1. 5 Things People Reading Your Resume
Wish You Knew
http://www.forbes.com/sites/dailymuse/2014/10/31/5-things-people-reading-your-resume-
wish-you-knew/
Resumes are very personal documents. In fact, whenever I’m reviewing a resume, I always
ask permission before I mark it up. Who am I to edit your life’s work?
That said, I can almost guarantee you that the way your career counselor handles your resume
is not the way it will be handled once you submit your job applications. After speaking with
many, many recruiters, here are some hard truths I’ve learned.
1. If your relevant experience, education, or skills are hard to find at a glance, your
resume might as well be blank.
It’s understandable to want to make your resume stand out a bit from the typical resume, but
getting creative in InDesign isn’t the way to do it. As the head of Google’s HR states,
“Unless you’re applying for a job such as a designer or artist, your focus should be on making
your resume clean and legible.”
In other words, no funky formats. You’re far better off spending your time trying to
maximize the top half of your resume. This could mean writing a resume summary with your
most relevant qualifications or maybe pulling all your most relevant experiences into a
separate section at the top of your resume and relegating the rest into an “Additional
Experiences” section. As long as you’re trying to maximize traditional resume formatting
rather than do something entirely different, you should be safe.
2. If it’s not immediately clear from your experience why you’re applying, no one will
connect the dots for you.
Whether you’re a career changer or just applying for a reach position, if a recruiter’s initial
reaction to your resume is confusion, you’re not going to get very far.
So, make sure you connect the dots for the reader. It’s likely that you have an idea of how
your skills can be transferred or why you’re more skilled than your years of experience might
let on. But, unless you spell it out on your resume, the recruiter probably won’t be able to put
the pieces together—and you’ll never have the chance to explain in person.
One way to solve it? Using a simple objective statement. While you should definitely not use
an objective statement if you’re applying for a position that makes perfect sense—or if it’s a
clichéd “I’d like to use my skills at an innovative, fast-growing organization”—if your
background is a little unusual for the job you’re targeting, a brief explanation might just be
what gets you to the interview.
3. If your resume is difficult to skim, it probably won’t be read at all.

2. There’s some debate over how much time a recruiter will spend looking over a resume, but
everyone agrees that it’s less than 20 seconds. What does that mean for job seekers? It means
your resume needs to be as easy to read—really, skim—as possible.
Read: Don’t make your font so small that it’s barely legible. It doesn’t matter how much
more you’re able to fit on your one-pager if no one is reading it. And don’t let your bullet
points drag on to that third line. Two is all you get and, more likely than not, one is all that
will get read.
4. If you expect to get your resume in front of a hiring manger, you need to first make
sure you get through HR.
That means making sure a layperson can understand what you’re talking about in your
resume. It doesn’t matter if you’re managing complicated supply chains, coding complex
algorithms, or conducting cutting-edge research on nanolasers—none of your impressive
feats will reach the appropriate hiring manager if you can’t at least explain it in a way that a
nontechnical human resources representative can understand well enough to put you in the
right pile.
This means cutting the jargon, giving proper context, and focusing on results. Use the job
posting to your advantage here—find the keywords and present your work the same way they
do. I know, jargon can be pretty fun to use and starts to get instinctive when you’re around it
for long enough, but step outside of your industry bubble for a bit and try to approach your
resume as an industry outsider. The easier you make things for HR, the more smoothly your
application process will go.
5. If your contact info isn’t correct, nothing else matters.
Finally, don’t be that person who has everything a recruiter is looking for but is just
impossible to contact. Check, double check, and test your contact information. Typos are
always bad, but a typo in your contact information is probably as bad as it gets. It’s a really
crummy feeling to notice an incorrect email address a couple months into your job search.
Don’t let that be you.
RELATED: The Only Piece Of Resume Advice That Really Matters
Did I miss anything? What are some hard truths you’ve learned about resumes?
This post was originally published on The Daily Muse.
Lily Zhang serves as a Career Development Specialist at MIT. Follow her musings on Twitter
@lzhng.
The Resume Summary Statement: When
You Need One and How to Do It
By LilyZhang,August19, 2014

