Your resume is your first impression — and most hiring managers spend less than 10 seconds on it. Here's how to make yours count.
Your resume is your silent ambassador. It represents you before you ever walk into the room, and it's the first thing an HR manager sees before deciding whether or not to invite you for an interview. Most hiring managers spend fewer than 10 seconds on an initial scan. That window is all you get.
At Aequitas Foundation, resume coaching is a core part of how we prepare graduates for the job market. The feedback we hear most often from employers? Too generic, too long, and not results-focused. Here are five things to fix right now.
1. Tailor it — every time
Send a generic resume and you get a generic rejection. Read the job description carefully and mirror the language it uses. If the role says "stakeholder engagement," your resume should say "stakeholder engagement" — not "worked with people." Customising takes 15 minutes and dramatically improves your callback rate.
2. Start with a punchy summary
The top third of your resume is prime real estate. Use it for a 3–4 line professional summary that tells the employer who you are, what you bring, and what you're looking for. Skip the overused phrases like 'hardworking team player' — instead, be specific: 'Finance graduate with 6 months of audit experience and a track record of streamlining reporting processes.'
3. Use strong action verbs
Led. Built. Designed. Reduced. Delivered. These words signal ownership and impact. Avoid passive language like 'was responsible for' or 'helped with.' Replace them with verbs that show you drove results, not just participated in them.
4. Quantify your achievements
"Increased sales by 30%" is more powerful than "helped boost sales." Numbers give context and credibility. Think about your work in terms of: How many? How much? How fast? Even if the numbers seem small, they show you measure your impact — and that matters to employers.
5. Keep it clean — 1 to 2 pages maximum
Unless you have 10+ years of experience, your resume should not be longer than two pages. White space is not wasted space — it makes your resume easier to scan. Use a clean font (Calibri, Arial, or Garamond), consistent formatting, and clear section headers. No colours, no photos, no elaborate design unless you're in a creative field.
“You don't get a second chance to make a first impression. Make sure your resume speaks well before you ever walk through the door.”
Watch our facilitator break down these resume principles in a live Aequitas training session.
Where to go from here
If you're a recent graduate looking for structured support — not just a tiplist — the Aequitas Experience and Empower Her Dreams programmes both include hands-on CV workshops and one-on-one career coaching. Applications are open.
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