Writing the Perfect Resume: Everything You Need to Know to Stand Out

Writing a resume can be tough. You need just the right amount of information to succinctly convey why you’re the perfect candidate for a job or university program, but not so much that you overwhelm the reader with superfluous information. The ideal resume for you will depend on your unique background, the industry you're targeting, your level of experience, your specific career goals, and (something that is often overlooked or ignored) the position or program you’re applying for. An academic resume looks very different from a professional resume, and the resume of a new graduate looking for their first job is similarly going to look very different from a student coming out of high school going into college. We will discuss these differences later, but no matter what you need a resume for–whether it’s for an entry level job, a graduate program, or a senior level position later in your career–there are some guidelines you should always follow.

This Gradly-official checklist guides you through all essential elements and best practices for writing an effective and impactful resume.

Gradly’s Ultimate Resume Checklist

Does your resume include all of these sections?

• Contact information
• Professional Summary
• Education
• Work Experience
• Skills

This is the absolute bare minimum you need. For an academic resume, if possible, try adding these sections:

• A more comprehensive education section (e.g. the title of your thesis, relevant courses, etc.)
• Publications (if you have any)
• Special academic research projects

Professional Summary

• Does it highlight your most relevant qualifications? This is your chance to grab the reader’s attention!
• Is it a maximum of 2-3 sentences? Don’t make it too long!

For example, if you’re applying for a marketing assistant position out of college, you can add a professional summary such as:

“Motivated student with one year of content creation and marketing experience, skilled in email and content marketing, SEO, and copywriting.”

Trust me, you will already be ten steps ahead of the other applicants if you’re simply including a basic professional summary like this! Most students simply list their education, and maybe a couple of summer jobs they’ve had, with no actual relevant keywords to the job they’re looking for. Spending an extra sixty seconds including a professional summary is going to make all the difference in your job search!

Education

List your degrees in reverse chronological order. Include the name of your degree, university, and location. Include your GPA, but only if it’s over 3.5. If you’re a new graduate without much or any work experience, add courses that are relevant to the position you’re applying for to each university. For instance, if you’re applying for a paralegal position, you might include “Constitutional Law,” or if you’re applying for a graphic design position, you might include “UX Design on Mobile.”

Work Experience

Should include 2-3 bullet points highlighting your achievements, not responsibilities. Make sure that these bullets follow the PAR (Problem-Action-Result) rule, meaning you should focus on the impact of your work on the company. There are no hard and fast templates for this because your impact could come in so many different forms, like saving costs, successfully delivering large-scale projects, landing new clients, or improving performance. The important thing is to make sure you demonstrate that you made a real difference at the company.

Skills

Include both soft and hard skills. Hard skills being hands-on, practical knowledge of specific tools, software, or hardware, like “Autodesk AutoCAD” or “Microsoft Excel.” For your soft skills, avoid using generic statements such as “Strong communication skills”. Instead, focus more on soft skills that are specifically relevant to your desired role. Here are a few examples:

• Project management: Planning, organizing, and executing technical projects
• Technical writing: Creating clear and concise technical documentation
• Presentation skills: Communicating technical information effectively to both technical and non-technical audiences

Questions to Ask Before Sending Your Resume

Is your resume tailored to the position/program?

Think about what kind of role you’re applying for. Your job descriptions, skills, and summary should be targeting that role and their requirements. Once you’re done, take a look at your resume and put yourself in the shoes of the employer. Your resume needs to have a good look and feel, be easy to read, and be aligned with the job requirements or academic program. Ask yourself:

• What are the core qualifications for this position?
• What skills/experiences do I have that align with this position?
• What evidence do I have on my resume to support these skills and abilities?

Is Your Resume ATS Friendly?

ATS stands for Applicant Tracking System. These systems are software applications that companies use to collect, scan, and rank job applications. Your resume MUST BE ATS-friendly because many employers use these systems to filter out resumes before a human even looks at them; an ATS-friendly resume ensures it can be properly read and indexed. Basically, ATS is a computer deciding who the recruiter should even consider for the role in the first place! The internet is FILLED with thousands of non-ATS friendly resume templates.

❌ BAD RESUME EXAMPLES ❌

If your resume looks like this, it is not ATS friendly. Avoid using graphics, because it makes your resume hard for the computer to scan and read. Avoid using multiple columns. Instead, use a simple and professional style. It’s the content that matters, not the graphics. Graphics are not a substitute for substance!

✅ GOOD RESUME EXAMPLES ✅

Recruiters and admission officers spend very little time reviewing resumes. Disorganized or excessively long or short resumes risk being overlooked. Make sure your resume is no more than one page, has a clean layout, and includes a succinct summary that highlights your achievements. ( Pro tip: Instead of spending hours finding resume templates, just use Gradly’s free resume builder)

Not sure what to include in your resume or how to make it better?

If you're unsure about your resume’s strength, Gradly offers tools to evaluate its effectiveness. Use Gradly’s resume builder to ensure ATS compliance and highlight key achievements. Gradly can help you identify areas for improvement and tailor your resume to specific roles.

Here are some key ways Gradly can help:

• Ensuring your resume meets ATS standards
• Automatically fixing typos and grammar mistakes
• Guiding you on how to highlight accomplishments using the PAR rule
• Offering feedback to tailor your resume to job descriptions
• Improving all sections of your resume at once, with one click
• Asking smart questions and filling in the gaps you didn’t know existed

A strong resume is about showing why you’re the candidate who fits the role in as few words as possible. It is definitely not about who has the fanciest template. By following the official Gradly checklist, you’ll grab attention, demonstrate your value, and pass those ATS filters. A resume is a first impression, use Gradly to make sure it’s not your last.