The biggest change in resume writing has been the pervasiveness of artificial intelligence in applicant tracking systems (ATS). Optimizing your 2022 resume to take advantage of this is critical to a successful job search. Changes in your contact details and design of your resume can highlight whether you are up-to-date or woefully behind the times. Here is a checklist for the best 2022 resume.
ATS Optimization
Jobscan.com found that 98% of Fortune 500 companies use applicant tracking systems, and 75%of employers self-report using applicant tracking software. You must write a resume for successful assessment by an algorithm to even get to a human.
How do you do this? Use a sufficient number of keywords, but not too many, avoid spelling and grammar mistakes, don’t confuse the algorithm with too much graphics and font changes and submit the resume in the preferred file format, typically a pdf. The right amount and type of keywords should come naturally as you write your resume and accurately reflect your skill set.
Contact Details
The pervasiveness of social media and availability of information about you from multiple sources has made everyone more careful about revealing too much information about themselves. In the past few years addresses on resumes have definitely fallen out of favor. Some candidates don’t like to put phone numbers on their resumes, but remember accessibility to hiring managers and recruiters is important.
Your 2022 resume should have your phone number and your professional email address at the top of the page, directly under your full name. Not your legal name but the name you want to go by at the office, Susan Smith not Susan Elizabeth Smith. Remember your resume is not a legal document but a tool to introduce and sell you to a new position.
As remote work becomes less prevalent it makes sense to put your city and state on the resume as well. Hiring managers want to know what time zone you are in or how easy it will be for you to get into the office regularly, or even monthly.
Resume Statement
Objectives at the top of the resume have been out of vogue for at least ten years. Typically they are more about what you want than what the company wants. A good resume statement can add value, and keywords, to your resume. Resume statements provide a quick summary and allow you to highlight your most impressive features FOR THIS SPECIFIC JOB. Given we are operating in an eight-seconds-of–attention-world, capturing the resume reviewers interest quickly is critical. You can do it in an effective resume statement.
Resume Design
There was a short time period where “designing” your resume was popular. The ability to use multiple fonts, colors and special icons was tempting. That trend has passed! Keep your 2022 resume layout clean and simple. Use neutral colors, size 12 font in an easy-to-read style like Times New Roman or Arial, balance text-to-white-space ratio, keep it to 1-2 pages in length and use bullet-point lists when possible instead of paragraphs.
A design choice that is worthwhile is quantifying your performance or expertise. Using data and statistics adds credibility to your text. “Utilized python daily for the last five years.” “Met or exceeded performance goals for last eight quarters.” “Project contributed to multi-million dollar savings in shipping and inventory.”
Work Experience, Education and Skills
These areas of your resume have not changed for 2022. Use reverse chronological order in presenting this information with no gaps in your career timeline. Quantify what you can but don’t forget to include your soft skills particularly where they match the job you are applying for.
Want some help preparing your 2022 resume? Contact Smith Hanley Associates’ Pharmaceutical Sales Executive Recruiter, Nancy Ragonese at nragonese@smithhanley.com.
