I've been helping friends (and a few strangers) with their job search lately. I'm not a recruiter, just someone who went through the struggle last year and figured some things out.
After reviewing a bunch of resumes, the patterns became impossible to ignore. The people getting interviews weren’t always the most experienced; they simply avoided the common mistakes that get resumes tossed or ignored.
The first thing I kept seeing was the wall-of-text problem. Some resumes felt like reading a novel: long paragraphs, tiny margins, no breathing room. If I have to squint, imagine a recruiter scanning 200 applications in a day.
Another issue: every bullet point sounds the same.
“Responsible for…”
“Assisted with…”
“Worked on…”
These don’t say anything. The resumes that stand out include results like “Cut processing time from 3 hours to 20 minutes” or “Managed inventory for 12 locations.”
Then there’s the fact that almost no one checks their resume for ATS compatibility. People apply to 100+ jobs with fancy layouts, icons, or two columns, not realizing ATS systems might not read any of it. If the bot can’t parse your resume, no human will ever see it.
The skills section is another common weak spot. Either it's missing entirely, or it lists vague things like “communication” or “teamwork.” Be specific: tools, frameworks, certifications, methodologies.
A big one: using the same resume for every job. I get the burnout, I really do. But even small tweaks, adjusting the summary, reordering bullet points to match the job description, make a noticeable difference.
And probably the saddest mistake: burying your strongest achievements. I’ve seen people hide amazing results in the fourth bullet of their third job. Put your biggest wins at the top. Recruiters skim, you have seconds to catch their attention.