Advice From Recruiters: What Makes a Resume Stand Out?
There’s a moment we’ve all had: you open your resume file, skim the first few lines and close it again. Too outdated. Too overwhelming. Too much to fix right now.
That’s usually when a job search starts to feel stressful before it even begins. The truth is that a standout resume doesn’t always require a full rewrite. It simply needs clarity, relevance and intention.
And in a world full of (often conflicting) resume advice, knowing what actually matters can be half the battle. So, who better to ask than the people who read resumes every day?
We spoke with two Cox recruiters to learn what truly catches their eye — and what makes them move on in seconds. Here’s their expert advice on how to make your resume work for you.
1. Prove you meet the core requirements.
Before anything else, recruiters need to quickly determine whether you meet the basic qualifications for the role. At first glance, your resume should show that you have the experience required. Cox senior recruiter Michele Ornoski starts by looking at years of experience, relevant industry certifications, education and transferable skills.
“I’m looking for that clear connection between their background and the role they’re applying for,” she said.
Formal education can be important, but it isn’t always required. In many cases, hands-on experience can take the place of a degree, especially when it directly reflects the responsibilities of the role.
“That real-world, on-the-job experience can be just as valuable as that formal education,” she said.
Certifications carry added weight for technical or specialized roles and should be listed in a way that makes them easy for recruiters to spot during a quick scan.
2. Organize your work history to tell a cohesive story.
Work experience is often the most detailed section on a resume, and how it’s arranged matters just as much as what’s included. A thoughtful structure helps recruiters quickly understand your career trajectory and recognize relevant experience.
For example, for candidates who’ve spent several years at one company, grouping roles under a single employer can better reflect longevity and progression. Listing each role separately may unintentionally suggest job-hopping, even when that’s not the case.
“When you break it out, someone might look at it and think, ‘This person jumps a lot,’” said Rebecca Reiss, a senior internal mobility advisor and longtime Cox recruiter. “Instead, put the company name at the top, followed by every role you’ve held there, along with the dates you’ve been with the company.”
Recruiters need to be able to see a clear, logical timeline. Missing or inconsistent dates can make a resume harder to interpret and raise red flags. “Dates matter because they help us understand your career progression,” Michele said.
Michele adds that the order of your resume should reflect your experience level. For students and recent graduates, education may belong closer to the top, while more experienced professionals should lead with a summary and work history.
3. Focus on impact, not just responsibilities.
One of the biggest missed opportunities on resumes is making them sound like job descriptions by listing tasks instead of outcomes. Recruiters are far more impressed by candidates who highlight work accomplishments rather than what they were assigned to do.
Michele looks for signs of progress and contribution, such as metrics, percentages and specific examples that demonstrate impact.
“I love seeing resumes that show impact and growth,” she said. “I’m looking to see where their career has gone and whether they’ve taken on lateral moves or bigger challenges.”
4. Tailor your resume for each opportunity.
Recruiters review a high volume of resumes, which means clutter and irrelevant details can quickly work against you. Rather than sending the same resume everywhere or rewriting it each time, maintain a comprehensive base version that you can tailor for every opportunity.
This often means editing with intention: trimming bullet points (four to five per role is plenty), prioritizing the most relevant positions and removing experience that doesn’t support your candidacy for that specific job.
“People often feel like they have to include everything that they’ve ever done in the workforce,” Rebecca said. “But you can condense it so that it’s easy to read and shows what you’ve done, what you’re good at and whether you fit the qualifications for this job.”
When tailoring your resume, emphasize your most recent experience and roles that best match the position you’re applying for, whether that’s similar responsibilities, industries or types of companies. For example, Rebecca often looks for experience at companies with a comparable size or structure as a signal of strong potential fit.
5. Keep additional sections focused.
Michele cautions against filling optional sections with generic skills or vague descriptors that don’t provide meaningful insight.
“I see a lot of vague language or fluff, like listing ‘team player’ without context,” she said. “If you include something like that, make sure it ties back to your responsibilities or examples, so we can see how you’ve actually demonstrated that skill.”
Volunteering or community involvement can be valuable to include if it aligns with the role or reflects company values, but personal hobbies generally aren’t necessary, Michele added.
Both Rebecca and Michele agree that a professional summary can be a strong addition when it’s done thoughtfully. Keep it brief and relevant: use it to highlight your top qualifications and career direction, not to repeat your entire resume.
6. Make your resume easy to read for recruiters and technology.
Recruiters often spend just a few seconds on an initial resume scan before deciding whether to read further.
A well-formatted resume has to work on two fronts: it needs to get past the automated scans, like an applicant tracking system (ATS) and AI screening tools, and still stand out to the recruiter who reviews it. Our recruiters recommend focusing on the following best practices:
- Keep it clean and organized. Use consistent fonts, clear headings and bullet points. Avoid overdesigning with bright colors, text boxes, heavy graphics or unconventional layouts with multiple columns that may distract recruiters or confuse ATS and AI screening tools.
- Prioritize clarity. Everything on your resume should make it easy for a recruiter (or an ATS) to quickly find your most relevant experience and qualifications.
- Use standard file types. PDFs typically work best.
- Stick to one or two pages. While brevity is important, a one-page document isn’t a strict rule. For professionals with extensive experience, two pages are acceptable. Focus on your most recent 10 years of relevant experience and list earlier roles briefly with company name, title and dates “without going into detail,” Michele said.
- Skip the photo. Including a picture can introduce bias and distract from your qualifications. Instead, place your contact information at the top: phone, email and LinkedIn profile.
“You can tell a big difference when you use the right formatting for the resume,” Rebecca said.
7. Use AI with caution.
Modern AI tools like ChatGPT or Microsoft Copilot can help format your resume, summarize content and highlight achievements. But they shouldn’t do the writing for you.
“It’s definitely a helpful tool, but I also caution not to let it write your resume for you,” Michele said. “It’s a computer, it’s not you. You need to use good judgment and not rely on it 100%.”
Recruiters can often tell when a resume has been fed into an AI tool. Common issues include copying a job description word-for-word or creating awkward phone screen conversations when candidates can’t speak to the experience on their resume.
Rebecca encourages using AI as a tool to help make resumes more polished and readable, but always with care: “AI is great for formulating your information and giving it more sparkle. But it has to be your experience — your numbers, your accomplishments — so it reflects what you’ve actually done.”
8. Take time to proofread.
Spelling mistakes, grammar errors and inconsistent formatting — like mismatched fonts or uneven spacing — can make a resume feel rushed and unpolished. Carefully reviewing your document and standardizing formatting shows attention to detail and professionalism and can make a big difference in how recruiters perceive your application.
“Spell check is right there,” Michele said. “All you have to do is just click it and find it.”
Summary:
- Make sure you meet the minimum requirements of the role you’re pursuing, and that your resume clearly reflects your relevant experience.
- Highlight impact and achievements, not just responsibilities, and use numbers or examples where possible.
- Keep a comprehensive base resume and tailor it for each job you apply to.
- Use a clean, organized layout with consistent fonts, clear headings and bullet points.
- Avoid unusual design formats that may confuse ATS or AI screening tools.
- Limit your resume to one or two pages.
- Skip photos; include name, phone, email and LinkedIn.
- Use AI carefully: enhance, don’t fabricate.
- Proofread carefully to catch spelling, grammar, punctuation and formatting errors. (Don’t forget: spell-check is your friend.)
Ready to apply for a job at Cox? See openings here and join our Talent Community here.
Related Articles
The best way to learn about life at Cox? Hearing from our people! See how Cox employees bring their authentic selves to work every day and make their mark.
Read our stories
