How to Make a Resume in 2023: Expert Guide + Tips & Tricks

In today’s highly competitive job market, having a standout resume is more crucial than ever. Did you know that recruiters typically spend only 6 seconds reviewing a resume before deciding if the candidate (you) is worth calling for an interview.

If they feel like you’re not, well, onto the next candidate from the pile of hundreds of Resumes.

Your resume has a very brief window to make a lasting impression, and it’s essential to seize that opportunity by catching the attention of the Recruiter.

To help you create a resume that shines in 2023, we’ve compiled an expert guide that consists of tips, tricks, and strategies to help you in making your resume stand out within those precious six seconds.

Whether you’re a seasoned professional or just starting your career, this comprehensive guide will help you craft a compelling resume that gets noticed.

What You Will Learn

In this guide, we’ll cover the following key aspects of resume creation in 2023:

Now, let’s dive into each of these topics in detail.

Why Resumes Matter in 2023

The digital age has transformed the job application landscape. Majority of the Recruiters now use digital platforms to hire candidates.

However, even in this new world, Resumes are just as critical for job search as they serve as the most efficient way to assess candidates and required as the preliminary stage of any job application process.

• Digital Platforms & Job Applications: Platforms like LinkedIn, Indeed, and Glassdoor have digitized the concept job hunting. Rarely do you see people searching for jobs via newspaper clippings or other offline mediums. However, even on these platforms, a well-crafted resume is your ticket to being noticed.
• ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems): More than 75% of resumes are never seen by human eyes. Why? Companies use ATS or Applicant Tracking System software to filter applications, making it crucial for your resume to be ATS-friendly. This has been done to manage the flood of applications that a company receives for a job efficiently. Hence, understanding how ATS works and tailoring your Resume in accordance is crucial to succeed.

Understanding the Basics:

Before diving into the details of resume crafting, let’s make sure our fundamentals are clear.

• What is a Resume? A resume is a concise document highlighting your professional achievements, skills, and experiences. It’s your personal marketing tool, designed to sell your candidacy to potential employers. It acts as the very first impression of you in the eyes of the Recruiter.
• Difference between a CV and a Resume Most people get confused between the two and used the terms interchangeably. While both are tools in job applications, their structure and use cases are very different. A CV or Curriculum Vitae is a more detailed account of your academic and professional history and often spans multiple page in terms of length. CVs are used mostly used if you’re looking for positions in Academics or Research. A Resume, on the other hand, is a brief snapshot, usually limited to one or two pages, which is tailored to the job role you’re looking for. Resumes are used pretty much for majority of the industries. If you’re thinking of creating a document with a snapshot of your professional history with the aim of getting a job, you’re most likely talking about a Resume.

Starting from Scratch: The Essential Components

Crafting a resume might seem daunting, but by breaking down the document into its various sections and going through them one-by-one, you’ll find it less daunting.

Contact Information

Start with your name, phone number, professional email address, and LinkedIn profile link. These are the most important contact details to add in your Resume. In 2023, it’s common to omit the physical address due to privacy concerns and the global nature of jobs.

However, adding personal details such as your Date of Birth, Marital Status, Parents’ Names and whatnot is not required and should be avoided.

Objective/Summary

This is your elevator pitch and usually acts as the first section of your Resume. In 2-3 sentences, convey who you are, what you bring to the table, and your career aspirations. Use this section to immediately capture the attention of the Recruiter.

For instance, “A digital marketing professional with 5 years of experience specializing in SEO and content strategy”.

Experience

List your jobs in reverse chronological order, detailing your role, the company, and the tenure. Highlight key achievements and responsibilities using bullet points. Avoid using a single long paragraph for your work experience description as it reduces readability and puts a negative impression.

For those with limited experience, internships, volunteer work, and even significant college projects can be valuable additions.

Education

Mention your latest educational qualification first, followed by others in reverse chronological order. Include the degree, institution, and graduation year. Relevant coursework or projects can be added if they align with the job you’re applying for.

