Use Standardized Headings for ATS

Today’s episode is an update of episode #17 – The Biggest Resume Mistakes, which aired in early 2018.

The first part of that episode covered five universal considerations about resumes, and I wanted to touch on each of these, with TRUE/FALSE responses and my updated comments:

1.   Today’s competitive resume is a marketing document, rather than a static “data sheet” that tells a prospective employer where you worked, what job titles you held, and what your job duties were.

TRUE. Your resume should be targeted toward a specific position, and sell you for that position. Leverage the position description and any other intelligence you’ve gathered about the role and the company to customize your resume and cover letter for that specific role, using the keywords exactly as they are in the description.

2.   More often than not, your resume is NOT the first thing a prospective employer will see about you. It’s highly likely they will view your LI profile first. This changes the strategy for your resume.

TRUE and FALSE. It depends on your process. If you are applying online, they will see your resume first. If you are job searching via networking, they may well see your LI profile first. This doesn’t really change the strategy for your resume, but it DOES affect how you approach your LI profile – which should never be a cut-and-paste of your resume.

3.   Brevity is the name of the game. No one has the time, or inclination, to sift through your life’s history to find the hidden gems. Two pages is the rule of thumb for the majority of professionals.

TRUE. Brevity is more important than ever.

4.   You need a “pretty” resume and an Applicant Tracking System-compatible resume for job boards and company hiring systems. Or, if you only have one resume, it should be ATS compatible (formatting is removed, and the information is laid out so the computer can “see” it).

FALSE. Advancements in ATS, coupled with extensive training on how to make ATS-compatible resumes by professionals like me, means that one document will do double duty. If you are DIY’ing your resume, stick with plain and simple formatting, but experts like myself can do far more than the basics.

5.   Sell it, don’t tell it. Metrics and quantifiable results are the name of the game. Don’t just tell the employer how great you are; back it up with results that prove how great you are.

TRUE. The difference between “increased revenue” and “catapulted revenue 189% while maintaining existing headcount” is night and day.

Here are two additional truths I’ve added for 2025:

6.   Use standardized headings. Professional Experience, Education, and Certifications will all help the ATS find, and score, what it is looking for. Don’t get cute.

7.   Don’t word stuff. Don’t dump the entire job description into your resume using white text – the employers will be able to see what you’ve done and many will automatically disqualify you.

Here, then, were the top 10 resume missteps I talked about in 2018, along with updates for 2025:

1.   There is no clear job target.

It isn’t clear what type of position the person is seeking at the top of the resume, which is then supported throughout the document. Everything in a resume should be geared towards the client’s job target.

I always state the client’s job target at the top of the resume; this way it is clear what “pile” to put that client into as a job applicant. (No one actually has physical piles anymore, but it helps to think of it that way.)

2.   No discernable brand, making the candidate the generic option.

The candidate has made no effort to differentiate himself or herself from all other candidates. As a result, that candidate is essentially presenting himself or herself as the “generic” candidate – the less expensive, less desirable option.

NOTE: The best way to differentiate yourself is to talk about what you bring to the table that others will not. If all you are saying is the basic qualifications any serious candidate should have – you haven’t differentiated yourself at all.

3.   Large paragraphs of text that no one will take the time to read.

As a rule of thumb, most paragraphs on your resume should have no more than three-four lines. By breaking up the text, it’s much easier for the reader to consume your resume.

A big part of this is culling the information so that what’s left is the really important stuff. Don’t expect the reader to figure out what they should focus on…spoon feed it to them.

4.   A focus on job descriptions…what the person did in the job…rather than a focus on accomplishments…how well they did the job.

There are either no accomplishments in sight, or the accomplishments are mixed in with the job duties, which dilute the effectiveness of the accomplishments.

5.   “Death by bullets.”

Job duties are mixed in with the occasional accomplishment, and everything is bulleted.

Your job description should be in paragraph form, and your accomplishments should be bulleted. I recommend no more than four-five bullets for each position.

6.   Weakly written bullets.

Each of these bulleted statements should begin with a strong action verb, such as Organized, Spearheaded, Slashed, Catapulted…

Begin with the payoff, i.e. the metrics. If you saved the company $100M, don’t wait until the end of the bullet to say that – front-load it.

7.   The person’s life history is in their resume, rather than being a carefully curated, targeted, and branded document that is succinct and elicits the desired result…a call for an interview.

This is typically a three-plus page resume, with every detail of their life, and no focus. They’ll miss the most important parts if everything you’ve ever done is included.

8.   Job titles that are confusing and/or don’t accurately represent the scope of the person’s responsibilities.

Many companies use job titles that don’t make sense outside that organization. I will often work with my clients to “translate” their job titles so they make sense to others.

This is my acid test: If a potential employer were to call your former employer for an employment check, and that potential employer says “Was their job title XXX?” Your former employer would say “yes”.

We also want that job title to be SEO friendly. If, for example, you are looking for a marketing director position, and your former job title didn’t have the word “marketing” in it but that’s the work you did, then how can we massage your job title to incorporate the word “marketing?”

9.   Work history that dates back to the middle ages.

I typically go back about 15 years with my clients’ work history. This is enough time to show your career trajectory without giving away your age.

That date can vary depending on a number of factors, but 15 years is a good rule of thumb.

If a client has something older in their work experience that is important to retain, I will do this in a shortened format that doesn’t include dates.

10.Irrelevant information, such as hobbies or unrelated extracurriculars.

A potential employer doesn’t need to know about your love of windsurfing or your marital status.

This, of course, varies by country. I have an international client base, so I take their country of employment into consideration when determining what personal information is appropriate to include.

Extracurricular activities can be included if they are relevant to your brand or career goal—otherwise leave them off.

ALSO:

11.Inconsistent formatting.

Be sure you’ve laid out each job exactly the same way. Be sure your bullets and margins are consistent. Your attention to detail in your resume will translate to the employer’s belief in your ability to attend to details on the job.

The Document & Coaching Package is designed for current job seekers who want world-class marketing documents, a targeted, proactive job search strategy that gets results, and skill-building around how to network, interview, and negotiate compensation. To learn more or to schedule a consult, visit my website at https://theexclusivecareer.com/doccoach or email me at lesa@theexclusivecareer.com.