How to Accurately Represent Experience on Your Resume

Attn: job seekers! Stop sabotaging your résumé. You led a $200M business with global distribution, a 20-person team, and owned the entire fulfillment process and tech stack. But your résumé starts with: “I’m passionate about the customer experience.” Stop. That tells me nothing. As someone who’s reviewed thousands of résumés and hired hundreds of people across various functions, let me be blunt….. I scan your résumé for 3 things: -Scale -Scope -Clarity Not poetry. First, I go to “Experience.” Here’s what the experience section of a great résumé does: ✔️ Starts with a one-liner about the company that tells me:  What it is, what it does, and why it matters. Leader in X, $Z in annual revenue, PE/family/VC owned, 430 employees, etc. ✔️ Next, your role explained: Title, who you report to, team size (direct or indirect), budget, P&L responsibilities, regions covered. ✔️ Then 5-8 bullets-max-for your current role accomplishments, start each with a bold header that maps to the job description for the position you seek: - P&L Ownership,  -Team Leadership,  -Commercial Growth,  -Strategic Partnerships Don’t skimp on quantifying the details of your impact. This shows me your results. Be sure to add a section for your systems & technical skills like Salesforce (CRM), Net Suite (ERP), Power BI (Data Visualization) and more. Not sure what to include? Look up job descriptions for roles you want. Use ChatGPT or even Etsy (yes, Etsy!) to find templates that organize your information clearly. Better yet? Take a friend out for a drink, (preferably one with a good resume), and ask for an honest assessment and proofread. Because I see too many résumés that bury the headline. If you led the entire revenue-generating engine of a company, I need to see that fast. Don’t make me read a novel of 22 bullet points to figure it out (real example). Those 22 bullets also tell me that you won’t be able to succinctly report information if we hire you. Structure = clarity = credibility. Structure creates clarity. Clarity builds credibility. And in a world of 3-second résumé scans, that’s everything. Go get ‘em! What’s the best (or worst) résumé trend you’ve seen lately? #resumes #hiring #CEOleadership

💼 Rejection is tough—but here’s why your resume might not be working. Even when you’re highly qualified, it’s frustrating to get passed over for a role you know you’re perfect for. One of the most common mistakes I see? ❌ Overstuffing your resume with every skill and job you’ve ever had. You might think showcasing your versatility makes you stand out, but it often leaves employers confused about how your experience aligns with the role. The solution? A targeted, streamlined approach that highlights your value and matches the job expectations. Here’s how to do it: 1️⃣ Understand What Employers Need Start by analyzing the job description. Look for keywords and skills mentioned repeatedly—they’re the clues to what the employer values most. 👉 Tip: Ask yourself, “What problem are they trying to solve, and how can I position myself as the solution?” 2️⃣ Match Your Experience to Their Needs Highlight the skills and accomplishments that directly align with the role. Provide examples that demonstrate how you’ve applied these skills to solve problems or deliver results. 👉 Example: Instead of saying, “Managed multiple projects,” say, “Led cross-functional teams to deliver 15+ projects on time and under budget, driving a 20% increase in efficiency.” 3️⃣ Speak Their Language Use industry-specific terminology from the job description to describe your experience. This not only helps with ATS systems but also shows you understand their world. 👉 Example: Replace vague phrases like “collaborated on team goals” with specifics like “optimized workflows using Agile methodologies to improve delivery speed by 25%.” 💡 Key Takeaway: The goal of your resume isn’t just to get noticed—it’s to position yourself as the perfect solution to the employer’s problem. Focus on alignment and clarity, and you’ll turn more views into interviews. What’s one tweak you’ve made to your resume that worked wonders? Let’s share insights below! 💬👇 #ResumeTips #CareerGrowth #JobSearch #RecruiterAdvice #ProfessionalBranding

