5 Common Steps to Level Up Your Resume

Landing your dream job is totally difficult. The path becomes harder every year. The more you wait, and do nothing. The more challenging it becomes.

The queue to get a single job is going massively insane. The average graduate will try to seek a job as soon as possible, even when they have not graduated yet. So, the job market has become more crowded than before.

Not to mention that there are plenty of companies with their recent layoff activity.

Some people who are just getting laid off are now becoming jobless, and also your new competitors for the same position. They also most likely have a better experience if we start from a fresh graduate level.

Updating your CV is one of the important moves to increase your chance of getting hired by a company who have open positions. The position that suits your skill range, with a better salary, better work environment, better career level, etc.

Use our Free ATS-friendly Resume Builder tool to simplify your resume creation process. No account creation required.

So, these are the 5 common steps to level up your resume:

1. Put your best work achievements first, followed by the most important stuff next

It's like selling a thing. You need to tell people what interesting points about you are. The purpose is to make them believe that hiring you is the best decision they have made since that moment.

These HR people have no idea who you are. You need to catch their attention and make them understand what you are capable of. It's even better if you can make them interested in your CV at first sight.

Tell them what you got, list all your best polished works

Put the best on the first row of your resume. It can be your great achievement, your best works, everything that makes the HR stop for a moment and read your most important points.

Once the recruiter is interested in reading that section, and it turns out that your ability is what they are looking for. Then, you will likely have a higher chance of continuing to the next phase than the other candidates because of that critical moment.

So, let's take a moment. Try to remember every best work you did before. List them all one by one and put them into your CV. Give more time to write it carefully. Good luck!

The 5-second untold rules

Imagine you are a recruiter and you have 5 seconds to scan a candidate's resume quickly, while you also need to repeat this for over a thousand applicants. Totally exhausted, right?

Remember that your resume is your best legendary weapon. It's your Excalibur, it's your whole presentation, it's your one single chance. Update it if it's too stale. Don't let others throw it away in seconds. Make it the best version you've ever had.

It's like giving a stranger a brochure on the street about what you're gonna sell to them. If it catches their attention and suits what they need. Then you are at the right time and in the right place.

2. Make it concise, remove unnecessary words

You need to carefully check the words you put into your CV. Don't make it too long by adding a lot of unnecessary words to it. Keep it short and simple. But also makes the HR understand it quickly after reading your CV.

How to write the best job resume? Write a short, important sentence, not your whole life story

Writing your best resume is not easy. It takes time and some consideration to decide what to put and what not to. It's like optimizing your favorite video game character. You will put everything in the best to make it survive.

Same as your resume. You need to write it carefully and put effort into it.

You don't need to write your whole story in your CV or resume. It's unnecessary. It also wastes a lot of your precious time. All you need to do is write short and important sentences for them to read and scan.

"What if I have much important stuff to write?" If you are confident with it, why not? Go for it. It's your CV anyway. You are the one who knows best about it. You are the chef, you are the captain.

Use a tool like Clarity Writing Editor to see how your resume looks and get to know the pain points better.

The recruiter is not your friend – write effectively

You might ask why? But the answer is clear. All of the people from the human resources department are NOT your friends. They are total strangers.

They are just human beings with the responsibility to check whether you are the best fit for the current company's open positions or not. Based on your resume.

It's totally different from talking or chatting with your friends.

Your friends will correct your mistake. They are not and will move to the next candidates.
Your friends will tell your weaknesses and give advice. They are not and will move to the next candidates.
Your friends will read your bad writing. They are not and will move to the next candidates.
Your friends will help you estimate your loss. They are not and will move to the next candidates.
Etc.

So, you'd better prepare your CV as best as you can. Because if you're not doing it. You will get it skipped by the recruiter in seconds.

3. Use an ATS-friendly resume

What is ATS? In terms of job applications or the human resources hiring area, ATS means Applicant Tracking System. A software that companies use to scan and filter the data from your resume automatically. Once you upload your CV, it will prefill all your information into their job applicant forms.

It's really important and can save you a lot of time. Here is why:

The benefit of using an ATS-friendly resume

You don't need to fill out all the information forms when you apply to an ATS-friendly supported job portal.

