"I'm not super confident with the CV, so I just kind of wanted to like get a bit of a almost verification that I'm kind of on the right track with it." Frontend developer, on a free Huntr support call

🏠 The Ultimate Job Search Guide

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Lead with your best. Hiring managers have TikTok brains, the same as the rest of us, and recruiters decide in seconds. In the first sentence or 2 of your resume, put the most interesting, impressive thing you've done in your career that relates to this job. Numbers jump off the screen a lot louder than words.

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"In those 12 to 15 seconds, you want to give them every reason to say yes ... and, like, as little questions in their mind, that would make them think that you're a no." Gino Calavitta, go-to-market recruiter

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The 7 fixes I make most, after reviewing 1,400+ resumes

1. Cut the AI slop. Resumes that open with "results-driven" and "detail-oriented." Percentages with no context, and too many of them. Long dashes everywhere. Recruiters spot AI slop fast.
2. Show the size, scope, and scale. How many people, how much money, how many customers. Without those numbers, a reader can't see the proof of your impact.
3. Use the formula. "Did X, which led to Y result."
4. Move your biggest win to the top. On 1 call, I found $310 million managed across 2 government funds, buried on page 2.
5. Cut the text. Dense paragraphs are hard to read. Use short bullets. (2 pages is generally the best length, even if you are entry-level)
6. Write numbers as numerals. "Led 3 teams," not "led three teams." A Microsoft recruiter taught me this one.
7. Fill out your education. An Amazon recruiter told me she scrolls straight to the education section, so make sure it is filled out EVEN if you graduated a while ago. </aside>

What recruiters read first

Every recruiter reads in a different order. Put your proof in every section.

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"I scroll to the bottom ... And then I scroll up from there to see progression ... I'm looking at companies and title and tenure."

Cameron Black, contract recruiter at a large manufacturer

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"Look at your resume as a technical manual of accomplishment ... Give me numbers, percentages, dollar signs ... and don't make it a paragraph. The more paragraphy a resume is, the more likely we are to simply not read it."

Ted Staeb, technical recruiter at Microsoft

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Header

Include your name, email, phone, city or region, LinkedIn, and a portfolio or GitHub link if it fits. Put them on the page itself, not in the header area of Word or Google Docs. Parsers often skip that area. See Understand the ATS.

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Put the city where you want to work. If you'll move, write that city: "Denver, CO" or "Relocating to Denver, CO." Answer location and start-date questions honestly when they come up.

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Keep official job titles. If a title is obscure, add a short, true explanation: "Client Partner (account management and renewals)." Don't invent a title to match the posting.

Summary

Lead with the strongest relevant thing you've done. Aim for 2 to 3 clear lines that connect your experience to the work ahead.

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Put a dollar figure or another key number in your summary. Resumes whose summary included a dollar figure had a 7.24% interview rate, against 4.13% without one. Having a summary at all made no reliable difference in our format study. What goes in the summary does.

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Several recruiters told me they don't read the summary. So keep it short, with a number in it.

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Weak

Results-driven, detail-oriented sales professional with a passion for building relationships.

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Strong (fictional numbers)

Account executive who closed $4.2 million in new business over 3 years, selling workflow software to operations teams. Typical contract value: $60,000.

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Changing careers? Your summary is the bridge. It's your best argument for why you're uniquely able to do this job: the work that carries over, the new skills you can show, and the role you want.

Experience