10 Steps to Improve Your Resume

Career Resources, News - August 2, 2023

K2 Staffing has over 40 years of combined recruiting and staffing experience, implying we’ve reviewed 1,000’s of resumes, and therefore have a fairly good idea of what hiring managers are looking for. It’s more often than not that a candidate’s resume requires some significant attention prior to us putting it in front of our client for consideration. If you are in the job market, we highly recommend that you look over the following suggestions to improve how you’ll be perceived by a potential employer.

10 Areas to Improve Your Resume:

1. Contact Information – Confirm your contact information is correct. Countless resumes are submitted to us with incorrect phone numbers, misspelled email addresses, or out-of-date locations. We are unable to take you seriously as a candidate when you haven’t ensured that something as simple as your contact information is accurate.

2. Typeface – Choose ONE typeface, such as Times New Roman, Arial, or Cambria and stick with it. Make sure it’s clean and satisfies the professionalism you desire. You may bold your name, or headings, such as “Professional Experience” or “Education”, but do not overbold as it becomes distracting.

3. Font Size – Outside of your name at the top, keep the font size uniform throughout the resume, such as 9pt, 10pt, or 11pt.

4. Number of pages – Too many pages will put you at the bottom of the pile. List only relevant and important facts, so you don’t scare your potential employer away by intimidating them with the information on your resume. Keep it to 2 pages or less.

5. Margins – Feel free to decrease your margins to .75 or even .5 to provide clean, uniform borders, while reducing your page count.

6. Bullet Points – Choose a style and remain uniform, while justifying them a certain way, such as left-justified. Make sure they are aligned, as misaligned bullet points look sloppy. Also, do NOT write paragraphs for each job. Keep it simple and easy to read. Use bullet points to highlight areas of positions you’ve held.

7. Content in Positions Held – Do not copy/paste duties and responsibilities from one job to another. Instead, stand out by focusing on how you improved a company, such as by reducing costs, improving revenue, people you trained, customers you serviced, etc. Use words such as implemented, administered, grew, managed, resolved, developed, established, to name a few.

8. Dates – Choose a date format and keep it uniform, such as 01/01/2023 or January 01, 2023. Additionally, choose where to put your dates, either underneath the job or justified to the right, while
maintaining that format throughout.

9. Graphics – Do not add graphics, such as logos for software used, or companies you’ve held positions at. It looks tacky and unprofessional. Instead, use graphics on your social media presence, such as LinkedIn or a personal website.

10. Voicemail – Ensure your mobile voicemail is set up with your voice, not a default, and it’s able to receive a message. It better not say “I’m sorry, but the number you’ve reached has a voicemail that has not been set up yet. Goodbye!” or your voicemail box is full. This is incredibly frustrating to an employer and will lead to them disqualifying you.

If you’re actively seeking a new position and require help with your resume, reach out to us, as we can lend a helping hand in building out a solid and respectable resume for a nominal fee that will assist you in landing the job of your choice.

At K2 Staffing, we specialize in both Construction Recruitment and Construction Staffing, helping companies find top talent across Southern California. Whether you need skilled leaders from our Construction Estimator Recruiters in Long Beach, trusted support through Construction Superintendent Recruiters in Los Angeles, or expertise from our Mechanical Engineering Recruiters in Long Beach, we have you covered. We also provide hiring solutions through our Civil Engineering Recruiters in Long Beach and Construction Project Manager Recruiters in Los Angeles.

Start With the Right Mindset

A resume is not a list of everything you have ever done. It is a short sales document that shows an employer why you can solve their problems. Thinking this way changes every choice you make on the page.

Know Your Reader

Hiring managers and recruiters often review many resumes in one sitting. They scan quickly and look for signs that you match the job. Picture a busy person with a stack of pages. Make it easy for them to find your name, your recent roles and your best results in a few seconds. A resume written for a tired reader tends to be clear, short and strong.

