CV Writing Guidelines for Hiring Managers

I've helped craft over 1000 CVs & about 78% successful in cracking a role. How? Let's dive in. 🚀 Your CV is more than just a document—it's your personal brand. It's the first impression you make on recruiters and hiring managers. Here’s how to build a standout CV that gets noticed (and gets you interviews): 1. Highlight Your Hard & Soft Skills PMs are like APIs—they connect different stakeholders, making collaboration seamless. Your CV should reflect this balance: 👉 Hard Skills: Agile methodologies (Scrum, Kanban), tools (Jira, Trello), certifications (CSPO, SAFe POPM). 👉 Soft Skills: Resilience, creativity, negotiation, presentation skills. 2. Use Keywords Strategically Most companies use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to scan resumes. To beat the system: 🔑 Identify keywords from job descriptions (use tools like Jobscan). 🔑 Incorporate them into your work experience naturally. 🔑 Customize your CV for each job (e.g., Technical PM vs. Marketing PM vs. Growth PM). 3. Focus on Visual Appeal A well-structured CV makes a lasting impression: ✅ Use clean fonts and simple formatting. ✅ Keep it to 1 page (short CVs are more likely to be read). ✅ Use strategic white space for readability. ✅ Bullet points are your best friend—keep it concise and clear. 4. Personalize Your CV Tailor your CV for each job application: ✨ Customize your professional summary to align with the role. ✨ Highlight relevant achievements with metrics. ✨ Show cultural fit—research the company and align your CV to their values. 5. Showcase Your Achievements Don’t just list job duties—focus on impact: 📈 Quantify your contributions: "Increased user retention by 15% through feature improvements." 📊 Demonstrate results: "Led a team to deliver a product roadmap ahead of schedule, driving a 10% revenue increase." 6. Common Mistakes to Avoid 🚫 Generic professional summaries—make it personal and engaging. 🚫 Overloading skills—focus on key, relevant skills. 🚫 Industry jargon—keep it simple and understandable. 🚫 Typos and errors—proofread thoroughly. 7. Seek Feedback & Iterate 💡 Get insights from mentors, friends, or even AI tools like ChatGPT. 💡 Join communities like Product School’s Slack for peer reviews. Final Checklist Before you hit submit, ensure your CV: ✅ Clearly highlights your product management skills. ✅ Is optimized for ATS with relevant keywords. ✅ Looks visually appealing with strategic formatting. ✅ Is customized for the job you're applying for. ✅ Tells your story with impact-driven achievements. 🔄 Over to You! What’s one tip you swear by for crafting a standout CV? Drop it in the comments or DM me for feedback! Let’s nail this together. PS: I run a program that helps folks get better at product management and crack product roles, both in India and abroad. If you want to apply for the program, check out the links in comments. 🚀 #ProductManagement #CVTips #CareerGrowth #JobSearch

Over 200 people applied for a role I posted last week. A handful stood out. Here’s what goes through a hiring manager’s head when reviewing hundreds of resumes (and the small changes that get you noticed): 𝗗𝗼: • 𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻. Resumes full of buzzwords sound like AI wrote them. The ones that stand out use simple, clear language that feels real. • 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸. A title only tells me so much. The "Featured" section on LinkedIn or even a couple posts that sound like you give me a window into your actual skills. • 𝗠𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻 𝗯𝗶𝗼 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹. Third-person bios feel cold: "Jane Doe is a marketing professional…" doesn’t stick. Instead: "I sit between product and marketing, helping teams decide what to build and how to tell the story." That feels human. • 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗮𝘀𝗸𝘀. "Launched 5 campaigns" is a task. "Launched 5 campaigns that drove $2M in pipeline" makes me think: this person gets results. 𝗗𝗼𝗻’𝘁: • 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘃𝗮𝗴𝘂𝗲 𝗗𝗠𝘀. "I’d love to learn more about the role" leaves me thinking: okay, but why you? Apply first, then DM with a short note about fit. • 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝗮 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆. If your resume frames you as a Product Manager but you’re applying for marketing, it looks like a mismatch. Career pivots are fine. Just make it explicit. One line like "pivoting from PM to PMM" changes the whole read. • 𝗢𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. If the role is in Boston and your resume says Chicago, it looks like you didn’t read the posting. A quick "open to relocating" clears it up. • 𝗦𝗸𝗶𝗽 𝗮 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗲𝗱𝗜𝗻 𝗽𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼. No photo makes me wonder: are you even real? And for marketing roles, I start to think: would they be comfortable leading a webinar or a sales training? If you’re job searching, you already know how tough it feels. The truth is, hiring managers are scanning fast. And the small things often decide who gets a second look.

