How to build a simple, effective resume

Finding the right role can be hard, and when your resume is one amongst sometimes hundreds it can feel like an uphill battle from day one. There’s a lot that determines outcomes, amount of applications, types of applicants, internal capacity as to how many can progress to the interview stage to name a few. So against all of that - let’s go through some key ways you can make sure your resume is a contender for the ‘yes’ pile.

Limit personal information

Whether it’s deliberate or not, things like your age, gender, race and even a photo of you can add unnecessary and unintentional bias into decision making. The best way to ensure recruiters aren’t unintentionally excluding you (or intentionally!) is to sell them on what they need to know.  Your resume is a fact sheet, so keep it tight, easy to parse and as bias free as it can be - even things like your address don’t need to be included, state and city are plenty. The uniqueness that makes you who you are, and the more personal information about you will come later in the process

How long should a resume be?

Short is great, but you don’t need to lose sleep over it being more than one page. As long as each page paints a clear picture of who you are, the work you’ve done and what you’re bringing to the table. Aim for a max of 2 to 3 pages as a general rule.

Make sure to include month and year

Here’s the easy thing to forget about your resume - it’s where we first assess attention to detail. So if you list your work history with a year only, it immediately raises questions for recruiters - 2020 to 2021, could have been a full year or a one month stint. Neither of those are bad options, but a lack of clarity in your resume can raise some flags early on. Take the guesswork out, provide the details and you’ll see it pay off. Less questions from recruiters, and higher likelihood of ending up in the ‘yes’ pile.

But I can’t fit in everything!

Think about the value of each thing you’re sharing, and who you’re sharing it with. For example you may have worked on over 20 projects, but that quickly reads like a laundry list - pick 3 or 4 standout projects and highlight them, you can change this per submission if you’d like to highlight different things for different roles and companies.

Beware of the rambling achievements

Imagine you’re visiting a new friend at their house, the entryway to their home is lined with certificates and trophies. They spend the first 10 minutes in the hallway with you outlining each one. Awkward, right? It’s the same with resumes - highlight some recent or achievements you’re personally proud of - and keep it as a background fixture. You are the star of the show, not your trophy room. There’s also a danger of it reading as egotistical to kick your resume off with a page on achievements, use your words and space economically - show us the ones you feel matter most.

To note references or TBC?

This is entirely up to you - and there’s no wrong way to do it. If you have existing references who know you’re on the job hunt and are happy for you to use their details - listing them on your resume is fine - and can be a time saver when the time comes. However, it might be awkward to let your current employer know you’re looking to leave, and you may prefer to leave that until you’re at those final stages. Feel free to substitute or drop a line that notes “Referees upon request” or something similar.

Hiring managers love dot points

Maybe you’ve worn many hats at work, and it can be genuinely difficult to condense all your responsibilities, and before you know it you’re writing an essay about your role. Not only is that hard to engage with - recruiters and hiring managers go through multiple resumes a day - and long paragraphs over and over can get dry very fast. Save yourself from that fate and dot point, practice boiling down complex tasks to their necessary parts. It makes reading your resume a breeze, clearly displays great written skills and if it leaves recruiters wanting more - good.

Templates and Resources

  • Novoresume: A great free resource (with premium options available if that’s your jam) with many different templates, editable by experience level and the type of roles you’re looking for. An example is attached on the next page to give you an idea of one style of resume from Novoresume.

  • Resume.com: A great, no frills, right to the details source of free templates to use.

  • There’s plenty of great ready made templates already on Microsoft Word you can take advantage of too!

Example Resume

Frank has whipped up an example of what your resume could look like, with some helpful tips and guides in the image. Play around with it to make it your own and be creative, while also keeping in mind the tips above to help bring some structure to the party.