Common Resume Errors to Avoid

I've reviewed 2,000+ resumes this year. Avoid these mistakes that 90% make. 1. Generic Summaries ❌ "Motivated professional seeking opportunities to leverage my skills..." ✅ "Marketing Director who increased e-commerce revenue 47% through data-driven campaigns and strategic partnerships." 2. Missing Numbers ❌ "Led large team and improved sales." ✅ "Led 15-person sales team to deliver $3.2M in new business, exceeding targets by 28%." 3. Cluttered Formatting ❌ Tiny margins, dense paragraphs, and multiple fonts. ✅ Clean headers, consistent bullet points, and enough white space for easy scanning. 4. Outdated Information ❌ Listing your high school achievements and every job since college. ✅ Your most relevant accomplishments from the past 10-15 years that showcase your career progression. 5. RESPONSIBILITY LISTS ❌ "Responsible for managing client relationships and handling complaints." ✅ "Retained 98% of key accounts and turned 3 dissatisfied clients into top referral sources." 6. ATS-UNFRIENDLY DESIGN ❌ Creative formats with graphics, text boxes, and unique fonts. ✅ Clean, standard formatting with relevant keywords that match the job description. Your resume has 7 seconds to make an impression.  Use these tips to make them count. Share this to help others level up their resume! 📈 And follow me for more advice like this.

Over the last few years, I’ve switched jobs, given many interviews, and spent hundreds of hours optimizing my resume and profile. During this journey, I made plenty of mistakes that cost me time and opportunities. So today, I want to share these genuine mistakes—and more importantly, how you can avoid them: Applying Randomly & Everywhere: In the early stages, I thought applying to as many jobs as possible was the key. Big mistake! Quality always beats quantity. Lesson: Tailor each application to the job role. Research the company and make sure your resume aligns with their requirements. Ignoring LinkedIn & Online Presence: Initially, my LinkedIn profile was incomplete and poorly optimized. I underestimated the power of LinkedIn visibility. Lesson: Your online presence matters. A complete, active LinkedIn profile attracts opportunities you’d never find by traditional methods alone. Sending Generic Cold Messages: I used to send cold messages like "Hi, can you refer me?" which rarely received replies. Lesson: Craft a concise, clear message. Always include the specific role, job link/ID, your resume, and a short summary of your skills. Poor Resume Formatting: My resume had too many graphics, complicated formatting, and lacked the right keywords. This reduced my ATS compatibility. Lesson: Keep your resume simple, structured, and ATS-friendly. Use clear headings, bullet points, and keywords from the job description. Not Preparing for the "Tell Me About Yourself" Question: I used to treat this question lightly and gave long, vague answers. The interviewer would lose interest quickly. Lesson: Prepare a structured 1-minute summary focusing on your experience, skills, and how you match the job you're interviewing for. Underestimating the Job Description: I didn't closely analyze the job description and often missed key details required by employers. Lesson: Job descriptions are gold. Analyze them carefully and reflect their highlighted skills and requirements in your application and interviews. Overlooking Company Research: During interviews, I would have limited knowledge about the company's products or mission. This made my answers generic. Lesson: Always research the company’s recent activities, products, and news. It helps you answer questions meaningfully and shows genuine interest. Getting Demotivated by Rejections: Early rejections made me question my capabilities, negatively impacting future interviews. Lesson: Every rejection is a lesson. Ask for feedback, reflect, and improve. Rejection means redirection—not the end of the road. Negotiation Mistakes: I used to accept offers quickly without proper negotiation due to the fear of losing the offer. Lesson: Negotiate politely but confidently. Companies expect this. Always understand your market worth, and clearly communicate your value. Have you made similar mistakes or learned something valuable from your own job search? Share your experiences in the comments—let's help each other grow!

Biggest mistakes I noticed while reviewing resumes at Riot Games: - Too long and lacked focus: The belief that a longer resume equals a better chance of getting noticed. This actually shows a lack of clarity and undervalues the hiring manager's time.    - Burying the relevant experience: When essential gaming experience or skills are hidden deep within a lengthy document instead of being front and center.    - Expecting the hiring manager to connect the dots: Applicants often include tangential experiences without clear relevance, making it challenging for me to see their potential fit quickly.    - Flashy, Wordy or Gaudy: The use of excessive colors, images, or filler words that distract rather than enhance the resume's message. A good resume is concise, focused, and respects the reader's time. It fulfills the job's requirements in the first quarter of the document and prioritizes relevant experiences and skills. When applying for your dream job in the gaming industry or anywhere else, remember that quality trumps quantity. Keep it to one page, eliminate filler, and make your relevant skills impossible to overlook. Let's make every shot on goal count!

