How to write a stellar resume

Hey there 👋 - my name is Abbhi

In today's issue, you will learn how to build a strong resume that will get you more job interviews and opportunities.

A little background on me...

I have reviewed 100+ resumes over the last few years, given interview advice, and have helped 20+ students get job offers in tech, finance, and consulting firms, such as Bain, Bank of America, Microsoft, Amex, and others.

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Resume Basics

We need to ensure the basics and foundation of our resumes are accounted for and implemented before diving into the details.

Have a clean, easy-to-read resume template: Keep the font simple, the color black and the spacing aligned and consistent. Nothing should be inconsistent, and it needs to be on one page as long as you have less than roughly 10 years of experience

Always submit your resume as a PDF: Most places only accept resumes in PDF format. Formatting sometimes gets changed if the resume is in word or google docs and the reviewer doesn't have access to those applications

Name your resume Lastname_FirstnameResume: Always name your resume Lastname_Firstname, as the recruiters will have many resumes in a folder, and they need your name to be called out specifically on the file

Put your GPA on your resume if above 3.0: I recommend putting your GPA on your resume if above 3.0 and taking it off if not. This recommendation is only relevant to current students

Add interests & skills section at the bottom of the resume: Having an interest section helps your resume connect with the reviewer. Interests are one of the best ways to get your reviewer to relate to you outside your professional experiences and ultimately remember you over another candidate

Add self-done projects: Add project links or article links if you have any resources that you've worked on by yourself that show good experiences. This is a tactic many people do not utilize but can show skills that you might not be able to gain elsewhere

Be honest: You will need to be able to speak to each of your resume experiences, so branding your resume experiences is crucial, however, ensure that they come from a place of truth

Now that we've covered the basics, let's dive into some of the most common resume issues I've seen and how we are going to combat them

Most Common Resume Issues

Inconsistent template: Many people submit resumes with templates and formats that have inconsistent spacing, fonts, colors, alignment, size, etc. These items need to be completely consistent and triple-checked before submission

Not specific enough: I've seen countless resumes that are generic, vague, and missing crucial details that would make the candidate unique and different than others. If you change your name and the resume still makes sense, then there is a BIG problem. Your resume needs to dig into the details and talk about the HOW, WHAT, and WHY

Missing strong action verbs: Action verbs need to be used at the beginning of each bullet. Check out the Harvard action verb list as a starting point. Action verbs are needed because they are the first words recruiters skim on your experiences and they need to rope in the reader

Missing IMPACT: Arguably the most crucial problem that people miss on their resumes, is not writing about the specific IMPACT. Your impact for each bullet and experience needs to be called out, and ideally quantitatively. Recruiters care about your impact beucase it is easiest to quantify and compare against others

Lacks specific correlation to the prospective job: Even if your experiences are vastly different from the job you are applying to, you need to bridge those experiences to the new job through interweaving keywords that the new job uses in their job descriptions. This tactic is often forgotten, which leads the reviewers to have trouble making that bridge

Too much whitespace: Resumes are designed to be very short (usually 1 page), therefore any white space should be capitalized on. The mistake most people make is that they do not utilize the full second line of a bullet point if they are using it.

• If you have words in the second line, you should do your best to capitalize on any wasted space a hanging word or two creates

Having a bio and headshot on your resume: A picture and executive summary provides little value to your resume. A resume needs to demonstrate your specific value and show why you are right for the job. A summary and headshot are often a waste of space

Using colors on your resume: Using different colors & designs on your resume can make the resume hard to read. I recommend sticking to using black and easy-to-read fonts

Now that we've covered foundational resume skills and common issues, let's get into resume tips that will make sure your resume stands out.

Detailed resume tips

Highlight impact: In each bullet highlight your impact (ideally quantitatively if able), what you specifically did (do not leave it vague), and how you did it / what tools were used

Match experiences to the prospective job description (customize your resume): Match your bullet points and verbiage to the job descriptions of the positions you are applying for

• For example: If you are applying for a product marketing role in big-tech, go through dozens of job descriptions for big-tech product marketing roles and cross reference which qualifications, verbs, and words are used the most and interweave them into your own experiences to ensure you cross off as many qualifications as you can).

• Customizing your resume to the job description makes it clear that your current experiences are aligned with the job you are applying to. Even if you feel your current experiences are very different from the job you are applying for, this is a worthwhile exercise to start to understand and bridge the gaps in your application

Specify: Each bullet point needs to be super specific, it needs to be clear that no one else could have had that exact experience but you because of your specificity (e.g., if you change the name on your resume to someone else's, it wouldn't make any sense). This is where many people have bullets that are too vague

Tell a story: A resume should tell the story of how your previous experiences have been built to ensure you excel in the job you are applying to. Your varied experiences should tell different pieces of the story of how you check off all the pertinent skills for the job you are applying to

Follow Google XYZ Formula: A great resume bullet template to follow is the Google XYZ formula that is described as "Accomplished [X] as measured by [Y], by doing [Z] - this highlights focusing on accomplishments and results rather than only what you did

Let's go through an example:

Bad example: Conducted analysis and supported customer engagement team

1) Does not talk about IMPACT

2) Does not specify what type of analysis or type of support you provided (the WHAT)

3) Does not talk about the tools used (the HOW)

Here is a better example of the same information:

Good example: Increased customer workflow efficiency by 10% through conducting 10+ customer interviews and creating/recommending 5+ updated operating workflows through using x software

1) The IMPACT - increased customer workflow efficiency by 10%

2) The WHAT - conducting 10+ customer interviews and creating/recommending 5+ updated operating workflows

3) The HOW - through using x software

Let's take it one step further - now that we understand how to create an amazing resume, we can dig into an annotated copy of my resume to show more examples of strong bullet points and framing

Annotated Resume

I've outlined my own resume below, calling out the key action verbs, impact statements and quantitative elements that should be included in a strong resume

I asked 50+ professionals in HR, tech, consulting, etc. for their top resume tips

They shared amazing tips and I wanted to reiterate the most popular below!

• Quantitative IMPACT needs to be called out

• Use strong actions verbs

• Customize your resume to the job descriptions

• Read your resume out loud

• Write down all your experiences before crafting your resume

• Ensure your resume is easily digestible with simple words if possible

• Write a fun fact at the bottom of your resume, leading to fun conversation topics (3+ interviews pointed out the fun fact as a conversation starter)

• At a quick glance (5-10 seconds), your resume should be able to bring forward your value and skills

• Ensure that you can tell a story about each of your resume bullets

Next steps to improve your resume

Create a running resume: write down all of your experiences as they are happening on one ongoing document.

• This helps me keep fresh with my experiences and when the time comes to translate it into my final resume, it is still fresh and easy to write

• Start with writing down all of your relevant experiences, and slowly filter down information and detail to improve the verbiage

Read your resume out loud: Reading your resume out loud helps ensure it reads smoothly and is easily digestible

Optimize your LinkedIn: Translate your resume experiences onto your LinkedIn profile (I'm coming out with a LinkedIn profile optimization article soon - stay tuned!)

Ready to act on what you learned?

That is amazing!

You're ready to build a killer resume and get the job interviews you've always wanted.

If you want help, reply to this email with "I'd love help with my resume" and I'll point you to resources to help.

Clickworthy Resources

• Blog: Wonsulting, an incredible career coach resource, created resources that will help you craft a strong resume and get your next job (Click here)

• Template: I created a resume template to ensure you get a job interview (Click here)

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I hope this article has been helpful!

If you enjoyed it, please forward this email to friends looking to improve their resume and get a job.

Hope to see you next week,

Abbhi