3. It’s been well established that the good ol’ objective statement has gone out of fashion in the
world of resumes. But what’s all this about its replacement—the summary statement?
Depending on who you ask and how you’re using it, summary statements can either be a
complete waste of space or a total game changer. For those of you who don’t know, a
summary statement (also known as “Summary of Qualifications” or just “Competencies”)
essentially consists of a few pithy and strong statements at the beginning of your resume that
help summarize your skills and experience in order for a prospective employer to quickly get
a sense of the value you could offer. Here’s a sample:
Summary
 Expertcommunicatorwith10+ yearsof experiencededicatedtocommunitydevelopment
and advocacywithinthe fieldof education
 Strongpublicspeaking,teaching,andfacilitatingskillsfordiverse student,professional,and
general audiences
 Extensive involvementinall levelsof relationshipbuilding,marketing,andprogram
development
 Provenabilitytomanage multiple projectswhile meetingchallengingdeadlines
Sounds great, right? Minus the part where you have to give up valuable resume space for
information that’s already on your resume. So, the big question is: Do you really need one?
The short answer is, it depends. Summary statements are usually best for more experienced
professionals with years of experiences to tie together with a common theme (read: brand).
Or, alternatively, they can be used to tie together disparate experiences with a set of key
transferable skills. On the other hand, if you have a pretty linear or straightforward career
path, the space is probably better used for additional bullet points in each role.
If you do decide that a summary statement is right for you, get ready to do some digging and
some introspection. You only have a limited amount of space for your summary statement
(think four to six bullets, give or take a couple), and you don’t want to a) regurgitate your
resume bullets or b) sound like a list of buzzwords.
Once you have these two cardinal rules down, the real fun begins. Here’s a three-step plan to
help you craft the perfect summary.
Step 1: Figure Out Where You’re Going
Since you need to be concise, it’s important to figure out what you want in your next
position, so you know exactly what skills and experiences to highlight. If you are not
absolutely clear about what you want, envision an ideal position that will value you for the
main characteristics and experiences you want to be hired for.
AskYourself
 What skillsdoyoumostenjoyusing?
 What accomplishmentsare youmostproudof and can bestillustrate yourabilities?

4.  What issues,topics,orareasare youmost passionate about?
Step 2: Analyze Your Target Industry
Once you know what you want to do, your next step is identifying where you want to be—
think industry, city, and companies. Then, research your industry and key trends affecting it
now: Read relevant industry news articles, research companies, and analyze job descriptions
you’re interested in.
AskYourself
 What ismost valuedinyourtargetindustry?
 What experiences,skills,andcharacteristicsmatterinyourtargetjobs?
 What wouldyoulookforif you were the hiringmanager?
Step 3: Find Your Fit and Condense
With your knowledge of your target industry, it’s time to figure out how you fit in (or want
to). Identify, describe, and refine your key selling points with your end goal in mind. Then,
craft them into 4-6 bullets, shooting for statements that are vivid and that clearly illustrate
what you bring to the table over anyone else.
AskYourself
 What are yourmost impactful sellingpoints?
 What critical problemsare youwell positionedtosolve?
 What isthe intersectionof youwantand whatyour targetindustryneeds?
A summary statement can be a powerful branding tool the helps send the message that you’re
the right one for the job. The best thing about taking the time to put one together (whether
you decide to actually use it or not) is that it not only helps hiring managers get a clear sense
of what you have to offer, but also helps you better understand what you bring to the table.
So, you get the added benefit of knowing exactly how to sell your skills the next time you’re
networking, interviewing, or presenting yourself online.
Final Cut: Words to Strike from Your
Resume
By ElizabethLowman,October19,2011

