How many bullet points should each job have on a resume?

Include 3 to 6 bullet points per role. Focus on your most impactful achievements and responsibilities. For older or less relevant roles, 2 to 3 bullet points are sufficient. Quality matters more than quantity.

Should I tailor my resume for every job application?

Yes. Tailoring your resume for each application is the single most impactful thing you can do. Adjust your professional summary, reorder bullet points, and ensure keywords from the job posting appear naturally in your resume.

How far back should my work experience go on a resume?

Generally, include the last 10 to 15 years of experience. For experienced professionals, older roles can be summarized briefly or omitted if they are not relevant to the position you are applying for.

10 Resume Tips to Land Your Dream Job

Published January 15, 2026Updated January 29, 2026

A great resume does not just list where you have worked. It tells a story about the value you bring. Whether you are a seasoned professional looking to make a move or an early-career candidate aiming for your first big opportunity, these ten tips will help you build a resume that stands out for the right reasons.

1. Tailor your resume for every application

This is the single most impactful thing you can do. A generic resume sent to 50 companies will underperform a tailored resume sent to 10.

Here is the process: Read the job description carefully. Highlight the skills, qualifications, and responsibilities that are emphasized. Then adjust your resume so that your most relevant experience and skills are prominently featured. This does not mean rewriting your entire resume each time. It means adjusting your professional summary, reordering your bullet points, and making sure the keywords from the job posting appear naturally in your resume.

If a company is looking for someone with "cross-functional stakeholder management" experience and you have that experience but described it as "worked with different teams," rephrase it. Mirror the language of the job description while remaining truthful.

2. Lead with impact, not responsibilities

There is a fundamental difference between describing what your job was and describing what you accomplished in that job.

Responsibility-focused: "Managed social media accounts for the company."

Impact-focused: "Grew company social media following from 5,000 to 28,000 in 12 months, generating a 40% increase in website traffic from social channels."

The second version tells the recruiter that you do not just show up and do tasks. You drive measurable results. For every bullet point on your resume, ask yourself: "So what? What changed because I did this?"

3. Quantify your achievements

Numbers are the language of business. Whenever you can attach a metric to your accomplishment, do it. Revenue generated, costs reduced, time saved, users served, projects delivered, team size managed, efficiency improved. These concrete figures give recruiters a clear picture of your scale of impact.

If you do not have exact figures, reasonable estimates are acceptable. "Reduced customer response time by approximately 30%" is far better than "Improved customer response time."

4. Write a compelling professional summary

The top third of your resume is prime real estate. A strong professional summary immediately tells the recruiter who you are, what you specialize in, and why you are worth interviewing. Keep it to 3 to 4 lines.

Example: "Product Manager with 6 years of experience in B2B SaaS, specializing in data analytics platforms. Led the development and launch of three products that collectively generate $4M in annual recurring revenue. Experienced in working with globally distributed engineering teams across India and the US."

Avoid vague phrases like "results-oriented professional" or "team player with excellent communication skills." These mean nothing without evidence.

5. Use strong, specific action verbs

Start every bullet point with a verb that conveys initiative and competence. Avoid weak, passive constructions.

Strong verbs: Architected, launched, negotiated, streamlined, mentored, automated, spearheaded, redesigned, optimized, delivered.

Weak starters to avoid: "Responsible for," "Helped with," "Assisted in," "Involved in," "Duties included."

The verb you choose sets the tone for the entire bullet point. "Spearheaded the migration to a cloud-based infrastructure" sounds very different from "Was involved in cloud migration."

6. Keep formatting clean and consistent

Inconsistent formatting makes your resume look careless. Choose one style and stick with it throughout:

Same font and size for all body text
Same heading style for all sections
Same date format everywhere (do not mix "Jan 2024" and "January 2024")
Same bullet point style
Consistent spacing between sections

A clean, well-formatted resume communicates attention to detail, which is a trait every employer values. If formatting is not your strength, a tool like EasyResume's builder handles it automatically so you can focus on content.

7. Optimize for ATS without sacrificing readability

Most resumes pass through Applicant Tracking Systems before reaching a human. Use standard section headings, avoid tables and graphics, and include relevant keywords from the job description. But do not sacrifice readability in the process. Your resume needs to work for both the algorithm and the person who reads it after.

The best approach is to write for humans first, then review for ATS compatibility. If you have used keywords naturally and kept your formatting clean, you are likely already in good shape.

8. Curate, do not dump

You do not need to include every job you have ever held, every skill you have ever learned, or every course you have ever completed. Curation is more impressive than volume.

If you are applying for a product management role, your part-time retail job from eight years ago probably does not need to be on your resume. Focus on the experience that is most relevant and most recent. For experienced professionals, the last 10 to 15 years of experience is typically sufficient.

Similarly, your skills section should only include skills you are genuinely proficient in. Listing 30 skills dilutes the ones that actually matter.

9. Include a skills section that adds value

A well-structured skills section serves two purposes: it gives ATS systems clear keywords to match, and it gives recruiters a quick snapshot of your technical capabilities.

Organize your skills by category. For a software developer, that might be:

Languages: TypeScript, Python, Go
Frameworks: React, Next.js, Django
Cloud and DevOps: AWS, Docker, Kubernetes, CI/CD
Databases: PostgreSQL, Redis, MongoDB

For non-technical roles, group skills by domain: marketing tools, analytics platforms, project management methodologies, languages spoken, and so on.

10. Proofread, then proofread again

Spelling and grammar mistakes on a resume are disproportionately damaging. They signal carelessness in a document that is supposed to represent your best professional self.

Do not rely solely on spell-check. Read your resume out loud, which forces you to slow down and catch awkward phrasing. Have someone else review it. If you are not writing in your first language, ask a native speaker to check it.

Pay special attention to company names, job titles, and technical terms. Misspelling a technology name (like writing "Kubernates" instead of "Kubernetes") can cost you credibility with a technical reviewer.

Bonus: Think Beyond the Resume

Your resume opens doors, but it is part of a larger package. Make sure your LinkedIn profile is consistent with your resume. Prepare a brief cover letter for roles you are especially interested in. And practice talking about your resume in interview settings. The best resume in the world is the one you can confidently walk a hiring manager through.

Ready to put these tips into action? Build your resume with EasyResume and apply these principles with a guided, step-by-step process that keeps your formatting professional while you focus on telling your story.