New Year, New Resume: Resume Trends for 2022 and Beyond

2. Hit a Target

One of the most important resume trends for 2022 –and every year – is to tailor your resume to closely target the job description. Photo by Silvan Arnet on Unsplash

Tailoring your resume toward a clear job target has always been a good idea, and it’s only getting more important in 2022.

What qualities should you list in a resume in order to snag a great job? Well, it really depends on what qualities the job calls for! No recruiter wants to read a generic resume that doesn’t speak to what they’re searching for. So you need to narrow your scope in order to hit your target—which is scoring an interview for this job, not just any job.

Your resume should always be tailored to the specific job you’re applying for, and the best way to ensure that is to carefully read the job description.

While you’re searching for the best job for you, recruiters are searching for the best candidate for the job. This means that you don’t have to go in blind. The job description tells you exactly what they are looking for.

Each job description includes both job must-haves and good-to-have qualities, so be sure to read thoroughly. One strategy we recommend is printing out the job description and highlighting terms that show up multiple times, and then making a list of those terms. These are the keywords that you should include in your resume.

Another way to hit the target with your resume is to include the soft skills you bring to the job. Deceptively named, “soft skills” (like leadership, flexibility, or problem solving) are difficult to develop and teach. So if you’ve got them, flaunt them! As with all of your bullets, find specific metrics that demonstrate these skills. For instance, a bullet point for communication skills might read like this:

• Coordinated 3 projects between mixed in-person and virtual team, submitting weekly progress reports to 6 independent investing parties

Even though you’re not mentioning the skill directly, any recruiter reading this will know that they’re dealing with a proficient communicator.

Your resume should also only include information relevant to the job you’re applying for. If, for instance, you’re applying for a job as a software developer after working mostly in restaurants, you’ll want to focus more on the educational experience that prepared you for software work and the skills from your old jobs that would transfer over, rather than on your experience that only matters to the restaurant world. (Be sure to mention those soft skills, though!)

One final way to hit the target with your resume is to use a headline. Your resume headline appears under your contact info and target job title at the top of your resume, emphasizing the primary three skills or experiences you bring to the job. These are among the first words your recruiter will see, so it’s important to choose words that speak to your unique brand and experience.

For example, in my day job I work as a library clerk. If I wanted to apply my writing and customer service skills to a resume writer position here at Let’s Eat, Grandma, my job title and headline might read like this:

Resume Writer
Customer Service Specialist | Content Writer | Resume Expert

Your headline can also mention experiences you’ve had that, while not necessarily a direct tie-in to the job’s duties, are valued at that particular company. Maybe they emphasize taking risks and you were an entrepreneur. Or maybe the CEO’s service in the Navy was foundational to the company’s values, and you’re a veteran, too. Whatever your background, read the job description and research the company so you know what to focus on.

3. Show Your Results in Your Bullet Points

No time like the present to strengthen your bullet points with clear results and metrics. Photo by Austin Distel on Unsplash

The new year is the perfect time to revamp your bullet points to get hired! Your bullet points for each job in your professional experience section should display your metrics-based accomplishments, not just describe what you did on the job day-to-day.

Let’s say you have experience as a sales manager, and one of your bullet points reads like this:

• Led team to close several large contracts

Your recruiter is left wondering how many team members, how many contracts and what type, how much money – basically, why this matters. Closing contracts is what every sales manager does, right? This bullet point does a disservice to the experience you offer.

A more effective bullet point might read:

• Trained regional sales team of 8 in new strategies, exceeding growth targets by 25% over 3 months

Some jobs are harder to quantify than others (but not impossible – you can find 70 ideas here). You may have to estimate or ask around to know what specific numbers you can truthfully present. (Pro tip: Please don’t lie on your resume!)

It’s worth looking into, though, because backing up your skills with numbers better demonstrates what you have to offer.

Your bullet points should also lead with action statements. No recruiter wants to read “responsible for” on a resume, so try using active verbs like “coordinated,” “delivered,” or “presented.” You can also check out this list of action verbs to make your resume stand out for more ideas.

4. Tell a Story

Your resume and cover letter should tell a cohesive career story. Photo by ConvertKit on Unsplash

What narrative does your resume give readers? Another essential 2022 resume trend is to tell a cohesive story. 

A resume is actually a marketing document. When used appropriately, this simple piece of paper communicates your unique brand and sells the recruiter on what you have to contribute.

In order to market effectively, your resume should tell a story about why you’ll succeed in the job. What experiences and achievements brought you to apply for this job? What skills and perspectives did you develop along the way? The more effectively your resume answers these questions, the more likely you are to score that interview.

It’s also helpful to consider the most important elements of a story:

Characters: How have you engaged with your coworkers? Were you a leader, a morale booster, a 9-to-5 hero of sorts?
Plot: What’s happened so far in your career story? Where is it headed?
Conflict: What obstacles have you overcome at work? What problems have you helped solve?
Resolution: What results have come about through your efforts? Can you identify any themes across your career? Thinking through these questions will help you better tell your story through your resume (and cover letter!), and thus sell that story to recruiters.

5. Out with the Old

While some resume tips are timeless, others have gone the way of dinosaurs and disco, and 2022 is the time to ditch them.

If you’re still starting your resume with an objective statement, it’s time to upgrade to the more purposeful and direct summary of qualifications.

Including an objective statement in your resume wastes valuable real estate at the very top of the page. A summary of qualifications, meanwhile, concisely tells the recruiter exactly why you’re the right fit for the job posting.

Similarly, you don’t need to include your full address in your resume since it’s unlikely that your recruiter will want to send you any letters. Including your full address can also pose a security risk if you’re putting your resume out on the web. Instead, include just the city and state you live in (if it’s the same as the city the job is in), or those along with the city you would relocate to or commute to for the job.

Start the Year Off Right with These 2022 Resume Trends

If you want to get hired, these 2022 resume trends will help you start the year strong. Cultivate a clean, concise resume that utilizes effective bullet points, tells a story, and ditches outdated resume conventions, and you’ll be set up for job-hunting success in 2022 and beyond!