To max your chances of getting the job, you need to know what is the best resume format. Job applications nowadays are very competitive. According to a study done by Forbes, for every job opening, about 118 applicants apply. 20% of those applicants are then interviewed.
Although 20% is a high number, we believe the actual number of those interviewed are much smaller. Employers want to minimize the time it takes to hire a candidate and also maximize the candidate they can hire.
This means they place strict requirements, even at the job application level.
Your job as a job seeker is to use the best resume format so you can get your dream job.
March 2, 2024The best resume format to use
The best resume format to use is this one below.
It resembles the standard format, the Wall Street format, or the Harvard format.
The best resume formatting is one that is broken up into three sections –
- Experience
- Education
- Additional
Experience
The experience portion of the resume consists of company name, location, position title and employment duration, formatted such as this:
Within the bulletpoint of your resume, you’re going to be using the subject, action, results framework.
This framework means that for each bulletpoint that you write, you’re going to specify the subject or project, the action you took, and what happened as a result.
The subject or project is the “what” such as industries, products, people.
The action is the “what you did” portion, which involves specific tasks or using specific software.
And the result portion consists of the business metric and the value that you contributed to.
Many people struggle with looking at the work they do from a big picture standpoint.
When writing the bullet points on your resume in the experience section, think about what industries your work impacts along with the business metrics that you contribute to.
Education
The education section in your resume consists of the college name, location, and degree, as shown below:
A very common practice to do nowadays to reduce the chances of agism is to delete the graduation date from your resume. This works either for entry level applicants that are qualified for higher job openings. Or this either works for older candidates who want to look “younger” on paper.
Additional
The additional section of your resume should consist of technical skills, certifications, and awards.
These will all be hard skills and there will be no fluff in this section such as “ability to multitask” or “strong problem solving abilities”.
Technical Skills
Technical skills should consist of hard skills such as software or programming languages. This can also include calculation methods such as discounted cash flow analysis.
Certifications and Training
Certifications & training will consist of any specific that will aid to your job such as a Professional Engineering License, Certified Public Accountant, Registered Nurse, or Project Management Professional. Make sure to include things such as license numbers if you do put certifications.
Additionally, certifications for specific software will also be put in this section too.
Awards
List any awards such as dean’s list, scholarships, or employee spot awards that you have won in this section. Make sure that the awards you specify are all relevant to the job position that you’re applying for.
Why we recommend this format
We recommend this format because it’s clear and concise, very easy for the recruiter to follow, and keyword optimized.
The keyword optimization framework comes from including key words from the job description and using our bullet point writing framework.
We 100% don’t recommend “pretty” or colorful type of templates – they look unprofessional, are disorganized, and not ATS optimized.
Remember, recruiters only take 6-7 seconds to scan a job applicant’s resume. If it doesn’t fit the standard formatting, then they will not even bother with it.
Why your resume should be simple
Like with anything else, your resume should be simple.
When you overcomplicate your resume, this makes it hard for the recruiter to pick up on your skills and accomplishments. Recruiters and HR managers want to make sure that you can do the job. As a result, make it easy for the recruiter to scan your resume.
The best resume format is one that is broken up into the sections above, uses keyword optimization, and the correct bullet point writing framework.
What is ATS compliance?
ATS stands for applicant tracking system. Nowadays, employers world wide integrate an applicant tracking system (ATS) scanner in their job applications. This makes it so that companies can quickly filter through and scan a bunch of resumes prior to getting to a recruiter’s hands.
This integration of an applicant tracking system (ATS) software saves the company both time and money. It’s practiced by many big employers.
How many pages should you use for your resume
Your should be one page. If you’re very experienced or applying for a leadership role and you have alot of relevant experience, then you can use two pages for your resume. But for the most part, 90% of you should be using a one page resume.
This goes back to making it so that the recruiter can quickly scan your resume.
By all means you do not use two pages on your resume and only partially fill out the second page with something such as one bullet point.
If you go the multiple page route, then you need all pages filled.
What you shouldn’t have on your resume
As we covered what is the best resume format, here’s what you shouldn’t be including in your resume.
By all means do you not do any of these and there’s not much exception other than having multiple pages for the very experienced.
There is a lot of nuance in resume writing, so you need to apply this as best as possible to your specific situation.
Multiple Pages
As we have covered, keep your resume down to just one page.
Multiple pages make it hard for recruiters to scan your resume.
Only do this if you have a lot of experience, and we’re talking about industry experience here.
A picture of yourself
Don’t submit a picture of yourself unless absolutely required.
Submitting a picture of yourself leads you to potential bias and discrimination against recruiters or hiring managers.
This also takes up valuable space on your resume that could be used to further add your specific skills, results, and accomplishments.
Infographics
Infographics are very unprofessional on a resume. These don’t add much value and recruiters will be thrown off when they see infographics on your resume.
Don’t put infographics on your resume and instead just use the correct bullet point writing framework on your resume.
Soft Skills
Do not put soft skills such as ability to work in a faced pace environment or ability to multitask. These type of “corporate jargon” or phrases from the job description are that of which anyone can put.
Anyone can say that they work in a fast paced environment or can multitask.
Your job as a jobseeker is to put that you do work in a fast paced environment and that you do multitask.
The key word here is “do”.
Show that you’ve juggled multiple projects in large scale industries and products and that you’ve utilized many skillsets for the job.
About the author
Kazuyoshi Fujimoto, PE
Founder | Engineering Career Coach | Principal Mechanical Engineer
Kazu oversees all of ultmeche’s engineering services. He provides consulting such as resume reviews, rewrites, mock interviews, and all services career related. Additionally, Kazu performs consulting work regarding Oil & Gas, Automotive, and Aerospace & Defense. Kazu is licensed as a professional engineer in the state of California and has 9+ years of experience in Oil & Gas, Automotive, and Aerospace & Defense.
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