7 Resume Mistakes That Are Costing You Interviews And Offers: 1. Focusing Too Much On “Beating The ATS” I see job seekers spending hours researching and tweaking resumes to “beat” the ATS. First, the ATS isn’t something you “beat.” It’s simply an organizational system. At most companies, humans are making the final decisions. Sure, you want to follow ATS-best practices. But you need to optimize for the human reading your resume if you want more interviews. 2. Not Having A “Master” Resume A “Master Resume” is a resume that includes all of your fully optimized experience. This allows you to make all of the optimizations (formatting, content, etc) once. When a new role pops up? You copy the file and only have to make a few small personalizations to be effective. No need to spend hours rewriting each resume! 3. Not Tailoring Your Resume For Each Role If you’re using the same resume to apply for every role? You’re losing out on interviews. Each company is going to have different needs, different mixes of skills, and a different view on candidates. You need to tailor your resume to those things if you want to be more effective. Note: This does not mean re-writing your resume for each role. It means having a master resume, then making tweaks to keywords, skills, and some experience before you apply. 4. Only Summarizing Outcomes “Responsible for managing client pipeline to exceed sales goals.” “Managed social media accounts to drive brand awareness and visibility.” These types of bullets only talk about actions, and anyone can take an action. Anyone can be responsible for something or manage something. It doesn’t mean they did it well! If you want to win, your bullets need to include actions and outcomes. 5. Not Including Measurable Outcomes Continuing that thread, too many resumes fail to include measurable outcomes. These help employers gauge your potential future value. For example, many salespeople can say they “exceeded quota.” There’s a big difference by exceeding quota by $10,000 and exceeding it by $1.5M. Metrics matter. 6. Having Too Many Bullets Most resumes that come across my desk have too much fluffy content. Here’s a framework to live by. For most (not all, most) roles on your resume: 1. Stick to a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 5 bullets 2. Keep each bullet between 12-20 words in length If you do that? You should be close to having the most important content. 7. Thinking A New Resume Is All You Need Resumes are still an important part of the job search. But too many job seekers think that simply upgrading their resume will lead to stream of interviews. Unfortunately, that’s usually not true. A consistent stream of interviews stems from a strong, holistic, and systematic approach covering resumes, LinkedIn, networking, and (often) personal branding.

I’ve Reviewed Thousands - If Your Resume Contains Any of These 4 Things, You’re Losing Interviews. After reviewing thousands of resumes and interviewing candidates across the globe over the last 20+ years, I’ve come to one conclusion: Most resumes don’t get rejected because candidates lack experience. They get rejected because they make avoidable mistakes. Many professionals spend years building their careers and only 15 minutes building the document that’s supposed to represent it. Here are four resume mistakes I wish people would stop making immediately. 1. Trying to Look Important Instead of Being Clear One of the fastest ways to lose credibility is by using complicated language to describe simple work. I’ve seen candidates turn: “Managed employee onboarding” into “Orchestrated end-to-end human capital integration initiatives across diverse stakeholder ecosystems.” Nobody talks like that. We certainly do not. The best candidates communicate with confidence, clarity, and precision. If a hiring manager needs a translator or the Oxford Dictionary to understand your resume, you’ve already lost their attention. 2. Sending the Same Resume to Every Job This is one of the biggest reasons candidates never get a call. If the role is asking for operational management, change management, project leadership, employee relations, or commercial acumen, your resume should clearly demonstrate those capabilities. A generic resume tells employers one thing: “You didn’t invest time in this opportunity.” 3. Hiding Achievements in Walls of Text Recruiters and hiring managers don’t read resumes. They scan them. If your biggest achievements are buried inside long paragraphs, they might never be seen. Make accomplishments impossible to miss. Think clarity, not creativity. 4. Typos, Formatting Errors, and Inconsistencies You may think it’s a small mistake. Hiring managers don’t. A resume is a sample of your work. If the document you’re presenting as your best work contains errors, it immediately raises questions about attention to detail. The best resumes are not the most beautiful. They’re the clearest. They tell a compelling story, demonstrate impact, and make it easy for someone to say: “Let’s speak with this person.” Also, please take out the time and get to know the recruiter and the company. I cannot begin to tell you how many direct emails and messages I have personally received in my inbox starting with “Dear Ma’am” or “Dear Hiring Manager” 😊 These are from my perspective alone and I welcome more points and suggestions to add to this conversation. #CareerAdvice #ResumeTips #Recruitment #HumanResources #Leadership #JobSearch #CareerGrowth #TalentAcquisition