Also, it is not mandatory to add your grades in your Resume unless you’re a college student. If you do not think they’re noteworthy or impressive, you can consider not adding them. If you’re an experienced professional with more than 2-3 years of your experience, the education section takes a step back in terms of importance. Consider removing your schooling details from your Resume in that case since they’re not as relevant anymore.

Skills

The Skills section of your Resume can be a great place to highlight your qualifications and competencies in accordance to the requirement of the Recruiter.

Divide your skills into hard (e.g., data analysis, graphic design) and soft skills (e.g., communication, teamwork). Ensure they resonate with the job description to increase your chances of passing through ATS filters.

Additional Sections

Depending on your profession and experiences, you can include sections like languages, certifications, publications, or conferences attended. These can provide a more rounded view of your qualifications.

However, do not overdo it. Adding information which is irrelevant to the role you’re looking for is both distracting as well as problematic as it unnecessarily increases the length of your Resume. Stick to what matters.

Deciding the Design and Layout of your Resume

A well-structured resume is as crucial as the content itself. The design dictates the first impression, while the layout ensures the content is easily digestible and readable for the Recruiter.

Choosing the Right Format:

• Chronological: Best for those with a strong work history in a particular field. It lists experiences in reverse chronological order.
• Functional: Focuses on skills and qualifications, ideal for those with gaps in their employment or changing industries.
• Hybrid: A combination of both, highlighting skills followed by a chronological work history.

Design Principles

Stick to clean, professional designs. Use a consistent font, maintain decent amount of white space, and limit the use of colors to ensure readability. In 2023, minimalist designs with a touch of personal branding (like a professional logo or monogram) are trending.

Using Templates vs. Custom Designs

While templates offer convenience, custom designs provide uniqueness. Platforms like Canva offer a middle ground, with customizable resume templates that can be tailored to your taste.

7-Step Formula to Tailor Your Resume for Each Job Application

Tailoring your resume to each job application is essential to make sure your qualifications and experiences align with the specific requirements of the position.

Also, we’ve made an in-depth guide on this topic as well where we go through all of these points in detail, you can check it out here.

That being said, here’s a step-by-step approach to tailoring your resume effectively:

1. Read the Job Description Carefully

The job description is your guide when it comes to tailoring your Resume. Carefully read it to understand the skills, experiences, and qualifications that the employer is looking for.

2. Find Key Words and Phrases

Identify specific keywords and phrases related to skills and qualifications mentioned in the job description. These are the terms you’ll want to incorporate into your resume to showcase that you have the required skills and qualification required by the Recruiter.

3. Match Your Skills

Align your skills and experiences with the key requirements from the job description. Make it clear that you possess the qualifications the employer is seeking. This is done by highlighting having these skills wherever you can in your Resume.

4. Customize Your Professional Summary

If you have a professional summary at the beginning of your resume, tailor it to match the job’s requirements. Showcase key skills or experiences relevant to the position.

5. Prioritize Relevant Experiences

List your professional experiences, prioritizing the most relevant ones for the job you’re applying for. Highlight responsibilities and achievements that align with the job’s requirements.

6. Showcase Relevant Skills

In the skills section, include only those skills relevant to the job. Incorporate specific skills mentioned in the job description, provided you possess them.

7. Tailor Your Education

While you can’t change your degree or university, emphasize relevant courses, projects, or extracurricular activities that relate to the job.

Quantify Your Resume (Even Without Numbers)

Quantifying your achievements on your resume is a powerful way to demonstrate your impact and show potential employers that you can deliver results. Here are various strategies to quantify your resume effectively:

1. Scope of Work

• Did you manage people or projects? Tell how many or how big. For example, “Led a team of 5” or “Managed projects with budgets up to INR 5 lakhs.”

2. Process Improvements

• Did you make things better, faster, or cheaper? Tell how you did it and what the result was. For example, “Implemented a filing system that improved document retrieval times” or “Suggested a customer feedback strategy that enhanced client communication.”

