Tips For Writing A Digital Resume

I got interviews from companies like Amazon, SAP, Siemens, etc., and everyone talks about resumes with a STAR format and quantifying impact. But what about the resume details that actually make a difference? Based on what’s worked for me, I’m sharing a few overlooked (but practical) tips that can help you. Let’s dive in 👇 1. Use U.S. Letter Size & Thoughtful Formatting: 🧠 Why it matters: Many ATS systems and recruiters in the U.S. are used to U.S. letter format(8.5x11, not A4). A4 may cause layout issues, especially with margins and alignment on different systems. 🎯 How to do it: ▪️ Use 0.9–1.15 line spacing, and margins of 0.5 to 1 inch for a perfect balance. Helps your content breathe without looking bare. ▪️Design psychology: Cramped resumes feel overwhelming; too much white space feels empty. ▪️Some candidates try to trick ATS by adding keywords in white text, invisible to humans. It’s detectable, unethical, and can actually get you blacklisted. 2. Human-First, Then ATS-Friendly 🧠 Why it matters: You’re not interviewing with an algorithm. Recruiters, often not from your domain, are the first to read your resume. 🎯 How to do it: ▪️Use clean formatting, consistent font sizes (10.5–12 pt), and easy-to-skim sections. Make sure your sentences make sense to anyone and not just someone technical. ▪️AI can help refine your wording, but always proofread for clarity and tone. Include context when numbers alone aren’t clear: ❌ “Increased sales by xy%” sounds great but without context, it’s meaningless.  So, add scope + baseline if you can: ✅"Boosted monthly sales by xy% within xy months by introducing a GTM strategy across 2 digital channels." 3. Pass the 6-Second Scan with Story-Driven Bullets 🧠Why it matters: Recruiters skim resumes fast, often under 6 seconds, so your bullet points need to do more than just list tasks. (PS: Studies show recruiters scan resumes in an F-shaped pattern: left to right, top to bottom. The top third of your resume (the “hot zone”) gets the most attention.) 🎯 How to do it: ▪️Start each bullet with the intent or principle behind the action (e.g., “Customer Obsession,” “ETL Pipelines”). ▪️Avoid robotic phrasing like: ❌“Built a dashboard to track engagement metrics.” Instead, make it strategic: ✅Customer Obsession: Launched in-product surveys in Excel to surface user pain points, leading to a 22% increase in feature engagement. Hope this helps!  Please share what worked for you, or if you need a template. #ResumeTips #ProductManagement #JobSearch #CareerAdvice #InternationalStudents #TechCareers #EarlyCareer #LinkedInTips

Are you a student or early-career professional struggling to get callbacks after submitting your resume? I’ve been there. During my first year of grad school, I blamed the job market when I didn’t get a single interview for nearly seven months. I started applying for Summer 2024 internships in August 2023, but didn’t receive my first callback until March 2024. Over time, I began refining my resume based on what the industry values and what it takes to stand out. That made all the difference. Here are some of the most important lessons I’ve learned: 1. Keep the Format Simple Avoid horizontal lines, text-heavy formatting, or excessive bolding. They clutter your resume and make it harder to read. Could you stick to one page? If you can’t explain your work clearly and concisely, you’re not ready to present it. 2. Don’t Just List Tools or Describe the Problem, Explain What You Did Many students focus too much on the business problem (“Built a dashboard for retail analytics”) and gloss over the engineering behind it. Even worse, some just list the tools used: “Used Python, Flask, and AWS to build a service that did X.” Instead, go deeper. What did your Flask service do, exactly? What challenges did you face? What decisions did you make? As engineers, we’re expected to show technical depth. If your resume can’t reflect that, you’ll struggle to stand out, especially for technical roles. 3. Be Realistic with Metrics Many resumes include lines like: “Improved model accuracy from 12% to 95%.” This kind of stat, usually influenced by generic advice from career centers or the internet, raises red flags. It often signals that the project wasn’t technically complex to begin with. Instead of inflating numbers, focus on what you improved, how you improved it, and why your work mattered. Strong technical framing > flashy percentages. 4. Clarity > Buzzwords You might write something like: “Leveraged CUDA for token-level optimization of transformer inference under real-time constraints.” It sounds cool, but what does it mean? This happens when people assume the reader will be as familiar with the project as they are. But if someone in your field has to guess what you did, you’ve already lost them. Don’t rely on buzzwords to do the talking; let clarity drive the message. 5. Your Resume Isn’t for You Your resume isn’t meant to impress you. It’s intended to communicate what you’ve done to people who don’t share your background. Most first-round reviewers aren’t ML engineers or CUDA developers. They often rely on keyword checklists and rubrics to decide which resumes move forward. The one thing that matters is: Can you clearly explain what you did and why it mattered? That’s it. Feel free to put your thoughts in the comments. Follow me for more advice!

If your resume still starts with: "Objective: Seeking a Workday opportunity…” We need to talk. That line belongs in a dusty filing cabinet somewhere with your old Blockbuster card. Ok, I joke a bit, but well...🤔 See, in today’s Workday market, your resume isn’t just a formality. It’s your first proof of value. And it has about 8 seconds to make it clear you’re not just another functional or technical resource. Why am I sharing this? Because I still see resumes like this every week and I think they hold strong candidates back. Here’s what Workday pros need to know: 1) Drop the Objective. - Lead with a bold summary that clearly says: “Here’s what I solve in the Workday ecosystem, who benefits and how.” 2) Bullet points = business impact. - Don’t just list config tasks or job descriptions. Show what changed. “Because I did X, the team gained Y.” Results get remembered. 3) Design for digital and the scroll. - Make it easy to navigate with white space, clean headers, and no walls of text. Especially for companies that don’t trust AI quite yet. 4) Infuse social proof. - Use quotes from past leaders or clients. Especially if you’re a contractor, it builds trust faster than buzzwords. 5) Align to what’s next. - Resumes don't have to just look at what you've done. If you want to move into strategy, AI, Extend, or post-merger work then say it. 6) Link your LinkedIn. - And make sure your profile backs up your resume. They’re a package deal in this market. Plus, you can showcase even more on your profile (featured section). Proof: I've used this exact approach with several Workday pros whose resume had gone stale. No massive certification list. No big name client logos. But after the refresh? They stood out and landed interviews that led to their next hire. And no, this isn’t some ChatGPT generated “storytelling”, there is actual proof in the recommendations on my profile. ______________________________________________________________________________ 📌 Save this for when your resume isn’t getting results. Actually, use it before then. Independent contractors, this is for you too. Show up like you deserve to and watch what happens. #WorkdayWave #Workday #CareerTips #PersonalBranding