Tailor Each Version to the Job

One resume rarely fits every opening. Read the job posting and note the skills and duties it stresses. Then adjust your summary, your bullet points and your skills list to show the matching parts of your background. You do not need to rewrite everything. A few careful edits can show that you read the posting and care about the role.

Be Honest and Accurate

Never stretch dates, titles or credentials. Employers check references and records, and a small lie can cost you the offer or the job later. Strong honest facts, presented well, serve you better than exaggeration. If you have gaps or changes in your history, be ready to explain them simply and calmly.

Build a Strong Top Section

The top third of your first page does the most work. Use it well.

Write a Short Professional Summary

A summary of two to four lines can set the stage. State your field, your level of experience and the main strengths you bring. Avoid vague claims such as hard working or team player. Instead, say what you do well and where you have done it. For example, mention the types of projects you have supported or the systems you have managed.

Highlight Key Skills

A short skills section helps readers see your fit at a glance. Include the tools, methods and certifications that matter for the job you want. Keep the list honest and focused. Long lists of basic skills, such as typing, add little. Put the most relevant items first, and use the same words the job posting uses where they truly apply to you. For more on this topic, read about Right Now.

Make Your Name and Links Easy to Find

Put your name at the top in a clear size. Place your phone number, email and city nearby. If you include a professional profile link, make sure it is current and tidy. A clean header shows care and makes it simple for a recruiter to reach you.

Write Experience That Shows Results

The experience section is the heart of your resume. It should show what you did and what changed because of it.

Use the Action and Result Pattern

Start each bullet with a strong verb, then describe what you did and the outcome. For example, you might say that you coordinated a team to finish a task ahead of schedule, or that you developed a process that cut errors. Use true results from your own work. If you do not have exact numbers, describe the change in plain words. Results show value far better than duties alone.

Focus on Recent and Relevant Roles

Give the most detail to your latest and most relevant jobs. Older roles can be shorter. If an early job has little to do with your goal, list it briefly or leave it out. This keeps the resume short and puts your best material at the front.

Keep Bullets Short and Specific

Aim for one or two lines per bullet. Long bullets are hard to scan. Each one should make a single clear point. Cut filler words and avoid repeating the same verb again and again. Variety keeps the reader interested.

Show Growth and Responsibility

If you moved up, took on larger projects or trained others, say so. Employers like to see progress. Mention promotions or added duties within the same company to show that your employer trusted you with more. For more on this topic, read about Strategy Needs.

Handle Special Situations

Not every career path is simple. These tips can help when your story has a few twists.

Career Changes

If you are moving into a new field, put your transferable skills first. Show how past work relates to the new role, such as leadership, scheduling, customer service or technical problem solving. A strong summary that explains your goal helps the reader connect the dots.

Gaps in Employment

Gaps are common and not always a problem. If you spent time on family care, training, health or a job search, you can mention it in a short line. Focus on what you did to stay sharp, such as courses or freelance work. Be ready to talk about it in an interview in a calm, direct way. For more detail, see BLS support specialists.

Entry Level and Early Career

If you have little paid experience, highlight education, internships, school projects, volunteer work and part time jobs. Describe what you learned and what you achieved. Employers hiring early career staff look for potential, reliability and a desire to learn.

Experienced Professionals

If you have many years of experience, resist the urge to list everything. Choose the roles and results that best match your target job. A focused two page resume is stronger than a long history that hides your best work.

Proofread and Prepare to Send

Small errors can undo strong content. Take time to check your work before you hit send. For more on this topic, read about Recruiting Candidates.

Check Spelling, Grammar and Consistency

Read the resume slowly from top to bottom. Then read it again from bottom to top to catch errors that your eyes skip. Look for consistent tense, punctuation and formatting. Spell check helps but does not catch every mistake, such as a correct word used in the wrong place.