Once you have uploaded your resume. The robot will be taking care of it by scanning your document and putting the results on its website automatically. What you need to do next is maybe modify the cover letter to keep it relevant for each site.

What are the important points and the best practices to create a good ATS-friendly resume?

Use a single-column layout: Avoid using multiple columns, tables, or text boxes. The ATS software might not recognize it.
Use easy-to-read fonts: Like sans serif (Arial, Inter, Calibri, etc) or serif (Times New Roman, Lora, etc) fonts. Avoid using script, handwritten, or decorative fonts.
Use traditional heading sections: The ATS software is programmed to find these specific titles:
- Good examples: "Work Experience", "Education", "Skills", etc.
- Bad examples: "Where I've Been", "My Super Powers", "My Giga Learning Journey", etc.
Use a standard bulleted list: Like - or *. Avoid using creative symbols, arrows, emojis, checkmarks, etc.
Contact info: Put all of your important information at the very top of your CV. Like your full name, phone number, email address, and website or LinkedIn URL.

Make sure all of them are working. Means if the recruiter is sending you a message or makes a visit, they can access it..

Things to avoid on your resume

Images: Don't add any photos, profile picture, logos, design portfolio images, etc.
Tables: Don't include any tables or columns at all. Keep everything flowing naturally. Like how you used to write a letter on a piece of paper.
Headers or footers: Most ATS-friendly software usually skips these sections. Don't add it.
Uncommon file types: Using the standard file formats like .pdf or .docx is the best common practice to deliver or upload your CV contents. Don't save it as .jpg, png, or even .exe.

4. Short but to the point cover letter

Imagine you meet Gary Vee somewhere on the street or public area. He said that he got an open position at that moment. By luck, that position is what you are really good at, and you have godlike skills in it.

He said he only has a minute to listen to your pitch on why he should hire you. What would you say in that moment? Think about words that aren't just promising but also show your great potential right away.

Don't worry, I will probably also have no idea what I am gonna do at that moment, haha.

So, let's get back to the cover letter topic. It's totally different from the scenario above. You have plenty of time to craft your best cover letter ever. No rush, take your time.

Keep it simple, don't overdo

Aim between 250-400 words for the best practice. It's enough to explain your skills or any fun facts that you think can enhance your chances.

You can use this recipe to write your cover letter:

Introduction.
Tell your best work/achievement.
Why they should hire you/call to action (CTA).

Include the referral name on your cover letter (optional)

This is the magic moment. Your primary mantra. That will attract the most attention from the recruiter. It's like your exclusive ticket pass to enter the company territory without having to do anything in advance.

I know most people don't have this privilege, that's why I add the optional label to it.

If you ever have a referral or an insider person from the company. Please use that wisely. It will not just boost your profile. It is also somehow your golden ticket to the chocolate factory. Means you will most likely be accepted to work for that company. Congratulations.

5. Avoid using AI to generate your whole resume content

Don't let AI write all of your resume content blindly. I personally will not recommend that way. It's like you will save a lot of time by prompting it. but also makes your CV have so little personal touch from you. The one who knows best for yourself.

If you are not completely aware of how the artificial intelligence (AI), or known as large language models (LLM) works. You need to read more about it.

Basically, an AI/LLM gathers everything from the internet sources. Then saves them in its database. They also save the contents from other AI models, too. It's like a party for thieves with a legal green card to steal each other's contents.

So, imagine if your most precious weapon is crafted from stolen lame materials, which also come from other stolen sources. We call it an AI slop.

If you want AI to be part of your resume creation process. Make sure it is only for some simple tasks. Like checking for any typos, correcting grammar mistakes, or ensuring word clarity.

Again, do your own research (DYOR). So, you won't get any bad consequences for it.

Bonus: Getting paid biweekly instead of monthly cycles guide

Don't worry if you ever get paid in a biweekly cycle. We wrote an article that explains how the biweekly system works. We also have tools to make your confusion go away in seconds.

Visit the Biweekly Pay Date Calculator to get to know when your salary is getting paid, and visit the Biweekly Paycheck Calculator to see how much you will receive in every paycheck. All of them are free and ready to use in offline mode too.

Good luck with finding your dream job journey. Hope you get that sooner. Have a nice day, thanks!