Your resume is the most important tool you have in your job search. And most aspiring data analysts make this big resume mistake.

They are so focused on being technically skilled that they forget something extremely important.

Your resume isn’t supposed todescribeyou. It’s supposed to sell you.

I recently interviewed Andrei Kurtuy, resume expert & co-founder of Novoresume. And he walked me through how to fix a broken data analyst resume 👇

Your Bullets Probably Suck

Most data analysts write bullets like this:

• Analyzed sales data using Python

• Created dashboards in Power BI

• Managed databases using SQL

These aren't that bad. They're just boring. And lazy.

Because the hiring manager already assumes you can do these types of things. What they don't know is: What changed because you did them?

Here's the same bullet, but rewritten to actually sell you:

"Uncovered $3.2 million in hidden revenue by analyzing sales patterns with Python, leading to 80% Q4 growth."

See the difference?

One is documentation. The other is a story about impact.

The formula is stupid simple: Context + Action + Impact.

Every bullet should make the hiring manager think: "I need this person."

If your resume doesn't have dollar signs, percentages, or time saved, you're just listing tasks.

Your Resume Is Invisible

Andre told me about his friend. Smart guy. Good experience.

He applied to 200+ jobs after getting laid off, and got zero callbacks.

The problem was that his resume had fancy graphics and infographics. It looked beautiful to humans.

But the ATS (the robot that reads resumes first) couldn't read it. His resume was 100% invisible.

Modern ATS’s are smarter than they used to be, but they're still pretty dumb robots. Here's how to not get filtered by them:

• One column, period. Two columns might work sometimes, but why risk it?

• Standard headers (write "Work Experience," not "My Journey")

• Text-based PDFs (not image files or scanned documents)

• Full URLs (don't hide links behind text like "GitHub")

Quick test: Copy your entire resume (Command/Control + A), paste it into Notepad. That's what the ATS sees. If it looks like gibberish, you have a big problem.

Should You Tailor Your Resume?

We’ve all heard the advice that you should tailor your resume to every job application. But let’s be real, that sounds absolutely miserable and exhausting.

So here's the lazy person's system that actually works:

1. Create one "mega resume" with everything you've ever done. Every bullet. Every project. Write for as many different roles are you can. But never send this one.

2. Duplicate it for each application. Takes 10 seconds.

3. Identify 3 pain points in the job description. What problem are they really trying to solve?

4. Pick the 4 to 5 most relevant bullets from your mega resume and adjust the language to match theirs. If they say "Tableau" and you wrote "data visualization," change it.

5. Update your summary and skills section to mirror the role.

Boom. Tailored resumed.

You’re much more likely to hear back when you have a tailored resume. And this makes it easier.

If You're A Career Pivoter, Listen Up

A lot of you reading this might be thinking, “Avery, this is all good. But I have 0 data experience at all. I’m cooked!” Well this section is for you ;)

Let’s say you’re currently an “Uber Driver”.

Don't lead with "Uber Driver" hoping they'll somehow magically connect the dots from driving to data analysis. Connect the dots for them. Make it very clear. Use a skills based format.

Figure out how you’ve used data as an uber driver. Talk about the data you’ve analyzed - even if it’s just in your head.

And then, have a good skills section. Maybe even combine it with your project section? Something like this:

Data Analysis Experience

• Analyzed 4,000 rows of marketing campaign data in Excel to identify underperforming channels, saving 12 hours of manual work weekly

• Built interactive Power BI dashboard tracking customer acquisition cost, presented findings to 15+ stakeholders

I promise if you think hard enough, you can do this.

Here's Your Action Plan

Step 1: Open your resume right now. Look at every bullet point. Do at least 40% of them show impact (money saved, time saved, percent improvement)? If not, rewrite them.

Step 2: Test your resume for ATS. Copy everything, paste into Notepad. If it's messy, simplify your formatting.

Step 3: Create your mega resume. Put everything in there. Then duplicate and tailor for each job.

Your resume isn't a list of things you did. It's proof that you can solve problems.

Stop documenting. Start selling.

P.S.Want my resume template? Want me to review your resume? Want a tool that helps you perfect your resume bullets? It’s all part of my bootcamp, The Data Analytics Accelerator. Over 1,000 people have joined. Check it out here.