My first résumé was copied: five career problems new graduates face

My first résumé was a daboo, campus slang for a copied assignment. I took a senior colleague’s résumé, changed the header and the job titles, and sent it off. I had no idea what I was doing.

It was after my third year at university, and I was applying for a contract analyst role at a pharmaceutical market research company. I got the interview, did well, and landed the job anyway.

A year later I applied for the same role again. This time my sister helped me. She’d worked with her university’s careers centre and knew what a strong résumé looked like. The difference was obvious, and it made me ask why nobody had taught us this at school.

So I started asking friends and colleagues to show me their résumés. Almost all of them had the same problems mine did.

From résumés to careers

That question started a habit that has lasted more than ten years: helping people plan and manage their careers. People still call me a résumé consultant, and that’s true, but résumés turned out to be a small part of the job. The bigger work is helping people understand themselves, plan, prepare for interviews, and measure what they contribute at work.

In my first three years alone, I helped more than 70 people rebuild their résumés. About 30 of them landed a first job or made a strategic move. Many more found a clearer sense of purpose in the work they already had.

The five problems I see most

Working with new graduates and experienced professionals, the same five problems come up again and again:

1. Low self-awareness. Not knowing your strengths, weaknesses, values, or what you enjoy.
2. No career plan. Taking whatever comes and hoping it adds up.
3. Not tracking your impact. Doing good work but never measuring or writing down what changed because of it.
4. Low confidence. Not being able to see, or own, your own achievements.
5. Weak networking. Not knowing how to build relationships that open doors.

Why it matters

Every year, universities produce far more graduates than there are open jobs. When demand is that high, getting a job costs more: more effort, more time, more preparation. You can choose to start a business instead. Either way, you’ll need to fix these five problems.

No one can promise you your dream job. But you can raise your chances a lot, and that’s what the articles in this series are about. Start with how to build a career plan, then work through the rest.

And this isn’t only for people in 9-to-5 jobs. Entrepreneurs will get just as much out of it.