A well-articulated, well-designed resume is your first opportunity to make a lasting impression on potential employers and it plays a crucial role in determining whether you get noticed or passed over.
Studies suggest that a well-structured resume can improve callback rates by 60% or more compared to a generic, plain resume. Candidates who also highlight measurable achievements (e.g., "Increased efficiency by 30%" vs. "Responsible for efficiency improvements") tend to stand out more, as well.
Key elements of a great resume include achievement statements, a good amount of detail a summary of qualifications section and consistent formatting.
Why are Achievement Statements so Critical?
Achievement statements are critical because they go beyond listing job duties and focus on the specific results and impact you've made in previous roles. They demonstrate your ability to solve problems, improve processes and contribute to an organization’s success, which makes you stand out to potential employers.
Research shows that resumes with quantifiable/qualifiable achievements are more likely to catch the attention of hiring managers and recruiters. In contrast, listing job duties without context or outcomes makes it harder for employers to gauge your effectiveness or what you truly bring to the table. Note: you do not need achievements in every bullet point, but more than one should be the goal.
In the downloadable example, the achievement statements have been highlighted in green. Want your bullet points to sound like what is in the example?...use AI (e.g. Chatgpt)! Instruct the AI to generate an achievement statement based on what you have and adjust as needed to fit your actual information.
What is a Good Amount of Detail for you Experiences?
The typical number of bullet points on resumes is 3-5 for each position, design team, project etc. This range ensures that you provide enough detail about your achievements and responsibilities without overwhelming the reader.
With fewer points, it may be harder for hiring managers to get a clear understanding of your role, contributions and impact. It could also give the impression that you didn't have enough responsibility or were not as engaged in the position.
Stuck trying to go beyond three bullet points? Try thinking of tasks or experiences that maybe you did very infrequently. The littlest thing could make your entire experience appear to be more in-depth, more well-rounded and/or more expansive.
In addition, ideally you should include the specific coding or other tech skills you utilized in each position. This enables the hiring manager to truly see that you have real world experience with various skills you claim to have, further enabling the hiring manager to potentially select you for an interview over other students who have not been as explicit with outlining their abilities. Two ways to achieve this are:
1. Add this skills on the same line as the position title.
e.g. Software Developer Intern | Python, Java, C++
2. Add the skills as an additional and last bullet point in your list of bullet points.
e.g. • Tech Used: Python, Java, C++
Should You go with a 2-Page or a 1-Page Resume?
When designed with a clean, consistent layout and formatted for easy readability, your resume becomes a powerful tool that can quickly highlight your strengths and unique qualifications. The consensus from a number of employers from a recent Engineering Physics employer panel, as well as some who attended a recent EUS career fair was that going onto a second page is perfectly fine as long as you are just not adding “filler” to your resume.
So, if adding all of your great experiences, projects, etc., along with achievement statements to a number of bullet points throughout your resume, as well 3 – 5 bullets for your experiences takes you on to the 2nd page, then please do not stress. In such a competitive job market the worst thing that you can do is not express your experiences and technical abilities to the absolute fullest extent. (The downloadable example is 1-page, but this is only for demonstrative purposes).
Going Above and Beyond!
Are you hoping that your resume will beat out your competition? Do you want your resume to be the most effective that it can be with every job that you apply to? Are you worried that it may get screened out by an applicant tracking system because you feel that you just not that qualified? Adding a Summary of Qualifications can help address the above concerns. Also, career experts widely acknowledge its benefits in enhancing a resume's impact!
A Summary of Qualifications section can definitely increase the success of an application by:
- Concisely presenting skills, accomplishments, and experience that match the job description, making it easier for hiring managers to see alignment with the role.
- It allows applicants to frame their experience in a way that emphasizes their strengths, helping them stand out from other candidates with similar backgrounds.
- Instead of requiring hiring managers to sift through technical history that may not be related, the summary provides a quick snapshot of the candidate’s most important qualifications.
Using the same example resume above a Summary of Qualifications section has been added. This section is always so much more effective when it’s written in relation to a specific job description (yes, this does mean that this section would change with each new application). So, it can be assumed that this example was written for a job description that emphasized the following requirements: the student must have experience with coding, prototyping, robotics and must be an effective problem solver.
A few additional notes:
- If you are submitting a cover letter, then some/most of what you outline in your Summary of Qualifications should appear in your cover letter. The cover letter is your chance to go into greater detail and really demonstrate your experience with the points outlined in your Summary of Qualifications section.
- As you can see in the example, adding a Summary of Qualifications section has pushed some of the content on to the 2nd page. Again, according to a number hiring managers and recruiters, this is perfectly acceptable.
- What’s the difference between a Summary of Qualifications section and a Skills section? A Skills section is your opportunity to list everything you have experience with and learned, whereas a Summary of Qualifications section is going to only focus on key requirements in the job description.
Summary
With so much competition out there, do you want your resume to appear and read like everyone else’s or do you want to ensure that your resume makes you stand out? By focusing on including the above details in your resume you are essentially aiming to greatly increase your application success, thereby cutting down the number of jobs that you have to apply to! Please remember that employers are looking for top-performers…not average students! Showcasing that you are a top performer starts with effectively designing your resume in the best way possible to capture the hiring manager’s attention!