Resume Tips

I’ve reviewed 500+ applications as a recruiter at Amazon, Microsoft, and TikTok. This is the kind of resume that gets rejected in 3 seconds. I'll break down why such resumes fail to create an impact and how you can avoid such mistakes. Problem 1: Too much, too soon Two degrees, 15+ courses, and 30+ tools listed - all in the top half. Recruiters don’t need a tech stack dump upfront. Instead: ➡️ Start with a skills summary tied to impact-driven achievements. ➡️ Highlight tools you’ve mastered, not dabbled in. Problem 2: Responsibilities ≠ results Worked with IT to maintain PC and network health. Okay... but how did it matter? Reduced downtime? Saved costs? Improved performance by X%? Instead: ➡️ Write impact-focused bullets — e.g., “Reduced network downtime by 35% through system upgrades.” Problem 3: Irrelevant experience Amazon Prime Shopper role at Whole Foods is listed in detail. Unless applying for retail or logistics, this distracts. Instead: ➡️ Group unrelated roles under a single “Other Experience” section. ➡️ Focus on transferable skills like teamwork, deadlines, or inventory handling — but keep it brief. Problem 4: Projects without purpose Projects sound impressive but lack outcomes. E.g., “Built an AI model to detect human emotion.” Questions recruiters ask: What accuracy did it achieve? Was it deployed? How did it solve a problem? Instead: ➡️ Add metrics — e.g., “Improved emotion detection accuracy by 20% and reduced processing time by 15%.” Here’s the hard truth: Most resumes don’t fail because candidates lack skills. They fail because they fail to communicate impact. If you're not receiving calls from recruiters despite applying to 100s of jobs, it could be due to your resume. Repost this if you found value. P.S. Follow me if you are an Indian job seeker in the U.S. I share insights on job search, interview prep, and more.

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 Outdated Information ❌ Listing your high school achievements and every job since college.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.

If I could improve just two things on most resumes, it’d be these: 💼 Give me context. Right next to (or just under) the company name, give me details like: Industry (software, healthcare, retail) Business model (B2B, B2C, marketplace, PLG, sales-led, etc.) Funding model (bootstrapped, VC-backed, PE-backed, public) Size (revenue, headcount, business unit, customer count) This helps recruiters immediately assess how relevant your experience is. A few examples from my own resume: • Column, Series A public information software for media companies, law firms, and businesses • Quorum, bootstrapped B2B SaaS for public affairs teams at corporations, nonprofits, and associations • Axon Enterprise, Post-IPO market leader in B2G public safety technology (TASERs, body cameras, digital evidence management) The company context should share what was true as of the time you worked at the company, not where they’re at today! It shouldn't disclose any proprietary or confidential information that would get you in trouble with the CIAA you very likely signed. 💥 Make every bullet an accomplishment — not a task. Here’s the formula, courtesy of Yale’s Office of Career Strategy: Action verb + project + result = accomplishment Example: "Moved 90% of employees into pay bands using a compensation philosophy, leveling framework, and market data — boosting satisfaction with pay transparency from 13% to 78%." Talent folks — what’s your biggest resume pet peeve or favorite tip? Drop it below. Let’s level up some resumes together. 👇

I’ve revamped 216 resumes over the past 365 days. Most of the clients I worked with landed jobs in 4 months or less. Here’s what I’ve learned about what makes an executive resume WORK: 1) Keep it short. Even at the executive level, your resume should never be more than 2 pages. Anything longer, and you’ll lose the recruiter’s attention. 2) Clean design. Forget fancy designs, graphs, or color schemes. Nobody cares about that and it is super DISTRACTING for Recruiters. What matters is what you’ve done and the results you’ve delivered. 3) Tell a story. For each role, start with one bullet about your general scope (team size, portfolio, industries, etc.) and follow it up with 4–6 bullets that explain: ➜ What you did ➜ How you did it ➜ The results you achieved 4) Show your leadership. So many resumes focus only on tasks, and they forget to include leadership impact, talent development, or team management. If you’ve led people, OWN it. Recruiters want to see this! 5) Your resume is only the START. What you do after you apply (networking, reaching out to hiring managers, getting referrals) matters just as much as hitting “submit.” Here’s an example from one of my clients who just got hired at a Big 4 firm. She's worked in the data space for 20+ years, and her resume tells the story of her leadership AND results vs just listing out responsibilities and duties. SELL YOURSELF, SELL YOURSELF, SELL YOURSELF!! :) If you've got questions about your resume and job search feel free to book a call with me at csgexecutivecoaching.com #ResumeTips #ExecutiveCareers #JobSearch #Leadership #GetHired

I was talking resumes recently with a hiring manager, who said, "I immediately ignore those words." What was he talking about? What he called "fuzzy language." Words like: - Dynamic - Strategic - Analytical - Collaborative - Creative thinker - Self-starter Most resumes are full of fuzzy words like this: "Dynamic, strategic product leader bringing creative thinking and collaboration skills to bear to create meaningful products in the ecommerce space." These phrases "sound good" but have negative impact on getting interviews. The point is that claiming you're something doesn't carry much weight. You need to show you're something. That's a lot more effective. For example, don't say you're "strategic." Instead, have a bullet point about how you created a strategy to achieve something (respond to a problem), then executed that strategy, and it led to meaningful results. A little story that *shows* you are strategic, know how to create a strategy to achieve an objective, and then drive it to success. It's 1000x more meaningful to the hiring manager reading your resume than simply saying you're strategic.