As a career coach, I review a LOT of resumes. I actually offer to review the resume of everyone I meet with to provide general guidance and point them in the right direction if they'd like. Over the past year I’ve done this well over a 100 times and I’ve found that there is consistent feedback I give in 99% of cases. Here are the top recommendations I make when reviewing resumes Focus on impact, not just duties: This is the number one piece of feedback I provide. Your resume should highlight your accomplishments and what you achieved, not just the responsibilities you were given. Most of the time your responsibilities will be clear from your job title. You’ll have a mix of both but if I’m a hiring manager I’m not looking for someone who “Scheduled meetings with stakeholders to build relationships”. I’m looking for someone who “Built 30 partnerships with leading organizations across 25 countries to provide product guidance” Cut weaker content to let your experience truly shine: I’m not of the belief that all resumes have to be one page (though I myself have a 1 page resume). That being said, a study by Ladders has shown that you have about 7 seconds for a recruiter to scan your resume and get put into the next review stage. Any content that is not immediately showing that you have the title, accomplishments, and skills to perform the job should be cut. Be ruthless. Not all of your wonderful experience needs to be included. Give the most relevant experience the most weight: Following the thread from above, prioritize what’s most relevant by giving it the most space. In general you’ll provide less bullets on your early career unless it’s highly relevant to the job you’re applying for in a way your more recent experience isn’t. You’ll also prioritize your work experience over your education as you advance in your career by placing it first. Give the most space to the most relevant roles and help the reader get there as fast as possible. Highlight relevant skills to the job description: This should go without saying but your resume should be relevant to the job description. This may require tweaking your resume from role to role, particularly if you’re applying for a variety of job titles. Look for the top requirements in the job description and focus on showcasing how your experience matches that. Keep the formatting simple: I get bored of the same old resume format too. However, the more stylized templates I see with multiple columns or unusual designs tend to make poor use of space and are unnecessarily complicated to read. And that’s just not my opinion; the same study by Ladders showed that more complicated templates had lower engagement from recruiters and performed worse. Unless you’re applying for a highly creative role, keep your resume boring. If you want to have more targeted feedback on your resume and talk about your job search goals, reach out and set up some time with me!

