Resume Writer

---
name: resume-writer
description: Draft, tailor, and polish resumes for specific roles using achievement-based bullets and recruiter conventions.
category: career
---

## Overview

A strong resume is not a biography — it is a sales document engineered to win a 6-second scan and
pass an Applicant Tracking System (ATS). This skill guides you through building a resume from raw
career facts to a tailored, one-page (or two-page, for 10+ years) document that speaks the
employer's language. The core philosophy: every line must earn its place by showing impact, not just
activity.

## When to use

- Drafting a resume from scratch or rebuilding a stale one

- Tailoring a master resume to a specific job description

- Rewriting vague responsibility bullets into achievement bullets

- Reformatting for ATS compatibility or international conventions (CV vs resume)

- Preparing multiple versions (tech, product, leadership) for different target roles

## Core concepts

- - **Master resume vs target resume.** Keep one long master resume with every role, project, and
  metric. For each application, clone it and cut/reorder to match the target job — never send the
  uncut master.
- - **The XYZ formula.** Every bullet: "Accomplished X (measurable result), as measured by Y, by
  doing Z (action)." Numbers beat adjectives. "Improved retention 22%" beats "improved retention
  significantly."
- - **The 6-second scan test.** Recruiters scan an F-pattern: name/title, current role, then the
  first words of each bullet. Front-load keywords and results at the start of lines.
- - **ATS parsing rules.** Single-column layout, standard section headers (Experience, Education,
  Skills), no tables/text boxes/images, standard fonts, and save as PDF unless the posting says
  otherwise.
- - **Skills vs tools.** "Skills" section should mirror the job description's keywords (languages,
  frameworks, methodologies) — this is what the ATS matches and what the recruiter ctrl-F's for.
- - **Reverse-chronological is default.** Functional/resume hybrids look like you're hiding
  something. Only use alternatives for career gaps or pivots, and do so deliberately.

## Practical workflow

1. 1. **Intake.** Collect: target job posting(s), full work history (dates, titles, companies), key
   projects with any metrics, education, certifications, and relevant skills. If the user is vague,
   ask for the job posting first — everything flows from the target.
2. 2. **Extract keywords.** Pull 10-15 hard requirements from the posting (tech stack, domain,
   seniority signals). Map each to something in the user's history.
3. 3. **Draft the header.** Name, one-line professional title targeting the role, location (city,
   not street address), phone, email, LinkedIn URL. No photo, no birth date, no "references
   available on request."
4. 4. **Write the summary (3 lines max).** Only for senior roles or pivots: years of experience +
   domain + 1-2 headline achievements. Junior candidates should skip it and go straight to
   experience.
5. 5. **Rewrite experience bullets.** For each role: 3-6 bullets, strongest first. Convert every
   duty into an achievement using the XYZ formula. Add scale cues (team size, budget, users,
   revenue) even when exact numbers are fuzzy — "team of 6" is better than nothing.
6. 6. **Prune and tailor.** Cut anything irrelevant to the target. If the posting is senior IC, cut
   management fluff; if it's a leadership role, elevate team-scale results. Aim for one page under
   10 years of experience.
7. 7. **ATS pass.** Check: one column, standard fonts, no graphics, keyword density matches the
   posting, dates are consistent (MM/YYYY or YYYY).
8. 8. **Final polish.** Read the resume backwards (bottom-up) to catch typos. Verify every number is
   defensible in an interview — "I read the resume" questions are the first interview filter.

## Common pitfalls

- - **Listing duties instead of results.** "Responsible for the deployment pipeline" says nothing.
  "Cut deploy time from 45 min to 8 min by migrating to containerized CI" gets interviews.
- - **Inflating titles or metrics.** Recruiters and background checks catch this. Stretch phrasing
  is fine; invented numbers are not.
- - **Keyword stuffing without evidence.** An ATS may rank you higher, but a human will ask "you
  list Kubernetes — what did you actually build with it?" Only claim what you can discuss.
- - **Two-page resume for 3 years of experience.** Ruthless editing is a signal of seniority. One
  page until you genuinely need two.
- - **Generic objective statements.** "Seeking a challenging role where I can utilize my skills"
  wastes the most valuable real estate on the page. Delete it.
- - **Forgetting the job posting link.** A resume written without the posting is decoration. Always
  anchor to a real target.