Career Advice for Job Seekers

3 mistakes job seekers make on their resumes

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Steven Rothberg

August 31, 2020

Candidates will often use the same resume for every job they apply to. You should customize your resume for every job you apply to so that you can reduce or even eliminate work and educational qualifications which are irrelevant to the role and add detail to those which are. You should also be sure to work into your resume the exact keywords the employer uses for every single one of their job requirements and as many as possible of their preferences.
Resumes often have very vague language in them about accomplishments. Use specific metrics whenever possible to demonstrate your value to your previous employers. Were you promoted or rewarded for good performance? Did you improve a process and, if so, how much money did that save or make the employer (estimates are fine)?
Very few candidates change their job titles for previous positions to align with the language the potential employer uses. For example, if you’re applying to a sales role with a company that uses Account Executive for the job, don’t refer to your previous job title as Sales Representative even if that’s what your old employer used. Instead, use Account Executive and, in the description for the role, write something like, “In my role as a sales representative for XYZ Corporation, I was responsible for generating at least $50,000 in sales each quarter. I met or exceeded that quote eight of the nine quarters that I was with the organization.”

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