After reviewing thousands of resumes, I can tell you that even brilliant candidates are often filtered out for simple, avoidable mistakes. Your resume has one job: to secure an interview. It’s a marketing document, not an autobiography. As a hiring manager and coach, here’s my "Dirty Dozen" – the top resume pitfalls that push applications to the "no" pile: 1. The Headshot. It introduces unconscious bias and wastes valuable space. Your skills should be the focus. 2. Personal Information. Your address, age, or marital status are not only irrelevant—they’re a red flag for modern hiring     practices. 3. An Obvious Objective Statement. I know your objective is to get this job. Use that prime real estate for a powerful summary instead. 4. Font Chaos. More than 3 font sizes or 2 typefaces is distracting. Keep it clean, professional, and easy to scan. 5. Long URLs. Hyperlink your LinkedIn profile and portfolio. A full text link looks messy and amateurish. 6. Self-Ranked Skill Bars. Rating your own skills as "Expert" or "Beginner" is subjective and meaningless without context. Show, don't tell. 7. Excessive Lists. Long lists of patents or publications can go in an addendum. Your resume should be a highlight reel, not a comprehensive log. 8. Naked Soft Skills. Listing "communication" or "leadership" without proof is empty. Demonstrate them through your accomplishments. 9. Three+ Pages. For the vast majority of professionals, two pages is the maximum. Concision is a skill in itself. 10. Repetitive Pronouns. "I," "me," and "my" are implied. Start bullets with strong action verbs: "Managed," "Launched," "Increased." 11. Lack of Accomplishments. This is the biggest mistake. Responsibilities tell me what you were supposed to do; accomplishments tell me how well you actually did it. The golden rule? Quantify your impact. Instead of "Responsible for social media," write "Grew social media engagement by 150% in 6 months." What's one resume tip you swear by? Share it in the comments! #JobSearch #ResumeTips #CareerAdvice #Recruitment #Hiring #LinkedIn

Resume Advice from a Technical Recruiter: What Actually Catches a Hiring Manager’s Eye After reviewing thousands of resumes—from junior developers to principal engineers—I can confidently say: your resume is your first impression and your first filter. It’s not just about listing technologies—it’s about showing how you used them and why it mattered. Here’s what consistently stands out to hiring managers (and what I always recommend to candidates): 🔹 Lead with impact, not job descriptions. Don’t just tell me what your role was—show what you accomplished. Use metrics when possible: “Optimized data pipeline using Spark, reducing processing time by 40%.” Concrete results = instant credibility. 🔹 Explain the what and where behind your tech stack. Listing tools is a start, but incomplete on its own. Instead of just saying “Python, AWS, Docker,” tell us: ➡️ What did you build with Python? ➡️ How did you use AWS—EC2, Lambda, or S3? ➡️ Was it for a product, internal tool, or automation? Context matters. Hiring managers want to understand how you apply your skills in real-world environments. 🔹 Tailor your resume for the role. Align your experience with the job description. Use similar language and focus on the technologies and outcomes most relevant to the role you’re applying for. 🔹 Keep it clean and scannable. Use clear section headings and bullet points. Your resume should be easy to skim, with key achievements and skills jumping off the At the end of the day, your resume should tell a story: What problems did you solve? What tools did you use? And what value did you deliver? Make that clear—and you’ll make it to the interview. Happy to connect or offer insight if you’re revisiting your resume—DMs are open. 👇 #ResumeTips #TechRecruiting #JobSearchAdvice #Hiring #TechnicalRecruiter #CareerGrowth

Most resumes fail for one simple reason. They read like job descriptions. Duties tell me what the seat required. Impact tells me what you did in the seat. Hiring teams buy outcomes. Show them. Use this formula to rewrite every bullet: Context + Action + Outcome + Proof Proof does not have to be a number. It can be adoption, decisions made, stability gained, or pain removed. Try these swaps. Instead of: Responsible for building APIs Write: Built and shipped production APIs that power core user flows and made the app feel faster and more reliable Instead of: Owned roadmap for analytics features Write: Defined and launched self serve analytics so product and ops could answer their own questions and make decisions without waiting on data requests Instead of: Created dashboards for stakeholders Write: Delivered a forecasting model and dashboard used in quarterly planning by finance and leadership Instead of: Wrote unit tests Write: Put critical paths under test and raised code quality so releases were smoother and on call stayed calm Quick checklist before you hit save: • Each line starts with a strong verb • Scope is clear feature, system, platform, or team • Someone benefited users, customers, sales, support, leadership • There is proof without numbers adoption, decisions, stability, clarity • You removed filler like responsible for and helped with Remember this: If your bullet could live on any job posting, it is too generic. f your bullet proves a result with clear ownership and real change, chances are a hiring manager will keep reading.

