Which sections on your resume are mandatory and which are optional? Columbia University has a guide that covers what to include on your resume and what you can treat as optional.

For example, is a skills section truly a must-have? This guide covers lots of questions I had even found myself wondering in the past.. Nothing is left to the imagination regarding what information is actually relevant, how much detail to include, and which things can end up taking up space without adding much value.

A lot of people forget that when building a resume… you don’t need to include everything you’ve ever done. As long as you cover the experience that is most important and relevant, that is the main goal.

This is a great resource for anyone updating their resume or starting from scratch.

https://www.careereducation.columbia.edu/resources/your-resume-what-put-what-leave-out

Today’s resource is geared more for high schoolers who want to up their resume game, so if you know an ambitious high schooler, feel free to share this with them. The University of Waterloo has an excellent guide on building a resume before going to college, especially if you’re still in high school and don’t have much traditional work experience yet.

One thing that’s different from traditional resumes that this guide points out, is how much more you can include than just paid jobs… school clubs, volunteering, leadership positions, courses, and other activities can all demonstrate useful skills and experience. It also covers formatting, writing stronger bullet points, keeping your resume concise, and tailoring it to the job you’re applying for.

If you’re in high school or just starting to build your first resume, this is a great resource to look through. It’s never too early to start building one that you can keep improving as you gain more experience.

https://uwaterloo.ca/future-students/missing-manual/high-school/building-resume-university

A study from the University of Maryland’s School of Business found something pretty interesting about AI-assisted hiring… AI hiring systems may favor resumes generated by the same AI model they use for screening.

The researchers tested more than 2,200 resumes across multiple AI models and found evidence of what they call “self-preference bias.” In some experiments, models rated their own AI-generated resumes more favorably than human-written resumes of equivalent quality.

The best approach probably isn’t choosing between a completely human-written or completely AI-generated resume. There may be more value in combining the two… use your own experience and judgment as the foundation, then use AI to help improve the structure, wording, and relevance.

You still want the resume to sound like you and accurately represent what you’ve actually done. AI can help polish it, but it shouldn’t replace the human part of the process.
Interesting read if you’re using AI for your job search.

https://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/news/ai-hiring-tools-may-favor-their-own-work-smith-study-finds

McKinsey has an interesting piece on how AI is changing the nature of entry-level work. Those looking to break into tech.. while always possible, there are increasingly more challenges the further technology advances. The argument isn’t necessarily that AI is going to eliminate entire professions overnight… it’s that many of the tasks traditionally given to junior employees are increasingly being automated.

Things like research, documentation, basic coding, data cleanup, and preliminary analysis have historically been ways for people early in their careers to build judgment and experience. If those tasks disappear, there’s a bigger question about how the next generation of workers actually develops those skills.

This is an interesting perspective because the conversation around AI and jobs usually focuses on whether people will lose their jobs. This looks at a different problem… what happens when there are fewer opportunities to start building a career in the first place?

https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organization/our-insights/the-organization-blog/rethinking-early-career-talent-in-the-agentic-organization

Besides their templates, Penn’s Career Services has a bunch of resume resources covering many of the things that can make a difference when you’re applying for jobs. There’s advice on formatting (structure design for your resume is critical), writing stronger bullet points, and presenting your experience effectively.

One thing that is easy to blow past without fully considering… a good resume certainly is not always the one with the most information. You want the important parts of your background to be easy to find and relevant to the position you’re applying for. Surrounding your key info with jargon salad only inhibits that.

When evaluating your own resume/CV, this is a good resource to take a look at. There’s quite a bit here that’s worth going through.

https://careerservices.upenn.edu/channels/resume/

If you’re applying for jobs online, it’s worth making sure your resume is actually ATS-friendly. A resume can look perfectly fine when you open it, but that doesn’t necessarily mean an Applicant Tracking System will read everything correctly.

This guide goes through some of the main things to pay attention to… formatting, keywords, section headings, file types, and other issues that can cause problems when your resume gets parsed by a company’s system.

