The resume mistakes I see EVERY. SINGLE. WEEK. 😩 Okay real talk, I've read hundreds of resumes a...The resume mistakes I see EVERY. SINGLE. WEEK. 😩 Okay real talk, I've read hundreds of resumes a...
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shola adebayo
• Aug 7
The resume mistakes I see EVERY. SINGLE. WEEK. 😩
Okay real talk, I've read hundreds of resumes at this point, and the same mistakes keep showing up. Not because job seekers aren't talented (most of you are incredibly qualified), but because nobody ever actually taught us how to write a resume that works.
So let's fix that. Here are the biggest ones I see:
Listing duties instead of results "Responsible for managing social media accounts" tells me what your job was. It doesn't tell me you grew engagement by 40% or built a following from scratch. Recruiters don't care what you were "responsible for" they care what you actually did.
Using the same resume for every job I get it, tailoring feels tedious. But sending the exact same resume to 50 different roles is like wearing the same outfit to a beach party and a job interview. Match your resume to the job description. Mirror their language. It matters more than you think.
Burying the good stuff You have 6 seconds, SIX before a recruiter decides whether to keep reading. If your best achievement is hiding in bullet point 4 of your third job, it's basically invisible. Lead with impact.
Ignoring ATS (and then blaming "the algorithm") Fancy fonts, tables, graphics, headers/footers with contact info, a lot of that gets mangled or straight-up ignored by applicant tracking systems. Keep it clean. Simple formatting isn't "boring," it's smart.
No numbers, anywhere "Improved customer satisfaction" vs. "Improved customer satisfaction scores by 22% over 6 months." One of these sounds like a guess. The other sounds like proof. Numbers = credibility.
A summary that says nothing "Hardworking professional seeking opportunities to grow" this could describe literally anyone on the planet. Your summary is prime real estate. Use it to say who you are and what you bring, specifically.
Skipping the proofread I know, I know. But typos and inconsistent formatting quietly tell a hiring manager "this person doesn't sweat the details." Even if that's not true about you, that's the impression it leaves.
Here's the thing, none of these mistakes mean you're bad at your job. They just mean your resume isn't translating your value the way it should. And that's a fixable problem.
If you're staring at your resume right now wondering which of these you're guilty of... you're not alone. Drop a 🙋 in the comments if any of these hit close to home, or send me a message if you want a second pair of eyes on yours.
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