3. Ranking and Comparisons

• Were you the first, the only, the best, the fastest, the highest, etc.? Use these words to highlight your achievements. For example, “Recognized as the top salesperson in my team” or “Promoted faster than peers due to exceptional performance.”

4. Scale and Volume

• Did you handle a lot of customers, data, reports, etc.? Tell how many you dealt with. For example, “Handled approximately 50 customer queries per day” or “Responsible for entering data for around 200 products per week.”

5. Training or Mentoring

• Did you help others learn? Tell how many people you trained or mentored and what they achieved. For example, “Mentored three new hires who are now full-time team members.”

6. Projects Completed

• Did you complete projects or tasks successfully and on time? Tell how many you did and what they involved. For example, “Successfully completed over 20 client projects within the assigned timeline.”

Additional Tips and Tricks

To enhance your resume further, you can also consider implementing these tips and tricks:

1. Use an ATS-Friendly Format

Many employers use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to screen resumes efficiently. To ensure your resume gets past ATS and reaches human eyes, you have to make your Resume ATS-Friendly.

Try following some of these guidelines to make your Resume optimized for ATS:

• Use Standard Fonts: Stick to standard, easy-to-read fonts like Arial or Calibri. Avoid decorative fonts that may not be recognized by ATS.
• Include Relevant Headers: Use clear and concise headers for sections like “Work Experience,” “Education,” and “Skills” to help ATS categorize your information.
• Avoid Graphics and Tables: While they may look visually appealing, graphics and tables can confuse ATS. Stick to straightforward formatting. Visual Resumes are prone to getting a poor ranking on ATS.

2. Using Keywords in Your Resume

Incorporating relevant keywords into your resume is vital to match the job description and improve your chances of getting noticed. Here’s how:

• Identify Key Phrases: Carefully read the job description and identify key phrases and skills the employer is seeking.
• Integrate Keywords: Naturally incorporate these keywords into your resume’s work experience, skills, and summary sections. For example, if the job description mentions “project management,” ensure that your resume includes relevant experience and skills related to project management.

Example:

• Job Description Keyword (What you’ll find in the JD): “Project Management”
• Resume Integration (How you’ll incorporate it into your Resume): “Led cross-functional project teams to deliver successful outcomes.”

3. Use Strong Action Verbs to Make an Impact

If sentences in your Resume start with “Responsible for….”, you’re doing it wrong. What’s the alternate way? Action verbs.

Action verbs are essential for creating a dynamic and engaging resume. Instead of passively listing responsibilities, use powerful action verbs to convey your achievements effectively. This gives your Resume an Achiever-oriented language. Here are some examples:

• Managed: “Managed a team of 10 sales representatives, exceeding quarterly targets by 20%.”
• Achieved: “Achieved a 95% customer satisfaction rating through proactive issue resolution.”
• Implemented: “Implemented a cost-saving strategy that reduced operational expenses by 15%.”

By using strong action verbs like these, you make your accomplishments more compelling and showcase your ability to drive results.

4. Include a Summary Section

A summary section at the top of your resume is a brief introduction of yourself and your career highlights. It should include your:

• Professional title and industry
• Key skills and achievements
• Career goals and value proposition

A well-crafted summary section can quickly convey to recruiters what you excel at and what you’ve accomplished in your career, encouraging them to read further.

5. Place Your Most Impressive Section First

Depending on your experience and qualifications, you may have different sections on your resume, such as work experience, education, skills, certifications, awards, or projects.

Place the section that is most relevant and impressive for the job you’re applying for right after the summary section. As we know, the Recruiter only spends a few seconds on each Resume, so ensure your Resume starts with something that immediately catches their attention.

6. Create a Solid Skills Section

The skills section acts as a “Keyword bank” for your Resume. You can use this section to add keywords in the form of skills which the recruiter is looking for.

