portfolio/docs/resume-content-guide.md

Resume Content Guide 2025

Quick reference for writing resume content. Based on research from 100+ sources.

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📊 Key Statistics

Stat	Value	Implication
Fortune 500 ATS Usage	97.8%	Optimize for algorithms first
Rejected Before Human	75%	Only 1 in 4 resumes reach humans
Initial Scan Time	6-8 sec	Critical info in top 1/3
Summary vs Objective	340% better	Always use Professional Summary
Skills Over Degrees	81%	Highlight capabilities

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📋 Section Order

Experienced (5+ years):

1. Contact Information
2. Professional Summary
3. Core Competencies/Skills
4. Work Experience
5. Education
6. Optional (Certs, Projects, Languages)

Early Career (0-5 years):

1. Contact Information
2. Professional Summary
3. Education
4. Skills
5. Work Experience
6. Optional

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✍️ Professional Summary Formula

Line 1: Title + Years of Experience + Specialization
Line 2: Specific achievements with quantifiable results
Line 3: Key skills/tools + relevant certifications

Example:

Senior Frontend Developer with 5+ years of experience in Vue.js and TypeScript.
Improved application performance by 40% and led development of medical tourism 
platform with RBAC and i18n features. Expert in Nuxt.js, Tailwind CSS, and PWA.

Rules:

• 2-3 sentences (50-80 words)
• Lead with strongest achievement
• Include specific metrics
• No clichés

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💪 Action Verbs

Instead of...	Use these
"worked on"	Engineered, Spearheaded, Orchestrated, Optimized, Developed
"helped"	Accelerated, Amplified, Catalyzed, Elevated, Enabled
"made"	Architected, Automated, Transformed, Revolutionized, Built
"managed"	Championed, Coached, Mentored, Mobilized, Directed
"analyzed"	Benchmarked, Synthesized, Validated, Evaluated, Assessed

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📈 Quantification Templates

Revenue & Financial:

• "Increased quarterly sales by X% within Y months"
• "Delivered projects X% under budget"
• "Generated $X in additional revenue"

Efficiency & Process:

• "Reduced X from Y to Z (X% improvement)"
• "Implemented automation saving X hours/week"
• "Streamlined process, reducing time from X to Y"

Team & Scope:

• "Managed team of X across Y time zones"
• "Mentored X professionals; Y earned promotions"
• "Grew portfolio from X to Y clients"

Quality & Customer:

• "Achieved X% customer satisfaction (up from Y%)"
• "Reduced churn by X%"
• "Maintained X% uptime (benchmark: Y%)"

Project Delivery:

• "Delivered X projects totaling $Y budget, Z% on-time"
• "Led migration impacting X users with zero data loss"
• "Achieved X% of revenue targets"

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✅ ATS Checklist

Formatting (Critical):

• PDF or .docx format
• Standard fonts (Arial, Calibri, Inter)
• 10-11pt body, 14-18pt name
• 0.8-1 inch margins
• Left alignment only
• No graphics, icons, tables, columns
• No headers/footers
• No special characters (& → "and")

Content:

• 15-20 keywords from job description
• Both full term and acronym: "Search Engine Optimization (SEO)"
• Standard section headings
• Consistent date format (MM/YYYY)
• Bullet points, not paragraphs
• LinkedIn URL included

Quality:

• Test with ATS checker before submitting

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🚫 What to Avoid

Clichés (Never Use):

• "Results-driven professional"
• "Team player"
• "Think outside the box"
• "Hard-working"
• "Detail-oriented"
• "Self-starter"
• "Go-getter"
• "Passionate about..."

Outdated Practices:

❌ Don't	✅ Do Instead
Objective statement	Professional Summary
"Responsible for..."	Achievement with metric
Generic skills list	Skills with context
Duties without results	Quantified achievements
Multiple colors/fonts	One accent color max
Photos/graphics	Text only
3+ pages	2 pages max

Bad vs Good Examples:

❌ Bad:

"Responsible for managing marketing campaigns"

✅ Good:

"Increased campaign ROI by 35% through data-driven audience targeting"

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📏 Length Guidelines

Career Stage	Length
0-2 years	1 page
2-5 years	1-1.5 pages
5-10 years	1.5-2 pages
10+ years	2 pages max

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🎨 Formatting Quick Reference

Fonts: Arial, Calibri, Inter, Roboto, Open Sans
Body Size: 10-11pt
Name Size: 14-18pt
Margins: 0.8-1 inch
Line Spacing: 1.0-1.15
Accent Colors: Navy blue, dark green, burgundy, teal (one only)

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Source: docs/research/resume-research-2025.md