Anatomy of a Winning Resume

INTRODUCTION
Your resume creates the first impression that most recruiters and hiring managers will have of
you. It also lays the foundation for your LinkedIn profile, your pitch, introductory emails, and
cover letters. Employers are “shopping” for a set of skills, strengths, and experience. Your
resume will enable you to successfully market yourself to prospective employers.
Creating a concise and effective resume takes time and effort. To support you, Career.io offers
best-in-class options for both do-it-yourself and do-it-for-me resume writing.

FOUR KEY ELEMENTS

1. Personal Details
Target job title and contact details

2. Summary Section
- Who you are
- What’s your expertise
- Your most impressive
accomplishments
- Your key skills
- What you are looking to do

3. Work history/accomplishments
- Position, Company, Time Frame
- Explain your role through bullet
points that emphasize results
and accomplishments

4. Skills
List all your relevant skills that the
hiring manager will be looking for

*Regarding Keywords
Resume should reflect keywords
throughout that are appropriate to
your Target and the Opportunity

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TARGETED RESUMES
A targeted resume is your professional
story told to a specific audience, it speaks
to a position, level of seniority, industry, Your Resume is a Story You Share
and a geographic location. You may need Networking:
more than one resume depending on how
different your targets may be. Informational meetings
Outreach to contacts
For example, you may be targeting two
different positions such as a project Pursuing Opportunities:
manager or event manager. You should Applications (ATS)
have two versions of your resume targeted Direct contact
specifically to the responsibilities and
results associated with each position. Interviewing:
Many candidates take a “kitchen sink” Talking points (Pitch, Accomplishments)
approach to their resume and throw Reference
everything. They expect the reviewer to Sales Brochure:
assess what is relevant and what is not. A
targeted resume does NOT do that, it Helps hiring manager promote you to
anticipates the needs of the audience and others
speaks to it concisely. Negotiation:
Take a moment to review Page 1 which Speaks to your experience and expertise
details the anatomy of a targeted resume, Use white space for easier reading
then use information below for guidance
on completing each section.

PERSONAL DETAILS
• Name should be bold and front and center, as should be the title of the position you are
targeting (not the position you most recently held)
• Can add location, but not necessary. Stick to city or metro area, not home address. (ex.
New York, NY)
• Straightforward email address (not iluvkittens@mail.com)
• LinkedIn URL (Be sure to use your vanity URL)
• Include links to your portfolio, personal website, or other social media handles If they
are relevant to your job search.

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SUMMARY SECTION
After your personal details, the first thing the hiring manager or recruiter sees is the summary.
The summary positions your skills, qualities, and accomplishments in a way the hiring manager
sees you in the job. Think of the summary as a written and more detailed version of your pitch.
This is an opportunity to say who you are, what your expertise is, what you have accomplished,
what your skills are, and what you are looking to do all in a concise summary that shouldn’t
exceed 4 sentences.
Try to address what separates you from the pack.
• What are your differentiators?
• Is there a specific function you excel at? Keep in mind the skill set that the companies
you are applying to may be looking for.
• Utilize strategic keywords. Carefully review job descriptions to get a good idea of the
most frequently referenced skills. Leverage the Resume Builder’s optimization feature
as well.
• You can also include a reference to some important recognition or an award you have
received.
• What are you looking to do?
If you are targeting a new field or opportunity, be sure to highlight the skills and experiences
that are most relevant to the new opportunity, perhaps by highlighting your transferable skills,
which are skills that would help you to be successful in this new field even though you picked
them up in another field.
At the end of the day, give your resume a sanity check. Is the summary communicating clearly
and succinctly your qualifications for the role? If your summary section was a highway
billboard, would the recruiter be getting the right message about you?

WORK HISTORY/ACCOMPLISHMENTS
In the Employment History section, we recommend that you describe your key
accomplishments in each role.
For most people, the tendency is to start writing a wordy explanation of their responsibilities.
Accomplishments are not responsibilities. They are specific detailed statements of the results
you achieved on the job.
The better approach is to weave an explanation of your responsibilities into your
accomplishments. Accomplishment statements can be quantitative or qualitative. But, the
more things you can quantify the better. Quantifying accomplishments can be challenging but
keep at it. Remember that the statistics don’t have to be 100% precise – they are designed to
give a specific context and scope to the result.
When crafting your accomplishments, use the acronym PAR as your guide:

Anatomy of a Winning Resume | Career.io | © 2023 Career.io. All Rights Reserved 3

 • What was the business Problem?
• What Action did you take?
• And what was the Result?

SKILLS
The Skills section is a great place to communicate that you have the expertise the employer is
looking for. The skills you list should be the subset of your skills that best speaks to the position
you are targeting.
Skills can be hard (also called technical) or soft.
• Hard Skills are teachable abilities that are easily measured, such as data analysis.
• So-called soft skills are interpersonal skills and include things like leadership and
communication.
Be sure to list all relevant skills, not just technical ones. Review target job descriptions carefully
to understand what employers are looking for and the terminology most commonly used, so
that you can line up your skills appropriately.

