How to Build a Strong Resume for Entry-Level Jobs

I've reviewed >100k resumes in my career. So many people make easy to fix mistakes. Here's what I wish everyone knew before submitting an application: Contact info - Include email, linkedin, github/portfolio - Show the actual linkedin url, don't hyperlink with different link text - Include city / state (or relevant to country), full address isn't necessary - designers: password protect at your peril, resume reviewers are lazy Use standard resume template - Order should be Name / contact details --> work xp --> education - Work xp should be listed most recent --> least recent - Use specific dates (month + year) - No sensitive info (DOB, Citizenship, Marital Status, Religion, etc) - No pictures - No skills / jobs chronology "side-bar" 🙄 - No skills / accreditations alphabet soup at top of resume No "fun" stuff - No weird colors (just black) - No "fun" font selection - *Designers, this section doesn't apply to you* Be concise - Max 2 pages - No more than 6 bullets per job - Bullets should be no longer than 1 line (no wrapping text) - Distill, distill, distill - resumes ARE NOT exhaustive - Do not use evasive language (unclear dates, titles, etc) - Use commonly understood (but select) metrics to exhibit impact Errors - No spelling errors!!! - HAVE SOMEONE ELSE PROOFREAD!!!!!!! ------------------------------------------ Resumes are not a place for innovation. More is not better. Be selective and thoughtful. Accept that you will get very little attention from resume reviewers - your job is to decide what to communicate in that very short span. Your resume is a MARKETING TOOL - it's intended to help you get an interview. It is NOT intended to document all of your experience. That's what the interview is for! What else belongs on this list? Any ya'll disagree with? ------------------------------------------ 👋 Follow me (Jordan Mazer), Caitlin Cooke & Jordan Carver for more tips just like this. 🏃♀️ Join the a16z speedrun talent network here: https://lnkd.in/geyt5f9b

Most people think they got rejected because they’re not talented. But sometimes the truth is simpler - your resume didn’t even get past the ATS. An average recruiter spends 7 seconds on your resume. And in companies using ATS (Applicant Tracking System), your resume may not even reach a human if it’s not formatted correctly. First check the ATS Score : https://bit.ly/4lGKu9y Let’s fix this problem. Here’s a quick guide to building a powerful ATS-proof resume that actually lands interviews, especially for freshers, interns, and those switching careers 👇🏼 ✅ DOs for an ATS-Friendly Resume: 1. Stick to Simple Format Use a single-column layout, no tables, fancy graphics, or multiple columns. 2. Standard Section Titles Work Best Use "Education", "Skills", "Projects", "Experience", "Certifications". 3. Use the Right Keywords Scan the job description and mirror their terminology—especially for tools, tech, and role names. 4. Highlight Projects (with Links!) Projects speak louder than grades. Add GitHub / Live links where possible. 5. Use a Professional Font & Tone Stick to Calibri, Arial, Times New Roman. Keep it clear and confident. 6. Tailor Every Resume No one-size-fits-all. Change the summary, skills, and keywords based on each job role. 7. Keep It 1 Page (if Fresher) Be crisp. Only include what adds value. 🚫 DON’Ts That Hurt Your Resume: ❌ Objective statements - replace with a Professional Summary. ❌ Personal info like DOB, religion, marital status - not needed. ❌ Bright colors, decorative fonts - it’s not a poster. ❌ “References available on request” - redundant. ❌ Overloading with technical skills you don’t actually know - backfires during interviews. ❌ Long paragraphs - use bullet points. ❌ Unprofessional emails like cutie_pie@xyz.com - please, no. Bonus Resources : ✅ Free Resume Template to Download: 👉🏻 https://bit.ly/4eDybIQ Whether you’re in college, switching careers, or in between jobs, your resume is your first impression. 💡 Don’t just apply blindly. Prepare smartly. Present smartly. Career success is not about luck. It’s about clarity + consistency. 👉🏼 Tag a friend who’s applying for jobs. 👉🏼 Save this post and come back when you're building your resume. 👉🏼 Follow for more career, internship, and job search strategies. #CareerTips #ResumeTips #Internship #Freshers #JobSearch #ATS #CareerGrowth #LinkedInTips #SaumyaSinghGuides

