I still remember the first resume I ever wrote. It was for a retail job in college, and I thought the goal was to list absolutely everything I had ever done since high school. Babysitting? Check. Volunteering at a local library one summer? Check. My short-lived attempt at starting a YouTube channel? Sadly, also check. The result? A two-and-a-half-page document that was less “resume” and more “life diary.” I didn’t land the job, and honestly, looking back, I wouldn’t have hired me either.
Resumes are weird documents. On the one hand, they’re supposed to be straightforward—just your experience, skills, and education. On the other, they’re kind of like advertisements where you’re both the product and the copywriter. What makes it trickier in 2025 is that resumes aren’t just being read by humans; they’re filtered through Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), compared against job descriptions by algorithms, and often skimmed in under 10 seconds by a recruiter juggling 200 other applicants. So, if you’re updating your resume this year—or writing one from scratch—there’s a bit more strategy involved than simply typing your work history in Microsoft Word.
Let’s walk through what actually matters now, what may have changed since the last time you applied for a job, and a few things I’ve learned (sometimes the hard way) about crafting a resume that actually gets noticed.
The Resume’s Job: More Signal, Less Noise
It may seem obvious, but your resume is not your autobiography. The temptation to include everything is strong—after all, you never know which detail might resonate. Yet, resumes that try to be “all things” usually fail to be persuasive in any specific way.
Think of your resume as a highlight reel. A great basketball player doesn’t send recruiters a full recording of every practice; they send a clip showing their best dunks and shots. In the same way, your resume should surface your strongest, most relevant achievements and leave the rest behind.
One shift that’s becoming increasingly important in 2025 is focus. Recruiters aren’t just asking, “What has this person done?” They’re asking, “Can they solve the problems we have right now?” That means your resume’s job is to communicate relevance, quickly and clearly.
Formatting in 2025: Clean Still Wins
There’s always been debate over resume design. Some people swear by graphic-heavy layouts with color blocks, icons, and even QR codes. Others argue for plain black-and-white simplicity.
Here’s the truth: unless you’re applying for a role in design, marketing, or a similarly visual field, most employers still prefer simple, ATS-friendly resumes. That means no overly complex formatting, no text hidden in images, and no funky fonts that won’t translate when uploaded into an online portal.
But simple doesn’t mean boring. A clean header with your name, job title (if you use one), and contact info can feel polished. Strategic use of bolding, spacing, and bullet points makes your resume scannable. And yes, a touch of color is fine—especially if it helps separate sections. Just don’t make it look like a flyer for a nightclub.
One Page or Two?
This one sparks endless debates. My own take, shaped by years of rewriting resumes for friends and colleagues, is this: if you have fewer than 10 years of experience, you almost always should stick to one page. Two pages can make sense if you’ve worked across multiple industries, managed complex projects, or simply need space to show depth without clutter.
But if you’re stretching to two pages because you don’t want to delete your college part-time job at Starbucks (no shade, I’ve been there), it’s time to cut. A resume is not about keeping every detail; it’s about presenting the most persuasive ones.
The Resume Sections That Actually Matter
Let’s break down what sections to include in 2025—and how to approach each.
Header
Keep it clean: name, email, phone, and LinkedIn profile (if it’s updated). Including your city is optional now. Most recruiters don’t care where you live, especially if remote work is an option.
Summary or Profile
A short 2–3 sentence intro at the top of your resume can help, especially if your background doesn’t directly match the role. But keep it specific. A vague line like “Motivated professional seeking growth opportunities” won’t impress anyone. A sharper version might be:
“Data analyst with 4 years of experience translating raw data into actionable insights, specializing in SQL and Tableau. Excited to apply analytical skills to business strategy in the healthcare space.”
Skills
Here’s where strategy matters. A giant laundry list of skills looks lazy. Instead, choose 6–10 that are genuinely relevant to the job. Tools like SQL, Python, Salesforce, HubSpot, or project management methodologies (Agile, Scrum) are strong here. And yes—soft skills like “communication” are still better demonstrated through achievements than listed as bullet points.
Experience
The meat of your resume. But here’s the catch: it’s not just about listing responsibilities; it’s about impact. Writing “Managed social media accounts” is flat. Writing “Grew Instagram engagement by 38% in 6 months through targeted campaigns” has teeth.
Bullet points should ideally follow a formula: Action verb + What you did + Result/Impact. For example:
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Spearheaded onboarding automation that reduced processing time by 40% and cut errors in half.
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Coordinated cross-team project that delivered $500k in new revenue within the first year.
Those specifics are what recruiters remember.
Education
For recent grads, education goes higher up. For experienced professionals, it usually belongs near the bottom. Listing GPA is optional unless it’s truly stellar and you’re early in your career. Certifications (like Google IT Support, AWS, or PMP) can also live here if they add credibility.
Keywords and the ATS Puzzle
If you’ve ever applied online and never heard back, you may have fallen victim to the infamous Applicant Tracking System. These programs scan resumes for keywords from the job description, and if your resume doesn’t include them, you might get filtered out before a human ever sees it.
That doesn’t mean you should keyword-stuff your resume until it reads like nonsense. But it does mean tailoring matters. If a posting emphasizes “cloud computing” and “Azure,” you’re better off using those exact terms instead of vaguely saying “experience with cloud tools.”
I once helped a friend applying for a project manager role. She had “led multi-team projects” on her resume but the job description kept mentioning “cross-functional collaboration.” We swapped the phrasing, and suddenly, she was landing interviews. It’s that small.
Common Mistakes That Sink Resumes
Even in 2025, people still make the same resume mistakes. A few of the big ones:
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Typos and grammar errors. It sounds obvious, but you’d be shocked how often they slip through.
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Overly generic language. If your bullet points could fit on anyone’s resume, they probably aren’t strong enough.
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Cramming too much. Dense blocks of text are intimidating. White space is your friend.
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Unnecessary personal details. Leave out marital status, headshots (unless required), and hobbies that don’t connect to the role.
Should You Use AI to Write Your Resume?
Here’s a controversial one. Plenty of AI tools now offer to write your resume in seconds. Are they useful? Yes and no.
On the plus side, they can help generate bullet points, remind you of industry keywords, and give structure when you’re staring at a blank page. But they also tend to sound generic, overly polished, or just…off. Recruiters can usually tell when a resume feels “machine-written.”
My suggestion: use AI as a starting point, not a final draft. Let it spark ideas, but rewrite in your own words. I’ve tested this with my own resume and found that the AI-generated version was technically correct but lacked personality. The rewrite, with my voice, always landed better.
The Resume in Context: More Than a Document
It’s easy to obsess over your resume as if it’s the golden ticket. But here’s the reality: a resume is one piece of a much bigger puzzle. Networking, LinkedIn presence, cover letters, and interview prep all matter too. In fact, sometimes it’s your referral—not your resume—that gets you through the door.
So, yes, take the time to polish your resume. But also remember: it’s a tool, not your identity. The goal is to spark a conversation, not to tell your whole story on paper.
Final Thoughts: Your Resume in 2025
If I had to boil all of this down into a single piece of advice, it would be this: make your resume easy to say yes to. Clear formatting, relevant details, concrete results. Not an autobiography, not a sales pitch, just a compelling summary of why you’re a fit.
And remember—you don’t need to have the perfect resume. Mine still has typos creep in sometimes, or bullet points I rethink after sending. But resumes aren’t meant to be perfect; they’re meant to be alive, evolving as your career grows.
So the next time you sit down to update yours, ask: if a stranger looked at this for 10 seconds, would they see enough to want a conversation? If yes, you’re doing it right.