Current Resume Trends To Look Out For in 2025
Resume trends and best practices evolve every year, and it's important to follow them to help your resume stand out to hiring managers. Keep reading this article to find the freshest tricks and strategies for a standout resume and forget about sending dozens of applications with no response.
In 2025, your resume is a marketing tool more than ever. It should clearly answer the question "Why do we need to hire you?" and address any potential concerns of hiring managers. With the plenty of resume-writing advice, writing your own resume is still intricate, as your career is at stake.
In this guide, a certified professional resume writer will explain you:
- how the resumes evolved over the past 25 years
- what are the current resume trends that will dominate the hiring process in 2025, and
- how to quickly create a resume for your career goals.
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The history of resumes: How did the resumes evolve over the past 25 years?
In the late 1990s, people weren't relying on the internet for their job search as much as today. Although some career websites already existed, most jobs were filled through printed ads and networking. In most cases, you needed to print out a resume to apply to a company.
Did you know? The first resume ever was created in 1482 by Leonardo Da Vinci. The fact of his inventing of a resume comes as little surprise given the rich heritage of the Italian inventor and artist. However, it's only in the 1950s that applying for jobs with a resume became common.
Here's how a successful resume looked like in 1999.
Personal information was still acceptable to include
Today, we don't put personal details in a resume. Not only this is inappropriate, but also it can be a reason for rejecting you. Twenty years ago the rules in the job market were different and it was okay to put your date of birth or marital status on a resume.
It started with an objective
For many years, resumes used to start with the cliché objectives: “To obtain a challenging position where I can utilize my skills”. This line wasn't much informative, yet it was a standard resume format back then. Some candidates just skipped an objective and went to the next section. Want to get remembered during an interview? Check out our secrets for the interview handshake to make the right first impression.
Generic resumes were common
The term ‘resume tailoring' appeared only recently as the ATS appeared. In late 1990s, it was a common practice to create one version of your resume and send it in response to all job postings. Resumes were read by real recruiters and human resource managers, so there wasn't any need to adapt each resume for different jobs.
Resumes were black and white
Twenty years ago all resumes had a similar design: black text on the white sheet of paper. It wasn't considered necessary to care much about the way your resume looks. Let alone the fact that most services and tools that offer resume design didn't exist. The resume was a plain text on an A4 sheet, and everyone was okay with that.
The format was a minor consideration
Resume in 1999 had to look neat. Nobody appreciated cluttered, unstructured text even back then. However, job-seekers used pretty much the same format – reverse chronological. Resume formatting wasn't trending, though – boldfacing company names and capitalizing the section subheading is pretty much all formatting you could find in a resume.
The experience was all about job duties
When people described their work history, they were mostly focused on their job duties. The resume was focused on applicant's circle of responsibilities and skills. And this was considered normal – nobody actually expected you to brag your accomplishments.
‘One-page rule' was the king
The preconception that a resume has to be no longer than one page still confuses some job-seekers. However, 20-30 years ago most people didn't change jobs so often, so this rule justified itself.
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Top resume trends for 2025
The most recent resume trends are dictated by the changes in the job market and the hiring process. Companies experience a widening skills gap, the use of AI tools becomes a norm, and all the job application process happens on the internet.
With these new practices and ever-increasing competition, here's how to keep your resume competitive and impress hiring managers.
Start with a powerful professional summary
Resume summary works as an elevator pitch, presenting your qualifications and why you're a god fit for the job. Unlike the traditional resume objective, a summary focuses on what you can contribute to the organization, not why you want to work for them.
Write 2-4 sentences focusing on your key achievements, career growth, and areas of expertise. Adapt the summary for each specific job opening, as personalized summaries get more attention from recruiters.
Optimize it for applicant tracking systems ATS
One of the latest trends in resume writing is the automation of hiring. 99% of Fortune 500 companies use applicant tracking systems (ATS). These systems check each resume for specific keywords, which are typically the skills or qualifications that a job requires. Resumes that don't have the relevant qualifications get trashed. So, a good modern resume should be rich in relevant keywords to make it to the next stage of screening.
To pass ATS filters easily, avoid any complex formatting, such as graphs, tables, and multiple columns. Use popular, easy-to-read fonts and little color. Keeping your resume plain and minimalist is the best bet.
