Resumes - Write them Right

During some recent 30 min product management mentoring sessions I noticed a few patterns around technical individuals, and others, looking to break into product management. Thus, I wrote that up so that others might benefit. I have also found myself repeating advice on resume writing, so I am sharing that, too. Whether you are looking to get into product management or not, if you want a more impactful resume, below are some tips that might help.

Start with a solid foundation

The MIT Alumni Association had a career lunch-and-learn presentation by Career Muse back in 2016. Oladapo Bakare and Stephanie Smith gave a 1-hour seminar on resume-writing. To this day, it is one of the best I have seen. It’s available for anyone to watch, so go check it out and then come back.

Don’t Ignore the aesthetics

I’m putting this at the top because, while it may seem like sizzle over steak, I believe it has a huge impact on how your resume is perceived.

“In fact, the single factor that had the strongest correlation to how well a candidate did in an interview was how nice their resume looked. Seriously.” @SamAllenX

Here are a few simple things:

• Get all the lines and right-hand edges to line up.
• Do not randomly bold and/or italicize text for emphasis. It’s distracting and, should you want to emphasize something, put it first (see below).
• Use the same font everywhere.
• Make sure there is only one space between words.
• Eliminate typos, grammatical errors and run-on sentences. (These might not technically be aesthetics, but do them anyway.)
• Bullet points should be sentences, so finish them with periods.
• Do not have a line with just one or two words on it. To fix this, either increase or decrease the length of the sentence.
• Make your resume either one page or two pages. If your resume does not completely fill the second page, add content, remove content, change the margins, increase or decrease the point size, but do something to fix it.
• Optional: Add the word “cell” or “home” to your phone number.
• Bonus: If you have a university email address (e.g. [email protected]), use that and forward it to your Gmail or whatever. Make sure, however, that you've set it up correctly! Ask a friend to help you test it.
• Another bonus: Don't get over fancy with formatting and colors. It can be beautiful, but it can also be distracting. It might also confuse ATS (applicant tracking system) software. I haven't used any ATS checkers, and some folks are trying to hack them, but you might want to look into this. (Please share feedback in the comments.)

If you are having trouble, find and download a template you like. Use a grammar and spell checking website or an app like Grammarly. If you still can’t get it to work, find someone to help.

“You have ALL THE TIME you could ever ask for to make sure your resume is error free, use it.” @DThompsonDev

Use power verbs

Career Muse talked about using “power verbs” which, with permission, I provide below. Every bullet should start with the simple past tense of a power verb.

Not only will these power verbs give your resume “punch,” but they’ll help you concentrate your bullet points on what you actually did. Words like “participated,” “observed,” and “collaborated” are weak and can leave the reader wondering what value you delivered. Consider replacing them with words like “Drove”, “Initiated”, “Launched”, “Pioneered.”

What about current roles? Your bullets are a list of accomplishments. You haven’t accomplished something until it’s over, so, in my opinion, use past tense. Some people, with professional recruiting experience, and some resume writing guides, feel otherwise, so use your judgement. (Please share opinions in the comments.)

Optionally, if you would like to have one sentence under a professional experience that just generally explains the role and responsibilities, as opposed to being an accomplishment, you can do this. That being said, in this case, remove the bullet. For the current position, use present tense as this is a description of your present responsibilities. This is the only place I'd use present tense, but that's me.

Focus on the future

Your resume is not an index of your professional life. Rather, it is a narrative explaining how your past accomplishments prepared you for what you want to do next. It does not have to be an exhaustive list of everything you have accomplished. Identify the skills required for the job you want and then, to the extent possible, highlight your relevant experiences.

For example, if you are a software engineer who would like to become a product manager, a bullet point explaining how you optimized a function call to improve performance is great. A bullet describing how you delivered a feature to address a particular customer pain point, perhaps after reviewing customer data, is better.

If you don’t have those experiences, projects are a way to try to bridge the gap. They can be a lot of work, and particularly difficult for those with busy professional and family lives, but they can be a mechanism to demonstrate determination, passion and skills. If you have a “side hustle” that is at all relevant to the job you want to do, find a way to add it to your resume. If you do not have one, consider spinning up something. A little can go a long way.

Put the most important thing first

If you have 5 bullets for your job, put the most important one at the top. They don’t have to be chronological. (Your work experiences, however, should be listed chronologically.)

Additionally, within each bullet, put the most important things first. Rather than this:

Mobilized xyz and coordinated with abc, producing a $1 million increase in profit.

Try this:

Boosted profits by $1 million by mobilizing xyz and coordinating with abc.

Managing xyz is great. Boosting profit is better. Another way to look at this is to put the impact first and what you did to make it happen second. People love results. Make sure to use a power verb (see above).

