Creating a Compelling Hook: Capturing Attention and Sparking Curiosity on Your Resume

You may have seen this written as a professional summary or career summary. We like the term impact summary. This is your elevator pitch. It's not about what you've done, but who you are and why you matter. Focus on what sets you apart and sparks curiosity. Avoid creating a hook that looks like everyone else’s (e.g. Operations executive with 10+ years of experience). The goal is to inspire the reader to spend more than 6 seconds on your resume.

Example A

Operations executive with 10+ years of experience in Search and Digital Marketing. Process-oriented, data-driven operations leader and systems thinker with a passion for creating frameworks for businesses to succeed. Long-standing champion of continuous improvement through process optimization, automation/AI, and cross-functional cohesion to tighten operations in Business Planning, Product Development, Sales, Partner Management, and Customer Support at global and regional levels across startups and large scale organizations.

Example B

Operations leader with an expertise in data storytelling and transforming insights into actionable tools. Known for crafting and executing impactful strategies, fostering cross-functional collaborations, and process optimization. Committed to building high-performing teams and driving innovation to achieve sustainable growth and operational excellence.

Your Declared Skills: Dedicated Section To Drive Relevance

This dedicated section drives relevance. List 10-12 hard and soft skills relevant to the target job. Use tools like Odyseek to identify top skills from the job description. This section showcases your unique "career DNA" and optimizes your resume for ATS keyword matching. Some may find this as fluff, but when done the right way, it can be a strategic move to help an ATS find relevant keywords and a human reader connect to your declared skills.

Your Experience: The Validated Proof To Show Your Impact

This section proves you possess the skills you declared that roll up into your impact summary. Craft impactful bullet points using this formula:

• Why: The problem you solved.
  
• What: The actions you took.
• How: Quantifiable metrics or results.

Who wants to read lengthy bullet points? Prioritize the "How" to showcase impact.
Not every bullet needs a quantifiable metric. Focus on the results that matter most to a hiring manager, and aim to include at least one measurable outcome per role if possible. Keep bullet points concise (2-3 lines), impact-driven, and avoid job description-style phrasing. Stick to 5-7 bullets for relevant roles and 1-3 for older or less relevant positions.

Tips for Showing Impact

• ‍Use action keywords (e.g. ‘Directed’ or ‘Led’ is so much better than ‘Responsible for’).
  
• Focus on outcomes if metrics aren't available (e.g., "Collaborated with product and shared firsthand customer feedback that contributed to the roadmap").
• Be strategic about which metrics you use – ensure they are relevant and impactful.

We take the guesswork out of crafting your bullet points. With our resume optimizer, we’ll ask you questions to get the best context to craft your winning bullet point. Click on the icons and launch our interactive tool to capture your input.

Your Education, Certifications, and Notable Highlights: The building blocks of your expertise

While your experience and skills take center stage, your education, certifications, and key achievements can add valuable credibility to your resume. Here’s how to present them effectively:

‍Education: Keep It Clean & Relevant

• For recent graduates or education-focused roles: list education before experience.
  
• For early-career and experienced professionals: place education after experience.
• Format as University/School Name, Degree, Major. Include your graduation year only if recent or relevant.
• Experienced professionals can list just the university and degree—graduation year is optional unless necessary.
• If you didn’t complete a degree, you can still list relevant coursework or programs attended.

Certifications: Showcase Specialized Expertise

• List industry-recognized certifications that align with your role (e.g., PMP, CFA, AWS Certified, Google Ads Certification).
  
• Only include certifications that are relevant—expired or generic ones may not add value.
• If the certification is a key selling point, consider placing it in a dedicated section rather than under education.
• Certifications First: Prioritize certifications if they’re central to the job (e.g., tech, finance, project management), if earned after your degree and are more relevant, or if you don’t have a degree but hold key certifications.
• Education First: List your degree first if it’s a key qualification (e.g., law, medicine), if you’re early in your career and the degree holds more weight, or if certifications are supplementary.

Notable Highlights: Go Beyond the Basics

• If you’ve spoken at industry events, published research, or won awards, include a Key Achievements or Notable Highlights section.
  
• This can also be a place to mention professional affiliations, patents, or high-impact projects outside of your main work experience.
• Keep this section concise—prioritize what strengthens your credibility and aligns with your career goals.
• Want your personality to pop a bit more, include a section for interests. Our CEO had an interviewer ask about her passion for Pilates, you never know that conversation starter can come from your interests.

Other Best Practices To Perfect Your Resume: Length, fonts & all the things in between

Length Matters

• 1 Page: Recent grads or professionals with less than 5 years of experience.
  
• 2 Pages: Professionals with 10+ years of experience. There have been studies that hiring managers prefer 2 page resumes for more experienced professionals, it wouldn’t be possible to fit down to one page.

Simple Fonts

• Don’t overdo it with bolding, underlining, or non-standard fonts. Keep it clean and readable. We personally like Arial and Calibri best, easiest on the eyes for a human reader.
  

Main reasons resumes can’t be parsed by ATS or disqualifed by a human reader

Resume Dont’s

- Large blocks of text
- Keyword stuffing
- Non-traditional fonts (Arial & Calibri are best)
- Section headers that aren’t standard
- Bolding/underlining other than section headers
- Bullet points that read like job descriptions
- Passive keywords
- Avoid jargon, cliches (hard worker, ninja)
- Typos, Pronouns
- Graphics, logos, pictures

Resume Do’s

- Make it skimmable, your highlight reel
- Tailor for job (revise summary, skills & bullets)
- Show impact through measurable results or outcomes
- Concise bullet points:5-7 for relevant1-3 for non relevant or older roles
- Total length matters:
   2 pages 10+ years
   1 page for recent grads, early professionals
- Show growth & progression (promotions, etc.)
- Action keywords

Final Thoughts

Don’t disqualify yourself before you even try! If you meet 80% of the job description requirements, go ahead and apply. Many candidates hesitate because they don’t meet every single qualification listed, but hiring managers often value potential, transferable skills, and cultural fit just as much as technical requirements.

Believe in your skills, and don’t sell yourself short. You bring a unique value story—own it! Your resume is more than just a list of qualifications; it’s your opportunity to showcase your impact and tell your career journey in a way that stands out. Take the time to make it count. When your resume reflects your confidence and your authentic self, it will make a lasting impression.