Most resumes don’t get rejected for lack of experience. They get rejected for how that experience is presented. Over the last 3 months, I’ve reviewed over 50 resumes.  Friends, Referrals, and community members. Each time, I notice the same patterns. The mistakes are often small but costly. The wins are subtle but powerful. Here’s what I’ve learned from those reviews and what you can fix today: What actually works? 1 - Tailored Content The best resumes don’t try to be everything to everyone. They’re sharp, role-specific, and rich with keywords that match the job description. 2 - Quantifiable Achievements A line like “handled sales” is forgettable. A line like “Increased sales by 20% in 6 months” gets noticed. 3 - Simple, Clean Formatting Single-column. Consistent fonts. No design drama. ATS systems will thank you. So will recruiters. 4 - Professional Summary > Objective Statement Start with a crisp summary that answers: “What do I bring to the table?” 5 - Action Verbs “Led,” “Built,” “Implemented,” “Optimized.” Not “Responsible for” or “Helped with.” What to absolutely avoid? 1 - Generic Phrases “Hardworking team player” is white noise. Show it. Don’t say it. 2 - Outdated or Irrelevant Info That 2012 internship? Probably time to let it go. 3 - Over-designed Layouts ATS bots don’t care about your Canva skills. Keep it functional. 4 - Typos & Formatting Errors One comma out of place? Might not ruin your chances. But why risk it? 5 - Missing Contact Info Yes, this still happens. Double-check that your phone and email are visible. Bonus enhancements that make a difference: - Use metrics in every role, not just the latest one. - Match your skill section to what the job actually demands. - Move education below experience, unless you're a fresh grad. - Include certifications and recent courses. - Keep font styles and spacing uniform throughout. My suggestion? Take an hour this weekend and do a ruthless edit. - Cut fluff. - Add metrics. - Tweak layout. Ask a friend for feedback. And if you want a second set of eyes, I’m happy to help. I regularly do resume reviews (for a small fee). If you're looking for personalized, actionable feedback, DM me or drop a comment. Let’s make your experience shine the way it deserves to. -- ♻️ Reshare if this might help someone. ▶️ Join 2,485+ in the Tidbits WhatsApp group → link in comments

90% of resumes get rejected in 6 seconds. Here are 4 rookie mistakes that kill your chances (and how to fix them). I've sat on both sides of the table - as a candidate and as someone who's helped screen applications. The gap between what freshers do vs. what recruiters want is shocking. Here's what kills your chances: 1. Zero practical projects: A calculator app won't cut it. You don't need to build the next Facebook, but build something that pushes your limits and showcases real skills. 2. Mass applications without research: Recruiters can smell a mass application from a mile away. Apply to fewer jobs, but customize your resume to show a genuine interest in each role. 3. No personal brand: If your only online presence is a private Instagram and a LinkedIn profile with 12 connections, you're invisible to recruiters. 4. Resume stuffed with buzzwords: If you write "Hardworking, self-motivated team player with a passion for technology." Cool. So is everyone else. The fix is simpler than you think: → Build 2-3 decent projects that showcase real capability  → Share your work publicly (even as a beginner)  → Tailor each application with specific skills mentioned in the job description  → Document your learning journey on LinkedIn  → Connect with people in your target companies The market is tough, but these mistakes are 100% fixable. Which of these resonates most with your job search experience?

