Ready to write your best resume ever in 2024 and 2025?
Learn how to make your brand stand out immediately among counter intensive competition.
- It’s no secret that 2024 has been met with its share of layoffs. TechCrunch lists 60,000 workforce reductions in 254 companies as of September 2024 and unfortunately, this trend hasn’t slowed.
- As we head into the later months of the year, Pfizer is following suit, PwC and Tesla are issuing layoff announcements, and there may be more to come.
- The idea here isn’t to discourage you, but to help you get a glimpse of the need to convey your value proposition QUICKLY and succinctly in a resume designed to shine in 2024 and 2025.
Here’s how to distinguish yourself with an exceptional resume – and take on the 2024-2025 job market:
Describe What Differentiates You.
You might be tempted to look at colleague’s resume or examples of resumes in your field for inspiration. However, employers are interested in what sets you APART.
This could be the speed in which you deliver projects, the revenue you make for your employer, how you coach teams to peak performance, or how you cut costs – anything that sets you apart from others at the same level.
Gather success stories that PROVE your competencies, and document these wins in short, powerful sentences on your resume, such as:
- Created training programs educating 200+ sales reps and enabling 85% better close rate for a VP of Sales role
- Realized 26% lower expenses by restructuring divisions for a COO position
- Regained Joint Commission hospital accreditation with top-ranked patient safety metrics when targeting a healthcare CEO job
These success stories should be written to pique employer interest; save the longer longer explanations for your interview. See 5 Steps to a Compelling Executive Brand for more examples.
Condense Your 2024-2025 Resume to a Powerful Set of Essential Facts.
Even if you have decades of experience, employers may NOT have the time to read about it!
Most hiring managers are looking for standout achievements and information on your career progression, typically tucked into 2 pages or less.
Trying to fit decades of detail into your 2024 resume? Ask yourself:
- Are my most important qualifications presented in sufficient detail? (Great! You’re covered.)
- Will employers care about achievements from more than a decade ago? (Not unless they’re directly related to your goals. Cull older accomplishments to make room for more recent wins.)
- Does this resume need ALL the detail used to land my previous jobs? (Probably not. Focus on skills that are relevant NOW.)
Ruthlessly edit until you’ve reached 2 pages (3 at most) that contain compelling, data-driven examples of your strengths.
Show Employers the Money.
In other words, focus on how you’ve made it or saved it.
For every success in your career, ask yourself how much it affected the company’s bottom line:
- If you’re known for fast results, such as projects completed ahead of time, estimate how much money your employer saved if stakeholders could use new software or other capabilities faster.
- Involved in negotiating vendor contracts? You have have reduced operating expenses, gained more purchasing power, or cut deals for better long-term savings.
- If your career includes mentoring employees, consider whether you influenced retention, and then take a shot at how much it costs the company to hire new staff.
Keep going until you have a group of achievements with dollar figures and percentages key to strengthening your 2024 resume. There are MANY ways to quantify your impact in terms of dollars, new growth opportunities, or cost savings!
If you struggle with this type of writing, make a list of your top 10 career successes, then work backwards to shorten them and add figures.
Use Headlines to Direct Attention to Your Best 2024 (and Earlier) Wins.
To help make more space on your resume or LinkedIn profile, summarize the high points of your career.
Consider writing a succinct headline to quickly point out your top achievements.
As shown in this example of an award-winning Engineering leader resume, “Market-Leading Software Quality & Scalability” tells employers this executive delivers high-value products.
A bullet-point list underneath also includes “11 Consecutive Quarters of Profit” and “Innovative ERP Startup” in bold text. Each of these successes is quickly framed for easier reading and navigation.
Think about headlines or summary statements that apply to you. If you’ve been repeatedly sought for new roles, try “Promoted 4 Times in 6 Years at XYZ Company,”
If you’ve led changes that improved team retention, “Trusted Turnaround Leader & Mentor” might be suitable.
The sky’s the limit with these summary statements for your resume!
These tips will help you write the best resume to stand out in 2024 and 2025.
By analyzing and writing about your top qualifications and impact, you can shine brighter, even if you’re facing a market filled with highly qualified job-seeking competition.
See Also:
What Should Your Resume Look Like to Capture Attention?
Over 50? How to Write a Winning Resume
How to Update Your Executive Resume – The 4 Steps You’re Missing
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