Published by Jyothi Patil on 13 March 2025
Content Strategist | Editorial Team Member
Jyothi Patil is a skilled writer with a strong background in English literature, which she applies to crafting engaging content across various platforms. From writing blogs for her website and guest posts to creating pieces on Medium and Substack, Jyothi excels in making complex ideas easy to understand.
Work experience is key, but showcasing it effectively matters more. Read the blog for expert resume tips.
A good resume gives you a chance to appear for the interview. However, the confusion lies in what is a good resume? What should be its format? How to add work experience in a resume that attracts employers? Can adding the names of employers do the job? Well, we will answer all these questions in this blog. By the time you finish reading this blog, you will be done with all the essential elements required to make a promising resume.
You think that you mentioned the names of all employers in your resume and the work is done? Well sorry to break this for you. You made a big blunder. An interviewer will straightway reject your application once he sees the employers name mentioned in the resume haphazardly. This means you have to put the names of companies as per the years you worked for them. The exact month and year when you started working and when you left working at the respective organization should be mentioned clearly in the resume. The next question is how to write the years of work in a resume.
The answer is to try and add work experience in reverse chronological order so that the employer finds it easy to know the last company you worked for.
If you think that you will mention your former designations- Digital marketer in an XYZ company or a software developer in Infosys and it will suffice for an interview call. Hell No! For example, if you are a software developer, there might be hundreds or even thousands of more applications for the respective post. You need to give an employer a definite reason to select you. And that too can only happen if you explain the exact projects you work for, what was your role in it, and how you influenced the outcome. Remember, not everyone can be called for an interview. You need to have something special in regard to the job requirement plus the employer needs to see why you are a better candidate which is only possible if you share that kind of resume with the employee.
Many companies especially, the MNC’s make sure that their employees have proper educational qualifications in resume for the respective post. You can be a skilled coder but you cannot be a part of Infosys as a software developer. One needs to have a proper degree like a BCA, or B.Tech in Computer Science to just appear for the interviews of such companies. This is why qualification should be mentioned in bold. Additionally, if you mention the names of schools, colleges, boards, and the percentage you got in 10th, 12th, Graduation, or PG, it will be an added advantage.
An ATS-approved resume is a resume optimized to pass through Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) without getting rejected. Many companies use ATS to filter candidates before a human recruiter reviews the applications.
Key Features of an ATS-Approved Resume
Simple Formatting – Avoid images, fancy fonts, tables, and columns.
Keyword Optimization – Use job-related keywords from the job description.
Standard Sections – Include Contact Info, Summary, Experience, Skills, Education, and Certifications.
Correct File Format – Submit as Word (.docx) or PDF.
Bullet Points – Improve readability and ATS parsing.
No Headers & Footers – Some ATS may not read them
Learn how to highlight your work experience to grab recruiters' attention!
Stand Out NowUse action verbs and power words in the resume & cover letter. The next question is - What are power words? Power words help your resume stand out in the market. Such words display your talent & skills effectively thereby increasing your chance of moving on to the next step for the hiring process.
Examples
Led a team of 10 to successfully complete a project 20% ahead of schedule.
Managed a budget of Rupees 500000, optimizing expenses and reducing costs by 15%.
Supervised daily operations, increasing team efficiency by 30%.
Every job demands a different skill set. Hence, you cannot share a ditto resume for every job.
For example, you are a content writer with niches like- food, health, traveling, etc. However, this particular job requires a health writer. What will you do now? Will you share the same resume? No, this time you will edit your resume as per the requirements.
You will share what kind of health content you focussed on, the kind of social media posts you shared that helped gain traction and resulted in getting more clients, was it about general health & fitness or targeted a specific audience like married women or elderly people, and if you ever got any increment based on your performance for the job.
Employers seek candidates who progressively take on more responsibility. Each past role should reflect growth, not just in experience but also in responsibilities. Your resume should showcase a clear career trajectory, demonstrating how your role and impact have expanded over time. This helps employers see your potential for future growth.
Simply stating, "Managed a team of 10 people," describes a duty, but highlighting how well you managed and what you achieved turns it into an accomplishment. When listing responsibilities, always include the impact or results.
Do you have the required soft skills for resume? Soft skills are transferable personal and interpersonal abilities that enhance teamwork, communication, and leadership across industries
No matter which technical field you belong to, soft skills are second to none. Hence do not forget the following soft skills in your resume.
Communication – Clear speaking, writing, and active listening.
Leadership & Teamwork – Collaboration, decision-making, and mentoring.
Problem-Solving – Analytical thinking and creative solutions.
Time Management – Prioritizing tasks and meeting deadlines.
Emotional Intelligence – Adaptability, resilience, and relationship-building
It is better to keep a summary of your resume at the bottom of the page. The reason is that after reading your resume, your interviewer might find it hard to keep track of all things mentioned in the resume, especially if you have many years of experience. Hence, keeping highlights at the end of your resume will help the employer to have better understanding and clarity.
You can easily be called for all the interviews if you know what and how you should add work experiences to your resume that can attract employers to the max. However, if this sounds like a lot of work even after the above-mentioned tips for writing a resume, you can always go for a CV writing service.
No. 14/595, 1st Floor, Nanjappa Reddy Layout, Koramangala 8th Block, Bangalore 560095