Resume tips & free templates from top recruiters | 2026

Less than seven seconds. That's how long you have to impress a recruiter before they move onto the next resume in the pile. So how can you stand out in such a short amount of time?

To find out what makes a recruiter-ready resume, GMAC turned to career experts at leading business schools around the world, as well as recruiters at some of the world's top companies.

We took their advice, and turned it into a FREE in-depth guide detailing how to craft a strong resume that recruiters will remember. Here are some of their most important resume writing tips for making your resume stand out to recruiters and admissions teams.

Resume tip 1: Use a simple design

Your resume is a professional document and the main objective is to convey the key information in the clearest way possible.

Avoid overcomplicating things with infographics or images. You may also be tempted to fill every inch of space on the page, but this can appear overwhelming and make it harder for recruiters to process information.

“An optimally designed resume will be one that can be read through quickly by a recruiter, allowing them to assess your fit with the vacancy and advance you to the next stage,” says Amber Wigmore Álvarez, chief university partnerships officer at JobTeaser.

Resume tip 2: Aim for one page

Unless you’re particularly experienced, you’re typically better off keeping your resume to one-page.

Doing this successfully demonstrates to employers that you can digest information and find what’s most relevant.

Resume tip 3: Write concise bullet points

It’s important to structure your information in a clear, concise manner.

You should use bullet points that recruiters can easily scan. Full sentences aren’t necessary, and you can omit any pronouns. 

Ensure each point is relevant and highlighting a key skill, achievement, or experience in as few words as possible.

Recruiters are looking for someone with the skills and experience to fit the job description, so the first one-third of your resume should focus on exactly that. 

“Keep it concise and easy to read: Recruiters and hiring managers generally receive a high volume of resumes, and they lack the bandwidth to review lengthy documents,” says Amber Grewal, head of global talent at Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

Download our free Resume Guide: 10 Tips For Application Success, where we reveal 7 more tips from experts so you can craft a resume that recruiters will remember.

From our resume guide you’ll:

⇨ Get a detailed breakdown of everything you need to know to ensure your resume is recruiter ready

⇨ Receive top advice from top corporate recruiters and business school careers experts

⇨ Learn a handy Word Cloud Generator exercise to help you find the right terms to include in your resume 

⇨ Access four downloadable and editable resume templates to help you get off to a flying start

Download: Resume Guide: 10 Top Tips For Application Success