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Here's the BIGGEST Mistake Found on Resumes!

Resumes often come with conflicting advice, but as you'll see in this post, there's 1 universally agreed-upon mistake we should avoid at all costs.

Let's dive in!

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Key takeaways

  1. The most common mistake on resumes is the absence of metrics that quantify impact
  2. Always ask yourself “how many,” “how often,” and “how long” to ensure you're not just listing responsibilities but also showing their results
  3. If you're struggling to find metrics, turn to ChatGPT for personalized recommendations tailored to your specific role

Conflicting advice for resumes

There's no shortage of conflicting advice when it comes to writing resumes, but there is one universally recognized mistake: failing to quantify the impact of your work.

Put another way, rather than simply stating tasks, it's essential to showcase results using relevant metrics.

How to find relevant metrics

Remember: Metrics don't have to be big and sexy. As long as you answer one of these 3 questions, it's a valid metric:

  1. How many?
  2. How long?
  3. How often?

Example

Instead of writing something like:

  • “Fostered a strong community within team to encourage best practice sharing…”

You get:

  • “Successfully applied for US$ 1,200 in training budget to host weekly Lunch & Learn sessions for 12 weeks…”

How many ➡️ US$ 1,200

How often ➡️ Weekly

How long ➡️ 12 weeks

Use ChatGPT to find metrics

Whether you're taking care of a sick family member or you're just a second year student with literally 0 working experience, you can use the following prompt in ChatGPT to identify relevant metrics to include in your resume:

Prompt for ChatGPT or Google Bard

You are an expert resume writer with over 20 years of experience.
I'm writing a bullet point for an experience on my resume but I don't know how my success was measured
I will describe my responsibilities and your task is to list 5 relevant metrics that I can include to quantify the impact of my work
Here's what I did:

If you're a job seeker

Make sure to check out this video on 5 Resume Mistakes You MUST Avoid!