Five resume mistakes that filter you out before a human sees it Body

Most resumes aren't rejected by a person. They're rejected by software before anyone reads a word — and the reasons are almost always fixable.

Tables and text boxes — Applicant tracking systems read resumes top to bottom, left to right, as plain text. A table or text box scrambles that order, so your job titles and dates can end up in the wrong place or vanish entirely. Stick to a single column with standard headings. Creative section titles — "My Journey" instead of "Experience" might read well to a person, but most systems match against a fixed list of expected headings. Keep section titles plain. Skills that only exist in the job description — Copy-pasting every keyword from the posting doesn't fool anyone, and some systems flag it. Work real keywords naturally into your bullet points instead. Inconsistent date formatting — "Jan 2022 – Present" in one job and "01/2022-present" in another can break automated parsing. Pick one format and use it everywhere. A messy file name — Name your file clearly, like FirstName-LastName-Resume.pdf.

None of these fixes take more than ten minutes, and together they're the difference between your resume reaching a recruiter and disappearing into a database no one searches.