How to Write a Modern Resume for Office Roles

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!

Resume Help! One of my favorite things to do when talking to a candidate about a job is helping with their resume. Not just for the position we’re discussing, but to give overall advice and suggestions that help them get calls for the right opportunities in the market. Here are a few of the main things I go over with everyone: ✅ Start with the basics. Your first and last name (not just an initial). City, state, and zip - You don’t need your full address, but those three are searchable pieces of data that help recruiters find you. Even if you’re targeting remote jobs, I still want to know your time zone (CST, EST, PST). Make sure your email, phone number, and LinkedIn URL are listed. You don’t need a picture on your resume, just make sure your LinkedIn has one. 💡 Pro tip: Save your resume file as your first and last name “Crystal Rehling” and nothing else. ✅ Have a summary, not an objective. Your summary is your elevator pitch. It should highlight the quantifiable, tangible skills you’re bringing to your next role. Someone should read your summary and know what job they would hire you for! Be specific. Skip the soft skills here; people will gauge those when they meet you. Use this space for hard data and measurable impact. 💻 If you’re in IT: Right after your summary, include a Core Technical Skills section. This should list your key tools, systems, and technologies, things like programming languages, ERP systems, CRM platforms, or integration tools. It gives hiring managers an instant snapshot of your capabilities before diving into your experience. ✅ Prioritize your recent experience. Your most recent roles should have the most detail. For positions 10+ years old, stick to main highlights or list a brief technical environment section. You can even say “previous experience available upon request” or just list the company, title, and dates without bullet points. 🎓 Education goes last. Unless you’re a recent grad, your education should appear at the end of your resume. Let your professional experience lead the story. 🌐 Finally: Make sure all of this information is also on your LinkedIn profile. It’s searchable data that helps recruiters find you for your next job. Someone mentioned to me recently that she was told to keep her LinkedIn brief since people can see the details on her resume. I completely disagree! If your profile isn’t complete and detailed, we might not find you in the first place. If you’d like a quick 15-minute video call for personalized resume feedback, drop a comment below, I’d be happy to help!

Make Your Resume a Story, Not a List! As a recruiter specializing in HR, Talent Acquisition, and Administrative roles, I see many resumes. The ones that stand out tell a clear story of growth, impact, and alignment with the job. Here are 3 quick tips to optimize your resume: 1️⃣ Tailor it to the job description. Use the same language as the job posting—especially in HR or admin roles. If the job requires “strong organizational skills,” showcase a time you managed multiple priorities or streamlined processes. 2️⃣ Highlight measurable achievements. Saying “responsible for office management” is okay. Saying “implemented a new scheduling system that reduced meeting conflicts by 30%” is memorable. Quantify whenever possible! 3️⃣ Keep it clean and readable. Recruiters spend seconds on their first scan. Use bullet points, consistent formatting, and section headers. Fancy designs? Not necessary—clarity wins every time. The job market can feel overwhelming, but a polished, tailored resume can open doors.

Do you think that your CV is just a formality? Think again! It's your GOLDEN TICKET to standing out in a crowded job market, especially in the mid-to-late stages of your career. As a 2024 LinkedIn Top Voice and Career Coach, I'm here to help you to improve your CV and Let's take those outdated bullet points and turn your resume into something that gets you noticed and helps you land your dream job. As recruiter, I find myself overwhelmed by resumes filled with dull, unengaging job descriptions 🤢 Don't just list your responsibilities, make your resume tell your career story. Showcase the impact you made in each role. Here are some actionable tips for CV success: 1. Start Strong with a Powerful Summary (About Me) Your summary is your value proposition. It should be an achievement-driven and designed to hook the reader instantly. Make it your elevator pitch – concise, impactful, and impossible to ignore. I prefer "About Me" section to be less than 200 words and contained within a single paragraph 2. Quantify Your Accomplishments Prove your impact with numbers! Rather than saying "managed a team," highlight your success: "As manager of a 15-person team, I spearheaded efforts that led to a 12% surpassment of quarterly goals." 3. Showcase Relevant Skills Make your resume stand out in a crowded job market. When listing your skills, use keywords that match the job descriptions you're interested in. Remember to include both technical abilities (hard skills) and people skills (soft skills) like communication and leadership. 4. Highlight Your Achievement Make your resume stand out by focusing on what you achieved, not just what you were tasked with doing. Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to create impactful descriptions that demonstrate your value. 5. Keep it Concise and Current Help recruiters quickly see your best fit by keeping your resume concise (one to two pages). Focus on the last 10-15 years of your career, emphasizing experience that aligns with your desired roles. Red Flags to Avoid: 🚫 Typos and Grammatical Errors: These mistakes can create a negative impression, suggesting a lack of care and precision. 🔕 Irrelevant Information: While your hobbies are interesting, it's best to focus your resume space on experiences and skills directly relevant to the job you're applying for. ⛔ Exaggerations or Lies: Honesty is always the best policy. ❗Remember❗ Your CV is your first impression! By following these tips, you'll craft a compelling narrative that showcases your unique value and lands you that dream job! https://lnkd.in/gKxPGVQP #careertips #resumewriting #jobsearch #linkedintopvoice #careerdevelopment #CV