5. If you’ve applied for a job recently, you’ve probably looked over that 8½ x 11” summary of
your career more times than you can count—and tweaked it just as often—in pursuit of the
perfect resume.
But before you add another bullet point, consider this: It’s not always about what you add
in—the best changes you can make may lie in what you take out.
The average resume is chock-full of sorely outdated, essentially meaningless phrases that
take up valuable space on the page. Eliminate them, and you’ll come off as a better, more
substantial candidate—and your resume won’t smack of that same generic, mind-numbing
quality found on everyone else’s.
Every word—yes, every word—on that page should be working hard to highlight your talents
and skills. If it’s not, it shouldn’t be on there. So grab a red pen, and banish these words from
your resume for good.
Career Objective
My first few resumes had a statement like this emblazoned top and center: “Career objective:
To obtain a position as a [insert job title here] that leverages my skills and experience as well
as provides a challenging environment that promotes growth.”
Yawn. This is not only boring, it’s ineffective (and sounds a little juvenile, to boot). The top
of your resume is prime real estate, and it needs to grab a hiring manager’s attention with a
list of your top accomplishments, not a summary of what you hope to get out of your next
position.
Experienced
You can be “experienced” in something after you’ve done it once—or every day for the past
10 years. So drop this nebulous term and be specific. If, for example, you’re a Client Report
Specialist, using a phrase such as “Experienced in developing client reports” is both vague
and redundant. But sharing that you “Created five customized weekly reports to analyze
repeat client sales activity”—now that gives the reader a better idea of where exactly this so-
called experience lies, with some actual results attached.
Also eliminate: seasoned, well-versed
Team Player
If you’ve ever created an online dating profile, you know that you don’t just say that you’re
nice and funny—you craft a fun, witty profile that shows it. Same goes for your resume: It’s
much more effective to list activities or accomplishments that portray your good qualities in
action than to simply claim to have them.

6. Instead of “team player,” say “Led project team of 10 to develop a new system for
distributing reports that reduced the time for managers to receive reports by 25%.” Using a
specific example, you show what you can actually accomplish. But simply labeling yourself
with a quality? Not so much.
Also eliminate: people person, customer-focused
Dynamic
While resumes are meant to highlight your best attributes, some personality traits are better
left to the hiring manager to decide upon for herself. There is a difference between
appropriately and accurately describing your work skills and just tooting your own horn.
Plus, even the most introverted wallflower will claim to be “dynamic” on a piece of paper
because, well, why not? When it comes to resumes, keep the content quantifiable, show
tangible results and successes, and wait until the interview to show off your “dynamism,”
“enthusiasm,” or “energy.”
Also eliminate: energetic, enthusiastic
References Available Upon Request
All this phrase really does is take up valuable space. If a company wants to hire you, they will
ask you for references—and they will assume that you have them. There’s no need to address
the obvious (and doing so might even make you look a little presumptuous!). Use the space to
give more details about your talents and accomplishments instead.
In a crummy job market with a record number of people applying for the same positions, it
takes more than a list of desirable-sounding qualities to warrant an interview. Specific
examples pack a punch, whereas anything too dependent on a list of buzzwords will sound
just like everyone else’s cookie-cutter resume. So, give your resume a good once-over, and
make sure every word on that page is working hard for you
12 Tiny Changes That Make Your Resume
Easy for Recruiters to Skim
By LilyZhang,July25, 2014
There’s some debate about how many seconds a recruiter spends looking over a resume, but
we can all agree that it’s not a lot. With such limited time to get important information across,
anything you can do to make your resume easier to skim could mean the difference between
the forward or toss piles.
So, after you’ve spent some time perfecting the content of those sections and bullet points,
it’s time to make sure they’re as easy (and appealing!) to read as possible. Here are 12 little
formatting tricks you can use to help recruiters and hiring managers get the most from your
resume during their six to 18 second scan.

7. 1. Don’t Center Any of Your Text
Even your section headings should be aligned to the left. This improves readability because
the eye naturally returns to the left margin once it’s ready to move on to the next line of text.
2. Align Your Dates and Locations to the Right
You can only fit so much different information (company name, job title, location, dates of
employment) on one line of text before it gets unwieldy. To help separate out your
information, make a separate column for dates and locations that is right adjusted. On most
word processors, you should be able to just create a right-tab.
3. Don’t Justify Your Resume
Overall, using a justified setting for your bullets may make your resume look tidier, but it
does nothing for readability. This setting leaves uneven gaps between words that ultimately
make text harder to read, so for your bullets and resume overall, stick with regular ol’ left
alignment.
4. Keep Everything the Same Size Font
Aside from your name, which should be a little bigger, the font size throughout your resume
should be the same size to ensure readability. Rather than using font size for emphasis
throughout your resume, use bolding, italics, and all-caps—sparingly, of course.
5. Pick Either Your Roles or Your Companies to Bold
Bolding of select words and phrases helps with scanning, but you don’t want to go overboard.
So choose what to bold wisely, depending on the message you want to send. If your job titles
effectively illustrate your path to management-level roles, bolding those might make the most
sense. On the other hand, if you’re a new grad and most of your experiences are internships,
you might benefit more from emphasizing the companies on your resume.

