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Thousands of employees are being laid off every month. Within the tech industry alone, July saw 150 roles cut from Atlassian in customer service and support; about 14% of ScaleAI's workforce reduced; and 2,400 from Intel, plus another 1,300 from Indeed and Glassdoor.
August saw hundreds more employees laid off. And that's just talking about tech. We haven't even begun to consider other industries experiencing the severe impact of layoffs as well.
It's an overwhelming and uncertain time in such a ruthless job market right now.
And if you're facing a layoff, worried that you might be next, or have already had your role eliminated, you're likely panicking.
One of the first questions that I hear from professionals either facing or going through a layoff is, "How do I rewrite my resume?" "I haven't had to write one or apply for a job in years; what should I do and where should I start?"
That's a valid fear right now, because the job market is constantly evolving. How resumes were written the last time you applied and interviewed for your role, five, 10, 15, or even 20 years ago, is not the way they're expected to be done now.
The job market has dramatically shifted. Standards have changed. New technology is being used within recruitment. AI is being integrated into hiring processes from both the recruiter's side as well as the job candidate's side.
There are so many things to consider. It can truly seem overwhelming.
To help eliminate some of that panic, this article aims to be a comprehensive crash-course-style guide on how to write your resume--likely your first resume in years. So you'll have one less thing to worry about. By the end of this article, most of your questions about how to write and format your resume to get hired quickly will be answered.
Before you think about what to include in your resume, it's very important to understand this first:
Your resume (alongside your LinkedIn profile) is your number one career and personal brand asset. This is the two-page document that you'll use to sell yourself effectively and showcase just how much of an expert you are in your field.
Think of your resume as a window into your work life. It's not going to capture everything, so it doesn't need to be extremely detailed and lengthy. It simply needs to be a snapshot.
For example, if you're writing or creating an advert for a product or service, you wouldn't necessarily list every single specification in the advert. The whole purpose of the advert is to include just enough core details to attract the right people to want to know more and eventually to purchase.
It's the same idea with your resume.
Your resume should include the highlights of your work experience, skills, and relevant education. It should not feature your entire life story. And by "highlights," I mean:
You should also bear in mind that when you're writing a resume, you have to fully optimize it for ATS.
ATS means Applicant Tracking Systems, and it's simply an AI-powered software that's used by recruiters and talent acquisition teams to make it easier for them to sift through the hundreds of applications they receive for each vacancy every day.
If your resume isn't optimized, you could end up in the rejected pile, even if you 're a perfect match for the role, because after all, the software doesn't know that. So you have to ensure that you include all the necessary information and keywords and format your resume in a way that is easily accessible and readable to the ATS. This boosts your chances of getting interviewed.
Another resume best practice you should bear in mind is that you need to tailor it to every job you apply for, even if both job titles are the same or similar. This is because each vacancy will have its own person specification and unique requirements, and if your resume isn't tailored to it, you'll be overlooked, even if you fulfill every requirement to the letter. Tailoring your resume can boost your chances of being interviewed and hired by as much as 115%.
Now, every resume will look a little different, but there are some standard sections that must be included, regardless of the industry or sector you're applying for.
- Contact Information
- Professional Summary/Objective
- Work Experience
- Education
- Skills
And that's literally it. You don't need to include a section for references; the recruiter will ask for them at the point when it's needed.
"Hobbies and interests" is an optional section, but not needed. Only include an interests section where it makes sense and helps you to stand out and build rapport with the hiring manager.
For example, when I've reviewed resumes for job seekers, most people say "eating out, spending time with family and friends, going to the movies," etc. and this makes your resume look mehh and boring, so it’s better to take it out.
However, if you’re applying for a role as a software engineer, for example, and you teach coding classes to children on the side, you could include that as one of your interests.
This is unique, but also relevant to your role.
Something extraordinary like running a marathon or owning a pop-up bakery might also be included if you know that this would resonate with the hiring manager who might share similar interests. This helps you build rapport.
There are different types of resumes for different sectors, and the sections above may be adjusted to suit the purpose.
Some resume formats include federal resumes, academic resumes, acting/arts resumes, and your typical standard resume used for most professions and industries. Each industry and sector will have its own criteria. Academic resumes tend to be longer. Federal resumes also used to be quite lengthy until recently when now a maximum of two pages is the accepted standard.
You’ll need to research the criteria based on the sector you work in and are applying for. But for most people, they’d fall into the typical standard resume format.
Depending on the stage you’re at in your career, there are three specific resume formats you could choose from:
- The chronological resume focuses on work history in reverse order (most recent first) and is widely accepted across industries.
- The functional resume emphasizes skills over experience; however, it should only be used sparingly as hiring managers often view it suspiciously.
- The combination resume merges both formats by highlighting relevant skills while providing chronological work history—this option works well for those with diverse backgrounds.
The functional resume, where the emphasis is on skills over experience, should only be used in rare circumstances as hiring managers tend to frown on this format as it looks as though you have something to hide. It would only be used, for example, if you're making a career pivot, have had a major gap in employment, or are a fresh uni graduate.
How many pages long is the perfect resume size? As a rule of thumb, a maximum of two pages is all you need. Find ways to condense your experience into this length by:
- Using bullet points instead of paragraphs
- Focusing on achievements rather than duties
- Eliminating irrelevant information
- Choosing concise language
Yes, but with caution. Never rely on a resume builder or AI tool to do all the heavy lifting for you. After all, it will only pull from what it knows from the prompts you give it. And since it doesn't know your experiences in work and outside of work, it can't sell you for you. Only you can do that.
So you'll need to provide the AI tool with as much detailed info as possible and provide it with very clear and definite parameters to avoid ambiguity, unnecessary repetition, or cliched, over-used phrases.
You also need to review the final output and not use ChatGPT as your final draft because there will likely be areas that you need to tweak and tailor to the job you're applying for; sense-check to ensure there are no false or misleading claims; grammar-check; perform other tweaks to make the resume reflect your voice.
Industries change so rapidly and the world of work is evolving so fast that it's not necessary to go all the way back to your first job in 1993.
Additionally, detailing your work experience back to pre-2000 could expose you to unnecessary age discrimination. So, here's what you should generally do instead:
- Focus on relevant experience from the last 10-15 years
- Highlight accomplishments rather than just responsibilities
- Use modern formatting techniques (e.g., clean layout) for better readability
If you need some guidance to create a resume that really "wows," here are some resume builders you could try:
But bear in mind, these are AI tools, and as such, don't forget that what determines your success is not the resume builder itself, but how you decide to use and tailor it.
You can also ask a professional career coach or resume writer (ideally one who already has a background in your preferred role/industry or has had outstanding results creating resumes for professionals in your position) to help you if you don't feel confident right now.
Ensure you check their reviews and any previous work samples so that you don't end up being the next horror story and wasting your money on empty promises or lack of professionalism.
There you have it! If you've made it to the end of this article, you've just learned, in a condensed, crash-course-style format, how to compose a resume that will stand out, bypass ATS, and get you hired again. You won't be laid off and unemployed for long.
You've got this.