How Do I Do a Resume That Gets Noticed?

How Do I Do a Resume That Gets Noticed? A Guide for Mid-Career Professionals

As a mid-career professional, you've built a wealth of experience, navigated promotions, and likely led teams or projects. But in today's job market, where recruiters spend an average of just 7.4 seconds scanning a resume (according to a 2023 Ladders study), getting noticed requires more than listing your achievements. If you're searching for "how to do resume" or "how to do a resume," you're in the right place. This guide focuses on creating an ATS-optimized resume that highlights your expertise while beating applicant tracking systems (ATS)—software used by 99% of Fortune 500 companies to filter applications, per Jobscan data.

ATS optimization isn't about flashy design; it's about structure, keywords, and clarity. A well-optimized resume can increase your chances of passing ATS filters by up to 75%, according to Teal HQ insights. As an ENFP career advisor, I love infusing creativity into resumes while keeping them practical—think of it as storytelling your career journey in a way that captivates both machines and humans. Let's dive into a step-by-step process tailored for mid-career pros like you, who need to showcase progression without overwhelming the reader.

Step 1: Understand Your Audience and Tailor Accordingly

Before writing a single line, research the job description. Mid-career roles often emphasize leadership, strategic impact, and transferable skills. Extract 10-15 keywords from the posting—phrases like "cross-functional team leadership" or "revenue growth strategies"—and weave them naturally into your resume.

Actionable Tip: Use tools like Google Docs or Microsoft Word for drafting, but avoid tables, images, or fancy fonts that ATS can't parse. Stick to standard fonts like Arial or Calibri (10-12 pt) and save as a .docx or PDF (text-based, not scanned).

Expert Insight: "For mid-career professionals, the resume isn't a chronology—it's a highlight reel of your value," says resume expert Elena Voss, ATS specialist. Focus on the last 10-15 years, prioritizing relevance over completeness.

Step 2: Craft a Strong Professional Summary

Your summary is the hook— a 4-6 sentence overview at the top. For mid-career folks, emphasize your unique blend of experience and forward-thinking skills. Avoid generic statements like "Experienced manager seeking opportunities."

Example: Instead of "Managed teams for 10 years," try: "Dynamic marketing director with 12+ years driving 25% YoY revenue growth through innovative digital campaigns and cross-functional leadership. Proven in scaling operations for Fortune 500 firms, seeking to leverage strategic expertise in consumer tech."

This incorporates keywords like "revenue growth" and "cross-functional leadership" while quantifying impact. ATS loves metrics: Use numbers to show results, such as "Led a team of 15 to achieve 150% quota attainment."

Step 3: Structure Your Experience Section for Impact

List roles in reverse chronological order, focusing on the last three positions in detail. For each, use 4-6 bullet points starting with strong action verbs (e.g., "Orchestrated," "Pioneered," "Optimized").

Step-by-Step Instructions:

• Bullet Format: Action Verb + Task + Result. Example: "Spearheaded product launches that increased market share by 30% in competitive sectors."
• Quantify Everything: Mid-career resumes shine with data. If you boosted efficiency, say "Implemented process improvements reducing turnaround time by 40%, saving $200K annually."
• Incorporate Keywords: Mirror job description language without stuffing. For a project management role, include "Agile methodologies" if mentioned.
• Length: Keep bullets to 1-2 lines; total experience section under one page for mid-career (aim for 1-2 pages overall).

Common Mistake to Avoid: Listing duties instead of achievements. Recruiters ignore "Responsible for team management"—show how you excelled.

Step 4: Highlight Skills and Certifications Strategically

Dedicate a skills section with 8-12 items, blending hard (e.g., "Salesforce CRM," "Data Analytics with Python") and soft skills (e.g., "Stakeholder Negotiation," "Change Management"). Mid-career pros should include leadership certifications like PMP or Six Sigma.

Best Practice: Place this after experience but before education. Use a simple bulleted list or comma-separated for ATS readability. Statistics show resumes with tailored skills sections get 21% more interviews (LinkedIn, 2023).

Don't forget education: List degrees briefly at the bottom, unless pursuing further credentials—then elevate it.

Step 5: Optimize for ATS and Human Readers

ATS scans for format first: Use standard headings like "Professional Experience" (not creative ones like "Career Adventure"). Avoid headers/footers, columns, or acronyms without spelling out (e.g., "Search Engine Optimization (SEO)").

Quantifiable Metric: Jobscan reports that 43% of resumes are rejected due to poor formatting. Test yours by uploading to free ATS simulators like Jobscan or Resumeworded.

Common Mistakes:

• Keyword Overload: Sounds robotic—integrate naturally.
• Ignoring Mobile View: 60% of recruiters view on mobile (EyeTracking, Inc.); ensure clean layout.
• No Customization: One-size-fits-all resumes fail 70% of the time (CareerBuilder survey).

Pro Tip: After drafting, read aloud for flow. As an ENFP, I recommend adding a subtle creative touch, like a portfolio link in contact info, but only if relevant.

Industry Insights and Final Polish

According to a 2024 Indeed report, mid-career hires with ATS-friendly resumes see 2x more callbacks. Expert Jordan Lee, a general optimization guru, advises: "Treat your resume like a bridge—connect your past wins to the employer's future needs."

Proofread twice (use Grammarly), get a peer review, and track versions. Tools like Canva offer templates, but for ATS, prioritize plain text over design-heavy ones.

In summary, doing a resume that gets noticed means blending strategy with authenticity. By following these steps, you'll create a document that not only passes ATS but also tells your compelling mid-career story.

How ApplyEngine Can Help with "How to Do Resume" and "How to Do a Resume"

If you're tackling "how to do resume" or "how to do a resume" for the first time (or refining an existing one), ApplyEngine.ai streamlines the process with AI-powered tools designed for mid-career professionals. Our platform offers ATS resume optimization with real-time scoring—upload your draft, and get an instant ATS compatibility score plus keyword suggestions tailored to job descriptions, boosting your pass rate by up to 80%.

Work with our AI Resume Specialists: Elena, our ATS expert, can scan and optimize your entire resume for machine readability, ensuring no formatting pitfalls. Jordan handles general optimization, refining your summary and bullets for maximum impact with quantifiable achievements. For job-specific tweaks, Sarthi crafts customized versions that align your mid-career experience with target roles.

Choose from 20+ professional templates across industries, edit section-by-section with real-time feedback, and even optimize your LinkedIn profile via our Chrome extension. New users get $120 in free AI credits to automate applications and generate insights. Whether you're starting from scratch or iterating, ApplyEngine turns the overwhelming "how to do a resume" search into actionable, noticed results—empowering your career acceleration.

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