Your skills section should include both hard skills and technical skills relevant to the job. Focus on specific skills that the recruiter may be looking for, and avoid generic or soft skills. This section is an excellent opportunity to incorporate keywords from the job description.

By following these expert tips and tricks, you can craft a resume that not only meets the standards of 2023 but also captures the attention of employers and increases your chances of landing your desired job. Remember that your resume is a dynamic document that should evolve with your career, so be sure to keep it updated and tailored for each job application.

The Role Of A Cover Letter

A well-crafted cover letter can complement your resume and provide additional context to your application. Here are some key points to keep in mind regarding cover letters:

• Customization: Customize each cover letter to the specific job you’re applying for. Mention the company’s name, the position you’re interested in, and briefly explain why you’re a strong fit.
• Highlight Relevant Experience: Use the cover letter to highlight specific experiences and skills that make you a standout candidate for the role.
• Show Enthusiasm: Express your enthusiasm for the position and the company. Employers appreciate candidates who show genuine interest.
• Professional Tone: Maintain a professional and respectful tone in your cover letter. Proofread carefully to ensure there are no typos or grammatical errors.

Addressing Employment Gaps

Addressing employment gaps in your resume is crucial to present a transparent and compelling career story. Here are some strategies for handling employment gaps effectively:

• Be Honest: Never hide or fabricate employment gaps. Be honest about the reasons for the gap, whether it was due to personal reasons, further education, or career exploration. This helps you remain confident.
• Highlight Relevant Activities: If you engaged in volunteer work, freelance projects, or took courses during your employment gap, include them on your resume to showcase your commitment to personal and professional development.
• Use a Functional Format: Consider using a functional resume format, which focuses on your skills and qualifications rather than chronological work history. This format can help de-emphasize employment gaps.

Say a Big NO to These Resume Mistakes in 2023

90% of people make these resume blunders. Make sure you are not one of them. While creating your resume, it’s equally important to know what to avoid. These common resume mistakes can hinder your chances of making a positive impact:

1. Putting your Education first, when you have professional experience: In most cases, your professional experience should take precedence over your education, especially if you have substantial work experience. Focus on showcasing your skills and accomplishments first.
2. Not performing keyword optimization or tailoring it to any field: One-size-fits-all resumes are a thing of the past. Tailoring your resume to the specific job you’re applying for by using relevant keywords is crucial. It helps your resume pass through ATS systems and demonstrates your genuine interest in the position.
3. Using unprofessional language, not checking for grammatical errors, and using personal pronouns: Your resume should maintain a professional tone throughout. Avoid using personal pronouns (e.g., “I” or “me”) and make sure that your resume is free of grammatical errors. Use tools such as Grammarly or the standard spellcheck that you get with
4. Filling the Resume up with information irrelevant to the Recruiter: Keep your resume concise and relevant to the job. Including excessive or irrelevant information can overwhelm recruiters and dilute the impact of your qualifications. Focus on what’s directly related to the position.
5. Not adding quantification and achievements to highlight your expertise: Quantifying your achievements and highlighting specific accomplishments can make your resume more compelling. Instead of just listing responsibilities, demonstrate how your work led to tangible results and successes.

By avoiding these common resume mistakes, you’ll increase your chances of creating a polished and impactful resume that captures the attention of recruiters and hiring managers.

FAQ Section

Summary

Crafting a standout resume in 2023 requires a blend of understanding the digital landscape, tailoring content to specific job roles, and presenting information in a clear, concise manner and in accordance to the requirements of the Recruiter.

With the rapid evolution of the job market, it’s essential to stay updated and ensure your resume reflects the current trends and expectations. This comprehensive guide has equipped you with the knowledge and strategies to create a compelling resume, whether you’re just starting out or are a seasoned professional. Remember, your resume is more than just a document; it’s a testament to your professional journey. Make it count.

Finally, if you need further assistance or a professional touch, don’t forget to check out our specialized Resume services. We’re here to help you shine in those crucial six seconds!