Resumes That Actually Work

The Two Audiences for Your Resume

Your resume has to impress two very different readers:

The Robot (ATS): Applicant Tracking Systems scan for keywords, formatting, and basic qualifications. Fail this check and no human ever sees your resume.

The Human (Recruiter): Has maybe 10 seconds to decide if you’re worth a closer look. They scan, not read. Your resume needs to grab attention fast.

Most resumes fail one or both. Let’s fix that.

Understanding ATS

Applicant Tracking Systems aren’t trying to reject you. They’re trying to help recruiters filter hundreds of applications.

What ATS looks for:

• Keywords matching the job description
• Standard section headers it can parse
• Clean formatting (no tables, text boxes, or graphics in the content area)
• Relevant experience and qualifications

Common ATS fails:

• Creative headers like “My Journey” instead of “Experience”
• Important info buried in graphics or tables
• Missing keywords the job requires
• File format issues (use PDF or .docx)

The ATS Optimization Workflow

Here’s how to use AI to optimize for ATS:

Step 1: Extract job requirements

AI: "Analyze this job description and identify:
1. Required skills (must-have)
2. Preferred skills (nice-to-have)
3. Key responsibilities
4. Any specific keywords or tools mentioned

[Paste job description]"

Step 2: Compare to your resume

AI: "Compare my resume to these job requirements.
Which requirements do I match?
Which keywords am I missing?
What gaps should I address?

Job requirements:
[From Step 1]

My resume:
[Paste resume]"

Step 3: Optimize your resume

AI: "Help me incorporate these missing keywords naturally
into my resume without lying or over-stuffing:

Missing elements: [List them]
Current resume: [Paste it]

Suggest specific edits that add these elements authentically."

The key word is “naturally.” Stuffing keywords looks desperate and often backfires.

Writing Bullet Points That Work

Weak bullet points describe tasks:

• Responsible for managing customer accounts
• Handled social media marketing
• Worked on cross-functional projects

Strong bullet points show impact:

• Grew customer retention 23% by implementing proactive outreach program for at-risk accounts
• Increased social engagement 45% and generated 120 qualified leads through data-driven content strategy
• Led 5-person cross-functional team to deliver product launch 2 weeks ahead of schedule

The STAR Formula for Bullets

Structure bullet points using STAR compressed into one line:

Situation/Task → Action → Result

AI: "Rewrite this bullet point using the STAR format.
Show the situation briefly, what I did specifically,
and quantify the result.

Original: Managed customer support team

Context: I led a 4-person team, reduced response times,
improved satisfaction scores"

Result: "Led 4-person customer support team, implementing
new triage system that reduced average response time from
24 hours to 4 hours and improved CSAT scores from 3.2 to 4.5"

Quantify Everything Possible

Numbers grab attention. Whenever possible, add specifics:

Quick check: Before moving on, can you recall the key concept we just covered? Try to explain it in your own words before continuing.

If you don’t know exact numbers, estimate reasonably:

AI: "I know I improved something but don't have exact numbers.
Help me estimate reasonable metrics I can use.

Situation: I improved our customer onboarding process.
We had about 50 new customers per month.
Before my changes, onboarding took about 2 weeks and
many customers complained. After, it was smoother and faster.

What reasonable metrics could I include?"

Resume Structure That Works

Standard order (reverse chronological):

HEADER
Name, contact info, LinkedIn URL

SUMMARY (optional, 2-3 lines max)
Only if you have 5+ years experience or are changing careers

EXPERIENCE
Most recent job first
3-5 bullets per role
More bullets for recent/relevant roles

EDUCATION
Degrees, relevant certifications
Recent grads: include GPA if above 3.5, relevant coursework

SKILLS
Technical skills, tools, languages
Match to job requirements

For career changers or gaps: Consider a functional or hybrid format that leads with relevant skills and projects.

Tailoring vs. Lying

There’s a line between optimization and dishonesty.

OK to do:

• Emphasize different experiences for different roles
• Adjust bullet points to highlight relevant skills
• Use the job description’s terminology (if accurate)
• Reorder skills to put most relevant first

Not OK:

• Claiming skills you don’t have
• Inventing experience or accomplishments
• Inflating numbers significantly
• Listing tools you’ve never actually used

AI: "I want to apply for this role but I'm missing
[specific skill]. I have some adjacent experience with
[related thing]. How can I honestly present this
without claiming expertise I don't have?"

The AI Resume Workflow

For each application:

1. Extract requirements (1 min) AI analyzes job description

2. Compare and identify gaps (2 min) AI compares your base resume to requirements

3. Suggest optimizations (3 min) AI proposes specific, honest edits

4. Review and finalize (5 min) You check that it still sounds like you

Total: ~10 minutes per tailored resume (vs. 45+ doing it manually)

Exercise: Optimize One Bullet Point

Take a bullet point from your current resume.

1. Does it show results or just tasks?
2. Are there numbers? If not, can you add some?
3. Does it start with a strong action verb?
4. Would this grab attention in a 6-second scan?

Rewrite it using the STAR format and specific metrics.

Key Takeaways

• Resumes must pass ATS (robot) AND impress humans (recruiter)
• ATS optimization means keywords + clean formatting
• Strong bullets show results, not tasks: Situation → Action → Result
• Quantify everything—numbers grab attention
• Tailor for each job, but never lie or over-stuff keywords
• AI can cut resume tailoring from 45 minutes to 10 minutes

Next: Tailoring applications fast—resumes plus cover letters.

Up next: In the next lesson, we’ll dive into Tailoring Applications Fast.