THE IMPORTANCE OF KEYWORDS

Employers set their applicant tracking systems to screen for certain keywords in order to weed
out applicants without certain basic requirements.
Assuming you have the requisite skills the employer is looking for, you want to make sure that
they are represented on your resume. While the Skills section is a natural place for many
keywords, it is not the only place on your resume that will contain them. Keywords can appear
naturally throughout your resume, such as in the summary section and your accomplishment
bullet points.
• Make sure you are using generic industry jargon and not company-specific terminology
whenever possible.
• Avoid acronyms. Spell things out the first time, especially when explaining internal
initiatives unknown outside your prior company.
• Be sure your resume is optimized for the jobs you are applying for.
• Use tools like the Career.io Resume Builder with its optimization feature to accomplish
this goal.

Anatomy of a Winning Resume | Career.io | © 2023 Career.io. All Rights Reserved 4

TIPS FOR SUCCESS
Power Words
• Make use of power words when describing accomplishments. See Appendix A: Resume
Power Words

Formatting
• Save and send your resume as: “Jane Smith - Resume.pdf” or “Jane Smith – Resume
(Project Manager).pdf”
• White space is your friend. Make resume easily “scannable” by the human eye
• Use legible fonts e.g., Arial, Calibri
• Avoid small font sizes
• Add hyperlinks where relevant (e.g., LinkedIn URL)
• Make resume as long or short as it needs to be (think value not length!)
• If resume is longer than two pages, add a header or footer with your name and contact
info on all pages
• Proofread and have someone else proof it as well!

Feedback
• Get feedback from your references
• Send it as a draft (and mark it as such, so that people know it is a work in progress)
• Ask key questions: How does this resume position me? Is it an accurate reflection of my
accomplishments. Do I come across as someone who gets results?

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 Appendix A:
RESUME POWER WORDS
Assessing/Analyzing Represented Documented Extracted Founded
Addressed Shared Logged Implemented Generated
Analyzed Showed Mapped Improved Implemented
Appraised Spoke Proved Improvised Improvised
Assessed Submitted Recorded Increased Initiated
Compared Wrote Researched Modernized Innovated
Evaluated Connect Substantiated Modified Instituted
Examined Aligned Supported Reconstructed Introduced
Explored Connected Finishing/Completing Redesigned Launched
Inspected Matched Accomplished Reduced Opened
Investigated Merged Achieved Refined Originated
Judged Networked Attained Reorganized Shaped
Measured Decision Making Completed Resolved Solved
Observed Activated Concluded Restored Started
Perceived Adopted Ended Restructured Undertook
Qualified Approved Established Revised Visualized
Quantified Concluded Executed Revitalized Leading
Questioned Decided Finalized Separated Acted
Rated Determined Finished Simplified Administered
Read Resolved Fulfilled Solved Advised
Reasoned Settled Reached Standardized Appointed
Researched Discovery Realized Streamlined Awarded
Reviewed Ascertained Terminated Supplemented Coached
Studied Detected Improve/Change Surpassed Conducted
Surveyed Determined Adapted Tailored Controlled
Tested Diagnosed Adopted Treated Convinced
Weighed Discovered Advanced Unified Counseled
Communication Found Augmented Updated Directed
Communicated Identified Centralized Upgraded Educated
Demonstrated Learned Combined Initiating Elected
Displayed Perceived Condensed Activated Employed
Dramatized Pinpointed Converted Adopted Enforced
Explained Proved Corrected Began Enlisted
Illustrated Recognized Cultivated Conceived Evaluated
Lectured Solved Developed Conceptualized Facilitated
Modeled Uncovered Edited Created Fired
Persuaded Verified Enhanced Designed Fostered
Presented Document/Define Enlarged Developed Governed
Proposed Certified Enriched Devised Guided
Publicized Charted Expanded Discovered Handled
Related Defined Expedited Established Headed
Reported Detailed Extended Formed Hired
Implemented Staffed Intervened Presented Structured
Influenced Supervised Mediated Provided Summarized
Informed Taught Moderated Rendered Troubleshot
Inspired Terminated Negotiated Responded Preventing
Instructed Trained Reconciled Submitted Averted
Integrated Tutored Resolved Supplied Diverted
Interviewed Used Settled Organize/Drive Prevailed

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Led Making Solved Arranged Prevented
Listened Assembled Obtaining/Getting Assembled Salvaged
Maintained Built Acquired Categorized Saved
Managed Composed Bought Collected Solved
Mentored Constructed Collected Combined Succeeded
Motivated Drafted Cultivated Compiled Team/Collaboration
Navigated Drew Expanded Conducted Advised
Nominated Engineered Obtained Connected Aided
Ordered Fabricated Procured Consolidated Assisted
Oversaw Fashioned Produced Controlled Collaborated
Performed Formed Purchased Coordinated Conferred
Persuaded Made Raised Correlated Consulted
Piloted Painted Realized Fixed Cooperated
Prescribed Photographed Received Functioned Facilitated
Probed Prepared Secured Handled Fostered
Processed Produced Solicited Implemented Helped
Recommended Programmed Offering Maintained Joined
Recruited Published Dispensed Operated Met with
Referred Sketched Distributed Organized Participated
Reinforced Used Fitted Performed Served
Scheduled Worked Furnished Prepared Teamed with
Selected Negotiation Installed Ran
Served Arbitrated Offered Rebuilt
Showed Balanced Performed Repaired

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