What You Worry About vs. What Hiring Managers Actually Care About

Let’s be honest, writing your resume can feel like walking a tightrope. You’re juggling formatting rules, font sizes, and fears about getting past the ATS. You're stressed about cramming everything into one page and wondering if it's okay to borrow wording from your job description.

But here’s the truth: most of the things you’re worried about don’t even register for the person reading your resume.

Let’s compare:

What Most Job Seekers Focus On:

• How much of my job description can I copy before it’s too obvious?

• How do I fit all my responsibilities into one page?

• What colors make me look more professional?

• How can I trick the ATS into ranking me higher?

• Is 10pt font too small?

Now here’s what hiring managers are actually looking for:

What Hiring Managers Actually Care About:

• Is it clear and easy to read?

• What are this person’s core strengths?

• What’s their educational background?

• Have they consistently delivered results?

• What value could they bring to our team?

There’s a huge gap between what job seekers obsess over and what employers are scanning for. Yes, layout matters, but clarity, relevance, and results matter more.

The resumes that stand out are the ones that make it easy for hiring managers to quickly understand what you bring to the table. That means:

• Leading with strong, clear headlines

• Focusing on outcomes, not tasks

• Prioritizing information that matches the job you’re applying for

If you’ve been spending most of your time choosing fonts or testing color schemes, shift your focus. Ask yourself: “Am I answering the questions a hiring manager would actually care about?”

When you do that, you’re not just creating a resume, you’re building a case for why you should get the interview.