I review thousands of resumes and interview hundreds of candidates each year. The difference between “qualified” and “hired” is rarely talent it’s strategy. Here’s what the top 1% do differently: 1. They Make Their Resume a Proof Document, Not a Biography Lead with impact not tasks. -Start with 3 - 5 measurable wins in the top third of the resume. -Use metrics that matter: AHT, FCR, CSAT, uptime, revenue, cost savings, efficiency. -Replace duties with outcomes: “Improved FCR by 8% through workflow redesign.” -Keep formatting clean: no graphics, no creative columns, no tables. Pro tip: If a recruiter can’t skim your top wins in 7 seconds, it won’t pass the first screen. 2. They Interview Like Problem-Solvers, Not Job-Seekers Top candidates treat interviews like working sessions. -Bring a short “work-sample plan” (“If I were in this role, here’s how I’d approach X…”). -Use crisp, structured storytelling: Situation → Action → Impact. -STAR library: Prepare 5 concise stories (fail/learn, conflict, ownership, ambiguity, cross-team). Use Situation-Task-Action-Result. -Tie answers back to business value, not effort. -Show curiosity: “What are the short-term fires this role needs to put out?” Pro tip: Companies hire people who think in systems, not scripts. 3. They Ask High-Signal Questions That Reveal Judgment Ask questions that show you understand execution, not just job titles: “Where do new hires commonly struggle in the first 60 days?” “How does your team make decisions when priorities conflict?” “What does great performance look like on your best teams?” “What tools, data, or processes power your day-to-day?” These questions separate “just looking” from “I’m ready.” 4. They Align Themselves With Value, Not Vacancy Hiring managers listen for: -Coachability -Clarity -Impact orientation -Ability to prioritize -Understanding of the customer or end user Show that you understand the business not just the job post. Final Word In a competitive market, standing out isn’t about being perfect. It’s about being clear, prepared, and outcome-focused. Do that, and you’ll put yourself in the top tier of candidates every time. #JDATSG #Interviewing #InterviewPrep #HiringStrategies

As a hiring manager, and a manager of hiring managers, I've probably reviewed close to 1,000 resumes in my career. Here are the biggest mistakes I see people make over and over again (and what to do instead): ❌ Focusing on responsibilities rather than impact. If your title is "e-commerce editor," someone reading your resume can probably guess at what your basic duties were—so don't waste a lot of space listing them out. ✅ Emphasize the accomplishments you had in each role. What impact did you make to the team or the business? Did you increase traffic to your vertical by X%? Contribute to the highest-ever Black Friday/Cyber Monday revenue sitewide? Streamline the publishing process? Tweaking your bullet points to highlight impact will help you stand out from the crowd. ❌ Not tailoring your resume to the job you're applying for. When I was hiring a Director of SEO Content at Policygenius, it was shocking how many resumes I got from very experienced editors that did not include the words "SEO" or "search" at all. They might have had the relevant experience, but how could I know that? ✅ Take the time to make sure your bullets match up to the job description. Don't force the hiring manager or recruiter to guess at your qualifications; make it easy for them to see that you're a great fit. ❌ Overstuffing your resume. I'm not strict about the one-page rule (though if you have less than 5 years of work experience, stick to one page!). But I once saw a resume where the person used four whole pages (!) to cover the last four years of their career. Unless you're creating an academic CV, a resume is meant to be a synopsis of your career, with emphasis on the last 5-10 years—not an exhaustive accounting of everything you've ever done at work. ✅ Be ruthless about highlighting your biggest accomplishments in each role, and keep it to two pages or less. Once you've got 10-15 years of experience under your belt, your early career roles should start dropping off your resume altogether (let's face it, they probably aren't relevant anyway). Bonus note: A big contributor to overlong resumes is summary statement bloat. If your summary statement is 3/4 of a page, that's not a summary! Try for 4-5 lines—1/4 page at most—and put those big accomplishments under the relevant role instead. I could go on at much greater length about each of these—which would you like to hear more about? And what are your favorite resume tips?

