If You're a Senior Professional, Please Stop Doing These Things on Your Resume
An ex-Amazon recruiter who has reviewed over a million resumes breaks down the most common - and most damaging - mistakes senior professionals make on their resumes, and why they cost you the interview.
If you're a senior professional, please stop doing these things on your resume.
(From an ex-Amazon recruiter who's reviewed over 1 million of them.)
1. One-page resumes. You're not a new grad. Compressing 20 years of experience onto one page just makes it look cluttered and junior.
2. Graphics and templates from Canva. Recruiters aren't grading you on visual communication. We're scanning for what you've done, not how pretty your template is.
3. Headshots. Unless you're in real estate or entertainment, keep your face off your resume. Bias is real.
4. Reasons for leaving. That story belongs in the interview, not on your document. It reads as defensive.
5. Objective statements. This is a move from the last millennium. You need a professional summary that immediately positions yourself as top talent and shows what you bring to the table.
6. Color. The wrong highlight pulls attention away from what matters. In recruiting, color almost always reads as junior.
7. "Team Player." Research from TalentWorks found this one phrase alone can decrease your chances of being hired by 51%. Delete it today.
8. Glorified job descriptions. Listing tasks isn't proof of impact. Every bullet should answer:
- What did this accomplish?
- How did it move the business forward?
- Can you quantify it? (At least 50% of your bullets should include numbers.)
Recruiters are dealing with decision fatigue. They review thousands of resumes every week. We're not reading your resume - we're scanning it in seconds.
Related: The full list of resume mistakes.
Your resume is your strategy to get an interview. Make every word earn its place.
Frequently Asked Questions
For the full framework, read Hireability Gap.
Ready to close your Hireability Gap™ and land a six-figure remote role without applying? Start here at SixFigureRemoteCareerStrategy.com.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should senior professionals use a one-page resume?
No. One-page resumes are for new graduates. Compressing 20 or more years of experience onto a single page makes the document look cluttered and positions you as junior, not senior. Give your career the space it has earned.
Why do graphics and templates from Canva hurt a senior resume?
Recruiters are not grading visual communication - they are scanning for what you have done. Graphic templates pull attention away from impact and often read as junior. ATS systems also frequently fail to parse them correctly.
What does the phrase 'Team Player' do to your resume?
Research from TalentWorks found that the phrase 'Team Player' alone can decrease your chances of being hired by 51 percent. Soft-skill filler phrases that tell instead of show are the fastest way to get filtered out before a human reads a word.
What should every resume bullet accomplish?
Every bullet should answer three questions: What did this accomplish? How did it move the business forward? Can you quantify it? At least 50 percent of your bullets should include numbers. Listing tasks instead of outcomes is the single most common mistake senior professionals make.
How do I close my Hireability Gap™?
Start with the full framework at Hireability Gap, then get a personalized assessment at SixFigureRemoteCareerStrategy.com.
