Designing a resume is a task that most people would gladly pay someone else to do. It’s tedious, you never know what employers are truly looking for and how many pages is it really supposed to be? It’s frustrating to just think about. Try these 30 bullet point tips to spiff up you resume so you can stay a step ahead of your competition.

1. Emphasize your duties—you weren’t a small time copyeditor, you were a creative consultant to the manager.
2. Strike a balance between your specialties and your ability to work on anything.
3. List any specialties, awards, and certifications prominently.
4. No matter your bullet points, try to keep your resume at 1 page (which is ideal) or 2 pages (at the absolute most).
5. Use the cover letter to convince your potential employer that your patchwork responsibilities are actually an interconnected quilt.
6. Emphasize relatively quick upswings in duties—“went from floor sales to assistant manager in less than 3 months.”
7. Always, always use the job requirements’ wording in your resume, just try not to be overly obvious when doing it.
8. Play up any courses you took in college that may be relevant to the job at hand.
9. In lieu of college experience, always find a way to emphasize your experience in something related to the job at hand.
10. Detail your abilities and education in such a way that you come off as a missing piece to the organization.
11. Emphasize any additional languages you speak.
12. Be sure to emphasize relevant computer software that you are familiar with.
13. Don’t go overboard with making yourself sound good—“Interior arrangement and housekeeping specialist” still means janitor.
14. Emphasize how previous, unrelated skills may apply to this potential job: “my extensive sales experience will make me a great PR agent.”
15. If possible, give yourself a cheat sheet and peek at the resume of someone who was already hired.
16. Use the cover letter and bullet points to emphasize your willingness to help; it’s not about what they can do for you, but what you can do for them.
17. If you can do it without being too obvious, integrate achievements into software info; “first in my company to hit 100 sales using the SaleSoft software.”
18. Be sure to positively spin any gaps in your employment.
19. List any equipment you’ve used that might be relevant.
20. Be sure your wording strikes a balance between simple newspaper prose and complicated rhetoric—you wish to be seen as erudite, but direct.
21. Brevity is the soul of resume—don’t embellish when you can speak plainly.
22. Always emphasize added responsibility—you weren’t just the third key, you “managed the store during key hours.”
23. Without overdoing it, adding a pinch of humor to your resume can help you stand out.
24. Think outside the box and list non-work things you’ve done (volunteering here, coaching there) that might be pertinent to this job
25. It sounds obvious, but don’t underplay your responsibilities. You weren’t just a bank call center CSR—you helped maintain, grow, and transfer finances for members in a dozen states.
26. Don’t use the same references for every job—try to customize references to suit what you’re applying for (a university job might like your major professor as a reference, whereas a corporation might care less).
27. Some are free and many are low cost, but use the Internet to research certifications you can pursue to add to the resume. You may laugh, but a certified typing specialist automatically has an edge over the uncertified ones.
28. Without overdoing it, use your cover letter to detail your future plans, and how this job can help. The key is that they see you as a long-term employee potentially on the rise.
29. Be sure to spring for the good paper for your resume—you will literally stand out from the other applications.
30. Whatever you do, avoid putting personality traits in bullet points. You might think “is great with children” will help with that daycare application, but they’d much rather see work experience or references that demonstrate that you’re great with children.

With a great resume in hand, you’re much more prepared to ace interviews and land job prospects. Now it’s time to start the job search.