How to Improve Your Resume: 10 Tips to Make Your Resume Stronger

If you've ever held a job, there's a good chance that you already have a resume. But is your resume up to date and optimized for success? In the current job-searching landscape, it can be hard to know why your resume isn't getting the attention you had hoped for. Our guide will outline some changes you can make to land an exciting role in 2025. Let's dive into how to improve your resume!

Our guide will cover:

• What a resume needs to succeed.
• 10 tips for improving your resume and taking your application to the next level.

Want to build or update your resume in a flash? Our Resume Builder lets you upload your resume or start from scratch on a new one. Just provide a few details about your career and our builder will suggest content, provide formatting automatically, and allow you to choose a template that you love.

What Makes a Strong Resume?

Before we get into how you can improve your resume, let's discuss what a strong resume looks like and how you can go about writing a resume that impresses recruiters.

While all resumes are unique, they are built from roughly the same composite parts: 

• A header containing your contact information.
• A resume profile introducing your career.
• A skills section that summarizes your most vital professional skills.
• An experience section detailing your work history.
• An education section that lists your degrees, diplomas, or professional certifications.

Some resumes may include additional sections or may focus more or less on a particular area depending on the candidate's needs, but to write a successful resume, you need to ensure that every one of these sections is present and optimized to suit the role you're applying for. 

Your resume needs to be organized and consistently formatted so that employers can absorb your resume's content at a glance. A polished resume is more appealing to recruiters and helps make a good first impression. To create an eye-catching resume, try a professional resume template that helps your experience shine.

What Does a Resume Need to Succeed?

Let's look at how you can upgrade your resume so that each section pops off the page and captures the employer's attention.

Use this template

10 Tips to Improve Your Resume

Improving your resume means optimizing your resume sections, your overall strategy, and your resume's style. Let's take it one tip at a time!

Make sure your resume is targeted

A truly effective resume is customized for the position you're seeking. A generic resume won't communicate to employers how well you fit their exact needs. To target your resume to the role, read the job listing carefully and create a list of keywords that the employer uses to describe the ideal candidate. 

Integrate those keywords into your resume to show how well you align with the role and to improve your chances of passing through any applicant tracking systems (ATS) that the employer may be using to filter out unqualified candidates.

Choose a resume format that fits your experience level

Improve your resume by examining its format and making sure that the one you use best reflects your strengths as a candidate. There are three main resume formats you can consider to organize your sections. 

Are you an entry-level candidate wondering how you're supposed to build an experience section without any on-the-job experience? Not to worry! The functional resume format is a great option for entry-level candidates because it focuses on skills more than experience. For more seasoned workers, the chronological resume format is a great choice. This is the most common resume format, which focuses on showcasing your experience in reverse-chronological order.

Want to showcase experience while keeping the focus on your skills? The combination resume format offers a compromise between the two by giving equal space to your skills and work history.

Add numbers to your resume

Your resume is your chance to communicate what you bring to the new job to employers who may only spend seconds reading each application. It's easy to see why making your achievements stand out matters. 

If your resume isn't getting enough attention, consider whether the outcomes of your past accomplishments are on display. It's one thing to say what your skills are. Showing employers your ability to achieve results by using concrete data helps show that your abilities aren't just abstract.

Numbers can help make your resume stronger, but it's important to choose meaningful numbers. Highlight accomplishments that have helped move your career forward. As you examine your most valuable contributions to past roles, you'll likely find that many of the numbers appear naturally on your resume. If not, create a focused bullet entry, even without numbers. That will resonate more than a data-heavy, irrelevant entry.

Use action verbs

Just like numbers, action words help your accomplishments pop off the page. If your resume uses cliched resume phrases like "responsible for," rewrite those sections. Choose punchy action words that show your active role in your past accomplishments. For example, write "spearheaded" instead of "responsible for starting." Changes like this help your resume feel energetic and fresh.

Pick a stylish new template

Resumes are all about first impressions. If your resume isn't getting any traction, it's possible that it just needs a makeover. Choose a resume template that's appropriate for your industry and reflects your individual professional brand.

Maybe the template you're using is already pretty attractive. In that case, are you positive that it's ATS-friendly? Sometimes, a simple, pared-down template that ATS can easily scan makes all the difference after an unsuccessful job search with an ornate and less reader-friendly template.

Use an ATS resume checker to discover whether an ATS will accurately read your resume. If your resume needs improvements for ATS to understand it, the tool will give you a detailed list of improvements you can make to increase your resume's chances of success.

Use AI tools

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the latest technological breakthrough that's reshaping every industry. But how can you use AI to improve your resume? 

There are a wide range of AI-powered resume tools on the market. In fact, Resume Now's own AI Resume Builder uses AI to suggest content that matches your experience and aligns with the expectations of your industry.

You can also try uploading your resume to ChatGPT and asking it for notes. You might be surprised at the strengths and weaknesses that your AI assistant is capable of noticing. For more focused resume writing advice, try Resume Now's Custom GPT designed specifically for reviewing, evaluating, and improving your resume.

AI isn't infallible, and it can't replace you when it comes to writing your story. You are the expert, after all! But where AI really shines is helping us see past our mental blocks and view things in a new way. Use AI as your captive audience to provide feedback and make improvements to your resume.

Level up your skills

When it feels like your job search has reached a dead end, sometimes the best thing you can do is focus on improving your actual qualifications. Uplift your resume by taking an online course, earning a relevant certification, or taking on challenging new responsibilities at your current job.

Don't limit yourself to traditional resume sections

There's no precise formula that your resume must follow. If you have qualifications that fall outside of the typical resume sections, include them on your resume. Just ensure that anything you include is a good use of space. 

Whether it's volunteer work or a personal project, your unique resume sections should be relevant to the role and should demonstrate key skills and achievements.

Include LinkedIn effectively

These days, it's common for resumes to include your LinkedIn page in your resume header. This is a great way to give employers a window into your professional network, values, and achievements. But before you rush to add the link to your header, make sure that your LinkedIn profile is actually going to help your resume succeed.

Improve your resume by improving your presence on LinkedIn and ensuring that the information on your profile is up to date. It doesn't hurt to tweak your bio to align with the role you're applying to and incorporate a few keywords, too!

Phone a friend

Sure, you can always use AI to improve your resume, but sometimes it helps to discuss your resume with a peer. Give your resume to a friend and ask for their impression of your skills and experience, along with your formatting choices and readability. This is especially helpful if you have a trusted friend within your professional network who knows your industry well.

Key Takeaways

Resources to Help With Your Job Search

• How to Use AI for a Cover Letter: Tips, Examples & Sample Prompts
• Should You Include Irrelevant Work Experience on a Resume?
• How to Explain Gaps in Employment: Guide + Sample Resume
• Parts of a Resume: Examples & Guide
• Should You Include Your Address on a Resume?
• Can a Resume Be Two Pages?

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Hailey Brophy

Career Writer

Hailey is a career advice writer dedicated to helping job seekers excel in their careers.

Read more articles by Hailey Brophy