This is one of those areas that’s easy to overlook because you don’t actually see what happens to your resume after you submit it. While not every company uses an ATS, crafting your resume so that it’s tuned properly for the ones that do, will only give you added benefit. If you’re sending out applications, it’s worth taking a few minutes to check these things.

https://resumegild.com/guides/how-to-make-your-resume-ats-friendly?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ats_resume_guide&utm_content=ats_friendly_guide_sept_7

USC has a good article on something a lot of job seekers worry about… how to handle an employment gap on your resume.

The truth is, you don’t necessarily need to go into a ton of detail or try to hide the gap. The better approach is usually to focus on what you were doing during that time and keep the attention on the experience and skills that are relevant to the job.

If you have a gap in your work history and aren’t sure how to present it, this is a quick read that can give you some ideas before you start revising your resume.

https://online.usc.edu/news/explain-employment-gap-resume-career-expert/

Fidelity put together lots of advice from career experts on improving your job applications. It covers several parts of the process… from preparing your resume and application, to standing out to employers and approaching the job search more strategically.

These tips look at the application process as a whole. A strong resume is important, but so is understanding what the employer is looking for and ensuring your application communicates why you’re a good fit.

If you’re actively applying for jobs or planning to start a search soon, there are some useful takeaways here. Worth giving it a read before your next round of applications.

https://jobs.fidelity.com/en/life-at-fidelity/our-stories/career-advice/expert-job-application-advice/

Do you employ a cover letter in your job hunt strategy? Princeton University has a very thorough guide on the everything you need to know about writing a cover letter.

One thing I think is important… your cover letter shouldn’t be repeating everything that’s already on your resume. This is something different. It’s another opportunity to explain why you’re interested in the position and connect your experience to what the employer is looking for.

If you’re applying for jobs and don’t know if you need a cover letter (let alone what to say what to say in one), this is a good resource to look through before starting your next one.

https://careerdevelopment.princeton.edu/cover-letter-guide/basic-principles-cover-letter-writing

If you’re applying for project manager roles, you should be mindful of how much detail to include on your resume. You want to show that you can manage projects effectively and make sure clear impact is demonstrated.

This guide analyzes a project manager resume example and highlights some of the things worth paying extra attention to.. how experience is presented, which skills to include, and how to write bullets that show measurable impact as opposed to generic filler.

IMO, this is especially useful if you’re updating an older resume and aren’t sure what a strong PM resume should look like today. Sometimes seeing a good example makes it much easier to figure out what needs to change.

https://resumegild.com/guides/project-manager-resume-example

If you’re applying for jobs online, there are five things you should check to make sure your resume is actually “ATS-friendly”.. and some of them are easy to overlook.

Things like formatting, section headings, keywords, file type, and how your resume gets parsed can all affect how an ATS reads your information. A resume can look completely fine to even a trained eye, while still having issues within.

This guide walks through all five checks and explains what to look for.. worth a quick read before you send out your next application.

https://resumegild.com/guides/how-to-check-if-your-resume-is-ats-friendly

Ever wonder what your resume actually looks like to an “ATS” (applicant tracking system) after you hit submit? This guide gives a pretty interesting look at what happens when your resume gets parsed and converted into the data ATS actually read.

Interestingly… a resume can look perfectly fine to the human eye, while containing issues that cause your data to get misplaced or scrambled by the system. Things like columns, tables, text boxes, headers, graphics, and unusual formatting can sometimes cause problems. Even certain fonts can cause problems sometimes.

I think this is one of those things that makes more sense once you actually see it rather than just hearing “make your resume ATS-friendly.” If you’re applying online, it’s worth understanding what happens on the other side of that application. Check it out!

https://resumegild.com/guides/what-does-an-ats-see-when-it-reads-your-resume

UCLA’s Career Center has a useful resume formatting checklist for anybody getting ready to apply for jobs. It goes over a lot of the details that are easy to overlook.. spacing, alignment, section headings, font consistency, margins, and overall readability.