8. 6. Use ALL-CAPS Very Sparingly
While it is an option for creating emphasis, all-caps is a lot harder to read and therefore
harder to skim than text that isn’t capitalized. Save your all-caps option for section headings
or your name.
7. Maximize the First 5 Words of Your Bullets
When skimming a resume, a recruiter is very likely going to be reading the first few words of
a bullet, then moving on to the next line unless his or her interest is piqued. This means those
first few words of your bullets are much more important than the rest. Make sure the first five
words of each line make the reader want to keep reading. (Need help? These power verbs will
make your resume awesome.)
8. Keep Bullets Under 2 Lines
Even if your first few words are the most interesting thing your recruiter has ever read, going
over two lines per bullet is pushing it a bit. Try to keep your bullets short and sweet. (And
yes, you should always use bullets, not paragraphs, to describe your experiences.)
9. Use Digits When Writing About Numbers
Using numbers in your bullet points quantifies results and helps recruiters better understand
the scope of your work. (Here’s how to do it well.) Make these numbers easy to read by using
digits (i.e., 30% versus thirty percent). It improves readability and—bonus—saves space.
10. Have a Separate “Skills” Section
Just to really drive the point home, piling up all your relevant skills into one section helps
ensure that the recruiter sees them. You should still highlight your skills in the context of
your work, but pulling them out into their own section doesn’t hurt.
11. Keep Your Formatting Consistent
People can get pretty creative when they’re trying to fit all their relevant work experience
into one page. That’s fine, but make sure that however you decide to do it, you keep your
formatting the same throughout the document. Consistency helps with skimming, and if the
recruiter wants to refer back to something, he or she will know where to look.

9. 12. Try to Have Some White Space Left Over
Lastly, having some breathing room on your resume also helps with skimming. Different
amounts of white space can signal to the reader that this is a different section or help
emphasize the importance of something, such as your name or skills. And overall, it just
makes the whole document less overwhelming.
Having your resume skimmed is a fact of life as you apply for jobs. So, make sure you
maximize the experience and make it as easy as possible for the recruiter to find the right
information—and send you along to the next step of the process.
185 Powerful Verbs That Will Make Your
Resume Awesome
By The DailyMuse Editor,January07, 2014
Led…
Handled…
Managed…
Responsible for…
Most resume bullet points start with the same words. Frankly, the same tired old words hiring
managers have heard over and over—to the point where they’ve lost a lot of their meaning
and don’t do much to show off your awesome accomplishments.
So, let’s get a little more creative, shall we? Next time you update your resume, switch up a
few of those common words and phrases with strong, compelling action verbs that will catch
hiring managers’ eyes.
No matter what duty or accomplishment you’re trying to show off, we’ve got just the verb for
you. Check out the list below, and get ready to make your resume way more exciting.
You Led a Project
If you were in charge of a project or initiative from start to finish, skip “led” and instead try:
1. Chaired

10. 2. Controlled
3. Coordinated
4. Executed
5. Headed
6. Operated
7. Orchestrated
8. Organized
9. Oversaw
10. Planned
11. Produced
12. Programmed
You Envisioned and Brought to Life a Project
And if you actually developed, created, or introduced that project into your company? Try:
13. Administered
14. Built
15. Charted
16. Created
17. Designed
18. Developed
19. Devised
20. Founded
21. Engineered
22. Established
23. Formalized
24. Formed