I applied to 150 internships as a freshman. From the first 75 of those 150 applications, I landed 2 first-round interviews and 0 offers. From the second 75 of those 150 applications, I landed 8 first-round interviews and 3 offers. So what changed? My resume. In one of those two initial, first-round interviews, the recruiter took an extra 5-10 minutes to give me some hard-to-swallow but incredible constructive feedback on my resume. It was a really tough moment because I realized I needed to overhaul and completely redo this resume I had spent so much time on. But it was a pivotal moment since this was just what I needed to turn my job hunt around. After implementing this feedback, I went from landing two interviews to landing eight interviews, six of which were with Fortune 500 companies. Here is the EXACT feedback I received from my recruiter: ➡️ Don't just "say" your skills; demonstrate your skills through work experiences and projects. ➡️ Academic honors/awards aren't in scope for a resume when applying for an internship. ➡️ Hiring managers want to see that you have REAL-world experience. ➡️ Your project portfolio can make you a more competitive applicant. ➡️ Quantifying the impact you've made adds credibility & legitimacy to what you've done. And here are some other tips, tricks, and resume hacks I picked up along the journey of my first job hunt: 🎯 If you don't have work or internship experience, leverage "relevant" experience. 🎯 Don't reinvent the wheel/start from scratch; utilize resources to create and improve your resume bullet points. 🎯 You don't have to start from a blank space; try templates & examples! ↪️ Steal THE resume that got me into Disney 👀 + my resume kit with editable templates: https://lnkd.in/g2mYVDaV #internships #internship #summerinternship #earlycareers #resumetips

I've reviewed thousands of resumes. 90% of them include at least one of these phrases. If you're one of them, you're losing out on job interviews. Here are 8 phrases you should avoid (and what you should say instead): 1. “Responsible for…” This phrase is passive and doesn’t convey impact. Hiring managers want to see ownership and outcomes. ✅ Instead: Use action verbs like “Led” or “Spearheaded” to show initiative. For Example ➤ “Led cross-functional team to launch a new onboarding system that reduced ramp time by 40%.” 2. “Team player” It’s vague and overused. Show how you actually collaborated. ✅ Instead: Use “Partnered with…” to highlight real teamwork. For Example ➤ “Partnered with engineering to resolve a site reliability issue, cutting downtime by 60%.” 3. “Hard worker” Everyone says it, few prove it. Let your actions speak for your effort. ✅ Instead: Use phrasing like “Put in extra hours to complete…” For Example ➤ “Put in extra hours to complete a product relaunch two weeks early, increasing traffic by 22%.” 4. “Detail-oriented” You’re saying it, but not showing it. ✅ Instead: Start with “Created detailed…” and back it up with results. For Example ➤ “Created detailed SOP documentation that reduced onboarding time by 30%.” 5. “Go Getter” Buzzwords don’t land, specific examples do. ✅ Instead: Try “Took the lead on…” to show real initiative. For Example ➤ “Took the lead on a customer research project that informed a successful rebrand.” 6. “Results-driven” Good resumes show results, they don’t say them. ✅ Instead: Use “Increased [Metric]…” to spotlight impact. For Example ➤ “Increased client retention by 18% through a new onboarding workflow.” 7. “Great communicator” Too general. What did you communicate, and to whom? ✅ Instead: Use “Presented…” to anchor your communication skills in context. For Example ➤ “Presented campaign performance to stakeholders, influencing a $250K budget increase.” 8. “Self starter” It’s a cliché. Initiative is better shown than stated. ✅ Instead: Use “Proactively created…” to demonstrate action. For Example ➤ “Proactively created a resource hub that cut down repeat questions by 40%.” Final Tip: If a phrase feels like something anyone could say… replace it with something only you can. —— 🔵 Ready to land your dream job? Click here to learn more about how we help people land amazing jobs in ~15.5 weeks with a $44k raise: https://lnkd.in/gdysHr-r