Over the past 4 years, I’ve reviewed over 100 resumes written by law students, and I always see the same handful of mistakes. This is AFTER both the student and their school’s Career Office have signed off and think the resume is “final.” ➡️ Please do not rely on Career Services to proofread your resume. That is not their job. The job is yours alone. So I created this checklist for you. It targets the 10 mistakes I see the most often. Please make sure your resume passes this checklist BEFORE you send out to any legal employer! CHECKLIST 1: Don’t tell me what your responsibilities were; tell me what you DID. Generalities are dirt. Specifics are gold. Make your resume interesting for your reader! 2: Use a readable font. Write in a font size that will be easy for your reviewer to read, and keep in mind that people over 40—including this one—cannot see tiny print. The last thing you want to do is make your reader work hard! 3: Don’t repeat that you did an activity for the company or your school when that is clear from the context. In a bullet entry under a job at a school or firm, you don’t need to specify you did something for the school or firm, and the context makes doing so redundant. 4: Be as concise as possible in your experience entries. Remove articles (the, a, an) before nouns. Convert “of the” clauses to possessives. See Dear 1L ch 13.3 for further guidance and examples. 5: Align your date ranges perfectly with the right margin. If you aren’t using a template (and I hate templates), you will need to set your right-facing tabs. See Dear 1L ch 13.2. 6: Use en-dashes for your date ranges. Note that lawyers do not use spaces around en-dashes, but as long as you are 100% consistent with your spacing throughout, doing so is not wrong per se for resume purposes. 7: Be consistent with your bullet formatting. Don’t mix square and circle bullets. Make sure all bullets are an identical size. 8: Be consistent with your vertical spacing. Err on the side of having more vertical spacing to make clear where one entry block ends and the next starts. Don’t cram entry blocks up against each other vertically. Adding a return that’s shorter than a full, 12 pt return can free up space. 9: Be consistent with your use of bold/italics & commas and other punctuation marks. These are probably the hardest nits to catch. Do a separate proofread to look exclusively for these types of inconsistencies. Consider using a magnifying glass. 👉 Look out especially for inconsistent bolding of commas and periods and inconsistent use of straight and curly quotes. 10: Don’t use adverbs. Don’t tell me that you “meticulously prepared” or “diligently organized” things. It makes me think you’re exaggerating. (But if you received particular recognition for your meticulousness or diligence, do mention that!) *** I hope this helps. I am sending so much luck to all of my new 2Ls during this stressful job-application period! 💌 Amanda

I reviewed 4,000+ resumes last year. Avoid these mistakes that 90% make: 1. FOCUS ON ATS OPTIMIZATION ❌ Candidates pack their resumes with keywords to beat ATS systems but forget to make them readable and user-friendly. ✅ Remember there’s always a real person reviewing your resume (!) 2. GENERIC SUMMARIES ❌ "Experienced professional seeking to contribute my skills in a dynamic company." ✅ "Product Manager who launched 3 successful SaaS tools, driving $2.5M in revenue within the first year.” 3. NO COMPANY DESCRIPTIONS ❌ Listing company names without context. ✅ "XYZ Inc. | SaaS startup in data security, serving 100k+ enterprise clients.” 4. FOCUS ON RESPONSIBILITIES ❌ "Managed projects and oversaw deadlines." ✅ "Led 3+ cross-functional teams, delivering 7 projects on time with a 98% client satisfaction rate.” 5. TOO MUCH FOCUS ON EARLY JOBS ❌ Detailed descriptions of high school internships or your first retail job. ✅ Highlight key accomplishments from the last 10 years that showcase your growth. 6. NO METRICS OR DATA ❌ "Improved performance and reduced costs." ✅ "Increased team efficiency by 20% and cut operational costs by $50K annually.” 7. TOO MUCH OR TOO LITTLE TEXT ❌ Dense paragraphs or single-sentence descriptions. ✅ Concise bullet points that provide enough detail to convey impact. 8. IRRELEVANT INFORMATION ❌ Listing outdated or irrelevant skills (using Slack, Outlook) ✅ Focus on skills and experiences that match the job you want. 9. TYPOS ✅ Double-check for spelling errors, or use tools like Grammarly or ChatGPT to catch mistakes. Which of those mistakes you’ve seen? Or you’ve made?  I'm Kris Holysheva 👋 Follow me for more hiring tips.

Unsolicited Advice From an Executive Recruiter After 20+ years reviewing resumes, here are a few resume basics that still trip up strong candidates—and quietly get them passed over. • Don’t include a photo. Photos invite unconscious bias. Age, gender, race, attractiveness—none of that should influence a hiring decision, yet it often does. Let your experience speak, not your headshot. • Address employment gaps head-on. If there’s a gap, explain it briefly: caregiving, health, layoffs, consulting, education. When gaps are unexplained, recruiters are left to assume—and assumptions rarely work in your favor. • Update your location. At minimum, include city/state. Many roles require residency in a specific area or time zone. If that information is missing, your resume may never make it past the first screen. Other common mistakes I see daily: • Responsibilities listed instead of results • No metrics (numbers matter) • A generic resume for every role • Titles that don’t match scope (inflated or undersold) • Outdated skills or certifications • Spelling/formatting errors (yes, still happening) • Overly long resumes with no clear narrative And the hard truth: Recruiters aren’t rejecting you. They’re making fast decisions based on incomplete or unclear information. Your resume’s job is to remove doubt—not create it. Small fixes can dramatically change outcomes. #UnsolicitedAdvice #ExecutiveRecruiter #ResumeTips #JobSearch #CareerAdvice #Hiring #ProfessionalGrowth #LeadershipCareers