How to make your resumé stand out.
Most advice on standing out focuses on the wrong things — design, length, fonts. The resumés that actually get noticed stand out because of what they say and how precisely they say it. Here is what that looks like in practice.
Standing out does not mean being different. It means being the clearest, most credible answer to what a hiring manager is actually looking for.
Sunrise Writing Co.There are three levels to a resumé that stands out.
Most candidates clear the first level without realising it is not enough. The ones who get interviews consistently clear all three.
ATS-compatible and keyword-aligned.
Before a recruiter ever sees your resumé, it has to survive automated screening. That means a clean single-column layout, standard section headings, no tables or text boxes, and language that mirrors the terminology of the job posting. A resumé that fails this level never reaches a human, regardless of how strong the experience is.
Clear hierarchy, immediate signal, no friction.
Recruiters spend six to ten seconds on an initial scan. In that window, they are looking for three things: the right level of experience, relevant employers or industries, and at least one signal that you can do the specific job. A resumé that passes the scan puts those signals at the top of the page, uses consistent formatting that is easy to skim, and does not bury the most relevant content mid-document.
Specific evidence that builds a case.
This is where most resumés fall short. A recruiter who stops scanning and starts reading wants to see proof — specific outcomes, real numbers, credible context. The resumés that get shortlisted are the ones where every bullet point earns its place: a concrete accomplishment, described precisely, in the language of the role. That combination of specificity and relevance is what sets a resumé apart from the field.
What standing out is not.
A designed or visual resumé.
Infographic resumés, colour-coded layouts, and elaborate formatting may look distinctive. Most of them are invisible to ATS systems and harder for recruiters to scan quickly. In almost every professional context, a clean standard layout outperforms a designed one.
Longer and more detailed.
Adding more content does not make a resumé stronger. A resumé that includes everything is a resumé that prioritizes nothing. Standing out means selecting the most relevant experience and presenting it with precision — not documenting your entire history.
A polished AI rewrite.
AI-generated resumés share the same vocabulary, structure, and tone. When every candidate's document uses the same phrases and follows the same pattern, none of them stand out. Distinctiveness comes from specific, true, personally-voiced content — which is exactly what AI cannot supply.
Specificity is what makes a resumé memorable.
Generic language blends into the background. Specific language stops the scan. These examples show what that shift looks like in practice — the before is what most resumés contain, the after is what gets read.
Responsible for managing a high-performing sales team and driving revenue growth.
Led a team of nine account executives to $4.2M in closed revenue in FY2024, 18% above target — the highest-performing year in the division's history.
Developed and implemented a new process to improve operational efficiency.
Redesigned the client intake process, reducing onboarding time from 14 days to 6 and cutting administrative errors by 40% within the first quarter of rollout.
Strong communicator with experience presenting to senior stakeholders and executive leadership.
Presented quarterly risk reports to the CFO and board audit committee; proposals adopted without revision in four consecutive cycles.
What a professional writer does that you cannot easily do for yourself.
The hardest part of writing your own resumé is distance. You are too close to your own experience to see it the way a recruiter does. A professional writer brings the outside perspective that changes how your history reads.
A resumé that stands out starts with a conversation.
Every Sunrise project begins with a free assessment. We review your current resumé, understand where you are heading, and recommend exactly what level of support will get you there — from a targeted edit to a full professional rewrite.