In this guide
- 1. A generic objective instead of a specific summary
- 2. Responsibilities, not achievements
- 3. Missing the job description's keywords
- 4. Inconsistent formatting
- 5. Burying your best work
- 6. Typos and grammar
- 7. Outdated contact details
- 8. The wrong length for your experience
- 9. Ignoring the ATS
- 10. The same résumé for every job
Recruiters skim a résumé in seconds before deciding whether to read on. In those seconds small mistakes get amplified. Here are the ten we see most often, and exactly how to fix each one.
1. A generic objective instead of a specific summary
"Seeking a challenging role to grow my career" tells a recruiter nothing. Replace it with two or three sentences on who you are, what you have done and what you want next, with concrete numbers.
2. Responsibilities, not achievements
"Managed a team of 5" is a job description. "Led a team of 5 to deliver a ₹2 crore migration three weeks early" is an achievement. Every bullet should answer so what?
3. Missing the job description's keywords
If the job asks for "Python, SQL and Tableau" and your résumé says "data tools", you will be filtered out. Mirror the exact terms — only the ones you actually know.
4. Inconsistent formatting
Mixed fonts, varying date formats, three bullet styles. These signal carelessness. Pick one of each and stick to it.
5. Burying your best work
If your strongest achievement is on page two, most recruiters never see it. Put the strongest bullet first under each role.
6. Typos and grammar
One typo can end your chances. Read the résumé aloud, then have someone else proofread it.
7. Outdated contact details
Obvious, and it happens constantly. Check your phone number, email and LinkedIn URL before every send.
8. The wrong length for your experience
Under ten years of experience: one page. More: two pages at most. Nobody needs a four-page résumé.
9. Ignoring the ATS
Fancy templates with columns and graphics confuse parsers. Use a clean single-column format.
10. The same résumé for every job
Tailoring matters. Adjust your headline, summary and top three bullets for each application. Jobstack's tailor reads the job description, proposes the changes one by one with the before and after, and asks you for a number it cannot find instead of inventing one.
Fix these ten things and your callback rate improves. The bar is lower than you think.
- Résumé tips
- Mistakes