10 Resume Mistakes and How to Fix Them

Even strong candidates may sometimes unwittingly sabotage their job search with avoidable resume mistakes. These resume errors can cause your resume to be rejected long before a human reads it. In today’s competitive job market, understanding common resume mistakes to avoid and how to fix them is a crucial professional skill.

1.      Not Customising Per Job Description

Sending the same resume document to every employer ranks among serious resume errors you must not contemplate. Recruiters can instantly tell when a resume isn’t customised. Lack of tailoring signals low effort and often leads to an instant rejection.

How to fix:

• Create a master resume, then quickly customise your personal statement, skills, experience and other sections to suit each particular job.
• Mirror keywords from each job description.

2.      Informal Email Address

The use of informal or unprofessional contact email addresses (such as nicknames) is not recommended. An email address such as [email protected] or [email protected] may portray you as unserious and even immature.

How to fix:

• Use a simple, formal or professional address, ideally [email protected] if available or variations that include your name, if not available.

3.      Weak or Missing Work Achievements

Listing only job duties without articulating all or some of your relevant work accomplishments is a lost chance to show the impact you’ve made so far. Without highlighting such achievements, hirers may underrate you and offer the job to someone else.

Another challenge here is not using the most impactful words and numbers to describe your accomplishments.

How to fix:

• Let your resume be a mix of both your job responsibilities and achievements.
• Start with action verbs.
• Where possible, quantify your achievements not only with words but also with numbers.

Example:
“Managed social media accounts and increased engagement by 57% in six months.”

4        Using a Generic Personal Statement or None at All

Due to its location at the top, your resume's personal statement or summary is often the first professional impression recruiters get of you. A generic summary can be a serious resume error because it may prevent you from making an impressive first impression. A missing summary is even worse because you missed a good opportunity to make a strong first professional impression. 

How to fix:

•    Always include a non-generic personal statement (that may contain quantified work achievements) in your resumes.

Example "As a seasoned SEO content specialist with over 9 years of experience, I have successfully led SEO and content strategies that increased web traffic by 150% year-over-year. My expertise in data analytics and campaign optimisation has driven measurable success results. I am seeking a dynamic content creation role in a forward-thinking tech company to further hone my skills and contribute to innovative projects."

5.      Omitting Relevant Keywords and Industry Jargon

Without the right keywords and industry terminology, you may appear unknowledgeable and fail to impress both applicant tracking systems (ATS) and human recruiters.

How to fix:

• Learn about industry-specific terms (e.g., Pytorch, C++, and GitHub) as they emerge and use them naturally and contextually in your resume.
• For insight, study identical or related job descriptions in your industry of interest and observe the most frequently occurring words, phrases, tools, skills, etc.

6.      Including Irrelevant or Outdated Information

A resume should be a shorter version of a curriculum vitae (CV), so it should not be as comprehensive as the latter. What makes this one of the many resume errors to avoid is that non-avoidance can make your resume longer than necessary (and hence more of a CV than a resume). Employers typically spend six to seven seconds scanning a resume. So cluttering it with unnecessary detail can work against you.

How to fix:

Remove:

• Excessive personal information and old or irrelevant education and job experiences (e.g., your educational background section can leave out primary and secondary school attendance details and indicate only your most recent achievements, such as BSc, MSc and PhD degrees).
• Industry skills that have become obsolete.
• Certifications, awards, hobbies, and all other additions that are old or not relevant to the job.

7.      Making it Too Lengthy or Too Short

As noted above, omitting old or irrelevant information can make a resume concise. But it shouldn’t be too short either. A very long resume may seem unfocused, while a very short one may seem incomplete or underdeveloped.

How to fix:

• Early career: 1 page.
• Mid-career: 1–2 pages.
• Senior/technical roles: up to 2 pages.

8.      Grammar and Typing Errors

Grammar and typing errors remain some of the most embarrassing and avoidable resume mistakes. They signal carelessness and can cost you a role instantly.

How to fix:

• Use grammar-checking tools (but be very alert to spot anything they miss).
• Edit and proofread multiple times. Take a break (such as a walk) in between editing and proofreading sessions, especially when you have worked nonstop for hours.
• Ask one or more experts to critically review your resume and offer unbiased feedback.

9.      Poor Formatting and Visual Clutter

A cluttered layout, inconsistent fonts, and messy spacing instantly weaken your professionalism and credibility. Your formatting and design should be professional and reader-friendly. Formatting can play a key role in ATS-friendliness.

How to fix:

• Use clean, professional and widely used fonts (e.g, Times New Roman, Cambria, Arial, and Calibri).
• Add whitespace for readability.
• Maintain consistent alignment, e.g., in heading styles and spacing.
• Stick to a simple, professional layout.

10.      Failing to Optimise for ATS

An ATS digitally screens resumes before any human recruiter sees them. If a resume doesn’t meet certain criteria (e.g., keywords, skills, formatting, and relevance), the system may reject or rank it low. In today's digitalised world, ignoring ATS requirements remains one of the more notable resume errors to avoid.

How to fix:

• Ensure clean, simple formatting.
• Don’t use more than one font for a resume since it can confuse ATS.
• Be cautious about using headers and footers because they can cause parsing challenges for ATS.
• Also, exercise caution about using tables, graphics, icons, images and columns.
• Stick to standard headings (e.g., Contact Information, Experience, Skills, Education).
• Always use the popular black dot bullet points. Non-conventional alternative bullet points, such as diamonds, checkboxes and stars, may also pose parsing problems for ATS.
• Include the acronym and long-form of important terms, e.g., Project Management Institute (PMI) instead of only the acronym, which may not be understood by ATS and keyword filters.
• Ensure consistency when formatting dates. Using different date formats on the same resume can confuse ATS. Avoid using dates with apostrophes (e.g., Jan ’24-Nov ’25) or without months (e.g., 2024-2025).
• Submit as PDF or DOCX, depending on employer instructions.

Conclusion

Resume mistakes often aren’t complicated—they’re surprisingly basic. But ignoring them can cost you valuable opportunities. With these practical resume tips, you now know exactly how to fix resume errors and create a polished, targeted, ATS-friendly resume that gives you a competitive advantage.

Note that not all ATS have the same operational attributes. Each product is designed with its own algorithms and other features. This implies that they will likely have differing interpretations and scores for one resume. Therefore, it’s vital to not only tailor your resume to the job but also to the particular ATS used by the potential employer.