This ENTRY LEVEL resume got interviews at Palantir Technologies, Amazon, Microsoft, Google & here are the reasons why: 1. Strategic Information Hierarchy: - Education is rightly placed at the top (May 2024 graduation). - Clear, bolded section headers (EDUCATION, EXPERIENCE, PROJECTS, ACHIEVEMENTS, TECHNICAL SKILLS) guide the reader's eye. - Consistent date and location formatting on the right margin keeps it tidy and easy to scan. (MAKE IT EASY FOR RECRUITERS!) 2. Quantifiable Achievements Everywhere: - "achieving a 23% reduction in latency" (Amazon) - "reduce API load by 30%" (Amazon) - "HackWashu Hackathon 1st Place" - Metrics demonstrate the impact of their work. 3. Action Oriented & Tech Specific Descriptions: - Starts bullet points with strong verbs: "Optimized," "Implemented," "Directed," "Spearheaded," "Engineered," "Developed." - Specific technologies (Spring MVC, ElasticSearch, DynamoDB, ASP.NET MVC, React Native, C++, Python, GPT) are embedded WITHIN their bullet points. 4. Clear Progression & Diverse Skill Application: - Internship experiences show solid software development fundamentals in different environments (Amazon, U.S. Bank). - Projects demonstrate versatility across different domains: full-stack mobile app development (FitnessPal), systems programming (CLI Replication), algorithmic trading (WUSIF Algo Trading), and AI application (Hackathon). - Shows growth through application of diverse skills and technologies in practical settings. I've been lucky enough to have mentors who have shared their resumes with me and I want to do the same for others. Find what VERIFIED resumes landed people interviews at Google, Meta, Microsoft: https://bit.ly/3HKbsOO Not every resume should look like this. I’m sharing it because this is what’s actually working in today’s job market. For me, I never had anyone share their resumes that got interviews at companies. It was always a black box. And if this post helps even one person get a foot in the door, then I’ll keep sharing.

Stop writing your CV information in chronological order! Put your “best foot forward” by putting them in reverse chronological order. Why? To ensure the most relevant and current information is presented first in a logical manner that jump out at the recruiter in their initial scan. Recruiters whose day jobs include reviewing tonnes of applications will tell you for free that putting your most recent relevant information first, and then continuing backwards to the oldest, is in your best interest. Keep it simple like this: 📌 Header: Your name and contact information, including your LinkedIn url. 📌 Professional Summary: Keep it real. 2 to 3 sentences highlighting your professional and academic background and accomplishments; essentially sharing what value you’ll bring to the role/organization. 📌 Professional Experience: In reverse chronological order, starting with your most recent first, include your job title, location, date of employment (and end date). With bullet points, list your key responsibilities and quantifiable achievements where possible. 📌 Education: Also in reverse chronological order starting with your most recent academic accomplishments, list the institution, location, date of graduation. 📌 Skills: List only relevant technical skills and competencies directly applicable to the job. Some people add this right after the summary and that’s OK. If you’ve got more information you believe is relevant like certifications, licenses, volunteer work, publications, language proficiency, memberships etc., you can tack them on. This structure may not work for you if you’re a student, making a career switch, or have experiences that don’t fit into a particular career path. What’s the format of your CV? #CVwriting #ResumeWriting #Careers #PersonalBranding

If your résumé was read by a robot… would you still get the interview? Let’s be real: In 2025, robots (ATS) read your résumé before humans ever do. And they don’t care how pretty it looks, they care if it’s optimized. If you think ATS na scam, statistics from Jobscan says → 97% of Fortune 500 companies use an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to screen candidates. And here’s what’s scary: → You're not being rejected because you're not qualified. → You're being rejected because your résumé isn't robot-friendly. So how do you beat the bots and impress recruiters? Let’s get into it: → Tailor every résumé to the job. No more copy-paste. Use exact keywords from the job description. If the job says “project coordination,” your résumé should say it too. → Ditch the fancy formatting. ❌No tables. ❌No icons. ❌No columns. ATS reads like a machine, because it is. Stick to plain text, bullet points, and clear headings. → Quantify your impact. Don’t say: “Supported the marketing team.” Say: “Increased email open rates by 20% in Q2.” → Relevance > Length. Entry-level? One page is fine. But don’t force it. If your experience is valuable, let it show — just keep it focused. → Use ChatGPT (wisely). Let AI help you refine your résumé, not fabricate it. And check ATS-friendliness with tools like Jobscan or Resumeworded (I'm not just saying) → Save as a .docx or PDF (only if ATS allows). Some older systems can’t parse PDFs. If you're unsure, go with .docx. → Don’t forget the human. Once you pass the robot, the human reads next. Make sure your résumé sounds like a real person with real results. You’re not underqualified. You’re under-optimized. Fix that, and the game changes. *********** → Been applying with no response? → Think your résumé might be the problem? Drop it in the comments (or DM me). Let’s make sure you’re not being filtered out by a machine before your greatness even gets a chance. Reposting this for someone in your network may be the best part of today for them.

