30 seconds. That’s all the time you have to capture attention, make a good impression, AND convince a hiring manager to take a second look at your skills and experience. Get it right and you’ll instantly stand out from the crowd. Get it wrong and you can kiss that job goodbye.

So how do you create a resume that works?

While there are many resume “how to” guides out there, few (if any) tell the real story. Our guide is different because it was created from real world experience in technical and executive recruiting. The advice you’re about to read is based on our work with hundreds of hiring managers as well as insight gained from reviewing thousands of resumes over the past 15 years.

Simply put, this guide will show you how to stand out from the crowd.

Rule #1 – You MUST Convey Expertise.

The single most important message your resume must convey is not your job objective. It’s not your hobbies, interests or your education. And it’s not even your past work experience.

The most important thing your resume MUST convey is expertise. Companies do not look for diversity in a candidate. They look for specialized expertise.

Here’s an example. A manager was looking for a digital board designer and had 15 resumes on his desk. Five of them were engineers with experience in digital board and front-end ASIC design; five of them were engineers with experience in digital board and embedded software design; and five resumes were engineers with just strictly digital board design experience. Who will the manager call for an interview?

Without a doubt, the manager will call the five engineers with just strictly digital board design experience. Why? Because their skills best fit his needs. The others won’t get a second look.

Rule #2: Match Your Resume to the SPECIFIC Job

One size does not fit all when it comes to your resume. If you’re serious about getting hired, the single most important thing you should do is modify your resume to fit each unique job opportunity. It may sound like overkill, but with only 30 seconds of airtime, your resume has to immediately address the specific expertise that each employer seeks.

Any other experience that is not related to the position should be deleted from your resume (or minimized to avoid creating gaps in employment). This additional experience can be used during the phone screen or interview to help differentiate you from other candidates.

Rule #3: Size Does Not Matter (But FORMAT Does)

You may have read that your resume should be no longer than one page. That is simply not true. Do not worry about the length of your resume. Focus on conveying information that shows why you’re the top expert for the job. If you stay focused and omit extraneous information, your resume length will work out just fine.

At the same time, do concern yourself with the format of your resume. You’re designing your resume for both humans and computers. You therefore need to have more than one version of the finished document.

The first version should be a well-structured text document that is formatted only using capital letters, asterisks or other simple bullets. The text version of your resume is essential for automated resume processing software.

Ideally, you will also have a well-formatted Word and PDF version of your resume. While the content of this version will be identical to the text version, you can use the tools in your word processor to make this version more visually appealing and easy to scan.

Rule #4: Add STRUCTURE to Your Resume.

Structure adds clarity and organization to your resume. A well-structured resume should include these four key elements: Summary, Education, Skills, and Work Experience. (Other qualifications, such as references, are optional.)

Here’s how to structure your experience:

• Present a chronological outline of your past employers, responsibilities, and accomplishments, starting with your current (or most recent) position.


• Include job titles that relate to the role, and then write two to three sentences that explain your responsibilities in this role. The person reading your resume won’t care what your company’s official titles were. For example, while you may have been a “Member of Technical Staff,” you’ll be better served to include a title such as Lead Digital Board Designer; Sr. Embedded Software Engineer; or ASIC Front-end Engineer. As you write, stay focused. The hiring manager only needs to understand your responsibilities for this title.


• Next, list the projects that you developed that relate to each position. Again, if you are applying for a digital board design role, then list the digital boards that you designed. Under each project, provide two to three sentences explaining what you developed in the project using the buzzwords from your Skills section. Only include projects that you directly developed or managed. Be as specific as possible.


• As you outline your job titles and projects, be sure to show a growth path of responsibility. Even if you worked for the same company for 25 years, the hiring manager wants to see that you progressed in your career through promotions and increased responsibility.

Being detailed and thorough in developing your Professional Experience section will not only help your resume stand out, it will help you prepare for the employer’s phone screen and interview process. By developing a list of your specific skills, experience, responsibilities, expertise and accomplishments—as they relate to the position you’re applying for—you’ll be ready to answer any question about why you’re qualified for the job.