How to write a good resume: 7 Tips for a Successful Resume – Singapore Edition

Writing a good Resume

Writing a good resume

From fresh graduate, experience hire to mid-career changes, having a good resume is one of the most important entry tickets to your dream job. A well-crafted resume is something that every job-seeker should prioritized. As the job search and recruitment processes become more digitalized and employer demands continue to evolve, your resume must demonstrate both your technical know-how and a strong set of interpersonal skills to pass both the human reviewer and the all-important Applicant Tracking Systems or Application Tracking System (ATS). Here are seven fundamental, research-backed tips for success—plus bonus sections tailored to the realities of Singapore today.

Let us speak from a recruiter’s perspective.

7 tips for a good Resume

1. Choose the Right Resume Format

Format – Its importance cannot be more. Singapore employers expect clear, conventional resume formats. A clear format illustrates and highlights details to the HR or recruiter. Base on sources online, it is said that hiring managers spend less than 10 seconds per resume. Something in your resume must catch their attention before they decide to read on. Format is usually one of the things that either attract or deflect the recruiter’s interest. Some of the most important formatting you should consider:

• Section your resume clearly: There are many ways to write a successful and good resume. However, all good resumes are well and neatly sections. Label your sections (Experience, Education, Skills) clearly so it can be well identified.

• Reverse-Chronological Resume: This is always preferred for work history. Do not write in chronological order. Hiring managers will be most interested in your recent position, job title and work experience.

• Time: Always have a time period for your experience or education. This gives hiring managers a good gauge on how recent or the duration of the relevant experience.

• Point of Focus: While you may be highly experienced and your resume may be content-heavy, ensure that there is a point of focus to catch your recruiters’ attention. Place critical skills or keywords strategically. Regardless of age or seniority, choose the format that aligns best with your narrative and makes it easy for hiring managers to quickly see your value.

2. Tailor Your Resume for Every Job Application

Most who do not get a reply from recruiters often adopt the “Fish Net Approach”. Using a standard resume to apply for all job position is not ideal. Tweak and customized your resume so that the point of focus aligns with the Job’s Description being advertised.

Customise your resume for each job posting, matching relevant keywords from the job description (especially skills and certifications) to maximise your chances with Singapore ATS screening. Carefully reflect on how your experience directly meets the job’s specific requirements.

For fresh graduates, emphasise course projects, internships, or CCA (co-curricular activities). For senior professionals, focus on leadership, operational improvements, or revenue impact.

3.     Emphasise and Quantify Achievements

Employers want to see measurable impact, not a laundry list of duties. Use the STAR approach (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to describe how you improved processes, increased sales, led teams, solved problems, or contributed to organisational success. Always "show" rather than "tell": instead of “responsible for sales,” write “achieved 18% YoY sales growth” or “reduced hiring time by 30%.” This applies across experience levels—with fresh grads quantifying project outcomes and seasoned professionals underscoring business transformation.

If you are applying for a senior role or are an experienced candidate, try to avoid “weak” action words such as “involved in”, “Assist with” and “Contribute”. Instead, opt for “Pioneered”, “Led the team” or “Achieved”. The choice of power word will subconsciously form an opinion of your seniority in the minds of the recruiter.

4.     Professional Resume: Design for Clarity and ATS Compatibility

In Singapore, resumes should be visually professional. Use common fonts (Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman, 10–12pt), standard margins, and clear headers. Avoid graphics, text boxes and complex tables unless applying for creative roles, as some ATS systems only recognise straightforward formatting. While this will improve with technology, it is still essential for job-seekers to cater to ATS systems. Submit in Microsoft Word (.docx) or PDF file format to avoid compatibility issues.

5.     Optimise Resume Length Without Sacrificing Value

A lengthy essay-like resume is never a good one.

Experienced professionals: confine your resume to a structured two or three pages, focusing on the last 10–15 years of relevant experience. For fresh graduates: a concise one-page resume is best, concentrating on academic achievements, internships, significant projects, and skills. Use concise bullet points and avoid unnecessary personal details.

A long resume clouds the focal point and may be too hard for hiring managers to identify key skills or experience that they are looking for. A professional resume should be akin to an Executive Summary of your experience and skills.

The skills section – Writing it clear and Applicable

Skills section is very important and may different from industries greatly. The skill section for a candidate in the finance industry is going to be very different from that of an IT professional.

Classify your skill section clearly (Technical & Software skills, Soft Skills, Languages and Others). This section also offers you a good chance to showcase and aligned the right skill sets for the position. (Read following sections)

7. Short Introductory Summary

It is common for candidates to write a very brief 2-3 sentence about themselves (professional profile) at the start. Keep It Short and Sweet (KISS). Avoid over-writing a huge paragraph for this section.

Having a professional profile is essential and selecting the right descriptive words in your summary statement will help highlight your key strength. If unsure, you may speak to career advisors who are experienced in designing professional profile with a clear and concise summary statement.

7 Tips for a Good Resume

What are Good Skills to Put on a Professional Resume?