In my experience people way over think writing their CV. It is no surprise, with all the bad advice out there, things get over complicated. I have almost 20 years of recruitment experience. This is what I believe to be a solid and simple format for a CV. Lets work from top to bottom. 𝗡𝗮𝗺𝗲 & 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 A Headline can come in handy to show time-poor recruiters immediately that you are doing a similar job or have experience working in a similar function. EG Russell Ayles Handsome Recruiter 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗱𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘀 Area you live (not specific address), link to LinkedIn profile, email and phone number, link to portfolio etc. 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘆 / 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗲 (optional) Not normally a fan of these necessarily but they can provide context to a career change or just give a topline summary of your industry, specialism and years of experience. 𝗦𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 & 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗺𝘀 These are nothing without context in your CV - but - can be very useful if the role is heavily reliant on particular product experience, systems or specialisms. So you can list the relevant systems and specialiams. Stick to hard skills rather than subjective ones like 'communication' For space, just create a small section like.... Systems: Adobe Illustrator | InDesign | After Effects | Photoshop 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗛𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 Job Title / Company Name / Month + Year to Month + Year Then, a short summary is good to let me know things like business does, its size, its market etc. Especially for lesser known businesses. You then have a few options to how you portray your experience. Responsibilities + Key Achievements Or Combine them into achievement based responsibilities. But really, regardless of what you do, you need to help me understand your job role and your impact (try to use data/numbers) 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗩! Continue this same format and just reduce the amount of info for older or less relevant roles. For most people with around 2+ years experience, education and qualifications will come toward the bottom. But it is all about relevance. So if something is important and relevant, it needs to find it's way to the first page! 𝗟𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵 - Don't fixate on the length of the document, but usually 2-4 pages max should do it! There will always be ifs and buts, but this should work for the majority of roles and industries.

Most resumes don’t get rejected for lack of experience. They get rejected for how that experience is presented. Over the last 3 months, I’ve reviewed over 50 resumes.  Friends, Referrals, and community members. Each time, I notice the same patterns. The mistakes are often small but costly. The wins are subtle but powerful. Here’s what I’ve learned from those reviews and what you can fix today: What actually works? 1 - Tailored Content The best resumes don’t try to be everything to everyone. They’re sharp, role-specific, and rich with keywords that match the job description. 2 - Quantifiable Achievements A line like “handled sales” is forgettable. A line like “Increased sales by 20% in 6 months” gets noticed. 3 - Simple, Clean Formatting Single-column. Consistent fonts. No design drama. ATS systems will thank you. So will recruiters. 4 - Professional Summary > Objective Statement Start with a crisp summary that answers: “What do I bring to the table?” 5 - Action Verbs “Led,” “Built,” “Implemented,” “Optimized.” Not “Responsible for” or “Helped with.” What to absolutely avoid? 1 - Generic Phrases “Hardworking team player” is white noise. Show it. Don’t say it. 2 - Outdated or Irrelevant Info That 2012 internship? Probably time to let it go. 3 - Over-designed Layouts ATS bots don’t care about your Canva skills. Keep it functional. 4 - Typos & Formatting Errors One comma out of place? Might not ruin your chances. But why risk it? 5 - Missing Contact Info Yes, this still happens. Double-check that your phone and email are visible. Bonus enhancements that make a difference: - Use metrics in every role, not just the latest one. - Match your skill section to what the job actually demands. - Move education below experience, unless you're a fresh grad. - Include certifications and recent courses. - Keep font styles and spacing uniform throughout. My suggestion? Take an hour this weekend and do a ruthless edit. - Cut fluff. - Add metrics. - Tweak layout. Ask a friend for feedback. And if you want a second set of eyes, I’m happy to help. I regularly do resume reviews (for a small fee). If you're looking for personalized, actionable feedback, DM me or drop a comment. Let’s make your experience shine the way it deserves to. -- ♻️ Reshare if this might help someone. ▶️ Join 2,485+ in the Tidbits WhatsApp group → link in comments

