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Welcome to the Empowered Leader Newsletter Article #3:

The Ultimate Guide To Writing A Killer Resume in 2022

September 26, 2022

I’ve read 1,000s of resumes over my time as a Recruiting Director (RD) for the Boston Consulting Group and over the last 20 years employing people. This is the ultimate guide on best practices and tips on writing a killer resume to get your dream job.

Let’s start with the best practices on how best to write your resume.

Best Practice #1: Ensure that your resume is not just as personalised as possible to you but to the role as well. This means not just using a “cookie cutter” approach to creating your resume but firstly, really thinking through what makes you different and unique. Secondly, think through how your experiences are a good fit for the job that you are applying to. In my case, as an example, whenever I applied to any Private Equity or Venture Capital Operations roles, in my experiences section, I highlighted any achievements that were related to this role. In my situation, I had “led a team of 5 consultants to design and deliver a 9-month post-merger integration project that led to delivering synergies one year ahead and 100% more than plan.”

Best Practice #2: Keep it simple and short. Your resume length should be a maximum of one page if you are a fresh graduate, two pages if you have some experience and no more than three pages. Anything longer will mean that you are too verbose, and recruiters will tend not to absorb all the information that you have included. A resume that is greater than three pages in length will mean that you will stand out in a negative way. Long resumes will also require you to do more checking. Like most things in life, “less is more”.

Best Practice #3: A resume is a written portfolio; position yourself in the best possible way. During the application stage, your resume (and cover letter) is effectively a written representation of who you are and your experiences in 1-3 pieces of paper. This is not a moment to be humble or coy or shy. Put your best foot forward and ensure that all your achievements are clearly articulated.

Best Practice #4: Focus on the outcomes and results. In your academic and work experiences, ensure that you clearly articulate your results in each case. For example, in the academic section, highlight your results in a summarised manner. For example:

• United States = Your GPA - 3.X
• The United Kingdom = First Class, Second Class Upper, etc.
• Australia = High Distinction, Distinction Average, etc.
• Awards or Scholarships - e.g. ASEAN scholar, Colombo scholar etc.

In your work experience section, highlight 2-3 projects or work accomplishments that are relevant to the role that you are applying for. The framework that I find easy to remember and is particularly effective at creating an evidence-based resume is W.H.O. This stands for:

W - What you delivered

H - How you delivered

O - Outcome(s) of what you delivered

For example, a supply chain project that I worked on could be described as:

What, How, Outcome

Analysed 100,000 lines of expense codes for a nationwide department store retailer, in two weeks, leading a team of 2 consultants to identify $50M of potential savings, representing a 20% reduction in costs.

Which sounds much better than Worked on a supply chain project for a national department store retailer.

Best Practice #5: Use the best keywords, not just buzzwords. There are many keywords that recruiters look out for that sound more impressive than simply - “responsible for”. Here are some examples:

If you led a project, you could use:

• Chaired
• Co-ordinated
• Executed
• Delegated
• Spearheaded

If you envisioned and started a project, you could use:

• Built
• Designed
• Founded
• Established
• Launched

If you improved efficiency or productivity, you could use:

• Achieved
• Accelerated
• Boosted
• Generated
• Maximised

If you improved something, you could use:

• Centralised
• Merged
• Integrated
• Overhauled
• Restructured

If you managed a team, you could use:

• Cultivated
• Enabled
• Directed
• Motivated
• Recruited

There are many guides from top universities. Here are just a few:

• Yale
• Stanford
• MIT
• Berkeley

Best Practice #6: Make no mistakes of any kind. Spelling mistakes and grammatical errors are usually an immediate death knell of a resume, so check, re-check and then re-check your resume before you send it in.

What is the best structure?

I’ve not only read many thousands of resumes but also studied the resume templates from the top Ivy League universities in the US, and my findings were that the most effective structure is:

• Name and contact details. Your name (first and last are sufficient), mobile phone number and email address are essential. Your full address is not necessary for this day and age, as most replies from companies will go directly to your email address and not your home address. You could add state and country if you would like. In this article by Austin Belcak, who analysed 125K+ resumes, only 48% of resumes included a link to the applicant's LinkedIn profile. Nowadays, it’s good practice to include a link to your LinkedIn profile.
• Education. If you have just graduated, prioritise this section before your work experience; however, if you have been in the workforce for any period of time, you should put the work experience section before education. Always in reverse chronological order, i.e. more recent first. Focus on the results and any other awards or scholarships that you may have received.
• Experience. Similar to education, start with the most recent work experience that you have and work backwards from there. Similar to your education, ensure that you highlight any achievements that you may have accomplished using the W.H.O. framework outlined in the best practices above.
• Extra-Curricular. If you have just graduated, then include any relevant (to the role) extra-curricular or internship experiences that you may have had during university. In the case of extracurricular activities, ensure that you highlight the roles that you played or the projects that you worked on and any outcomes. Use the W.H.O. framework here as well. If you are applying for consulting roles, then ideally, you were the President or Vice President of the University’s Consulting Club.
• Skills and interests/hobbies. Ensure that you highlight skills and interests that are relevant to the role that you are applying for. Remember that your resume creates a first impression in the eyes of the recruiter. If you include the fact that your hobby is Belly Dancing or Pole Dancing when you are applying for that Investment banking role, my experience is that this doesn’t put you in the best position to be offered a chance for an interview.
• References. While this section isn’t compulsory and references can be “provided upon request”, the way that I approach this section is to add snippets of my previous performance reviews and the names of the references and their positions, but not their contact information. I would only provide reference contact information upon request.

What if you have other “issues” in your resume?

Gaps longer than six months:

• ➡️ 1 - Laid off - Cover Letter Explanation - My former employer underwent [a restructuring] that resulted in my position being eliminated. To be honest, it was a difficult time; my favourite part of my last job was [being able to work with such talented individuals and gain an appreciation for how vital teamwork is]. I am looking forward to the opportunity to apply those experiences in my next job
• ➡️ 2 - If you left the workforce for your family - Cover Letter Explanation - Due to a [medical emergency] in my family, I had to be there for them. During that time, I knew that I wanted to return to work but couldn’t until my family was settled. But now It's time for me to get back to my work, and I look forward to working with you.
• ➡️ 3 - If you were fired - Cover Letter Explanation - The company and I had different expectations. In reflecting on the experience, I realise [there are some things I could have done differently]. I learned a great deal, and I am excited about the opportunity to bring that maturity to my next job.
• ➡️ 4 - If you took time off due to personal reasons - Cover Letter Explanation - I was able to take some time off work last year, and it proved to be the best decision I've ever made. It gave me a chance to [focus on my own mental health, and prepare myself for coming challenges]. I am more excited about this position than anyone I've applied for, as it's precisely what I'm looking for right now.

Gaps shorter than three months - no explanation required.

• Poor academic results - no explanation required.
• No achievements - I would challenge you to think of at least one achievement for each role or education experience.
• Bad references - If your previous bosses can’t provide a positive reference, then choose someone who may have managed you for a shorter period and can give a good reference and, in the worst case, a colleague that you may have worked closely with.