To start, let's discuss what kind of resume you don't want to provide with your job application. Most ATS operations will want to scan the text of your document, so making that process easier is vital to the success of your job search. That means that at least for your initial application, you'll want a plain resume that is easy to scan — both for people as well as for software. Try to avoid images and complex sentances, and keep it easy to read.

Contact Information

What contact information should you include in your resume? At a minimum, you'll want to include your email and phone number, though you may want to limit additional details for personal security. One important factor to consider is using a different email for professional life versus your personal life. The reason for this changeup is that your personal email is probably linked to a range of social media accounts. When your background is being considered, you want to be judged on your professional capabilities, not your personal views. Unfortunately, in today's world, using your personal email may result in your resume being rejected with a generic "we've decided to go in another direction" email.

Here's a checklist of what belongs in your contact information.

Short Summary

The short summary is your opportunity to share who you are with the company you're applying to. It should include your professional experience and skills along with personal traits that make you a strong candidate. It should end up as a concise paragraph with several shorter sentences, approximately 50-100 words in length. Start with a strong opening that describes your personal traits, such as being detail-oriented, driven, team player, or similar verbiage, to catch the attention of the person reviewing your resume and increase the odds that your resume will go to the next round of review.

Here are some real-world examples for inspiration.

Work History with Measurable Wins

Today's business world is focused on data and statistics. Wherever possible, when listing your prior work history on your resume, include wins that you've made for that company with measurable results. This can include situations such as improving production efficiency by 5%, reducing waste that resulted in $X of savings for the business, or similar statistics. This type of information shows that you have not only worked in the past, but that you have worked effectively to improve the business as a whole.

Education, Licenses, & Certifications

If you have relevant education, certifications, or licenses in the field you're applying to, make sure that you list those in your resume. These documents and experiences show that you have strong knowledge of that industry or field, and that you can be put to use faster than another person who may require certifications or licenses before they can begin active work. Showing these details demonstrates that you can save the company you're applying to time, effort, and money compared to other candidates. If you have more than one or two certifications or licenses, consider adding them in a one- or two-column bullet list to provide easier scanning for reviewers.

What to include (and where) in your education section.

Skills

In a similar fashion, you'll also want to list relevant skills for the position. You'll want to limit these to the most in-demand skills in your industry or field, as a resume should not exceed one printed page. Start with your strongest and the most in-demand skills, and if needed, add a one- or two-column bullet list to have room for your skills while retaining ease of scanning. You'll also want to make sure that you include a mix of soft and hard skills, such as being a team player along with having experience in additive manufacturing, as one example.

How to Customize Your New Resume for Each Job Application

Once you've created a solid basic resume, you'll want to take time for each application to customize it to that specific job so that your resume makes it past the ATS that the company may be using and into a review pile. In many cases, a job description will provide you with significant details about the requirements and optional needs for the position. Look carefully at the wording that is used in that description and try to mirror it in the different sections of your resume.

Why is this important? The closer your resume comes to matching the job requirements and needs, the more likely you are to make it further into the review process, and the more likely you are to be hired. You'll find that you have much better results in terms of information and interview requests when you are sending out a half a dozen customized resumes for specific jobs than you will sending out dozens of the exact same resume to every opportunity on a job board, mainly because you'll restrict your job search to companies and opportunities that really are a good match. Once you receive an interview request, you can add graphics or photos to your resume to make it more memorable.