Ask Someone Else to Review It

A friend, mentor or recruiter can spot problems that you no longer see. Ask them what stands out, what is unclear and what they would remember about you. Their feedback shows how a stranger might read your page.

Save and Send in the Right Format

Unless the employer asks for something else, send a clean file with a clear name, such as your first and last name and the word resume. Many employers use software that reads resumes, so simple layouts work best. Test the file by opening it on a different device to confirm that it looks right.

After You Send Your Resume

A great resume is the first step. What you do next also matters.

Follow Up Politely

If you have not heard back after a reasonable time, send a short, courteous message to confirm that your resume arrived and to express interest. Keep it brief and professional. Polite follow up shows initiative without pressure.

Prepare for the Interview

Review your resume before each interview. Be ready to explain every line and give a story behind your top results. The resume opens the door, and your answers carry you through it. For more on this topic, read about Construction Workers.

Keep Your Resume Fresh

Update your resume every time you finish a major project, gain a new skill or change roles. It is far easier to add details while they are fresh than to recall them months later. A current resume lets you act fast when a great opportunity appears.

Make Your Resume Work With Hiring Software

Many employers and staffing firms use software to store and search resumes. A few simple habits help your resume get found and read correctly.

Use Standard Headings

Label sections with plain titles such as Summary, Experience, Education and Skills. Creative headings may confuse software and human readers alike. Familiar labels help systems place your information in the right fields. For more detail, see CISA business guidance.

Choose Keywords With Care

Read the job posting and notice the terms it repeats. Where they honestly describe your background, use the same terms in your skills and experience sections. Do not stuff your resume with words that do not apply to you. Natural, accurate language works better than lists of buzzwords.

Keep the Layout Simple

Tables, text boxes and columns can break when software reads them. A single column layout with clear headings is the safest choice. Simple design also fits the advice in this article about fonts and graphics.

Show Your Value in Construction, Engineering and IT Fields

K2 Staffing works with candidates in technical and trade fields. These tips can help you show your strengths in those settings. For more on this topic, read about Staffing Decisions.

Describe Projects Clearly

List the type of project, your role and the size of the team you worked with. Explain the main challenge and how you helped solve it. Project detail helps hiring managers judge whether your experience matches their work.

List Licenses, Certifications and Safety Training

Give these items their own section and keep them current. Include the name of each credential and, where it applies, the year earned or renewed. Employers in technical fields look for these details early in their review.

Name the Tools and Systems You Use

Whether you work with scheduling software, design tools, equipment or IT platforms, list the ones you know well. Group them in a neat skills section so readers can find them fast. Be honest about your level so the interview matches the resume.

Show Reliability and Safety

Employers value people who show up, follow procedures and protect others. Where you can, mention safe work habits, training you completed and teamwork on busy sites or in busy departments.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I include an objective statement?

A short professional summary usually works better than a general objective. It tells the employer what you offer instead of what you want.

Do I need to list every job I have had?

No. Focus on the roles that best support your goal. Older or unrelated jobs can be brief or left off. For more on this topic, read about Recruiters Bridge.

Should I include references on my resume?

It is usually better to keep references on a separate page and share them when asked. This saves space for your experience.

Can a recruiter help me improve my resume?

Yes. A recruiter sees many resumes and knows what employers in your field want. Their feedback can help you present your strengths with more impact.

How often should I update my resume?

Update it after every major project, new skill or change in role. Review it fully before each job search so it matches your current goals.

Is a cover letter still useful?

Often yes. A short, targeted letter can explain your interest and connect your background to the role. Keep it brief and specific to the employer.

What should I do about a long work history?

Focus on recent and relevant roles. Summarize older jobs in a line or two, or leave out those that do not support your target job.

Next Steps

A strong resume can open doors. K2 Staffing is ready to help you take the next step in your career.

Send us your current resume for review.
Tell us about the roles and industries you want.
Ask about openings that match your skills.
Contact K2 Staffing today to get started.

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