11. 25. Formulated
26. Implemented
27. Incorporated
28. Initiated
29. Instituted
30. Introduced
31. Launched
32. Pioneered
33. Spearheaded
You Saved the Company Time or Money
Hiring managers love candidates who’ve helped a team operate more efficiently or cost-
effectively. To show just how much you saved, try:
34. Conserved
35. Consolidated
36. Decreased
37. Deducted
38. Diagnosed
39. Lessened
40. Reconciled
41. Reduced
42. Yielded
You Increased Efficiency, Sales, Revenue, or Customer Satisfaction
Along similar lines, if you can show that your work boosted the company’s numbers in some
way, you’re bound to impress. In these cases, consider:
43. Accelerated
44. Achieved

12. 45. Advanced
46. Amplified
47. Boosted
48. Capitalized
49. Delivered
50. Enhanced
51. Expanded
52. Expedited
53. Furthered
54. Gained
55. Generated
56. Improved
57. Lifted
58. Maximized
59. Outpaced
60. Stimulated
61. Sustained
You Changed or Improved Something
So, you brought your department’s invoicing system out of the Stone Age and onto the
interwebs? Talk about the amazing changes you made at your office with these words:
62. Centralized
63. Clarified
64. Converted
65. Customized
66. Influenced

13. 67. Integrated
68. Merged
69. Modified
70. Overhauled
71. Redesigned
72. Refined
73. Refocused
74. Rehabilitated
75. Remodeled
76. Reorganized
77. Replaced
78. Restructured
79. Revamped
80. Revitalized
81. Simplified
82. Standardized
83. Streamlined
84. Strengthened
85. Updated
86. Upgraded
87. Transformed
You Managed a Team
Instead of reciting your management duties, like “Led a team…” or “Managed employees…”
show what an inspirational leader you were, with terms like:
88. Aligned

14. 89. Cultivated
90. Directed
91. Enabled
92. Facilitated
93. Fostered
94. Guided
95. Hired
96. Inspired
97. Mentored
98. Mobilized
99. Motivated
100. Recruited
101. Regulated
102. Shaped
103. Supervised
104. Taught
105. Trained
106. Unified
107. United
You Brought in Partners, Funding, or Resources
Were you “responsible for” a great new partner, sponsor, or source of funding? Try:
108. Acquired
109. Forged
110. Navigated

15. 111. Negotiated
112. Partnered
113. Secured
You Supported Customers
Because manning the phones or answering questions really means you’re advising customers
and meeting their needs, use:
114. Advised
115. Advocated
116. Arbitrated
117. Coached
118. Consulted
119. Educated
120. Fielded
121. Informed
122. Resolved
You Were a Research Machine
Did your job include research, analysis, or fact-finding? Mix up your verbiage with these
words:
123. Analyzed
124. Assembled
125. Assessed
126. Audited
127. Calculated
128. Discovered
129. Evaluated
130. Examined

16. 131. Explored
132. Forecasted
133. Identified
134. Interpreted
135. Investigated
136. Mapped
137. Measured
138. Qualified
139. Quantified
140. Surveyed
141. Tested
142. Tracked
You Wrote or Communicated
Was writing, speaking, lobbying, or otherwise communicating part of your gig? You can
explain just how compelling you were with words like:
143. Authored
144. Briefed
145. Campaigned
146. Co-authored
147. Composed
148. Conveyed
149. Convinced
150. Corresponded
151. Counseled
152. Critiqued

17. 153. Defined
154. Documented
155. Edited
156. Illustrated
157. Lobbied
158. Persuaded
159. Promoted
160. Publicized
161. Reviewed
You Oversaw or Regulated
Whether you enforced protocol or managed your department’s requests, describe what you
really did, better, with these words:
162. Authorized
163. Blocked
164. Delegated
165. Dispatched
166. Enforced
167. Ensured
168. Inspected
169. Itemized
170. Monitored
171. Screened
172. Scrutinized
173. Verified

18. You Achieved Something
Did you hit your goals? Win a coveted department award? Don’t forget to include that on
your resume, with words like:
174. Attained
175. Awarded
176. Completed
177. Demonstrated
178. Earned
179. Exceeded
180. Outperformed
181. Reached
182. Showcased
183. Succeeded
184. Surpassed
185. Targeted