Top 10 Resume Tips for New Job Seekers in 2025

With most employers becoming pickier than they were before the pandemic, crafting the perfect resume for specific job postings becomes a lot more challenging, especially for new job seekers. Thus, it's important for you to nail your resume from the start to ensure that your application stands out on top of other fresh graduates potentially aiming for the same job as you.

Thus, continue reading to learn more about resume tips that can help you stand out versus other new job seekers, some resume writing don'ts, as well as the value that a well-written resume can bring you when it comes to the hiring process.

Top 10 resume tips for new job seekers

To bolster your resume, listed below are the top 10 resume advice that you should follow to make it stand out compared to other job seekers.

1. Use professional contact information
   Remember that a resume should be as professional as possible. Though there's nothing wrong with using your personal email and contact information, it should be formal enough for hiring managers to easily identify it. For example, do not use the last name first name @ email provider.com since it can be confusing. Instead, use either your first name's initials last name @ email provider.com or last name first name @ email provider.com to make it easier to understand.
2. Explain your educational background
   Explaining where you got your educational background, education level, and the relevant coursework that you've taken and delving into the degree that you got can help hiring managers know the type of education that you received, especially if you graduated from a more prestigious university. A good resume tip is to remember to properly highlight the education section.
3. Create a professional summary
   Next, creating a professional summary of everything that you've encountered while you're studying can help make your resume stand out more. It should ideally be as long as a sentence or two, even if you've accomplished a lot.
   
   This part allows new job seekers with little to no experience to pad their resume more since it can provide employers with what they're capable of even with little to no professional working experience.
4. Do not be afraid to reference
   Researching and referencing resume format is completely alright, especially if you're in a more niche field. This is because high-quality resumes from a specific job description would show you exactly what hiring managers are looking for and what can work.
5. Use a professional font style
   Though it may be tempting to use a more "fun" font for your resume, it's important to remember to use a more readable font style to keep it professional and easy to read. Ideally, font styles like Bebas Neue for the headline and Times New Roman and Arial for the main resume text are good examples.
6. Only put relevant information
   Although it's a good idea to pad your resume's skills sections if you don't have much working experience, putting irrelevant information like minor degrees or work history from more than 10 years ago will ensure that your resume will be immediately discarded. Thus, only put relevant achievements that you've achieved over the past 5 years, academic accolades, and particular skills that you have to match with more experienced professionals.
7. Add certifications
   Adding certifications that you've received over the years can improve your resume further since it can show that you have some form of relevant experience and show that you have some form of transferable skills that you can apply to your job. A good CV tip for this step is to use certifications relevant to the role that you're applying to, as this can help hiring managers know that you have the soft skills needed in certain things even without knowledge.
8. Use active language
   Grammar plays a huge part in creating the perfect resume. Using active words in your resume can help make it sound more professional on top of painting a more positive picture of your experience and to let them know that you have the hard skills needed for the job. A valuable CV tip in this part is to remember to write it down in past tense.
   
   For example, instead of saying "During my time as a student, I've led a successful student organization which has helped students who are struggling with foreign language", you can write "led a student organization helping struggling students with their language skills" to shorten it.
9. Proofread it
   Nobody gets everything right on their first try. There will be grammar errors to check and misspellings that you might have overlooked. Thus, it's always important to proofread your resume to make sure that it's perfect before submitting it to your dream job.
10. Make different copies
    Since different companies have different standards even for the specific position, it's important to create multiple copies to make sure that you're casting a wide net, job-search wise.

Resume writing don'ts

Since resumes are the first thing that a hiring manager will see, there are plenty of things that you need to avoid to help you stand out.

• Do not use templates from Canva, Word, etc.
• Use long sentences. Use bullet points instead.
• Make generalized claims
• Use a separate page. Keep your resume one page long.
• Mislead with false educational experiences.

What should new job seekers put in their resumes?

For new job seekers, a good resume tip is to put their major experience where it can be seen first. They should also put the major skills that they have which they think that will benefit the company that they're applying for.

Additionally, good resume advice for new job seekers is to put enticing keywords that job seekers are most likely to search for. Though it may vary from one job to another, it's highly encouraged to conduct research on keywords that hiring managers are more likely to look for in resumes.

Importance of a good resume

Since a resume is the resume reader's first impression of you, a good resume and cover letter combo will help hiring managers look at your application in a more positive light and impress employers. Not only that, but good resumes are also a gateway to an interview with your potential employers, which is the first step towards getting that dream job you've always wanted - especially for companies with a more rigorous applicant tracking system. A good resume using this listed resume advice can even land you leadership opportunities moving forward.

Keep in mind though that the best resume tip for recent graduates is to be confident in what you wrote and your technical skills as an individual for the specific job offer to be the ideal candidate. This is because for the most part, all the relevant skills will be taught to you on the job itself, and you'll only pick it up after you get the job - especially since it's your first time on that specific career path.

It's important to consider that even if you're new to the job, you should also know your value as well. Salary.com's Personal Salary Report can help you know how much you should get paid, from the moment you start your career to the moment you look for another opportunity.