How to Improve Your Resume: Expert Tips for Better Results

Your resume might be the reason you’re not getting interviews. Even experienced professionals often have resumes that underperform—documents that fail to capture their true value, get lost in applicant tracking systems, or simply don’t differentiate them from other candidates. The good news is that resume improvement is achievable with focused effort and the right strategies. Small changes can yield significant results in your response rates.

Improving your resume isn’t about starting from scratch or adopting the latest trendy format. It’s about strategically enhancing what you have to better communicate your qualifications and better serve the readers who will decide whether to interview you. This means strengthening your achievement statements, optimizing for both human readers and ATS systems, sharpening your formatting, and ensuring every element earns its place on the page.

This guide walks you through proven resume improvement strategies, from quick fixes that take minutes to deeper revisions that transform your document’s effectiveness. Whether you’re getting no responses at all or simply want to improve your already decent results, these techniques will help you create a resume that opens more doors.

Audit Your Current Resume First

Before making changes, assess your current resume’s strengths and weaknesses. A clear-eyed audit reveals what’s working and what needs attention.

Read your resume as if you’re seeing it for the first time. Better yet, give it to someone unfamiliar with your work and ask what they understand about your qualifications after a quick scan. Their confusion points to areas needing improvement.

Check your response rate. If you’re applying to appropriate positions but rarely getting interviews, your resume likely needs significant improvement. If you get interviews but not offers, the problem may lie elsewhere (interview skills, for instance), though resume improvements can still help.

Identify the weakest sections. Is your summary compelling or generic? Are your bullet points achievement-focused or duty-focused? Is your skills section relevant and organized? Does your education section include unnecessary details? Knowing where to focus helps prioritize your improvement efforts.

Consider whether you’re using the right format for your situation. If you’re a career changer using a strict chronological format, or an experienced professional with a cluttered design, format issues may be limiting your results.

Transform Duties Into Achievements

The single most impactful improvement most people can make is transforming duty-focused bullet points into achievement-focused statements. This shift fundamentally changes how your experience reads.

Duty-focused statements describe what you were supposed to do: “Responsible for managing social media accounts.” They tell readers what your job was but not how well you performed it. They could describe anyone who held similar positions.

Achievement-focused statements describe what you accomplished: “Grew social media following by 340% in 18 months through targeted content strategy, resulting in $156K in attributed sales.” They demonstrate your specific impact and differentiate you from others with similar responsibilities.

For each bullet point, ask yourself: “So what? What happened as a result of my doing this? What would have been different if I hadn’t been there?” These questions push you toward accomplishment-focused language.

The formula is straightforward: Action verb + what you did + result/impact. “Reduced customer complaint resolution time by 45% through implementation of new tracking system, improving customer satisfaction scores by 23 points.” This structure consistently produces stronger statements.

If you struggle to quantify results, think creatively. Numbers aren’t limited to revenue or percentages. Consider: How many people did you manage or train? How many projects did you complete? How much did you save in time or money? How many customers or clients did you serve? What rankings or ratings did you achieve?

Add Quantifiable Results Everywhere

Numbers give your resume credibility and concrete evidence of your capabilities. Resumes heavy with numbers typically outperform those without.

Review every bullet point for quantification opportunities. Even accomplishments that don’t seem numerical often have quantifiable dimensions. “Led team meetings” becomes “Led weekly meetings for 12-person cross-functional team.” “Handled customer inquiries” becomes “Resolved average of 75 customer inquiries daily with 97% satisfaction rating.”

Different types of quantification work for different achievements:

• Scale: How many people, projects, locations, accounts, transactions?
• Money: How much revenue, savings, budget, cost reduction?
• Time: How much faster? What deadline met? How quickly completed?
• Percentages: What improvement rate? What growth percentage?
• Frequency: How often? How many per day/week/month?
• Rankings: What percentile? What rating? What award standing?

Don’t inflate numbers or make claims you can’t support, but do dig for the most impressive truthful metrics you can provide. If you increased something by 12%, say 12%—but make sure you’re capturing the most meaningful metric.

When exact numbers aren’t available, ranges or approximations work: “Managed approximately $2M in inventory” or “Served 200+ customers daily.” Some quantification beats no quantification.

Strengthen Your Professional Summary

Your professional summary is prime real estate—it’s often the only part of your resume that gets read in initial screening. A weak summary wastes this opportunity; a strong one compels further reading.

Evaluate your current summary honestly. Does it sound like it could describe many people, or does it specifically capture your unique value? Does it address what employers in your target roles are looking for? Does it make readers want to learn more?

Effective summaries typically include: your professional identity or title, years of relevant experience, key areas of expertise, notable achievements or credentials, and what you’re seeking or offering. All in three to four concise sentences.