If I were graduating today, this is how I’d build my resume to land a job within 90 days. If your resume still reads like a class project and not a value document, it’ll get buried within seconds. To make sure it doesn't look like a college assignment, this is what I’d fix to land interviews faster and be ready for the corporate world: 1. Start with a clean, credible identity Your email says more about your professionalism than you think. Use something like firstname.lastname@gmail.com not the one you made in high school. It signals maturity before anyone reads a word. 2. Keep education relevant Drop your Tech VOC or short-term training mentions. Employers care about your college degree and, at most, major coursework relevant to the job. Keep it simple and professional. 3. Curate your certifications If it’s not industry-standard or recognized remove it. Certifications like Google Analytics, AWS, or HubSpot matter. “Teamwork Workshop” and “Positive Thinking 101” don’t. If none are relevant, skip the section entirely. 4. Replace “Additional Information” with “Skills” Recruiters skim this section first. List tools, technologies, and core competencies, not buzzwords. Bad: “Good communication, teamwork, time management.” Better: “SQL | Excel | Canva | Adobe Premiere | Salesforce.” 5. Lead with a short professional summary. Three sentences that make someone want to keep reading. Example: “Marketing graduate with hands-on experience managing social media campaigns and analyzing engagement data. Skilled in Canva, Meta Ads, and content strategy. Eager to contribute creative insights to fast-paced marketing teams.” 6. Add a Projects/Achievements section. If you lack full-time work experience, this section is crucial. List class or internship projects that show results: “Led a 4-member team to create a mock digital campaign that increased engagement by 45%.” 7. Keep references optional. Only include them if requested. “Available upon request” is enough. Most new grads try to fill their resume. Smart ones filter it. You need a relevant CV, create it wisely. P.S. I have helped 350+ professionals revamp their resumes and LinkedIn profiles to land more interviews. If you are in the U.S. or Canada and are struggling to land interviews, don't blame yourself. DM me and I'll help you fix your resume and LinkedIn so you get seen by the right recruiters.

As a recent grad, breaking into the job market can feel overwhelming. But with the right approach, your resume and cover letter can stand out to employers. Here’s how to make yours shine: → Customize for Each Job: Don’t send the same resume to every employer. Tailor it to highlight the experiences and skills that match the job description. Use specific keywords to align with what the employer is looking for. → Quantify Your Achievements: Numbers make your accomplishments more tangible. Instead of saying you “contributed to a project,” say you “led a team of 5 to complete a project 2 weeks ahead of schedule.” → Write a Story-Driven Cover Letter: Your cover letter should tell the story of why you’re passionate about the role and how your unique experiences make you the perfect fit. Keep it concise but compelling. → Highlight Transferable Skills: Even if your work experience is limited, focus on the skills you’ve developed through internships, volunteer work, or group projects. Employers value skills like teamwork, communication, and leadership. After crafting your resume and cover letter, take the time to get feedback from mentors or peers. A fresh perspective can help you refine your application materials. Your resume and cover letter are your chance to make a first impression—make it count by crafting them with care and intention. 🔗 Question: What’s one way you’re personalizing your resume or cover letter for each job? Share your approach below! 👇

Lately, I’ve been receiving more requests to review resumes—from friends who've been impacted by layoffs to job seekers eager to land their next role to students prepping for summer internships or jobs after graduation. I'm fortunate to come across a lot of resumes and enjoy reviewing them, so if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this: your resume is your first impression. I know it's an extremely competitive job market, so I hope these quick tips support anyone looking to stand out: ✅ Lead with impact—Start each bullet point with a strong action verb and highlight results, ideally with a % impact - could be improvement in satisfaction scores, time saved, money saved, etc. And if you're leading a lot with "Managed" or "Coordinated," there are likelier stronger verbs to choose. ✅ Keep it clean & brief—Recruiters and hiring managers often skim, so make sure your resume is easy to read, well-structured, and free of fluff. My rule of thumb is if you have less than 8-10 years of work experience, it should fit on one page. And keep the format simple and ensure your personal data is safe: I only need to see your name, phone, email, and LinkedIn profile. Sharing home or mailing addresses isn't necessary and may signal an unwillingness to relocate. ✅ Grammar & consistency matter—A simple typo can cost you credibility! Ensure your formatting, punctuation, and verb tenses are consistent throughout. ✅ Tailor, tailor, tailor—One-size-fits-all resumes? Nope. Customize your resume for each role or company by mirroring keywords from the job description. Here's where AI can help... ✅ Leverage AI tools—Think of Copilot or AI-driven writing tools as your personal editors. They can catch grammar mistakes, improve clarity, and optimize your resume for keyword searches. You can also ask them for suggested learning courses or articles to improve upon skills that may be helpful in jobs you're looking for. ✅ Showcase YOU—Your resume isn’t just about what you’ve done—it’s about what you can bring. Highlight unique skills, projects, or volunteer experiences that set you apart. I often find that the most interesting and insightful interview questions can come from someone reviewing your resume and asking you something at the very bottom of it. For me, I was often asked about teaching dance fitness classes and why that was a passion of mine. If it's on your resume, ensure YOU want to talk about it! And while this post was all around resume/CV tips, I hope you prioritize networking and finding warm introductions through people in companies or with career paths that inspire you. Those connections can help and be an extension of your professional brand! Comment below any other tips or what resonates most ⬇️ #ResumeTips #JobSeekers