What Aon recruiters scan for
Across Aon job postings, three signals show up consistently: credentials and licenses, transaction sheets and quantified P&L impact, and technical specializations. Your resume should make each of these obvious within five seconds of skimming — that is the budget you have at this stage.
- credentials and licenses
- transaction sheets and quantified P&L impact
- technical specializations
How to format your resume
Aon resumes that perform well share four format properties. They are reverse-chronological, single-column, in a parseable font (Calibri, Arial, or Helvetica), and saved as a text-based PDF (not an image PDF and not a Word document). Keep the layout boring. Save the personality for the cover letter and the interview loop.
- •Open with a 2-3 sentence summary that explicitly positions you for the role at Aon, including the title.
- •Use single-column layout. Most Workday parsers misread two-column resumes.
- •Lead each bullet with a strong action verb and end with a measurable result.
- •Spell out acronyms once, then use the acronym. Aon recruiters scan against both forms.
- •Keep the file size under 1 MB and avoid embedded images.
Sample summary opener
A summary that performs at Aon reads like the one below — title-first, outcome-loaded, and free of filler adjectives.
Aon-ready financial analyst with 6+ years of experience driving measurable outcomes in finance & banking environments. Track record of [insert your strongest 2-bullet outcomes here]. Comfortable owning ambiguous problems end-to-end and partnering with cross-functional stakeholders.
Frequently asked questions
What ATS does Aon use?
Aon runs Workday, iCIMS, or Avature. The exact configuration varies by team, but the core parsing rules are the same: machine-readable, single-column, text-based PDF.
How long should my resume be for a role at Aon?
One page if you have under 10 years of experience, two pages if senior. Aon recruiters report that resumes longer than two pages are skimmed less, not more.
Does Aon require a cover letter?
Most Aon postings make the cover letter optional. Strong applicants write one anyway because it tilts the qualitative review.
Should I name-drop a Aon employee in my resume?
If the employee will refer you, ask them to do it through the official referral system. Putting their name on the resume itself does not help and can read as overreach.
How do I know if my resume is ATS-friendly for Aon?
Run it through a free ATS scoring tool. Aim for a score of 80 or higher before submitting to Aon.
Ready to apply to Aon?
Run your resume through our free ATS checker first. We score it in 10 seconds with no signup, then show you exactly what to fix.