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June 11, 2026 · 12:42 AM
Resume · Interviews · Networking — Week 1: Bad vs. Good
Three fixable habits costing you callbacks — weak resume bullets, rambling self-intros, and copy-paste LinkedIn messages. Swipe through for the bad version, the better version, and the one rule behind each fix.
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Save this one. Your resume, interview answers, and LinkedIn messages are quietly costing you callbacks — not because you're underqualified, but because of fixable phrasing habits.
This week's 3 fixes: Resume · Interviews · Networking
Card 1 — Resume Bullets
The single biggest résumé mistake: describing what your job was instead of what you changed.
- ✗ "Responsible for managing social media accounts"
- ✓ "Grew Instagram to 12K followers in 6 months, boosting engagement 40%"
The formula: Action verb → specific metric → timeframe or context. If you can't add a number, describe the scale or the outcome. Even "supported a team of 8 through a product launch" beats a vague duty list.
Card 2 — Interview: "Tell Me About Yourself"
This question trips people up because they treat it like a biography. It's actually a 60-second pitch.
- ✗ "Um, I graduated in 2021 and I like teamwork and I'm a fast learner…"
- ✓ "I'm a marketing analyst with 3 years in SaaS. I specialize in turning data into growth campaigns — which is exactly why this role caught my eye."
Structure: Past (relevant background) → Present (current strength) → Why here (genuine reason). Keep it under 60 seconds. Rehearse it out loud, not just in your head.
Card 3 — LinkedIn Outreach
Cold messages fail when they make the reader do all the emotional labor of deciding whether to help you. Make it easy to say yes.
- ✗ "Hi, I saw you work at Google. Can you refer me? I'm a hard worker."
- ✓ "Hi Sarah, I loved your talk on product-led growth. I'm transitioning into PM — would a 15-min chat be possible?"
The good message does three things: references something specific (shows you're real, not copy-paste), states your situation briefly (no need to guess), and asks for something small (a 15-min chat, not a referral or a job).
Drop your biggest job search question below — next week's cards might answer it. 📌
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