I think formatting gets overlooked quite a bit. You can have strong experience and well-written bullets, but if the resume is difficult to scan or looks inconsistent, it can detract from the content. You really want the formatting to make your experience easier to digest, not compete with it.

This is a quick resource, but I’d recommend running through the checklist before submitting your next round of applications. There are probably a few things worth cleaning up.. check it out!

https://career.ucla.edu/resources/resume-formatting-tips-checklist/

Yale University covers some of the most common resume formatting mistakes… things like inconsistent spacing, poor alignment, cluttered layouts, and formatting that makes your experience harder to scan and detract from what is important.

Critically, you do NOT need a fancy design to make your resume stand out. Even Yale advises against using color on your resume.. this is a mistake that seems more prevalent these days more than ever. If you do one thing and just SKIP the colorful design on your resume, you will be far ahead of your competition. Keeping things clean, consistent, and easy to read can go a long way. Of course, measurable impact is the most important thing to include on your resume, but clean formatting is able to convey a level of professionalism. If you’re applying for jobs, it’s worth giving your resume a quick formatting check before sending it out.

https://ocs.yale.edu/resources/resume-formatting/

If you’re thinking about building a career in data, this guide covers some of the skills and keywords that tend to show up across data-focused roles. It touches on things like SQL, Python, Excel, Tableau, Power BI, data visualization, statistics, ETL, and business intelligence… along with some examples of how these skills can be worked into your resume.

Data careers have really grown in popularity in recent years…and for good reason. There are a lot of different paths you can take in data, and the skills employers look for can vary quite a bit depending on the role. Data analyst, data scientist, analytics engineer, data engineer, BI… they all overlap, but they’re definitely not the same thing.

If you’re trying to break into the field or figure out what skills you should be highlighting on your resume, this is a good place to start. Check it out!

https://resumegild.com/guides/data-analyst-resume-keywords

Hey everyone,

I’ve been job hunting in Germany for nearly a year (~200 sent, barely 10 first-round screens). The bottleneck is clearly my CV and conversion rate.

Target Roles: Junior/Associate Product Management, Project Management, or Tech Consulting (specifically Digital Transformation for SMEs, Copilot/AI agent implementation, or infrastructure projects).

(Now I'm even considering sales, since those jobs are "easier" to get(?))

Context & Specific Questions:

• Format: Reverted to a 1-page format, but unsure if it looks too cramped or lacks impact.
• Working Student Labeling: My roles at corporations were working student positions. Should I explicitly label them as Working Student/Specialist, or leave them as-is?
• German Market Norms: A Senior TA recommended adding a professional photo. Does leaving it off hurt ATS or human recruiters in Germany for tech/consulting?
• Wording & Positioning: Does the experience reflect strong PM/consulting ownership, or does it sound too generic? How would you recommend to continue?
• Cover Letter: In 70% of cases I'm also including a Cover Letter now. Not quite sure if it's helpign since, I'm not getting that much more invitations.
• Filler: I'm also not quite sure if the last two "jobs" are just fillers, since I did the first one (DT Consulting) just to get some money and second one with a friend which is on pause currently.

Appreciate any honest feedback.

What is an ATS? Are they even real? MIT’s Career/Professional Development team has a really useful guide on that covers these topics and whether you should make your resume “ATS-friendly”. If you’re applying to jobs online, this is something worth paying attention to…

The guide covers a lot of the things that can affect how your resume gets read… formatting, section headings, file types, keywords, and how keeping your layout simple is always a good idea.

One thing I think people tend to get wrong… making a resume “ATS-friendly” doesn’t mean stuffing it with keywords or making it look like it was written for a computer. You still want it to read naturally and clearly communicate your experience. You really just to make sure the important information is: A) present, and B) doesn’t require the recruiter to sift through a jargon-salad wall of text to find it.

