Written by Estrella Bahns

Picture this: You've spent hours perfecting your resume, carefully crafting every bullet point, and hitting submit with confidence. Meanwhile, on the other side of the screen, a hiring manager is quickly scanning through applications during a busy day. Eight seconds. That's typically all the time you get to make your first impression.

As someone who's reviewed thousands of resumes over the years, I'd love to share some insights on what tends to catch a Hiring Manager's attention—and what simple adjustments can help your application stand out in a good way.

Note: These aren't tips on gaming AI or ATS systems—just straightforward advice on what makes a resume easy to read and compelling from a human perspective.

Keep It Short and Sweet (Seriously)

Early career (0-5 years): One page works best. When you're just starting out, focus on your strongest experiences and achievements rather than trying to fill space.

Experienced professionals (5+ years): Two pages maximum. This gives you room to showcase your career progression while keeping things concise.

Here's the thing—a resume that's too long can actually work against you. It suggests you might struggle to prioritize information or communicate key points efficiently. These are valuable skills in any role.

Focus on your most impressive achievements and experiences that directly relate to the role you're applying for. This may mean you have a few different versions of your resume, and that's perfectly okay!

The Great Template Debate

Look, those fancy design templates can be really appealing, and if you're applying for design roles, they're a great way to showcase your creative skills.

However, it's always smart to have a clean, simple version ready as well. When recruiters are reviewing many resumes (especially during busy periods), a straightforward format makes it easier to quickly find key information.

Keep your margins consistent and use uniform formatting throughout—inconsistent spacing or fonts can make your resume look unprofessional and distract from your actual qualifications.

Word vs. PDF

This might surprise you, but Word documents (or any other editable docs) are preferred by many recruiters; when typos are discovered, we can quickly fix them before sending your resume to the hiring manager.

PDFs work well too, but here's one format to definitely avoid: JPEGs or image files. Applicant Tracking Systems can't read images, which means your resume might not parse properly.

Numbers Are Your Best Friend

"Responsible for database optimization" tells me nothing. "Optimized database queries, reducing execution time by 75%" tells me much more.

Keep a living document where you track every stat, metric, and achievement as they happen. Revenue generated, costs saved, team size managed, projects completed, percentages improved—document them all regularly. Your future self will thank you when it's time to update your resume.

Don't Just Name-Drop Technologies

I see this constantly: "Skilled in Python, JavaScript, React, Docker, AWS, machine learning, blockchain, and quantum computing." But what did you actually do with these?

Instead, tell me: "Used Python and machine learning libraries to build a customer churn prediction model that reduced cancellations by 25%" or "Implemented React components for e-commerce platforms serving 10,000+ daily users."

Context is everything, but don't stop there—show how your technical work created value for the business. Did your optimization save the company money?

Did your new feature increase user engagement? Did your automation free up your team to focus on higher-value work?

Anyone can list buzzwords, but demonstrating both technical application and business impact shows you understand the bigger picture.

The Bottom Line

Your resume isn't about you—it's about what you can do for the company. Every line should answer the question "So what?" If it doesn't add value or demonstrate impact, it's taking up precious real estate in those critical eight seconds.

Remember, your resume's job isn't to get you hired—it's to get you the interview. Keep it clean, keep it relevant, and keep it focused on results.

Now stop overthinking it and start applying. A good resume that gets submitted is much more valuable than a perfect one that never sees the light of day.