No. 1 Resume Mistake and How to Fix It

A simple tip to remember: Use keywords with humans in mind, not machines. That means doing it in a way that is convincing and properly contextualized, rather than awkward or forced.

Having an idea of the impression you want the resume reader to walk away with can help you decide what keywords to prioritize.

To uncover what makes you special, ask yourself questions like:

• Is there a specific part of my job that I am better at compared to my peers?
• Looking at my biggest wins, is there a common theme?
• What does that common theme say about my strengths?

The most impressive resumes tell the reader how you used your skills to create to quantifiable results.

For example, let’s say one of the required skills in a job description is “Microsoft Excel.” Instead of writing “Used Microsoft Excel to track and report load speed data,” write “Leveraged Microsoft Excel to automate load speed insights and decrease weekly reporting time by 50%.”

A separate skills section is a great place to put keywords that don’t naturally fit under your experience section.

I recommend including at least nine key skills and grouping them into columns of three, spread evenly across the top of the resume.

We limit ourselves to nine skills total to avoid “keyword stuffing.” You also don’t want to look like “a jack-of-all-trades and master of none.”