2025 Resume Tips — How to Get Noticed by Hiring Managers

accounting and finance staffing

In this fast-paced job market, your resume is more than just a piece of paper, it’s your own personal marketing document. Whether you are applying for a corporate job, remote role or temporary contract position, hiring managers in 2025 expect resumes that are concise, relevant and tailored to the role.

 

At Linked PS, we have seen thousands of resumes through the years and we know what gets read (and what gets overlooked). In this blog, we will show you our top tips for writing a resume in 2025 so you can help make you stand out from the competition and land that all-important interview.

1. Keep Your Resume ATS-Friendly

From Fortune 500 companies to your neighborhood pizza place, most organizations today use Applicant Tracking Systems or ATS, to screen resumes before they land in the human hands of a recruiter. If your resume does not meet core ATS criteria, it may never see the light of day from a hiring manager.

 

How to write an ATS-friendly resume in 2025:

 

Use normal section headings such as “Work Experience”, “Education” and “Skills”

Do not use images, charts or obscure fonts that ATS systems cannot or have trouble reading

Use job-related keywords from the job description

Save the file as a .docx or .pdf unless otherwise requested by the employer

 

Pro Tip: If the job description refers to “Project Management” or “CRM Software”, make sure those exact phrases are included, as is, in the body of your Resume

2. Tailor Your Resume for Each Application

In 2025, we cannot expect to land multiple interviews with one generic resume. Customization is all important.

 

Hiring managers recognize a copy-and-paste resume the moment they see it. Instead align your resume to the role:

 

Rewrite your professional summary to reflect the specific role

Only include the most relevant skills and experience for that role

Include the most important details in the top third of the page

 

For example:

 

If you are applying for a job as a marketing professional, focus on metrics of success related to campaigns, ROI and brand engagement, not whatever job you had years ago.

Lead with a Strong Professional Summary

Your professional summary is the first thing a recruiter will see, so put your best foot forward. By 2025, this will replace the obsolete “career objective” section.

What to include in your professional summary:

 

Your job title and years of experience in the field

3-4 relevant core skills

One significant accomplishment or measurable outcome

 

Example:

 

“Results-driven Digital Marketing Specialist with over 5 years of experience in SEO, paid advertising and content strategy. Increased organic website traffic by 150% over the past 12 months and managed ad campaigns that generated $1M in annual revenue.”

Focus on Achievements, Not Just Duties

One of the biggest mistakes people make on their resumes is listing job duties rather than accomplishments. Hiring managers are looking for the differences you made in your previous role.

 

Instead of this:

“Responsible for managing social media accounts.”

 

Write this:

“Grew company’s social media following by 45% in a 6-month period, leading to greater engagement and 20% increase in website visitors.”

 

Tip: Numbers, percentages and dollar amounts are always the best choice. These metrics are tangible and start to define your accomplishments.

Allows you to see if a candidate has the skills, experience and cultural fit that you expect before making the leap to a full-time hire. 

Reduced risk of poor hiring employees.

Ideal for a growing business that is unsure what long-term needs will be.

Use the Right Keywords

In 2025, keywords are still essential for ATS optimization and for human readers. The right keywords can make the difference between being shortlisted and rejected.

 

Best practices:

Scan the job description and note the words or phrases that are repeated.

Use terms that are specific to the industry (e.g., “EHR software” for healthcare roles, “Python” for tech roles).

Include hard and soft skills (e.g., “data analysis” and “collaboration”).

Keep It Concise but Powerful

Your resume ideally should be:

 

One page for less than 3 years of experience,

Two pages maximum for those with more experience.

Manages generally spend around 7 seconds on each resume scanned. Be succinct in your word choices and provide the most relevant information in bullet format, short sentences and in a concise format.

Add a Skills Section

A skills section is useful for recruiters and ATS to quickly look at your qualifications.

 

Example format:

Skills:

SEO

Google Analytics

Social Media

Adobe Creative Suite

Content Management Systems

 

Keep it specific, don’t include every skill you have ever picked up, only the ones relevant to the position.

Highlight In-Demand Skills for 2025

Employers are looking for a combination of hard skills and soft skills. Here are some of the best hard and soft skills to highlight in your resume:

Top Hard Skills:

Data analysis

AI and machine learning tools

Cloud computing 

Digital marketing 

Project management software (eg Asana, Trello, Jira)

Cybersecurity best practices

Top Soft Skills:

Communication

Flexibility

Problem-solving

Leadership

Emotional intelligence

Trends in Accounting and Finance Staffing (2025 & Beyond)

The staffing environment is changing. Here are some important trends that will impact the future of accounting and finance staffing:

 

Demand for Tech Skills: Competency in platforms like Quickbooks, SAP, Excel and data analytics are all being heavily sought after.

Compliance & Risk Management: There are an increasing number of regulations in place that are heightening the demand for compliance officers and auditors.

Diversity & Inclusion: Companies are putting a larger focus on building out diverse finance teams.

Conclusion

Whether you are filling a temporary bookkeeping position or a full-time CFO position, working with a specialized accounting and finance staffing agency can make the hiring process more streamlined, save you time and connect you with the best of the best in accounting and finance talent. In today’s competitive market, you cannot afford not to have the right financial team in place.

Contact Linked PS today to discuss tailored staffing solutions for your accounting and finance needs. 

Let us help you build your ideal finance team faster, smarter and without all the hassle.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Seek out a firm with success in your industry, rigorous vetting process, access to niche candidates, and a comprehensive understanding of your business objectives and firm culture.

CPA or CMA certifications, Excel skills beyond basic, ERP software experience (SAP, Quickbooks, etc.), and GAAP or IFRS knowledge, depending on the position.

Staffing agencies offer temporary or project-based professionals who are well experienced in audit prep, tax filing, and financial reporting to assist in balancing workload internally during busy seasons.

Quality companies employ skill evaluations, software skills testing, reference verifications, and even actual accounting simulations in some cases to guarantee candidate precision and validity.

Yes. Contract-to-hire is a low-risk way that many companies use to establish permanent teams giving them a chance to evaluate actual world performance before they make it a full-time job.

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adeelhussain.finance