Avoid generic language that adds no value: “hard-working professional,” “team player,” “proven track record of success.” Everyone claims these qualities; they don’t differentiate you.

Instead, use specific, concrete language: “Supply chain manager with 8 years of experience optimizing logistics operations for Fortune 500 manufacturers. Reduced distribution costs by $4.2M annually through network redesign and carrier renegotiation. Seeking senior operations role where I can apply lean methodology expertise to drive continued efficiency gains.”

Customize your summary for different target positions. A supply chain professional pursuing both operations and consulting roles might maintain two summary versions emphasizing different aspects of their background.

Optimize for Applicant Tracking Systems

If your resume isn’t ATS-optimized, it may never reach human reviewers regardless of its quality. ATS optimization ensures your resume survives automated screening.

Use keywords from job postings. Analyze postings for positions you’re pursuing, identify recurring terms and requirements, and incorporate these naturally into your resume. If postings consistently mention “project management,” “stakeholder communication,” and “Agile methodology,” these phrases should appear in your resume.

Use standard section headings that ATS systems recognize: “Professional Experience” or “Work Experience” rather than “Career Journey.” “Education” rather than “Academic Background.” “Skills” rather than “Areas of Expertise.” Creative headings can confuse parsing algorithms.

Avoid formatting that ATS systems handle poorly: tables, text boxes, headers/footers for critical content, unusual fonts, images, and heavy graphics. Simple, clean formatting parses most reliably.

Use standard file formats. PDF format preserves visual appearance but some older ATS systems prefer Word documents. When possible, have both versions ready and use whichever the application system recommends.

Include full terms alongside acronyms. Write “Search Engine Optimization (SEO)” rather than just “SEO” the first time it appears. This ensures you match searches for both forms.

Don’t keyword-stuff. Unnatural repetition or lists of buzzwords without context read poorly to humans and may trigger spam filters. Keywords should appear in meaningful context within your descriptions.

Enhance Visual Readability

Visual improvements make your content more accessible to readers scanning quickly, which is how most resume review happens.

Use consistent formatting throughout. Pick one format for dates (May 2023 or 05/2023, not both), one format for location listings, one approach to bullet points, and apply these consistently. Inconsistency suggests carelessness.

Ensure adequate white space. Crowded resumes overwhelm readers and discourage engagement. Margins of at least half an inch, spacing between sections, and reasonable line spacing help content breathe.

Choose readable fonts. Professional, widely available fonts like Calibri, Garamond, Arial, or Helvetica in 10-12 point size ensure readability across systems and printouts. Avoid decorative fonts that may not render correctly.

Use bullet points effectively. Each bullet should ideally be one to two lines—long enough to convey substantial accomplishment, short enough for quick reading. Bullets of varying lengths create visual rhythm; identical lengths seem monotonous.

Create visual hierarchy through consistent header styling, bold text for key information, and strategic use of white space. Guide readers’ eyes to important content.

Limit your resume to appropriate length. One page for early-career candidates; two pages maximum for experienced professionals unless you’re in academia or applying to federal positions. Every element must justify its space.

Remove Weak and Outdated Content

Improving your resume isn’t just about adding better content—it’s also about removing content that doesn’t serve you.

Delete obvious filler. Phrases like “References available upon request” (assumed), “Objective: To obtain a position” (waste of space), or overly generic descriptions add nothing and consume valuable space.

Remove outdated information. Jobs from more than 10-15 years ago usually don’t need detailed descriptions unless highly relevant. Obsolete skills (legacy software, outdated methodologies) may date you negatively.

Cut irrelevant experience. If early jobs don’t support your current goals, summarize or eliminate them. A senior marketing director doesn’t need detailed descriptions of college retail jobs from 20 years ago.

Eliminate redundancy. If multiple bullet points communicate similar accomplishments, consolidate or cut. Each point should add distinct value.

Remove personal information that doesn’t belong. Age, marital status, photographs (in most countries), hobbies unrelated to your field—these don’t help and may hurt.

Streamline your education section if you’re experienced. Once you have substantial work history, your education section typically only needs degrees, institutions, and dates. GPA, relevant coursework, and other details matter more for recent graduates.

Strengthen Your Skills Section

The skills section offers concentrated space to demonstrate competencies. Optimized skills sections strengthen your candidacy efficiently.

Organize skills logically. Group related skills together rather than listing randomly. Categories might include technical skills, software proficiency, languages, certifications, or methodologies. Organization helps readers find what they’re looking for.

Prioritize relevance. Lead with skills most relevant to your target positions. If pursuing data analyst roles, Python and SQL should appear before Microsoft Office.