Looking to make your resume shine and grab attention? With over a decade of recruitment experience and having reviewed nearly 250,000 resumes while working for industry giants like Amazon, Accenture (Avanade), Cognizant, and various startups through my agency, Proven Patterns, I’ve seen what truly makes a resume stand out. Here are some top tips to help you create a powerful resume that will leave a lasting impression: ☑ Keep It Concise: Aim for 2-3 page resume when possible. Focus on your most relevant experiences and achievements without overwhelming the reader. ☑ Tailor for Each Job: Customize your resume for every position you apply for. Incorporate keywords from the job description and highlight skills and experiences that match the role. If you don't have enough time at least match the resume summary section with the job description. ☑ Showcase Achievements: Use specific numbers and examples to quantify your accomplishments. Instead of saying "improved sales," say "boosted sales by 20% within six months." ☑ Professional Format: Opt for a clean, professional layout with consistent fonts and spacing. Save the flashy graphics for creative fields. ☑ Include a Strong Summary: Start with a compelling summary that highlights your key qualifications and career goals. Make it engaging and tailored to the job you're targeting. ☑ Highlight Skills: Clearly list your core skills and competencies. Be honest and focus on those that are directly relevant to the position. ☑ Proofread Carefully: Ensure your resume is free from typos and grammatical errors. A polished resume reflects attention to detail and professionalism. ☑ Add a Personal Touch: Include a brief section on your interests or volunteer work. This can help convey your personality and values beyond your professional skills. Your resume is your first impression; make it count! 🚀 If you found these tips useful, please repost ♻ and follow me, Kumud Deepali R. for more insights and advice on jobs and career!

As a career coach, I review a LOT of resumes. I actually offer to review the resume of everyone I meet with to provide general guidance and point them in the right direction if they'd like. Over the past year I’ve done this well over a 100 times and I’ve found that there is consistent feedback I give in 99% of cases. Here are the top recommendations I make when reviewing resumes Focus on impact, not just duties: This is the number one piece of feedback I provide. Your resume should highlight your accomplishments and what you achieved, not just the responsibilities you were given. Most of the time your responsibilities will be clear from your job title. You’ll have a mix of both but if I’m a hiring manager I’m not looking for someone who “Scheduled meetings with stakeholders to build relationships”. I’m looking for someone who “Built 30 partnerships with leading organizations across 25 countries to provide product guidance” Cut weaker content to let your experience truly shine: I’m not of the belief that all resumes have to be one page (though I myself have a 1 page resume). That being said, a study by Ladders has shown that you have about 7 seconds for a recruiter to scan your resume and get put into the next review stage. Any content that is not immediately showing that you have the title, accomplishments, and skills to perform the job should be cut. Be ruthless. Not all of your wonderful experience needs to be included. Give the most relevant experience the most weight: Following the thread from above, prioritize what’s most relevant by giving it the most space. In general you’ll provide less bullets on your early career unless it’s highly relevant to the job you’re applying for in a way your more recent experience isn’t. You’ll also prioritize your work experience over your education as you advance in your career by placing it first. Give the most space to the most relevant roles and help the reader get there as fast as possible. Highlight relevant skills to the job description: This should go without saying but your resume should be relevant to the job description. This may require tweaking your resume from role to role, particularly if you’re applying for a variety of job titles. Look for the top requirements in the job description and focus on showcasing how your experience matches that. Keep the formatting simple: I get bored of the same old resume format too. However, the more stylized templates I see with multiple columns or unusual designs tend to make poor use of space and are unnecessarily complicated to read. And that’s just not my opinion; the same study by Ladders showed that more complicated templates had lower engagement from recruiters and performed worse. Unless you’re applying for a highly creative role, keep your resume boring. If you want to have more targeted feedback on your resume and talk about your job search goals, reach out and set up some time with me!

As a recruiter, I see a lot of resumes cross my desk every single week. And if there's one thing I consistently tell job seekers that can make a huge difference, it's this: don't just list what you did, show the impact you made! Hiring teams are reviewing many resumes to quickly identify the strongest candidates. What truly makes your experience jump off the page and grab our attention are those quantifiable achievements! Instead of "Managed projects" Try "Successfully managed 10+ projects, which helped increase team efficiency by 15% in just six months." Or instead of "Improved company operations" Try "Streamlined a process that reduced operational costs by 20% annually." Adding those numbers, percentages, and specific metrics instantly transforms your bullet points from a generic task list into a powerful story of your contributions and value. It gives us a clear picture of what you can bring to a new role, and it makes you stand out from the crowd! So, as you're polishing up your resume, take a moment to think: where can you add some numbers? What did you achieve in your past roles? I'd love to hear: what's one achievement you're most proud to quantify on your resume? #ResumeTips #RecruiterLife #JobSearch

