In her extensive experience in talent acquisition, Lindsay Mustain, the CEO of career coaching company Talent Paradigm, has encountered numerous resumes, estimating that she has reviewed over a million of them. She has noticed a common mistake that job seekers make, which she refers to as giving "Miss America answers." This term describes overly simplistic statements on resumes that fail to provide insight into candidates' actual accomplishments in their previous roles. Mustain emphasizes that this issue is prevalent across all career levels and is a significant obstacle for job seekers to stand out.
The primary mistake she identifies is the inclusion of vague and generic descriptions of job responsibilities, which she likens to a "glorified job description." For example, simply stating "I had stakeholder meetings with people" does not effectively convey a candidate's contributions and impact. Instead, job seekers should focus on quantifying and detailing their achievements. Mustain highlights the importance of providing specific metrics and analytics in resumes to showcase tangible results. She provides an example of how quantifying accomplishments, such as resolving a certain number of customer issues per day, can significantly strengthen a resume.
Mustain stresses that quantifying accomplishments not only helps job seekers stand out but also makes a resume more captivating to recruiters who typically have limited time to review each application. By including measurable results, such as numerical figures, candidates can capture recruiters' attention quickly and demonstrate the value they brought to their previous roles. Ultimately, Mustain emphasizes the importance of building a results-based resume to advance in the job application process.