Show your results with numbers

Quantify everything you can. Numbers add legitimacy to every bullet point. Rather than “engaged with customers,” put “engaged with 10 customers.” Where possible, use percentages (e.g. “reduced latency by 20%) and dollar amounts (e.g. “increase sales by $100 per customer”). These can frequently be difficult to come by, but they are important, so give it your best effort. Be careful, by the way, with confidential information.

When you are unsure of the exact number, or if you would like to convey that the actual amount could be greater, there is a tendency to use “~”? and “+,” as in “~$1 million” and “10+ engagements.” A couple times is OK, but try not to do that everywhere.

Keep it positive

Everything on your resume should be positive. If you have a summary or narrative at the top, keep that positive, too. This goes the same for when you are speaking with someone, either during an interview or otherwise. If you are dissatisfied with your current job, you can mention that briefly, but then quickly move to a positive vision of what you want to achieve. On the resume, do not mention negative stuff at all.

Don’t Ignore your LinkedIn profile

It is possible that your LinkedIn profile is as important, or more important, than your resume. For whatever reason, recruiters will frequently consult your LinkedIn profile, even when they have your resume on hand. Make it as solid as possible. Here are some tips:

• Avoid the default header image by replacing it with something unique to you. It doesn’t necessarily have to be professional, but people are visual so offer something they can remember.
• If you do not have a professional headshot, consider getting one. It is worth the investment.
• The headline under your name is an opportunity to use 128 characters to say as much about yourself as possible. Use as many of them as possible. When recruiters search on LinkedIn, this is the “snippet” they will see next to your name, so entice them to click. There are lots of pages that give advice on writing headlines, but I like this one.
• Add an About section. My suggestion here is to keep it conversational. Talk about your passions and interests, but this is not the place for your power verb bullet points.
• The Experiences section is where you want to load up your power verb bullet points. My advice is to just copy/paste from the resume. Be careful not to include any confidential information or things that you would prefer to say only on your resume.
• In your Education section, include information about your extracurriculars to add extra dimension to your studies.
• For the rest, fill 'er up! Add your volunteer activities. List all of the online courses you have completed and certificates you have earned. In the Accomplishments section, add everything that you can. While your resume is, by definition, a summary of your achievements, there’s no limit to how much stuff you can add to LinkedIn.

I have often heard that folks should have multiple versions of their resume, each tailored to the specific job for which they are applying. That seems like a lot of work. Furthermore, having multiple versions of LinkedIn is not possible. As such, stick to a single narrative, if you can.

You are never done

Sorry, but there is no end to this exercise. Your career does not stop and so the resume-worthy things you accomplish never come to an end. You should regularly be adding things to your resume, which will require removing other things, reformatting and adjusting. Every time I look at my resume I see something I want to tweak, even when there is nothing new to add. Just like an MVP, get your resume out there and iterate.

Interviewing can be a strenuous process. Keep your chin up and do something to keep moving forward and improving every day. Good luck!

P.S. If you liked this piece and would like to see more content like this, you can dig up my old stuff and follow me on LinkedIn.

Appendix: Power Verbs

Again, thanks to Oladapo Bakare and Stephanie Smith for the Power Verbs! Try to make every bullet start with one of these.

You Increased Efficiency, Sales, Revenue, and/or Customer Satisfaction...

Accelerated, Achieved, Advanced, Amplified, Boosted, Capitalized, Delivered, Enhanced, Expanded, Expedited, Furthered, Gained, Generated, Improved, Lifted, Maximized, Outpaced, Stimulated, Sustained

You Envisioned and Brought to Life a Project...

Actualized, Administered, Built, Charted, Created, Designed, Developed, Devised, Engineered, Established, Formalized, Formed, Formulated, Founded, Generated, Implemented, Incorporated, Influenced, Initiated, Instituted, Introduced, Launched, Piloted, Pioneered, Spearheaded

You Led a Project...

Advanced, Advocated, Chaired, Controlled, Coordinated, Directed, Delivered, Drove, Executed, Governed, Headed, Integrated, Operated, Orchestrated, Organized, Oversaw, Owned, Planned, Produced, Programmed, Synthesized

You Managed a Team...

Aligned, Counseled, Cultivated, Directed, Dispatched, Empowered, Enabled, Facilitated, Fostered, Guided, Groomed, Hired, Inspired, Instructed, Mentored, Mobilized, Motivated, Primed, Recruited, Regulated, Shaped, Supervised, Steered, Taught, Trained, Unified, United

You Oversaw or Regulated...

Advocated, Authorized, Blocked, Chartered, Controlled, Delegated, Dispatched, Enforced, Ensured, Inspected, Itemized, Governed, Licensed, Monitored, Operated, Recommended, Safeguarded, Screened, Supervised, Scrutinized, Validated, Verified