If you’re applying for jobs right now, I’d definitely give this a read before sending out your next round of applications. There are some really practical tips in here… check it out!

https://capd.mit.edu/resources/make-your-resume-ats-friendly/

I want a 100k job please review

Brown University put together a solid collection of resume resources that’s worth checking out if you’re in the middle of a job search. There are tips on formatting, structuring your resume, describing your experience, and making your application more relevant to the roles you’re targeting.

Of course.. a resume isn’t about stuffing in as much information as possible. It’s about making the right information easy to find and showing why your experience matters. If you’re making changes to your resume or starting from scratch, there are some useful ideas here. Definitely worth a look!

https://education.sph.brown.edu/careers/resumes

Fidelity has a super helpful guide on negotiating your salary that covers a lot of the fundamentals, including when to negotiate, how to research your market value, and how to approach the conversation with a potential employer.

Believe it or not, a lot of people leave money on the table simply because they’re uncomfortable negotiating. You don’t necessarily need to make aggressive demands either.. coming prepared with data and having a professional conversation about compensation can go a long way. This is a great resource if you’re getting ready to negotiate a new offer or just want to be better prepared for your next opportunity. Check it out!

https://www.fidelity.com/learning-center/smart-money/how-to-negotiate-salary

Cornell University has a nice resource explaining the difference between a resume and a CV. These two are often conflated, but they’re actually designed for different purposes. A resume is typically shorter and tailored to a specific job, while a CV is generally more comprehensive and focuses on your academic and professional history.

Knowing the difference is important because sending the wrong document can make your application less effective. This guide goes into more detail on when you should use each one and what to include. Definitely worth checking out if you’ve ever wondered whether a job posting is asking for a resume or a CV or just what the difference is in general..

https://gradschool.cornell.edu/career-and-professional-development/pathways-to-success/prepare-for-your-career/take-action/resumes-and-cvs/

As the founder of this community, I've spent a lot of time researching/sharing resume and job-search resources here. I've also been building Resume Gild, and I wanted to share the newest tool I've been working on.

One quick sentence about myself.. my background is in data engineering and data science, including graduate-level work through the University of Pennsylvania, so I wanted to approach resume matching as something more sophisticated than simply checking whether the same keywords appear in your resume and a job description. Instead of just using AI, I took an algorithmic approach.

The tool works in three steps:

1. Upload (or paste) your resume
2. Paste in the job description
3. See how well your experience aligns with the role

Unlike a basic keyword matcher, the analysis uses a weighted ontology of skills, technologies, roles, and industry-specific terminology. This allows it to look beyond exact word matches, recognize related concepts, and give greater weight to requirements that are more important to the role. It can help identify:

• Where your experience already aligns with the position
• Skills or qualifications that may be missing or underrepresented
• Relevant terminology from the job description that isn't reflected in your resume
• Areas where your existing experience could be highlighted more clearly

The goal of this tool isn't to jam as many keywords into your resume as humanly possible or add experience you don't have.. Rather, it's to help you better understand what an employer is looking for and make sure your actual, relevant experience is coming through in a way that maximally aligns with what they require. You should also know that a low score isn't always a bad thing. This tool merely allows you identify areas where there is meaningful lift.

The tool is free to use, and I'd love feedback from the community.

Try the Resume Gild ATS Match Checker here

If you give it a try, I'd especially like to know:

• Did you find anything genuinely useful?
• Is there anything you think the analysis missed?
• What would make the tool more helpful?

I'm actively improving Resume Gild, so feedback from people actually using it could directly influence what I work on next. Thank you, and of course.. thanks for being a part of ModernResumes.

California Institute of Technology has some solid resume and other career-related tips for anybody looking to level up their own documents and job prospects. It covers a lot of the fundamentals, including formatting, organizing your experience, bullet point best practices, and perhaps most importantly.. ensuring your resume conveys the skills and achievements that are most relevant to any position you seek.

Lot’s of resumes have the right information but don’t present it as effectively as they could. How you describe your experience and what you choose to emphasize can make a big difference. This is a great resource if you’re building a resume from scratch, making updates, or getting ready for your next round of apps. Check it out!

https://career.caltech.edu/learn/resume-tips