Top 5 Elements of a Standout Resume

Employers generally look at an applicant’s resume for an average of six or seven seconds. Therefore, it is crucial that the resume should be clear, concise, and tailored to the job for which the individual is applying. 

A resume tells a story. And the information included—and left out—will present a narrative about an applicant’s experience, qualifications, and achievements.

Experiences

A resume should always include an experience section that clearly outlines the specific work and other experiences an individual has that are relevant to the position they are applying for. Ideally, an employer looks at the experience section of an applicant’s resume to see overall growth. 

This section should include the companies an individual has worked for, their titles, and their specific duties in their position.

Skills

The “skills” section of a resume is the most important section, according to many employers. A candidate that lacks experience should still have the necessary skills showing growth potential. 

Notably, employers value brevity. For example, if an individual is applying for a marketing position, they could include their former retail experience and bullet the communication, branding, and interpersonal skills they learned in that position. 

If an individual doesn’t have a work history that directly correlates to a specific job, the applicant should get creative with how they present their experiences. They can draw on the skills they have used and how their contributions benefited the organization or project. 

Similarly, entry-level employees who do not have a lot of, or any, previous work experience at all should include every skill they have that matches the job listing. 

Resume Objective

The resume introduction or objective section should include three-to-four sentences summarizing to the hiring manager an individual’s experiences, skills, and training that best fits the position.

Overall, the resume objective is a targeted statement that presents an individual’s value proposition to the specific company. 

One example of a resume objective could be: “To secure a position as a marketing manager with a reputable organization where I can utilize my extensive marketing training and skills." or “Secure a responsible career opportunity to fully utilize my training and skills, while making a significant contribution to the success of the company.” 

Some career experts find resume objectives outdated, others say they are valuable. However, there are times when a resume objective can be very useful. 

For example, when an applicant wants to emphasize that they are ambitious, that they know what they want in a career, or that they have the skills for the specific job, they could benefit from a resume objective.

Contact Information

The contact information section is also one of the most important sections of a resume. This section allows employers to understand who someone is and how they can contact them.

An individual’s contact information should be listed in their resume header and include first and last name, email, phone number, mailing address, LinkedIn (if possible), and current job title. The contact information section should stand out from the rest of the resume so potential employers can easily locate it. 

Education 

One of the key sections employers look for on a resume is education. This section outlines educational background, academic achievements, or awards that an applicant has received. 

This section can vary based on how much work experience an individual has and the number of degrees they achieved. Hiring managers look for a few basic pieces of information in the education section, including the name of the school, the location, the degree, the field of study, graduation year, and any relevant honors or academic recognition, coursework, or activities. 

Additionally, an applicant should also consider listing GPA (as long as it’s above a 3.4) to help demonstrate hard work and responsibility.  

The education section is often the shortest portion of the resume, around 15–30 words.

Option Parts to Include in Resume 

There may be additional information that an individual wants to include in their resume that doesn’t fit in other sections. For example, community service experience, awards and achievements, languages, and hobbies are all sections one could include if one wishes.