With Singapore’s job market adapting to verticals like green tech, digital transformation, and hybrid work, employers are prioritising a combination of hard and soft skills.

Highly Valued Hard Skills:

• Digital literacy (e.g., Microsoft Office, data analytics, CRM/ERP systems, coding languages)

• Process improvement & optimisation

• Market research and trend analysis

• Project management (including Agile and hybrid project delivery)

• Industry certifications and professional qualifications (CPA, PMP, WSQ Certification)

In-Demand Soft Skills:

• Communication (oral and written)

• Leadership and team management

• Problem-solving and critical thinking

• Adaptability and openness to change

• Customer service and client management

• Time management and prioritisation

• Collaboration and relationship building

• Resilience and emotional intelligence

• Creativity and innovation

For all candidates: Use the skills section of your resume to align with the job requirements and back up claims—preferably with clear examples or certifications. The above are just generic examples of skill sets. For IT professionals, relevant skills sets could be proficient in programming language (Golang, Python, C++ etc) while for an accountant, it can be proficiency in consolidation of accounts or IFRS standards.

Are Video Resumes a Good Idea?

Video Resume - The resume of tomorrow?

With the prevalence of technology and IT in the recruitment process, it is more common now to conduct interview screening online. This also give rise to the request and adoption of video resumes. Video resumes are increasingly discussed in Singapore, especially for customer-facing or creative sectors, or when applying to progressive startups.

Here’s what you need to know

Benefits:

• Allows your personality, communication, and professionalism to come across directly. A good way to engage and build rapport with the hiring manager.

• Demonstrates digital literacy—a must for many roles.

• Useful for jobs where presence, persuasion, or spoken skills are crucial (sales, marketing, media, customer service).

Drawbacks:

• Not all recruiters or ATS can process video resumes; many still expect a traditional written version as the primary job application.

• May unintentionally introduce bias, as some decision-makers may prefer to screen on paper qualifications first.

• Can disadvantage candidates not comfortable with video production or public speaking.

Best Practices:

• Only attach video resumes if the employer or portal asks for them specifically, or if applying for jobs in creative, digital media, content, or client-facing roles.

• Keep videos concise (max 90 seconds), professionally lit, clear in audio, and tailored exactly to the opportunity.

• Never submit only a video—always provide a traditional resume as part of the application package.

Summary:

Video resumes are a value-adding supplement for certain sectors but should never replace a traditional, well-crafted document resume. For most roles in Singapore, a written resume remains the default screening tool.

Resume Templates Singapore – An Overview on the Essential Sections

Now, armed with the tips above, lets focus on what constitutes to a good resume template. Let’s being with a generic template. Do note that this may not applies to all industries and it is important to tweak and customized it to suit one’s usage. A successful Singapore resume (CV) includes:

1. Contact Information:

• Full Name (as per NRIC/passport)

• Mobile number and email

• LinkedIn profile (optional, but increasingly expected)

• Nationality/PR/citizenship status

2. Professional Summary or Objective:

• 2–3 lines highlighting your unique value, career goals, and key skills relevant to the role.

3. Key Skills:

• Bullet point list of 6–12 hard and soft skills tailored to the target job (see section above for guidance).

• You may also add language abilities in this section

4. Work Experience:

• Pay attention to reverse-chronological order

• Positions/Job title, employers, dates of employment

• Bullet points of achievements using action verbs and quantifiable results

5. Education:

• Degrees and academic qualification, awarding institutions, years

• Relevant certifications, training, or noteworthy achievements (dean’s list, scholarships, professional licenses)

6. Additional Sections (where relevant):

• Professional memberships or accreditation (e.g., ISCA, PMI, PE)

• Volunteer work and extracurricular achievements

• Hobbies/interests (add only if relevant or may form a rapport with interviewer)

• References: “Available upon request” is sufficient

7. Miscellaneous/Singapore-Specific:

• Availability/notice period

• Residency status (PR/EP/SP)

• Contact information (May consider placing this at the header & footer)

In some situation, hiring manager may request for an accompanying cover letter as part of the application package. A cover letter is a written version of your work history and differs greatly from resume templates mentioned above. The requirement of application package differs from each company and do be mindful to take note of each requirements.

Tip: Never state salary expectation in your resume—reserve this for interview or offer negotiation.

With AI and resume generator readily available, do not jump into it too quickly. These generators may not be that ideal in of formatting and humanization. Spend effort on your resume and you may be pleasantly surprise.

Final Thoughts

No single resume formula works for every situation. However, tailoring your document—by highlighting the right skills, using measurable achievements, and aligning your application to the specific job description —will set you apart from the crowd. Perform adequate research such as visiting the company website, adopting spell check tools, use power words to align your work history with the job posting are small actions that may have big impacts.

For junior candidates: leverage your learning agility, digital skills, and project work experience. You should also include internship experience (if any).

For seniors: highlight work experience, leadership, and adaptability.

Whether you are just starting your career journey or are an experienced leader, apply these best practices during your job search. The Singapore job market values clarity, professionalism, and results—make sure your resume delivers on all three fronts. Clinch your job interview now with a well written resume!

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