“AI Friendly” Resume Building Guide

Your resume is your first marketing tool, a snapshot of your qualifications, experience, and strengths. It helps employers make hiring decisions and determines whether you get invited to the interview stage.

PREPARATION

  1. Read and understand the job description, duties, qualifications, and requirements. Highlight key words that match your skillset and qualifications.
  2. Research and understand the company and what they are about. (mission, values and culture)
  3. Reflect over, collect, know, and document specific details of your education, experience, accomplishments, skills, strengths, and professional interests.

GENERAL AND AI FRIENDLY FORMATTING

  • Avoid templates; create from scratch in Word.
  • Be Clear, Concise, and Consistent.
  • Keep margins between 0.5–1 inch.
  • Standard fonts: Arial, Calibri, or Times New Roman (10–12 pt).
  • Use bold/italics to differentiate sections (sparingly).
  • Periods vs. no periods: Either option is acceptable with the emphasis on consistency throughout the resume.
  • Customize for each job.
  • Check spelling & grammar.
  • No personal pronouns in statements.
  • Save as PDF (but don’t “print to PDF”). Remember to name your document.
  • Do not copy paste and do not use headers or footers.
  • Use a clean, simple layout; no graphics or column, and no picture.
  • Present tense for current roles, and past tense for previous roles.
  • Do not say “References available upon request”.
  • Headings Uppercase and Bold.
  • Avoid placing information in headers and footers
  • Tailor your resume: Emphasize the most relevant experiences & skills and focus on achievements and responsibilities that align with the role.
    • Study your job description for keywords
  • Sweet spot resume length:475-600 words: Approximately 1 page.
    • This is not policy or compulsory, but according to researching ATS systems, double the number of candidates with 1 page’s resume receive interview invitations.

CONTENT

Contact Information: Name, Phone | E-mail | LinkedIn | Online Portfolio if relevant

Summary Statement

  • Keep it short; no longer than 3 lines.
  • Customize it for each position. Avoid generic statements. Highlight professional accomplishments relevant to position.
  • Mention 2–3 of your key qualifications or strengths as it aligns to the position – use keyword searching to understand what the position is looking for!
  • Express your “why” as it relates and aligns to the position.

Education

  • Spell out your full degree (e.g., Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering).
  • Graduation Date & GPA
  • Include relevant certifications.

Relevant Coursework

  • Underclassmen: Include relevant coursework (use course names, not numbers) for experiential learning applications.
  • Translating Courses to Skills – especially for senior resumes: If for example, you took a course in Python – the skill as how you apply/applied this, has more value, so make sure to weave the skill into experience sections.

Skills

  • Include technical (hard) and soft skills (tailor to the job posting).
  • Highlight skills again under your Experience section （this validates/demonstrate skills）
  • Communicating AI Skills on Your Resume

Experience

  • Use the word Experience in your headings for the body of the resume, for example: Related Experience, Leadership Experience, etc.
  • Review your job description for keywords relevant to the position.
  • Include as many keywords in your resume that align with the job description and requirements as possible.
  • Use action verbs that highlight essential skills or competencies.
  • Statement written in the past tense is read at a higher rating than present tense, as it is skills considered “owned.”
  • Format bullet statement writing: Implemented X for reason Y resulting in Z.
  • Relevant skills and keywords boost chances of landing interviews: 60% match rate for hard skills & technical skills, and 28% match rate for soft skills.

Sample Headings:

  • Related Experience
  • Research Experience
  • Teaching Experience
  • Project Experience
  • Leadership Experience/Community Engagement
  • International Experience
  • Additional Experience

Projects

  • Academic, independent, personal, volunteer, or hackathon projects.
  • Mention the tools/languages you used and what you accomplished.
  • Name the project.

STEM/Tech Resume Tips

  • Highlight technical skills within your experience sections.
  • Include specific tools, languages, platforms (e.g., Python, Java, AutoCAD).
  • Emphasize problem-solving, data analysis, design thinking, etc.
  • Include personal or independent projects if you lack formal experience

Listing Publications and Presentations

Bullet Statements (Action Verb Statements)

  • Bullet Point Formula: Verb + What You Did + Result/Impact
  • Example: Designed a user interface using Figma for a scheduling app, improving usability and reducing user
    complaints by 40%

Final checking/reviewing and updating:

  • Use AI to Enhance your Resume: Tips to leverage AI for improving your resume
  • Are your skills representative of the skills required in the job posting?
  • Is your formatting and content clear and consistent?
  • Did you check for grammar and spelling mistakes?
  • Have you saved a copy in pdf format and titled the document with your first and last name to submit? Make sure you save or convert to pdf and that you do not “print to pdf”, as if you “print to pdf” the ATS system will see it as a picture, and not a document.
  • Schedule an appointment with your career consultant through HANDSHAKE for further guidance: Schedule Here

Additional resources:

You’ve got this! Celebrate your best self and enjoy the journey!