I have been writing and reviewing resumes for nine years. The rules have changed. Here are some of the biggest resume updates: 𝟭) 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗴𝗲. Huzzah! The days of one-page resumes are over! It's totally ok to go to two pages. How long should your resume be? There's no hard rule, but my general guidelines: Recent graduate/early career = One page Mid-career = Two pages Senior/Executive = Three pages Ultimately, the keyword is RELEVANT. If it's RELEVANT to the job you're applying for, keep it, if it's not RELEVANT, remove it. 𝟮) 𝗘𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗴𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺. Old school rules listed education at the top. Not anymore. Put it at the end of the resume, along with your certifications. UNLESS you're a recent graduate, then you can have it at the top (it helps explain your lack of experience). BONUS: Unless you're a recent graduate, remove the dates of your graduation. Especially if you're worried about ageism. 𝟯) 𝗦𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗽. Bring your skills section higher in the resume so recruiters can see at a glance if you have the basic skills required for the job. But don't just keyword stuff, also write bullet points that illustrate your experience with those skills. 𝟰) 𝗕𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝘂𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘀. It used to be "I achieved this, by doing this, which resulted in this." Now, I teach my clients to say, "I got this result by doing this activity in order to achieve this goal." Lead with numbers and results, because this job market is driven by  outcomes/achievements/results/metrics. 𝟱) 𝗡𝗼 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆. This is one of my favorite updates. We are no longer listing our full address. This protects privacy and removes potential bias. Instead, list city + state. If you're near a city, you can list "[City name] metro area." 𝟲) 𝗞𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲. No charts, no graphs, no tables. One column. Simple font. Make it easy to read for humans and ATSs. 𝟳) 𝗜𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲 𝗮 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. Underneath each job, I advise my clients to add one sentence about the company and one sentence about your basic responsibilities. (This provides context to your role.) Then use your bullet points to share your outcomes/achievements. 𝟴) 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲𝘀. If your old job titles are too niche or don't properly convey what you did/what you want to do next, change them! Keep them simple and easy to recognize. I'm rooting for you. 👊 ♻ Please repost if you think this advice will help others. ***** Hi, have we met? I'm Emily and I'm on a mission to get the #GreenBannerGang back to work, one actionable step at a time. #jobsearch #jobhunt #jobseekers

The 3 Main Resume Issues I See All the Time (and How to Fix Them) 1️⃣ Generic Content Always keep in mind, the resume shouldn't just be a reflection of what you have done, it should be a strategic representation of where you are headed. Too often, resumes simply list basic role responsibilities instead of showcasing the skills and achievements that add value to a future employer. Don't just list expectations, list the outcomes. How to fix it: ✔ Decode the job description so you know what's important to the reader. ✔ Tailor your resume to highlight where you’ve met those needs. ✔ Focus on achievements, impact, and measurable results, not just duties. 2️⃣ Basic Info Missing You’d be amazed at how many resumes leave out key details such as an email address, phone number, dates of employment, qualifications, or even job titles! How to fix it: ✔ Double-check that all essential information is included. ✔ Ensure your contact details are up to date and easy to find. ✔ Be clear and consistent with job titles and employment dates. 3️⃣ Poor Formatting & Readability Let’s make the reader’s job as easy as possible. Information should be presented in a logical order, guiding them through your experience effortlessly. Please don’t use the two-column approach. Columns can confuse the reader’s brain (which instinctively reads left to right), but more often than not, the right-hand column contains the important info, while the left-hand column is filled with less relevant details. This forces the reader to jump back and forth, making it harder to absorb key information. How to fix it: ✔ Use clear section headings and bold important details where needed. ✔ Keep plenty of white space to improve readability. ✔ Avoid large blocks of text and use bullet points for clarity. ✔ Skip the two-column format and stick to a single-column layout for easy reading. A well-structured, tailored, and easy-to-read resume can be the difference between getting an interview offer or not. Take the time to refine this part of your professional brand, and if you need help, please reach out to me. #resume #jobsearch #career #recruiter

I often talk about how important it is to "think about your audience" during your job search. It's crucial to understand the employer's needs and priorities for each position, then emphasize in your application materials and interview responses the ways you can successfully meet their needs. But tailoring your resume for every single job application can be exhausting, especially if you're revamping your entire resume each and every time... So, a time-saving measure that I, personally, like to employ includes leveraging "master" resumes and a professional summary section at the top of each resume. Here is what I do: 1️⃣ I think about the types of roles and fields (usually 2-4) that interest me and align with my skills and experience so I know my targets 2️⃣ I create the same number of master resumes, with a different resume tailored specifically to each type of role or field 3️⃣ On each master resume, I have a placeholder section for a professional summary, which I will create or update with each application 4️⃣ When I find a job to which I want to apply, I carefully analyze the job description so I have a strong understanding of my audience 5️⃣ Next, I choose the appropriate master resume and make some minor tweaks or edits to my bullet points so they align better with the role 6️⃣ Then, I will craft a professional summary that is highly tailored to that specific role, highlighting my most relevant abilities and accomplishments This strategy allows me to think about my audience and tailor my resume for every application without having to fully re-write my resume each time. I only have to write one new paragraph and make some minor edits in a few other places. Plus, the professional summary is right at the top of my resume, so the portion that is most heavily tailored for each role is likely the first section that is read with each application. This approach might not work for everyone, especially if you're considering a particularly wide range of potential positions, but it can definitely save you a lot of time without having to sacrifice the quality of your applications. #resumewriting #jobsearchtips #jobsearchadvice