Section 10: Your Resume
As mentioned previously, the goal of your resume is to secure that initial recruiter call.
By understanding the various sections and best practices, you’ll be in the best position possible to capture the recruiter’s interest.
In this module, we’ll break down your resume into the different sections. Examples and best practices will be provided for each section. As a reminder, it’s important to understand WHY best practices are incorporated.
Visually, your resume is part art, part science. You want to include key information while also making it appealing to read.
Proper whitespace, formatting, color, and overall design are essential. We removed the guesswork with a downloadable resume template you can find below.
Let’s start with an overview of the different resume sections. As we discuss each section, you’ll find a light teal box with an example of each section.
Don’t want to start from scratch? Download our resume template to get a headstart!
You can also download an example of a fully completed resume here.
Header
The header section lists key contact information such as your name, phone number, email address, city and state, and LinkedIn profile URL. There is no need to include your street address (ex. 111 Main Street), which is an outdated practice.
John Smith
email@gmail.com | (123) 456-7890 | Los Angeles, CA | www.linkedin.com/in/mylinkedinpage
Summary
Your summary includes 2-3 sentences or bullet points highlighting why you are the best candidate. These typically focus on key qualifications listed in the job posting, such as years of experience, industry/role experience, and required skills.
This is a great place in include keywords, allowing the recruiter to quickly connect your experience with the job. To top it off, you can also include 1-2 bolded descriptors to accentuate key differentiators you possess.
Since your summary is likely the first thing the recruiter will read, make it inviting from a visual sense. It should be easy for the recruiter scan. Nothing is more deterring than a 10-line summary formatted in a single paragraph. As a goal, aim for a summary with a max of 3-4 lines of text.
Project Manager | Top Secret Clearance (TS/SCI with Poly)
PMP-certified Project Manager with 8 years of experience delivering complex multi-national projects. Specializes in Agile methodologies and risk management practices to enhance cross-functional team alignment and reduce organizational risk.
Career Highlights (optional)
Adding 2-3 key highlights of your career is a great way to ensure the recruiter sees them upfront. This is especially true if relevant accomplishments would otherwise be buried deeper in your experience section.
Each example below starts with a bolded skill. This makes it easy for the recruiter to notice and connects supporting evidence of how you demonstrated the skill.
Project Management: Reduced annual expenses by $120k while leading a 6-month project to launch a new inventory management system, delivering the project 15% ahead of schedule.
Leadership: Increased performance across 7 teams by 21% in 9 months. Led development and implementation efforts to introduce a performance incentive program for 300 employees.
Problem Solving: Delivered $35M in equipment within schedule across 3 sites in Asia by partnering with 5 international vendor teams.
In the next section, we’ll cover with the remaining resume components including professional experience, education, and key skills.