How to Turn a Resume Disaster Into Resume Inspiration

So your resume submission didn’t have the impact you hoped for, or you misspelled the manager’s name or included a glaring typo in the first line. Maybe you sent your application to the wrong address and waited three weeks for a response that never came. Maybe the worst happened and you were caught in a lie or put on a do not hire list. Here are a few ways to put this disaster behind you and let it inspire you to do better.

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Get Some Perspective on Your Resume

It may not seem like it right now, but this isn’t the end of the world. Before you panic about what you’ve done to your reputation, don’t worry. Unless you’ve been recommended to them, most employers don’t know your reputation, so a rejection won’t diminish your chances with another employer in the future. Just take a breath and let this go.

Be Honest About What You Did Wrong

If you were caught in a resume lie, let the experience humble you, and don’t make the same mistake again. If you think employers can’t look up the truth, you might be right but you might also be wrong. If you misspelled a word or missed an opportunity, this might sting a bit, but just fix your resume template and raise your editing game during the next round. No matter what went wrong, own your mistake and learn from it. You’ll probably still make mistakes in the future. Just don’t repeat this one.

Start Over

Go back to the drawing board. No matter how much you love a certain phrase or claim, if it doesn’t meet your needs, you need to delete it. If it misrepresents you or misleads potential employers, delete it immediately. Start fresh with a clean slate, a blank page, and a fresh outlook. Turn to our resume builder for formatting tools that can help you create a beautiful resume from the ground up.