Focus on results and metrics
Employers today look for people who are ready to exceed their expectations. The easiest way to show you're an ‘achiever' not a ‘doer' is to write about professional achievements. And if the hiring manager sees you've achieved a lot in the past, they believe you'll perform as well if they hire you. Hence, showing the measurable results from your past jobs dramatically increase your chances for an interview.
Add at least one measurable achievement per role in your resume. If you built a high-performing team, boosted sales, increased brand recognition, automated content creation, or trained new people, mention these accomplishments with numbers and percentages. It will increase your chances for success.
Include technical skills
As workplaces grow digital, many companies face a shortage of candidates with the right hard skills. The knowledge of industry software, AI tools, and programming can boost your chances of employment in any industry. Such skills depend on the industry. For example, hard skills for a copywriter will include CMS systems, fact checking, search engine optimization, and remote work and digital marketing tools.
List hard skills you have in a dedicated Skills section. Thus, the employer will instantly see that you qualify and won't need to be trained. Hard and soft skills also serve as keywords. Thus, inserting the skills from the job listing will help you pass ATS software with a high score, which means more consideration from a hiring manager.
Add soft skills
As more manual tasks get automated, companies increasingly seek people with advanced soft skills. These skills are harder to automate or replace by robots. 93% of companies pay attention to soft skills when reviewing your resume and cover letter.
The most popular soft skills include communication skills, creativity, problem-solving, organizational skills, conflict resolution, and more. Review the target job posting and add the specific skills so that your resume aligns with the company's expectations.
Use AI tools to perfect your resume
In 2025, various artificial intelligence tools are on the rise for most routine tasks. You can also leverage AI tools to perfect and improve your old resume. However, simply asking ChatGPT "Write a resume for a manager with 7 years of experience" won't take you anywhere. 53% of employers see AI resumes as a big red flag and will toss them.
The best strategy is to use AI tools to perfect a written resume - such as fix mistakes and recommend improvements. However, don't rely on these apps completely. When in doubt, ask for help of an experience resume consultant or HR manager.
Use the power of personal branding
To step out of the crowd of similarly qualified applicants, work on your personal brand. Over the past few years, personal branding became one of the top resume trends, especially for senior-level candidates.
Think about what makes you unique and better suited for the role than the others. It can be a foreign language proficiency, strong negotiation skills, or a keen eye for process improvement. Make these qualifications visible in the resume summary section to get the potential employers interested quickly.
Rely on bullet point format
The most effective resumes use a clean, consistent formatting. When describing your job duties and achievements, format them as bullet points, not paragraphs. Bulleted lists are easier to read and scan, and there's a higher chance that the busy recruiter will actually read your resume and wants to interview you.
Include links to your LinkedIn profile and portfolio
In today's job market, your online presence can make or break your job search success. Add links to your LinkedIn account, personal website, or portfolio link. Before that, you want to make sure that your LinkedIn and other professional social media is up-to-date and reflects your qualifications accurately. Upload the examples of work and descriptions of projects.
Adding these links will give the hiring manager a bigger picture of your professional journey and skills. If you don’t have a professional blog yet but want to start one, read our guide on the easiest way to start a blog.
Tailored resumes are a new norm
One of current resume trends is tailoring your resume to each job description. Read the job listing carefully, highlighting the required technical skills, personal skills, and competencies. Then optimize your resume content including keywords from the job posting in your summary, professional experience, and other sections.
Such keyword optimization helps you get noticed by potential employers faster. Resume mass-mailing doesn't work anymore as generic resumes don't make it through the ATS.
As you can see, the rules of the game in resume writing have changed a lot over the 20 years. Now your resume has to be better designed and accomplishment-driven. More importantly, it has to show what makes you unique in comparison with other candidates. For more information about resume trends in 2019, go here.
What should your resume look like in 2025?
As resume trends evolve, here is the recommended resume structure that you should use to make a professional impression:
- Your name and contact details
- Resume header - here you can include a job title or a branded statement
- Summary section - 2-4 sentences summarizing your experience, achievements, and how you can contribute to the employer.
- Professional experience - write your job duties and achievements using the STAR method and focusing on the impact you made.
- Education - your college or university degree, certifications, and additional training.
- Skills - technical skills and soft ones optimized for the job description you're targeting.
- Additional sections, such as language proficiency, academic publications, volunteering, hobbies, and more.
Following these trends will help you create a modern-looking, informative resume that grabs the recruiter's attention. Make sure to keep the formatting minimalist and plain, focusing on measurable results and how you can contribute to the company's success. If you are still confused or don't know how to format your resume better, message us for help!
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