How to make your resume stand out

How to make your resume stand out

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Resumes are one of the most important tools in your application kit.

They succeed when a hiring manager reads it and instantly understands your value.

But most designers treat their resume like a feature list.

A summary of tools, tasks, and “responsibilities.”

That kind of resume doesn’t answer the question every hiring manager has:
👉 “How did this person make things better?”

I’ve reviewed hundreds of resumes and the ones that stood out had one thing in common: They read like a product roadmap.

A roadmap is a story of decisions, outcomes, and impact. It shows why something was built, what it solved, and what the result was.

That’s exactly how your resume should work.

Mistake I made early in my career

A few years into my career I tried to land a mid-level role. I had the experience, but my resume wasn’t getting traction.

I received feedback that changed everything:

“Your bullets tell me what you did, not what you achieved.”

It was true. I wasn’t being hired for my skills. I was being hired to solve problems.

My resume had to show I’d done that before.

Here’s how to do the same.

1. Kill the passive tone

If your bullets start with “Responsible for,” remove them.

It says, “I was assigned this,” not “I owned this.”

Hiring managers want to see action and initiative.

Use this formula: 👉 Action Verb + Task/Project + Result/Impact

Weak (Feature list):
Responsible for creating new designs for the onboarding flow.
Strong (Roadmap):
Improved user activation by 30% after redesigning the mobile onboarding flow using usability test data.

Tip: Use verbs that show ownership; led, created, improved, reduced, increased.

2. Quantify your impact

Design impact can (and should) be measured.

Metrics show that your work made a difference.

Ask yourself: 👉 Did I improve something measurable? Did my work save time, increase conversion, or reduce errors?

Before: Designed a new component library.
After: Created a reusable component library in Figma that cut handoff time by 20% across three product teams.

Numbers make your results real. Even rough estimates help.

3. Write for the job you want

Your resume isn’t just a recap of your last role. It’s a blueprint for your next one.

As you grow your value shifts from execution to strategy. Even if you’re a junior designer you want to show signals of leadership and influence.

Examples:

• Presented designs to executives and secured buy-in for a new flow.
• Onboarded a new designer and documented team design standards.

These show you’re already thinking at the next level.

Final Thought

When you treat your resume like a roadmap you shift the story from what you did to what you achieved.

Start small: Find three bullets on your current resume and rewrite them with an Action Verb + Impact.

You’ll sound more confident and more hireable.

Thanks for reading, see you next week!