BLOG

1. The Frustration of Being Ghosted

You send out dozens of resumes. Days pass. Then weeks. And nothing—no calls, no emails, not even a rejection. You start second-guessing yourself: Is it me? Am I not good enough?
It’s not you—it’s your resume.

In a hyper-competitive job market, even great candidates get overlooked simply because their resume fails to sell them. Recruiters spend an average of just 6 seconds scanning each resume. If yours doesn’t hook them instantly, you’re out—no matter how qualified you are.

Getting ghosted isn’t just discouraging—it’s expensive. Every missed interview is a lost opportunity. But here’s the kicker: 80% of resumes fail for reasons that are fixable. This article will walk you through the most common mistakes job seekers make and how to spot them. By the end, you’ll know whether your resume is working for you—or silently sabotaging your job hunt.

2. Common Resume Errors – Lack of Clarity, Poor Formatting, Irrelevant Content

Let’s start with the obvious killers. You could have a strong background, but if your resume is messy or confusing, it’s game over.

Lack of Clarity

If your resume doesn’t make it instantly clear who you are, what you’ve done, and what you want next, you’ve lost the recruiter. Avoid vague role titles like “Executive” or “Associate.” Say what you did in plain terms: “Digital Marketing Analyst,” “Operations Manager,” etc. Clarity shows confidence—and helps the recruiter place you.

Poor Formatting

Many resumes are hard to read because they try too hard to impress. Wild fonts, tiny text, unnecessary columns, excessive use of bold/italics, or over-reliance on templates from Canva or Google Docs can ruin the experience. Recruiters don’t care how "fancy" it looks—they care how fast they can understand it. Stick to a clean, single-column layout. Use consistent spacing, easy-to-read fonts (like Calibri or Helvetica), and bullet points.

Irrelevant Content

You’re not writing an autobiography. Including every job, internship, or side gig—especially if it's unrelated to the role you’re applying for—only distracts. Tailor your resume to focus on what’s relevant to the target job. A fresher applying to analytics roles should highlight data projects, not that part-time barista gig.

Reality check: Every inch of your resume must fight to stay. If it doesn’t add value, cut it.

3. Missing Keywords – Not Matching the Job Description

Here’s where most candidates unknowingly fail—even if their experience is a perfect fit.

Almost every mid- to large-size company uses Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to filter resumes. These systems scan for specific keywords from the job description. If your resume doesn’t include them, it might never reach a human.

Let’s say the job description asks for “budget forecasting,” “cross-functional collaboration,” and “Salesforce CRM.” If your resume mentions “financial planning” but not “budget forecasting,” the ATS might not connect the dots. And if you don’t include the exact phrase “Salesforce CRM,” your experience won’t get counted—even if you’ve used the tool every day for 3 years.

Quick fix: For every job you apply to, highlight 5–7 keywords from the job posting and naturally integrate them into your resume. Don’t keyword stuff—but be strategic. This isn’t about cheating the system. It’s about speaking the same language.

If you’re applying for 10 jobs with the same generic resume, you’re doing it wrong. ATS doesn’t care about effort; it cares about alignment.

4. Weak Summaries – Not Showing Value Quickly

The top third of your resume is prime real estate. It’s the first thing recruiters see, and it sets the tone. But too many resumes start with bland, cookie-cutter summaries like:

“Hardworking and dedicated professional seeking challenging opportunities in a growth-oriented company.”

Yawn. This says nothing.

Instead, your summary should immediately position you as someone who delivers results. Think of it as your 30-second elevator pitch on paper.

Here’s a better example:

“Marketing strategist with 5+ years driving 3X growth in B2B SaaS leads through SEO, paid media, and automation. Known for data-driven campaigns and agile execution.”

Boom. In two lines, the recruiter knows your experience level, domain expertise, and unique edge. That’s what sells.

A strong summary is not about what you’re looking for—it’s about what you bring to the table.

5. Overused Templates or Visual Clutter

You may have thought that a beautifully designed resume would stand out. And yes, it will—but not always in a good way.

Recruiters have seen thousands of Canva and Zety templates. They’re sick of them. Many are visually distracting, overuse colors, and often don't play well with ATS systems.

Let’s also address those “creative” resumes with photos, pie charts for skill levels, and icons everywhere. Unless you’re a designer, avoid these traps. They confuse the eye, clutter your message, and scream “trying too hard.”

Also, be cautious of two-column layouts. While they look compact, they often break down when parsed by ATS, meaning your experience may be misread or lost entirely.

Here’s the truth: A recruiter wants speed and clarity. They should be able to skim your resume in 10 seconds and know:

• Who you are

• What you’ve done

• Why it matters

Clean beats clever. Every time.

6. Resume Too Generic – Not Tailored

This is perhaps the biggest killer of all: sending out one resume to every job.

If your resume reads like it could apply to any industry, any job, or any level—it’s dead on arrival. A generic resume shows zero strategy and screams laziness. Employers want to feel like you want that specific role—not just any paycheck.

Here’s how to tailor smartly:

• Customize your headline (e.g., “Senior Product Manager | Fintech | 8 Yrs Experience”)

• Mirror the language in the job description. If they say “project lifecycle management,” you say it too.

• Rearrange bullet points to highlight the most relevant accomplishments first.

• Trim irrelevant info. Applying for a data analyst role? Cut that event planning experience unless it involved dashboards or Excel.

Remember: tailoring doesn’t mean rewriting the whole resume each time. It means emphasizing different parts of your experience depending on the role.

Would you send the same cover letter to every company? No. So why do it with your resume?

Hiring managers can smell a mass-blast application a mile away. And trust me, they don’t bite.

7. Final Checklist and Warning Signs

Let’s wrap this up with a blunt checklist. If your resume has ANY of these, you’ve got work to do:

•  Uses “Responsible for…” in every bullet

•  Starts with a vague career objective

•  Filled with generic skills like “Team player” or “Good communication”

•  No metrics or results in achievements

•  Over one page without strong justification

•  Mentions hobbies or personal info that add no value

•  File name is “Resume_New.docx” (you’d be shocked how common this is)

Your resume is your first impression. If it doesn’t sell you, it’s silently killing your chances.