6 Strategies to Build a Memorable Resume

Your resume isn’t just a list of your work experiences; it is the first impression you make on your potential employer. Resumes are your metaphorical first-date outfits that are supposed to make you look amazing. 

Does your resume fit you well? Does it leave the HR manager itching to call you before you find work elsewhere? If you were hiring, would your own resume catch your eye amidst a sea of others? 

If you want to improve your resume, write your very first resume, or get feedback on an existing one, check out these six strategies and resources.

1. Utilize the career services and writing centers at your university.

Whether you’re a current student or have been out of school for years, the career services department is staffed with experienced professionals whose job is helping students and alumni find jobs or gain acceptance to graduate or professional school. Career services departments usually offer webinars and workshops to help you with career planning, evaluating your strengths and skills, and developing job search strategies. You also can book time one-on-one with career counselors and advisors for feedback on your resume, cover letters, personal statements, and online portfolios.

2. Research resumes in your profession and industry to see if you’re speaking the language of your people.

There’s never a time when you want to send in a resume with inconsistent formatting, incorrect grammar or punctuation, or poor clarity on your previous roles and experiences. However, nuances of your resume, such as whether you use color and creative elements and the specific skills, actions, and outcomes you report about your previous jobs, will vary depending on your industry. Look on LinkedIn to find the portfolios of professionals in your field who you trust and model your resume after a handful of amazing ones.

3. Proofread. It’s not a super-secret, juicy piece of advice, but it’s critical.

Most employers spend under 10 seconds looking at your resume. Do you want them to see misspellings, grammatical errors, misaligned elements, and inconsistent fonts during those precious 10 seconds? Proofread your resume several times over, ideally in separate sittings so you return to it with fresh eyes. Ask a friend, family member, or colleague to take a look at it. Read it aloud; you may notice sentences don’t flow naturally when you hear yourself read it.

4. Make use of generative AI such as Google’s Bard or ChatGPT.

While you should never ask AI to entirely write your resume (it will be painfully obvious if your natural writing style doesn’t match your AI-written resume), AI can help tweak, adjust, and reword experiences. You can ask an AI software to rewrite your past role mirroring the language of the job description that you are applying for, or ask it to condense your experiences down to 5 instead of 8 bullet points. Also, generative AI models can produce eloquent professional summaries that nicely summarize your experiences and future career goals. 

5. Talk about your volunteer experiences.

A common struggle for companies is to build teams of engaged, motivated employees. Showing that you care enough about your community and the well-being of others that you contribute your time and effort free of charge speaks volumes about your character and motivation, which are harder to glean from a list of work experiences. Whether you volunteered as a board member of a nonprofit, mentored a student or adult language learner, or fostered animals for a local animal shelter, show your heart and your motivation by describing the impact you’ve had.

6. Get help from a professional resume writing team, such as Sipley the Best’s resume review and rewrite services.

You might ask yourself, why should I pay for a resume review or rewrite when there are tons of resume templates available online for free? We can think of several reasons!

• Many resume websites will allow you to upload your resume and start using their templates, only to find out that after you’ve invested time in it, you have to pay or subscribe to download your new resume. (Our resume service is a one-time fee, so you know exactly what you’re getting yourself into.)

• When you meet with someone else to talk about your resume and experiences, you also get practice interviewing. Talking about your work history to a layperson helps you see the bigger picture of our professional career. Plus, you’ll hear a fresh perspective on the work you’ve done and insight into contributions you made or skills you have that you may take for granted.

• Whether you work with Sipley the Best for resume help or another professional, you want to be sure you meet someone who has experience in high-volume recruiting and interviewing. Your mom may say your resume is amazing, but it’s the hiring manager who looks at hundreds of resumes per week who can tell you if your resume will get you an interview, or if it’s getting tossed to the bottom of the pile.

Check out some more resources for improving your resume: 

• CareerOneStop: Offers sample resumes, resume writing advice, and connection to job centers in your area. 

• Novoresume: A step-by-step guide to writing an amazing resume, with advice on font styles and sizes; chronological and functional resumes, and advice on each section. 

• Foundry’s article on ATS: Explanation of what an ATS is, how many Fortune 500 companies use them, and how to ensure your resume is designed to reach human eyes.

If you want to talk to us about your resume, send a Word or PDF copy to Dawn@sipleythebest.com and schedule a discovery call with Dawn via Calendly here. 

Whether you decide to work solo or enlist the help of a whole team of professionals, we wish you the best in your resume-writing journey!