Your resume is your first impression—and in most instances, your sole opportunity to impress hiring managers and Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS). But even with proper experience and qualifications, many job candidates are filtered out due to the most common resume pitfalls, which are rather simple to keep away from.
In this guide, we’ll discuss the most common resume blunders that can ruin your job chances and how to overcome them with real-life examples.
1. Using a One-Size-Fits-All Resume
The Mistake:
Applying the same boilerplate resume to every job application.
Why it’s a problem:
Hiring managers can immediately detect whether your resume is customized for the position or simply a cut-and-paste. It represents a lack of effort and does not address the job’s specifications directly.
How to Fix It:
Customize your resume for every job. Adjust the summary, skills section, and experience bullets to align with the job description.
Example:
Generic: “5-year marketing professional with experience leading digital campaigns.”
Adjusted for a Digital Marketing Position: “5-year digital marketing specialist with experience generating 200K+ monthly blog views and boosting email open rates by 40%.”
2. Failing the ATS (Applicant Tracking System) Check
The Mistake:
With fancy designs, columns, images, or non-standard layouts that ATS can’t read.
Why it’s an issue:
More than 90% of firms utilize ATS to filter resumes. Should your resume contain graphics, text box headers, or more than one column, key information may not be read or scored.
How to Improve It:
- Use a plain, neat layout (a single column is ideal)
- Adhere to standard fonts (Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman)
- Don’t use graphics, charts, or logos
- Use natural language with keywords from the job description
Pro Tip: Put your resume through a tool such as Resume Enhancer to test ATS-friendliness and gain improvement recommendations.
3. Weak or Absent Resume Summary
The Error:
Leaving out a resume summary or creating a bland, generic one.
Why it’s an issue:
Your hook is the resume summary. Recruiters read it in 6–8 seconds. If it’s missing or lack of punch, they might pass over your application.
How to Fix It:
Create a 2–3 line summary that reflects your highest accomplishments and is job-specific.
Example:
Weak: “Seeking employment in a well-known organization to improve my skills.”
Strong: “3+ years of experience in e-commerce as a result-driven data analyst, proficient in SQL, Tableau, and Python. Enhanced customer retention by 20% through predictive analytics.”
4. Listing Responsibilities Instead of Achievements
The Mistake:
Just detailing what you were “in charge of” in your previous positions.
Why it’s an issue:
Recruiters need to know impact, not tasks. Bullet points that merely describe duties do not serve to reveal how effectively you did them.
How to Fix It:
Apply the “action + result” model to each bullet point. Quantify wherever you can.
Example:
Bad: “Responsible for handling social media profiles.”
Better: “Increased Instagram engagement by 150% in 6 months with daily content and community interaction.”
5. Typos, Grammar Mistakes & Inconsistent Formatting
The Error:
Spelling errors, bad grammar, and uneven fonts or spacing.
Why it’s an issue:
One typo can already create the impression of laziness. If your resume is not professional, it makes a bad impression, particularly for jobs that require attention to detail.
How to Correct It:
- Proofread using Grammarly or ChatGPT
- Use only one font size and face
- Maintain consistent punctuation (e.g., putting full stops at the end of every bullet point—or not)
- Have a friend proofread your resume
6. Placing Irrelevant or Outdated Information
The Error:
Listing activities such as “movie watching” or 15-year-old jobs that bear no connection to your present objectives.
Why it’s bad:
Hiring managers don’t have time to read filler. Information that is irrelevant diverts attention from your actual strengths.
How to Fix It:
- Emphasize the past 10 years of experience
- Only list skills, credentials, and job titles that apply to your career aspirations
- Delete out-of-date tech/tools (e.g., MS-DOS, Lotus Notes)
Example:
Delete: “Hobbies: Watching Netflix, Reading Novels”
Add (if relevant): “Volunteer: Resume coach for underprivileged youth – helped 30+ candidates secure internships”
7. Using Clichés & Buzzwords Without Substance
The Mistake:
Overloading your resume with generic terms such as:
- “Hardworking”
- “Team player”
- “Go-getter”
- “Out-of-the-box thinker”
Why it’s a problem:
Here are the buzzwords that do not highlight your value. Employers want to see proof.
How to Fix It:
Replace shallow words with meaningful actions and accomplishments.
Example:
Instead of: “Team player with outstanding communication skills”
Say: “Worked with 5 cross-functional teams to deliver a new feature on an app, which yields 30K+ monthly downloads.”
8. Overuse of Keywords
The Mistake:
Not utilizing job-specific keywords or using generic terminology.
Why it’s a problem :
ATS systems rely heavily on keyword matching. If your resume doesn’t include the right terms, you’ll get filtered out.
How to Fix It:
- Analyze the job description
- Match your skills and experience to key terms (e.g., “UI/UX design,” “Google Ads,” “financial modeling”)
Pro Tip: Paste the job description into a tool like Resume Enhancer to identify missing keywords.
9. Too Long or Too Short
The Mistake:
- Sending a 4–5 page resume with too much information
- Or a 1/2-page resume that doesn’t say much
Why it’s a problem:
- Too long = recruiter burnout
- Too short = insufficient information
How to Fix It:
- Optimal resume length = 1 page (freshers) or 2 pages (seasoned pros)
- Trim fluff and non-relevant jobs
- Utilize brief bullet points
10. Not Mentioning Metrics or Impact
The Mistake:
Telling what you did, not what you achieved.
Why it’s a problem:
Resumes with no numbers or concrete results are not remembered. Numbers attract notice.
How to Fix It:
- Measure results:
- % increases
- Revenue saved/earned
- Customers handled
- Projects delivered on time
Example:
Instead of: “Managed customer support”
Use: “Solved 95% of customer queries within 24 hours, increasing satisfaction rate by 18%”
11. Using an Unprofessional Email Address
The Error:
Having emails such as:
- cooldude123@gmail.com
- misscutie@gmail.com
Why it’s an issue:
It seems unprofessional and may influence credibility.
How to Fix It:
Make a professional-looking email with your name: firstname.lastname@gmail.com
12. Missing Contact Info or Broken Links
The Error:
- No phone number
- Incorrect email
- Broken LinkedIn or portfolio link
Why it’s a problem:
Even if you’re a perfect match, you won’t be reached out to if your information is incorrect.
How to Fix It:
- Double-check everything always:
- Phone number (with proper country code)
- LinkedIn / Portfolio URLs
13. Poor Visual Hierarchy or Unscannable Layout
The Error:
Using walls of text, small fonts, or strange formatting.
Why it’s a problem
Hiring managers skim, not read. If your resume is difficult to skim, it’ll be ignored.
How to Fix It:
- Use bold headers (Experience, Skills, Education)
- Keep bullet points brief (1–2 lines max)
- Leave white space for readability
- Use 11–12 pt font for body text
Final Thoughts
One resume error can make you lose your dream job—but totally preventable. It’s formatting, content, or keyword problems. You can correct most of them in less than 30 minutes.
Don’t get hired because of a preventable mistake. Before you send your application for your next job, scan your resume with Resume Enhancer—our free AI tool which checks for ATS passability, lack of keywords, and clarity problems in seconds.