager’s wish list, so if you have 70%+ of the requirements, go ahead and apply. But! If there is a hard and fast requirement that you don’t have–like if it’s a Pharmacist job and you HAVE TO HAVE a Bachelor’s or Doctorate of Pharmacy and be a Licensed Pharmacist and YOU DO NOT HAVE THOSE THINGS–save yourself some time and don’t apply.
Thank you for coming to my TED talk.
Okay so that’s it! That’s the advice. Like I said in the intro, take what works for you and leave the rest. Happy applying!