People don’t always like to hear this, but it’s true: when recruiters say we spend less than 10 seconds looking at a resume, we mean it. Here’s what we’re focusing on: - Metrics & Accomplishments: How do you quantify your impact? We’re looking for things like how much revenue you generated, time you saved, your ranking against team targets, or the volume you managed. Qualitative accomplishments matter too – did you present monthly updates to the C-suite? Own quarterly reporting for stakeholders? Lead cross-functional teams through major projects? - Company: Company names, sizes, and industries matter. Working as a VP of Sales for a 10-person startup is different than leading a sales force of 500. It’s your responsibility to paint that picture. - Titles: Are the roles you’ve held in the same ballpark as the one you’re applying for? For example, if you’re applying for a Senior Project Manager role but have never held a Project Manager title, you’re probably not the most qualified candidate. - Dates/Years of Experience: If the role requires 7+ years of experience and you have < 3, we’re moving on. - Location: Are you local or open to relocation? Make that clear. Now, here’s what doesn't move the needle: - Objective Statements: We know your objective—you're looking for a job, to drive impact, and collaborate. Leave it out. - Fancy Design: Keep it clean, simple, and well-organized. We don’t need colors, shapes, or photos. - Soft Skills/Buzzwords: "Strong communicator" or "detail-oriented" doesn’t say much. Show us instead. Highlight executive communications you’ve managed or the cross-functional partnerships you've led. Bottom line: when we get 200 resumes for one role, maybe 10% move to the phone screen. We simply don’t have the bandwidth to chat with 50 candidates per role when we have 15 open requisitions. We prioritize resumes that best represent talent likely to succeed - that is our job. Recruiters/hiring managers, what did I miss? #recruitmentrevealed

Job Seekers: Recruiters and hiring managers typically spend only 6–8 seconds during the initial resume scan. This is not every recruiter and hiring manager but this is most and it is just the fact of the matter. Don’t shoot the messenger.   During that brief glance, they focus on key details like: -Your current title and company -Relevant past titles/companies -Dates of employment -Location and basic qualifications And if you are open to relocating or will be relocating SAY THAT! We cannot read minds. If your location doesn’t show the required location for the role, you will be passed over. Simple as that. While certain roles may seem location-flexible in theory, in practice, business decisions around role location are driven by a combination of legal, financial, and operational factors. Companies often designate specific locations for roles due to regulatory or licensing requirements tied to where the business is authorized to operate, cost implications of maintaining registrations and tax obligations in multiple jurisdictions and/or the need for proximity to local markets, clients, or stakeholders depending on the role’s scope and responsibilities. It’s not simply about whether the work can be done remotely, it’s about where the business is structured to legally, strategically, and efficiently support that role. I tend to spend a bit more time reviewing applications to ensure nothing is missed- closer to 15-30 seconds after I have reviewed the initial required details like location, skills, competencies listed and what transferrable knowledge there is to ensure I don’t miss out on the best talent.  But not all Recruiters or hiring managers take that time.   This is why it is critical that you write your resume to show your impact and value-add from the start. Make it so they CANT forget you. Too often, resumes are filled with traits like: Strong communicator Thrives under pressure Team player Those are baseline expectations, not differentiators. What hiring managers actually want to see is: what happened because you were there. Did a process improve? Did numbers move? Did a challenge get solved faster or better because of you?   Try reframing your bullet points like this: Resolved an average of [X] support tickets daily, reducing backlog by [Y]% within [Z] months. Led [number] concurrent projects, delivering [X]% on time despite shifting priorities. Collaborated with [team/vendor/client] to streamline [process], cutting turnaround time by [Y] hours. The formula:  [Action] + [How many/how often] + [Positive outcome/impact]   Numbers tell the story. Outcomes show your value. That’s what gets noticed.