Hey GirdleyWorld!
I’ve looked at over 25,000 resumes in the last 30 years of business. I know what stands out.
- The 8 things I look for in top 1% resumes
Want to watch this as a video? I just released it yesterday — watch here!
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It’s a tough time out there if you're a job hunter. Many open roles are getting thousands of applications. You need to stand out from the crowd.
If you’re hiring, you know that finding the right people is critical. But how do you spot them in a sea of resumes?
I’ve hired tons of people across a bunch of different companies. And I’ve learned what to look for in a rockstar candidate.
When I see certain things on a resume, I try to create an opportunity for that person. Because they’re somebody I want on my team.
Here are 8 rare things that put a resume in the top 1%.
1. The person was recruited by former coworkers to another job.
If someone’s former coworkers recruit them to new places, that’s an incredible sign.
It means this person was so good to work with that their former colleagues put their own reputation on the line to bring them in.
That could be internally between departments, or between totally different companies.
An opinion of someone from real work experience is so much better than any interview.
If this has happened to you, make sure you show it!
2. They show a clear narrative of making change.
Amazing resumes define their roles with a narrative like this:
- Challenge: “We had an NPS of 0.”
- Activity: “I built a customer satisfaction team and deployed best practices.”
- Results: “NPS went to 80.”
Job titles and responsibilities don’t matter compared to real life impact.
Prove you’re somebody who gets stuff done.
3. They are clear about what they want.
Many resumes say, “OBJECTIVE: Any job.”
It’s too vague. And looks lazy.
Instead: “I want an entry level position at a tech startup in San Antonio with between 50 and 100 employees.”
I want to see what type of company, environment, what stage company they’re looking for — the more specific they are, the more an employer can be confident there’s a fit.
Always tailor your resume to the job. Employers want to see more than spray and pray.
4. Up and to the right.
I want to see a career that grows with greater impact at each step.
Someone taking on more. Asking for new challenges. Building on successes.
When faced with adversity, bad bosses, etc, they’re making changes.
This can all happen in the same company, but it doesn’t have to. You could spend years in one place and still be growing.
Good managers know that the best sign of how someone will perform is how they have performed.
Make sure each successive position shows growth.
5. Known & trusted referral.
This is a tough one. It ONLY works if both these things are true:
- The referring person has worked with the candidate
- The hiring manager know the referring person is a badass
It’s a long shot. But when it happens, a warm lead is a great sign.
Otherwise, some rando calling on your behalf is not as helpful as they say.
This is less about what’s on the resume, and more about who/where it comes from.
6. You were promoted.
Did the person get promoted at their company?
Quickly?
Did it happen multiple times?
It’s a good sign they’re making things happen on the job.
Even if someone’s title doesn’t change, you want to see recognition and responsibility.
7. They avoid basic mistakes.
It’s incredible how many people might be winners but blow it by screwing up the basics.
Don’t do:
- Multi-page resumes
- Education listed at the top (unless they’re a fresh grad)
- Too many words
- Missing contact information
- Misspellings or grammatical errors
I want to know how well you’re going to do your job. So I don’t want to see sloppiness on my first impression.
Don’t rule yourself out. Be specific and to the point. You’re just trying to get a phone call, not tell your life story.
8. It all makes sense.
Look for a story that hangs together.
I’ve seen resumes where people leave 5 jobs in a row because “the boss was a jerk.”
To me, that doesn’t make sense.
I don’t want stuff that smells fishy.
Job-seekers: Would a stranger understand your journey, or does it raise questions?
A final note
Not every resume can or will have these things.
They’re uncommon for a reason.
Factors like privilege, situation, and luck contribute to you having any at all.
But when a candidate can include them, it really sets them apart.
Also: I made a video about this on my YouTube channel - check it out here!
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Do you want to buy a business this year? The hardest part is the search.
So I made a course, called How to Find a Great Business to Buy. You’ll learn:
1) How to build a tight thesis to find the business that’s right for you
2) How to maximize your surface area to find the most deals
3) How to run an amazing funnel to filter down to the best deal.
It’s packed with value, in 18 video lessons.
3 things from this week
- Appetizer: What should you do with your money if you want to pursue an entrepreneur’s life? The answer is different at every stage of your financial journey. Here’s my breakdown, from $0 to $1,000,000.
- Main: A lot of the time, you should make decisions quickly. But some decisions — like a key executive hire — you should take time with. So how do you know when your current decision should be made slowly?
My friend Jason Cohen wrote a scorecard of 9 criteria to think through this. Here’s the first two:
I highly recommend his newsletter! (Subscribe here.) You can read the rest of his piece here.
- Dessert: NFL coach has to be one of the hardest jobs around.
What do you think about this issue? Reply and let me know.
Have a great week!
Michael