If you see someone who has been "open to work" for a 6+ months and they still show up with a positive attitude, you're missing out on great talent. Those longer work gaps are historically seen as "red flags" but in 2024, they have become the norm for many in corporate/tech with the average job search taking 6+ months (if you weren't aware of this, please internalize this fact!) People's livelihood is on the line. They could lose their homes and retirement as a result of extended unemployment, but they still manage to give grace to those around them, provide encouragement to others, share job opportunities with others, build new skills, etc. When you get into an interview with them, you're probably going to ask them about obstacles they've overcome or challenges they've encountered, and they'll give some example of the time a shipment didn't come in time, or there was some change in SEO and their website tanked. And that's all well and good. But also take a look at the fact that they showed up to that interview ready to go, have done everything right in the application process, and they've been doing this day in and day out for months on end and still have a smile on their face and are putting their best foot forward for you. Your company is probably going through a lot of change, you're probably expecting your people to navigate those changes and build new skills quickly, and stay positive amidst re-orgs. You're looking for people who will come up with new ideas and new plans to overcome those challenges. For too long, those resume gaps have been viewed as red flags around someone's candidacy, and respectfully, that's pretty darn ignorant. Those gaps are signals that someone is adaptable and ready to tackle whatever you through at them. Anyone who has navigated this job market for 6 or 12 or 18 months, and keeps showing up every day ready to try something new is going to bring that same energy to your work place. How silly to miss out on someone great who has every qualification you're looking for simply because you saw a big gap in their resume and thought "there must be something wrong with them" instead of "wow, they could be fantastic, let me learn more about them".

This is one of the most important things I’ve learned about resumes, and most don’t do it. Not doing this can hurt your chances of getting an interview 👇 Your resume 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞 a description of what you are 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 for. Your resume 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 a collection of your 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭 to the job you are applying for! Here's a simple example: A Project Manager's resume that describes what they are 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 for looks like this: - Delivered the project on time and within budget. - Communicated updates regularly to all stakeholders. This is a terrible way to "stand out" - In this example, every Project Manager is responsible for delivering projects on time and budget, and for communicating with stakeholders. In other words, there's nothing 𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 about this person's resume. Your resume has to show: - Evidence that you have the experience they are looking for (Tailored resume) - Evidence of the value you bring to the team (Your past accomplishments) To write a resume that 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭, here’s what you should do 👇 Write 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬, not what you were responsible for : - What did you do? - What was the impact? - How did you accomplish it? Use the “𝐗 + 𝐘 + 𝐙” formula to write accomplishments: “Accomplished [𝐗] as measured by [𝐘], by doing [𝐙]” 🛑 Instead of writing: “Delivered a project on time and budget” ✅ Write this: 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 [𝐗]: “Launched ____ project” 𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 [𝐘]: “1 month ahead of schedule and increasing ROI by Z%” 𝐁𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 [𝐙]: “, by creating a new communication process that allowed low and medium risk tickets to be pre-appproved, reducing friction during development” Together X + Y + Z: “Launched ___ project 1 month ahead of schedule and increasing ROI by Z%, , by creating a new communication process that allowed low and medium risk tickets to be pre-appproved, reducing friction during development” 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 help you show that you have the experience companies look for in 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭 of a project that had impact to customers, your team or the organization. 𝐓𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 your 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 to the job you are applying to will increase your chances of getting an interview. Adding more colors, graphs and random keywords will not. A few extra tips as you go through your accomplishments: 1. Not every accomplishment will have a number (impact). It’s ok, try to have as many as possible. 2. Accomplishments tailored to the job you are applying to >>>> accomplishments you believe are the most important. 3. You can skip the XYZ formula and instead write them as: Verb in past tense + what you did + the impact it had. ------ 🚀 Need help with your resume or Product Management interviews? Check out my comment below for THE BEST resources 👇 #productmangement #resume

People got upset that I posted NOT to use these words on a resume or LinkedIn profile & didn't say what words they should use instead 🤦♂️ The answer? ⭐ There are NO replacement FILLER WORDS that hold value ⭐ There is no way you could use ANY of these words on a resume and have the recruiter go... "Oh good...they said they are Skilled. ☑️ Move them to the short list." You have to SHOW US you are "skilled" through #quantified experience + accomplishments Meaning: Number of years doing that thing Specific problems you've solved doing that thing How you've used that thing to improve the organizations etc. #quinnsights 1 - Telling me you are a "Change Agent" does nothing Tell me what problems you've solved + impact by changing things 2 - Responsible for doesn't mean you did anything Tell me how much you did, saved, earned with the programs you were responsible for 3 - You would (hopefully) never call yourself a Strategic Leader in person to someone's face So don't put it on a resume or profile Instead talk about the strategic programs you led + impact/accomplishments #quinnsights And yes - some of these FILLER WORDS are going to be on job descriptions It's ok 😌 You have to learn what KEY WORDS are What specific tasks or experience are highlighted in the JD that specifically align to the role you will be accomplishing And speak to that No matter what your resume app tells you about percentage match Questions?