RESUME GUIDES
These principles are based on hiring‑manager feedback, applicant‑tracking‑system (ATS) behaviour, and what we see working across thousands of successful resumes. Use them as a checklist before you apply.
Start by skimming all ten tips once, then come back and apply them one by one. If you are using MerlAI, you can paste your existing resume into the app and use these tips as the prompts you give to the AI (for example: "rewrite my bullets to quantify impact" or "tailor this for a marketing manager role in SaaS").
Replace generic objectives ("Looking for a challenging role") with a specific headline that mirrors the job title. For example: "Senior Product Manager – B2B SaaS" or "Registered Nurse – Emergency & Acute Care". This makes it obvious what role you want and helps ATS keyword matching.
Use 3–4 lines at the top to answer: Who are you, what do you do well, and how does that help this employer? Focus on years of experience, core strengths, industries, and one or two proof points ("improved conversion by 22%", "managed teams of 10+"). Avoid buzzword salads.
For each role, list 4–7 bullet points that start with strong verbs and highlight outcomes. Instead of "Responsible for managing social media", write "Grew LinkedIn followers by 80% and increased inbound demos by 25% in 9 months". Numbers, percentages and timeframes make your impact concrete.
Modern employers use ATS filters to scan for skills, tools and titles. Mirror exact keywords from the job description (tools, frameworks, certifications, domain terms) in your skills section and relevant bullets. Keep it honest—only include keywords you can discuss confidently in an interview.
Recruiters skim in seconds. Use clear section headings (Experience, Education, Skills), consistent date formatting, and plenty of white space. Avoid text boxes, multi‑column layouts that become jumbled when parsed, and over‑designed fonts. A simple, modern template nearly always outperforms something overly graphical.
You don’t need every task you have ever done. Prioritise what matters for the target role. Move the most relevant roles and bullets higher, trim unrelated experience, and down‑weight very old roles (for example, summarise them in one line). Aim for one page early in your career and up to two pages for senior roles.
A skills section is useful, but employers want to see where you actually used those skills. If you list Python, stakeholder management, or ICU care, make sure at least one bullet point demonstrates that skill in action with an example outcome.
Short explanations help hiring managers move past question marks. For gaps over a few months, briefly note constructive activity (study, caregiving, relocation, freelance work). For career changes, use your summary and bullets to translate past experience into the new direction (transferable skills, overlapping tools, relevant achievements).
Avoid long paragraphs, internal jargon and filler phrases ("worked in a fast‑paced environment"). Use short, direct sentences and favour concrete verbs over buzzwords. Read your resume out loud or paste it into MerlAI and ask it to "rewrite for clarity, using simple, professional language".
Spelling and formatting errors signal lack of attention to detail. Run a spell‑check, then scan for consistency (bullets, tense, dates, spacing). Finally, ask a trusted friend—or MerlAI—to review your resume against the job ad and highlight anything unclear or missing.
MerlAI takes these best practices and applies them automatically—rewriting bullets, tailoring summaries to each job, and scoring your resume for clarity and impact. You stay in control of the content; the AI handles the heavy lifting.
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