Former Amazon VP reveals the 6 most common résumé mistakes

Insider

Ethan Evans has reviewed more than 10,000 résumés as a VP at companies including Amazon. He walks us through the six biggest mistakes that could cost you the job you apply for.

Transcript

00:00I've reviewed over 10,000 resumes in my career, and here are the six most common mistakes to fix

00:06on your resume. The first and largest mistake I see is talking only about what you did,

00:13your activities, and not the results or impact. If you tell me about the work you did, it makes

00:19you a worker. If you tell me about the impact you had, the results on the business, it makes

00:24you a thought leader. Which would you rather be? The second major mistake I see is failing

00:29to list an objective on your resume. As a recruiter or a hiring manager, if your resume says right at

00:35the top that you want to be a director of marketing and I'm hiring for a director of marketing, it seems

00:41like a match. Whereas if you say nothing and make me guess, maybe I pick someone else. The third major

00:47mistake I see on resumes is way too many words. Both hiring managers and recruiters are in a hurry

00:54and they're skimming. If they want to know more, they'll call you. So the key is to have your

00:59major accomplishments and impact stand out. The fourth major flaw I see is people optimizing

01:05for applicant tracking systems, feeling they're going to get through a filter. If your best hope

01:11at a job is getting through a filter, you're using the wrong approach and you should focus on networking

01:16and personal connections instead. 80% of jobs go to people with a referral. The fifth mistake I see

01:23is people listing their education and certifications at the top of a resume when they're far beyond

01:30college. When you graduate from college and that is your major qualification, great, put it at the

01:35top. But for any other circumstance, when you have experience, I want to know what you did before I care

01:42where you went to school. The sixth and final mistake I see is excluding your hobbies and interests. The reason

01:48these matter is they make you human and memorable. In a pile of resumes, if you do something interesting

01:55and different, I will remember you as, oh, right, the kayaker. Much more than I will remember you as the

02:0117th software developer who knows how to write in Java. These tips will help you create a powerful

02:07resume. But beyond that, the most important step is to move on to a systematic job search. Get out there

02:13and start networking. You can read the full article at businessinsider.com.

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