How to make your resume stand out: top tips for 2024

Job hunting can be stressful, that’s for sure. Even with the best tools at your disposal, it’s easy to feel like you’re at the mercy of forces beyond your control. But it doesn’t always have to be that way. If you’ve got polished, professional material, such as a great cover letter and resume, you’re already one step ahead. 

But it’s tough out there, so it’s important to make sure your resume stands out from the crowd to help you get your foot in the door and get that dream job. More than just a laundry list of your work experience, a solid resume tells your professional story, but you need to make sure that you can entice the hiring manager to read it. 

In this article, we’ll discuss how to make your resume stand out, including:

• How do you get my resume noticed?

• How to make a resume visually appealing

• What is the 30-second rule for resumes?

• What is the number one thing employers look for on a resume?

• 6 additional tips to help your resume stand out

How do you get your resume noticed? Top tips you can use

You may have heard that most recruiters only spend six to seven seconds looking at a resume. That’s not a lot of time! But it makes sense when you realize that they can receive hundreds—even thousands—of resumes for each open position, depending on the size of the company. Yes, Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) do streamline that process a bit, but hiring managers still don’t have unlimited time to read your resume. That means you have to do everything you can to make the most of those seven seconds and make your resume as powerful as possible. How can you do that?

1. Make your resume visually appealing

The last thing a recruiter wants to see on a resume is a "wall of text," or a page full of dense paragraphs with little to no white space. You want a resume that is clean, easy to scan, and professionally formatted. Some tips to remember about formatting your resume include:

• Use a traditional font such as Times New Roman, Cambria, or Georgia, and keep the size between 10-12 points. (No Comic Sans or Papyrus, please!)

• Your top and bottom margins should be one inch, and the side margins no smaller than half an inch.

• Keep your formatting consistent. Make sure you have clear and appropriate headings.

• Use color or icons only if it’s appropriate for your field, such as graphic design, and even then, use them judiciously.

• Keep your paragraphs concise and relevant to the job you’re applying for. Also, break up paragraphs with a few bullet points so that your achievements stand out.

• Don’t forget to proofread!

2. Make sure your resume is tailored for a particular position

Basically, you want to be who the recruiter is looking for. That means you need to study the job description and research the company to get an idea of its mission, values, and company culture. Then, you'll make sure to tailor your resume using those keywords and highlighting your experience and accomplishments that align with the position you’re applying for. For example, if the job description says they’re looking for leadership experience, make sure to draw attention to the ways you’ve shown leadership in your previous roles.

3. Consider a target job title

You can place a target job title under your name in the contact section of your resume. This job title should indicate the job you’re applying for, and you should change it based on the job description. For example, if you're a graphic designer, some similar titles include Graphic Artist, Brand Designer, or Visual Designer. When you tailor that job title to the one you're applying for, you’re demonstrating to the recruiter that you understand the context of the position and what it entails. If you’re changing careers, however, you probably won’t use a job title, but instead highlight past experiences and skills that would make you a good fit for that position.

4. Show off your skills

A good skills section is a must if you want your resume to stand out. In your skills section, make sure you include both soft skills and hard skills and make sure they align with the job description. You’ll want to provide examples of these skills in your work experience section, but an easy-to-read skills section will allow a hiring manager to see—at a glance—if you have the background they're looking for. 

5. Quantify your accomplishments

When it comes right down to it, hiring managers want to know what benefit you’re going to bring to the company. Incorporating quantifiable numbers into your resume will make your resume stand out more than just explaining your job history and experience. Using specific, concrete metrics—set off in bullet points—will show what you’ve accomplished in your past work, and implies that you will do the same for a new company. When quantifying your accomplishments, you’ll want to consider what you did in a specific situation, what skills you used, and what the outcome was. Examples of quantifiable accomplishments include:

• “Organized 10 fundraising events, each attended by 3,000 community members and business leaders, resulting in a 20% increase in yearly donations.”

• “Exceeded team sales goals by 15% in Q3 and Q4 of 2023, resulting in $800k in net profit.”

• “Oversaw a team of 12 customer service representatives to achieve a company-wide 93% client satisfaction rating in 2023, an increase of 10% over 2022.”

What is the number one thing employers look for on a resume?

There really isn’t a “number one” thing recruiters look for on a resume, as it depends on the position they’re looking to fill. They are obviously looking for someone with the appropriate background, skills, and experience, but there are a few more things that recruiters look for, even if it’s not explicitly stated:

• Honesty. They want someone truthful about their experience and skill set.

• A resume that aligns with the job they’re looking to fill. Basically, if you can make it easier for them by quickly demonstrating that you’ve got the “goods,” you’ll increase your chances of landing on the “yes” pile.

• Someone who will fit in with the company culture as well as their team. If you can give a hiring manager a sense of who you are and how you work with others, it will help you stand out.

On the other hand, a major red flag for most hiring managers is dense blocks of text. Nolan Church, CEO of Continuum, says, “The [number one] thing I don’t want to see on a resume is probably text bricks…endless streams of text that have a lot of words but not a lot of content.” Keep your paragraphs concise, and relevant, and use bullet points to make them easier to read and absorb.

6 Additional tips to help your resume look impressive

There are a few more things you can do to stack the deck and ensure your resume stands out from the crowd. No, you’re not going to send cute memes or write your resume in iambic pentameter (although that would be pretty cool). Use these “bonus” tips to make your resume as memorable as possible—in a good way.

1. Make sure your contact information is clear and easy to read, and positioned at the top of your resume. Include your LinkedIn URL, if you have one. 

2. Consider a customized headline or branding statement under your name, which will grab the recruiter’s attention and make you stand out. For example, “Certified Software Developer Specializing Desktop/Enterprise Apps and DevOps.”

3. Make it ATS-compatible. Include keywords from the job description, avoid graphics or tables, and when listing your work experience, place the name of the company first, then the location, and position title, and end with your dates of employment.

4. Highlight your transferable skills if you’re changing careers.

5. If sending your resume as a document, include your name in the document name.

6. Consider writing all section headers in bold type.

Need help creating an outstanding resume? Career.io's Resume Builder provides you with 25+ expertly formatted resume templates and AI-powered “smart suggestions” to help you stand out from the competition.

Key takeaways

1. Most hiring managers only spend seven seconds scanning a resume, so yours needs to stand out.

2. Make sure your resume is visually appealing, tailored to a specific position, and highlights your relevant skills.

3. Include your contact information and make sure your resume is ATS-friendly.