Be specific. “Software” or “communication” are too vague to be useful. “Tableau, Power BI, Excel (advanced pivot tables, VLOOKUP)” or “executive presentation, technical documentation, cross-functional stakeholder communication” provide meaningful information.

Match job posting language. If postings ask for “CRM experience” and you have Salesforce expertise, include both “CRM experience” and “Salesforce” to capture different search approaches.

Remove obvious skills. Basic computer literacy, email, and other universal skills don’t distinguish you and may date your resume. Focus on skills that differentiate you.

Consider adding skill levels where appropriate. “Spanish (native), French (conversational)” or “Python (advanced), R (intermediate)” provides useful context, though be prepared to demonstrate any claimed proficiency.

Get Feedback and Fresh Perspectives

Self-editing has limits. Outside perspectives reveal blind spots and improvement opportunities you might miss.

Ask colleagues or mentors in your field to review your resume. They understand industry expectations and can assess whether your presentation aligns with how successful candidates in your field present themselves.

Request feedback from people outside your field. They can assess clarity—if someone unfamiliar with your work can’t understand your accomplishments, the writing needs work.

Consider professional resume review. Career coaches, professional resume writers, and services like 0portfolio.com offer expert evaluation that can identify issues you’ve missed.

When receiving feedback, ask specific questions: “Does my summary make you want to read more?” “Can you tell what I was best at in my last role?” “What questions do you have after reading this?” Specific questions elicit more useful responses than “What do you think?”

Be open to critical feedback. Defensive reactions to criticism prevent improvement. If multiple reviewers identify the same issue, it’s worth addressing even if you disagree initially.

Test and Iterate

Resume improvement is ongoing, not one-time. Testing and iteration help you discover what works for your specific situation.

Track your application outcomes. Note which version of your resume you sent to which positions and what responses you received. Patterns may emerge—perhaps one version consistently performs better.

A/B test different approaches when possible. If applying to similar positions at multiple companies, try different summaries, orderings, or emphasis to see what resonates better.

Review your resume regularly, not just when job searching. Quarterly reviews help you stay current with your accomplishments and ensure you’re ready when opportunities arise.

Update after achievements. When you complete significant projects, earn awards, or develop new skills, add these to your resume immediately while details are fresh.

Solicit feedback periodically. Even if your resume performed well previously, changing market conditions, evolving industry norms, or your own career development may necessitate adjustments.

Quick Fixes That Make Immediate Impact

Some improvements take just minutes but significantly strengthen your resume.

Replace weak action verbs. Change “Responsible for” to “Managed.” Change “Helped with” to “Contributed to” or better yet, a stronger verb that reflects your actual role. Strong action verbs beginning each bullet point create impact.

Fix consistency issues. Quickly scan for inconsistent date formatting, inconsistent punctuation at bullet ends, inconsistent capitalization in titles. These small fixes improve professionalism.

Update your contact information. Ensure your email is professional ([email protected], not [email protected]), your phone number is current, and your LinkedIn URL is included and customized.

Remove typos and grammatical errors. Run spell-check, but also read carefully—spell-check won’t catch wrong-word errors like “their/there.” Have someone else proofread for fresh eyes.

Ensure your file name is professional. “Resume_JohnSmith_2024.pdf” works better than “resume final final v3.pdf” or unnamed document files.

Deeper Revisions for Major Improvement

When quick fixes aren’t enough, deeper revisions transform your resume more fundamentally.

Restructure your format if needed. If you’ve been using chronological format but are changing careers, consider whether combination format better highlights transferable skills. Format should serve your situation.

Rewrite your experience section from scratch. Rather than editing existing bullet points, write entirely new achievement-focused statements. Starting fresh often produces better results than incremental edits to weak original content.

Develop multiple resume versions for different targets. If pursuing distinct opportunity types, create tailored versions that emphasize different aspects of your background appropriately.

Invest in professional design. If your resume looks dated or amateurish, a design refresh using modern templates or professional design services may be worthwhile. Visual presentation creates first impressions.

Consider a complete strategic overhaul. If your resume fundamentally misrepresents your value or targets, you may need to reconceptualize rather than just edit. What do you really want to communicate? How should you be positioned?

Conclusion

Improving your resume is an investment that pays dividends throughout your job search. Even small enhancements—stronger achievement statements, better quantification, cleaner formatting—can meaningfully increase your interview rate. Deeper revisions can transform a struggling resume into a door-opening asset.

The key principles apply regardless of your experience level or industry: focus on achievements rather than duties, quantify wherever possible, optimize for both ATS and human readers, remove what doesn’t serve you, and continuously refine based on feedback and results.

Don’t accept a underperforming resume as unchangeable. With strategic improvement effort, you can create a document that truly represents your capabilities and compels employers to learn more. Your next interview—and ultimately your next role—may be one resume revision away. Start improving today.