This is one of the most important things I’ve learned about resumes, and most don’t do it. Not doing this can hurt your chances of getting an interview 👇 Your resume 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞 a description of what you are 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 for. Your resume 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 a collection of your 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭 to the job you are applying for! Here's a simple example: A Project Manager's resume that describes what they are 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 for looks like this: - Delivered the project on time and within budget. - Communicated updates regularly to all stakeholders. This is a terrible way to "stand out" - In this example, every Project Manager is responsible for delivering projects on time and budget, and for communicating with stakeholders. In other words, there's nothing 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 about this person's resume. Your resume has to show: - Evidence that you have the experience they are looking for (Tailored resume) - Evidence of the value you bring to the team (Your past accomplishments) To write a resume that 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭, here’s what you should do 👇 Write 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬, not what you were responsible for : - What did you do? - What was the impact? - How did you accomplish it? Use the “𝐗 + 𝐘 + 𝐙” formula to write accomplishments: “Accomplished [𝐗] as measured by [𝐘], by doing [𝐙]” 🛑 Instead of writing: “Delivered a project on time and budget” ✅ Write this: 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 [𝐗]: “Launched ____ project” 𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 [𝐘]: “1 month ahead of schedule and increasing ROI by Z%” 𝐁𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 [𝐙]: “, by creating a new communication process that allowed low and medium risk tickets to be pre-appproved, reducing friction during development” Together X + Y + Z: “Launched ___ project 1 month ahead of schedule and increasing ROI by Z%, , by creating a new communication process that allowed low and medium risk tickets to be pre-appproved, reducing friction during development” 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 help you show that you have the experience companies look for in 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭 of a project that had impact to customers, your team or the organization. 𝐓𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 your 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 to the job you are applying to will increase your chances of getting an interview. Adding more colors, graphs and random keywords will not. A few extra tips as you go through your accomplishments: 1. Not every accomplishment will have a number (impact). It’s ok, try to have as many as possible. 2. Accomplishments tailored to the job you are applying to >>>> accomplishments you believe are the most important. 3. You can skip the XYZ formula and instead write them as: Verb in past tense + what you did + the impact it had. ------ 🚀 Need help with your resume or Product Management interviews? Check out my comment below for THE BEST resources 👇 #productmangement #resume

I often get asked, "How to quantify accomplishments in a resume using data?" Here's what I say. When hiring managers check your resume, the first thing they notice is the impact you have created in your previous organization. Every company wants to hire people who can bring more value to the table. When quantifying your achievements, you must be careful not to oversell or undersell yourself. Here's how to do it the right way: → Track your work - Make it a habit to track your work and performance metrics to showcase your achievements clearly on your resume. - If you haven’t tracked your data before, you can still gather valuable information by focusing on key metrics that highlight your impact. → Use ranges - If you are unsure of exact numbers, you can use ranges. - Instead of saying you managed exactly 18 clients monthly, you could mention a range of 15 to 20 clients monthly to provide a clear picture of your workload. → Prioritize relevant details - I understand the temptation to add everything in your resume, but you have to keep it concise, so only add relevant information. - Focus on the details that align with the role you’re applying for and demonstrate your most significant achievements. → Back your data - Hiring professionals often look for concrete evidence of growth, efficiency, or success, such as increased sales, improved project turnaround times, or enhanced customer satisfaction. - Back your data with proper information to prove your claims are valid. → Double-check everything - Before you send your resume to hiring managers, ensure all the details are correct. - You'll be asked about your achievements, so be accurate, maintain your credibility, and to present yourself honestly during the hiring process. When you have created an impact for a company, you must show it to build your career. If you're struggling with quantifying your achievements in your resume, let's chat. I’d be happy to help you refine your resume and showcase your impact effectively. P.S.- Here's a good example of how to quantify your accomplishments in your resume.

Are You Selling the Experience on Your Resume the Right Way? As a recruiter, I see multiple resumes from freshers to senior folks, and more often than not, I notice that the experience on the resume is not being presented properly. Many candidates excel in their jobs but struggle to portray this effectively on their resumes. They have impressive accomplishments and skills but fail to highlight these in a way that stands out to recruiters. This often means candidates need to be coached on how to present their experience in a compelling manner. Here are a few tips to help you sell your experience the right way: 1. Focus on Achievements, Not Just Responsibilities: Rather than listing job duties, emphasize your accomplishments. Use metrics and specific examples to show how you added value to your previous roles. For instance, instead of saying "Managed a team," you could say, "Led a team of 10 to increase sales by 20% within six months." 2. Include the format of contributions and impact or Context-Action-Result while trying to draft a point. Why Is This Important? Your resume is often your first impression with a potential employer. If your experience isn't presented effectively, you might not get the chance to showcase your skills in an interview. A well-crafted resume can open doors to new opportunities and help you advance in your career. By clearly communicating your achievements and value, you make it easier for recruiters to see why you’re the right fit for the job. Remember, your resume is your marketing tool. Make sure it sells your experience in the best possible way. #ResumeTips #CareerAdvice #JobSearch #ProfessionalGrowth #ResumeWriting