5 Resume Mistakes That Are Costing You Interviews

Recruiters spend an average of six to eight seconds on a first pass of a resume. In that window, structure matters more than substance — which is why small, fixable mistakes end up costing genuinely qualified candidates an interview.

The first mistake is leading with responsibilities instead of outcomes. 'Managed a team of five' says far less than 'Managed a team of five that shipped a redesign three weeks ahead of schedule.' Numbers and results give a recruiter something to remember you by.

The second is a generic summary at the top that could apply to anyone. If you can copy-paste your opening line into a different industry's resume without changing a word, it isn't doing any work for you.

The third is inconsistent formatting — mismatched date formats, uneven spacing, or three different bullet styles. It signals carelessness before a recruiter has read a single line of content.

The fourth is burying your most relevant experience. If your last role is the most relevant one for the job you want, it shouldn't be competing for attention with an internship from four years ago in the same amount of space.

The fifth, and most common, is skipping the tailoring step entirely. A resume tuned to the specific role — mirroring its language, prioritising its most relevant requirements — consistently outperforms a single one-size-fits-all version.

None of these fixes require more experience. They require a closer look at how the experience you already have is being presented.