8 Tips for Writing a Winning Resume

Today, I'll share 8 crucial tips for making your resume better - and increasing the chances that it'll land you an interview.

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⏱ TIMESTAMPS:
01:52 - Optimizing the name/contact section
02:56 - Ordering your work experience
04:24 - How to properly write a job description
05:08 - wHaT iF i DoNt HaVe AnY eXpErIeNcE?!?!
07:12 - Where to put your education section
07:51 - Should you include your GPA on your resume?
09:01 - The skills section - do you need it?
10:36 - Extracurriculars and awards

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[Thomasfrank]

Bonus tip: I also like to keep a "master resume" for my own records. This is a longer document that lists EVERY job I've had, club I've been a part of, award I've won, etc. By keeping all of this in one place, you'll have a single document you can refer to for deciding which items should go on each tailored resume you submit for individual job openings. Plus, if you're ever interviewed or asked to write a personal statement or bio, it gives you something to reference.

[johnwisniewski]

I’m a professional recruiter and I completely concur with all of the tips. Great video!

[joeyb]

Man, I just edited my resume & listened to some of your tips. I got a call for an interview in just 24hrs!!! Appreciate you my friend✊🏻😁

[ossen]

*Resumé*
- Simple and clean
- Explanatory for the reader and purpose
- Structuring is very crucial

[keithrhoda]

I am 58 Years old and leaving my business to take a regular job. Never wrote a resume before, but this video is absolutely the best I have found on being helpful to me. Looked at a few others, but this one actually followed what he taught. Simple and got to the point quickly.

[Indeed]

Love your advice on tailoring your resume to every position you apply for. Awesome video, Thomas!

[tapaseaswar]

A lot of great tips in this video, but I have a few additions for each section.

1. Contact Information: most recruiters/hiring managers do not print out a candidate's resume until an interview has been scheduled. Make sure you hyperlink your email, LinkedIn, and personal portfolio/website so that when they view it on their computer, they're only one click away from being able to dive deeper into your background.
2. Work Experience: using a non-chronological format is great to quickly highlight the most relevant experience up top first. That being said, you shouldn't list every job you've ever done. Stick to what's relevant. In terms of achievements, this is super important. For every bullet-point listed, you need to address the "so what?" factor. Avoid passive phrases like maintained, managed, responsible for, etc. and instead focus on highlighting your accomplishments with quantifiable metrics. Demonstrate the impact you've had in the workplace.
3. Education: Agreed. If you're already established in your field, your education can go last (experience > education). If you're recently graduated, move that up top. GPA generally don't provide any indication of your ability to do the job well or not (or your ability to match the culture fit). I generally recommend leaving this off than on.
4. Skill Section: I think this is super useful to have no matter the industry/field to add specific keywords to move your application higher up in the pile. Soft skills can be useful, but I agree with Thomas. Things like hard worker, punctual etc. are all things that are already implied in your application. They take up valuable space that can be otherwise used to beef up your resume.
5. Extracurriculars: Depends on the industry you're in/trying to transition into. If the company values community service and volunteering as part of their core values, then sure, talk about it. But those are all things that you can include in your LinkedIn profile so that when they do take that deep dive into your background, they can glean that information from there (and you can use that extra space to highlight your professional achievements).

[ghostkiller]

When you Didn’t care during your high school years, now look at me. Figuring out how to make one 😅

[nikkoquillamarcalixtro]

Oh, the favorite anime list ain't part of it? Damnit, I've spent hours listing that....

[SaraMakesArt]

Here's what I'm getting out of this:
1. Think about what's important to the person hiring you.
2. Put your work experience that's most relevant to the job at the top.
3. Provide examples of work, or a link to them.
4. Lead with the positive/emit things that might make you less desirable.

[Sai-rpxt]

Perfect timing. I really need a job right now.

[omahhum]

I can't thank you enough for this video. I am sat here, stressed to the max over my CV and was in total meltdown until I came across your video. Thanks for all these great tips. Back to my CV now.

[mingyenbird]

Thanks for the tips again! I have been following you since my freshman year in 2016 and now I'm about to graduate which is why I am referring to this video! You really made me feel more confident especially on the gpa section and the working experience section.

[TheNotoriousFonzy]

As a desperate job hunter who's in need of a good CV overhaul this video made me very happy.
Thanks a lot Thomas! Hoping my next few weeks will be filled with interviews after I do my overhaul!

[JessicaHicks]

I’m a corporate recruiter, I agree with most of this except the gpa advice. I’m reviewing top notch candidates with great skills and with a high pool of candidates you may get placed in the gold pile with a lower gpa which is not good. This is especially true for internships or other entry level type of opportunities. It’s fine to have the conversation later, but I feel noting a gpa below 3.5 gives a reason for a recruiter to pass you up. After you’ve had internships typically gpa does not matter anymore.

[jackielearnsandteaches]

I’m only 1 minute into the video, and I just want to say that you’re doing a great job! Between your low-key friendly tone, your jokes, and your video game posters, you seem so friendly and approachable. It’s a huge contrast to the last video on resume building that I tried to watch, which basically felt like being yelled at. Ok, back to the video!

[ethanpierce]

Thank you so much for discussing what you should do if you have no experience. Many resume writing guides that I was looking at seemed to miss out on this issue

[mynameisnova]

0:12 I keep repeating this part over and over and over, it's pure gold.

[AJForShort]

As far as the skills section, I think that if you're applying for a job at a school or place where you'll be working with kids, it is actually a good idea to include soft skills on there

[pnoyboy]

Thank you Mr. Frank. I'm applying for a job that requires computer experience and with that "skills part" in the video helped a lot. Great ideas!