I still remember the first time I thought I had the “perfect” resume. I had just graduated, spent hours adjusting margins, picking the “right” font, and shoving in every single thing I’d ever done that could remotely pass as experience. When I hit send, I felt confident. Weeks later? Nothing but silence. No callbacks. No polite rejection emails. Just… nothing.
Turns out, my resume wasn’t perfect at all—it was one giant red flag. And after a few painful lessons (and a lot of feedback from friends who actually worked in HR), I realized I was making almost every mistake in the book.
So let’s talk about the biggest resume mistakes that will quietly (or loudly) get your application tossed into the “no” pile. Some of these may sound obvious, but you’d be surprised how many people—my past self included—trip up on them.
1. Typos and Grammatical Errors
It seems so small. A missing comma, a misspelled word, a sentence that runs on forever. But hiring managers see those little mistakes as neon signs saying, “This person didn’t double-check their work.”
I once applied for a writing role (ironic, I know) with a resume that had “pubic relations” instead of “public relations.” I still cringe thinking about it. If you’re applying to be detail-oriented, but your resume screams careless, your credibility takes a hit before you even get a chance to prove yourself.
The fix? Run your resume through a spell-checker, then read it out loud to catch awkward phrasing. Better yet, ask a friend to look it over. Fresh eyes catch what yours skim past.
2. Using One Generic Resume for Every Job
It’s tempting. You create one resume, polish it to death, and then send it out to 100 companies. Easy, right? The problem is that it sounds… generic. Hiring managers can spot a “one-size-fits-all” resume from a mile away.
Imagine you’re applying for a cybersecurity analyst role but your resume still emphasizes your social media internship. Even if it was great experience, it’s not what the recruiter is scanning for. They’re looking for specific keywords and relevant proof you can handle their problems.
It may feel tedious, but tailoring your resume—even slightly—makes a massive difference. Highlight the skills and projects that align with the role. You don’t need to rewrite it from scratch every time, but shifting the focus shows you paid attention.
3. Overloading It With Buzzwords
“Results-driven. Hardworking. Go-getter. Team player.”
These phrases might feel impressive, but they often land with a dull thud. Everyone uses them, which means they don’t really set you apart. Plus, they can come across as filler if they’re not backed up with evidence.
Here’s the thing: instead of saying you’re a team player, show it. Write about the time you collaborated with four departments to launch a project two weeks early. Numbers and stories always sound more convincing than empty adjectives.
4. Too Long (or Too Short)
There’s a sweet spot.
A resume that’s ten pages long? Nobody’s reading that. On the flip side, a resume that’s one-third of a page can feel like you don’t have much to offer.
Most hiring experts suggest one to two pages, depending on where you are in your career. If you’re fresh out of college, one page is fine. If you’ve got ten years of experience, two pages makes sense. Beyond that, it risks becoming more of a career diary than a focused document.
I learned this the hard way when I tried to cram every single project from a summer job into my resume. It ended up being three pages of fluff. When I cut it down to the highlights, I finally started getting interviews.
5. Bad Formatting
Ever opened a document and immediately thought, What is going on here? That’s how recruiters feel when they see a resume with six fonts, mismatched bullet points, or margins that look like they’ve been set by a toddler.
Formatting matters because it affects readability. Recruiters often skim dozens of resumes at once. If yours looks like a wall of text, they’re going to skip it.
Stick to clean fonts (Calibri, Helvetica, Georgia, even Times New Roman if you must). Keep margins consistent. Use bullet points sparingly and align them neatly. You don’t need fancy graphics unless you’re in a design-heavy field. The goal is clarity, not decoration.
6. Ignoring Keywords
Many companies now use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to filter resumes before a human even sees them. If your resume doesn’t include the right keywords, it might never make it past the machine.
For example, if a job description emphasizes “cloud security” but your resume only says “network security,” you might get filtered out—even if you have cloud experience.
This doesn’t mean you should stuff keywords like a desperate SEO blog post. But sprinkling in the terms that match the job description shows you’re speaking the same language as the employer.
7. Listing Irrelevant Work Experience
Your summer job scooping ice cream when you were sixteen? Probably not the selling point for a senior engineering role.
That said, context matters. If you’re early in your career, it’s okay to list unrelated jobs—but frame them around transferable skills. For instance, working retail might show customer service and conflict resolution abilities.
The problem comes when your resume is cluttered with roles that have zero relevance and no clear tie to what you’re applying for. A hiring manager doesn’t need your life story; they need evidence you can do this job.
8. Being Too Vague
“I helped with marketing campaigns.”
That sentence doesn’t tell anyone anything. How many campaigns? What kind? Did they succeed? Did you actually help, or were you mostly making coffee?
Vagueness kills resumes because it forces the reader to guess at your impact. Specificity sells. Instead of “helped with marketing campaigns,” you might write: “Coordinated three digital ad campaigns that increased website traffic by 25% over three months.”
Numbers don’t just add clarity—they add credibility.
9. Forgetting to Highlight Achievements
A resume that only lists responsibilities reads like a job description, not a sales pitch. Saying “Responsible for managing social media accounts” is fine. But saying “Grew Instagram account from 2,000 to 15,000 followers in six months” makes the reader sit up.
I once reviewed a friend’s resume where she had written, “Handled customer complaints.” After talking it through, we realized she had actually reduced complaints by 40% by redesigning the feedback process. That’s the kind of detail that transforms a bland bullet point into a wow moment.
Think of it this way: tasks show what you did. Achievements show what you accomplished. Employers care more about the latter.
10. Leaving Out Contact Information or Making It Hard to Find
It sounds ridiculous, but people forget this more often than you’d think. Or they bury their phone number in a tiny font at the bottom corner.
If a recruiter can’t quickly see how to contact you, they’ll move on to the next person. Keep your name, phone number, email, and LinkedIn at the top of your resume. Simple, clean, visible.
And please—check your email address. If you’re still rocking something like “[email protected],” it might be time for an upgrade. A professional-looking Gmail address goes a long way.
A Few Bonus Mistakes Worth Mentioning
While those ten are the big ones, there are a few other sneaky errors people make:
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Too much personal info. You don’t need your home address, marital status, or a headshot (unless it’s industry standard where you live).
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Overly fancy templates. Some online resume templates look gorgeous—but confuse ATS systems. Pretty doesn’t always mean practical.
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Being dishonest. Exaggerating titles or inventing achievements can catch up with you, especially during background checks.
The Takeaway
Resumes aren’t about telling your entire story—they’re about telling the right story for the job you want. The mistakes above don’t just annoy recruiters; they subtly suggest you might not be the right fit, even if you are.
The good news? Every single one of these mistakes is fixable. Proofread carefully. Focus on what’s relevant. Add details that prove your value instead of relying on buzzwords. And remember: your resume isn’t set in stone. It’s a living document that should evolve as your career does.
I can’t promise that avoiding these mistakes will land you your dream job tomorrow. But I can promise this: a sharp, clear, well-targeted resume will give you a fighting chance in a sea of applicants. And sometimes, that’s all you need to get your foot in the door.