A friend told me my resume looked like it was written by a robot and it clicked

I was applying for a customer service job at a local call center and kept getting auto-rejections. I showed my resume to a buddy who works in HR, and he said, 'Dude, this reads like a bot filled it out. You have all the keywords the AI scanner wants, but there's zero personality or story.' He pointed out I had stuff like 'utilized CRM software' and 'facilitated client interactions' which are just empty corporate words. I changed it completely. I wrote it like I was talking, using 'used' and 'helped' instead. I added a line about actually solving a specific problem for a customer, like the time I calmed down an angry guy whose flight got canceled. I got a call for an interview the next week. It made me think, are we training ourselves to sound like machines just to get past the machines? Has anyone else had to dumb down their language to seem more human for a hiring algorithm?

4 comments

4 Comments

logan6588h ago

That is actually WILD. You had to change "utilized" back to "used" to seem like a real person. The system is so backwards it punishes you for knowing the fancy words. What a weird world where "helped" gets you further than "facilitated.

claire_grant347h ago

My cousin works in HR and told me they filter out resumes with too much corporate speak. She said the automated system literally scores you lower for words like "synergy" or "optimize." It's like we're training ourselves to sound less educated just to get past the bots.

shanef343h ago

Wait, that's not exactly how the scanners work. They don't punish fancy words, they just don't care about them. The real issue is that words like "utilized" are just empty. They don't say what you actually did. Changing it to "used the CRM to track customer issues" gives the scanner a better keyword AND shows a human you know your stuff. The trick isn't dumbing down, it's being clear. Your fix worked because you added real details, not just simpler words.

kim_ramirez33h ago

My last job hunt took three months of nothing. I finally cut every buzzword and wrote like I was explaining my work to a friend. I got two interviews the next week. The systems are set up to find real people, not robots reading a dictionary. We all got tricked into thinking fancy words make us sound smart. They just make us sound like everyone else copying the same resume template.