An Interview Winning Resume is RARe

For a resume to be interview-winning, it needs to be RARe.

• Readable
• Applicable
• Remarkable

It’s like a flowing checklist.

□ Is the resume easily scannable by a busy reader?
□ Is the resume applicable to the position requirements?
□ Are the experience bullets positioned impressively to spark interest?

You can skip this if you are going after an okay company or an okay position.

But not if you are going after roles/companies that the best are competing for.

So, let’s dive in.

Readability

The most important thing about a resume is that it needs to be easily scannable.

Why?

The stat about hiring managers and recruiters giving less than 10 seconds to a resume is not hyperbole.

A hiring manager is already busy with their job.
A recruiter is trying to fill 10s of positions any given week.

So when they see an over-crowded resume, it leads to overwhelm.

The way to make a resume readable is:

↳Ease-up the margins
↳Avoid a long wall of bullet-point text
↳Have a readable font size (11 pt or higher)
↳Keep the formatting simple and consistent
↳Don’t crowd to fit to a 1-page resume. It is okay to have a 2-page resume
↳Differentiate the font style to create visual separation between headings and bullet points

Applicability

Once the resume is readable, it needs to be applicable to be considered.

Let’s say you have enough rich experience to fill 2-4 pages. What you present first becomes crucial.

Your first page, and especially the first half of the page, is prime real estate.

You want to have your most impactful stuff here.

People mostly decide by the end of the first page. The second page rarely changes any decisions.

To improve applicability:

↳If you have experience, lead with that right at the top, as it’s your strongest suit
↳Education can go at the end of the first page, or after your experience section
↳If you have matching experience, there is no need to list relevant courses
↳Keep the professional summary under five bullet points (3 is best)
↳You can bring skills before experience if your work is tool heavy
↳Don’t highlight your soft skills, like, “Excellent team player.”
↳You can eliminate the objective section

Advanced tip: Use sub-sections to divide your experience bullets into sub-themes.

Remarkability

The resume is applicable at this point, and now it is make-or-break time.

Will you be called for an interview, depends on how you position your experience bullets.

Most times, people hide amazing experiences behind resume jargon.

So the bullet point ends up saying nothing!

To make resume bullets remarkable, use the Google XYZ framework.

If you have difficulty fitting the format, use the questions in Slide 2.

You have a fantastic background. Let it shine in the bullets.

Like I say – don’t showcase a diamond as an uncut rock.

It’s like hiding the diamond behind all the jargon.