Resume Mistakes to Fix Before You Apply
A ranked checklist of fixable resume faults, from the ones that get you discarded in seconds to the small details that quietly cost you credibility.
By Marguerite Dunlevy · Oct 05, 2026 · 7 min read
Most resume problems are not mysterious. They are a handful of specific, checkable faults — a typo in the first line, a job title buried under three lines of prose, a file that software cannot read properly — and each one has a fix you can make in an afternoon.
Work through the checklist below in order. It runs from the mistakes most likely to end your application to the ones that merely weaken it, then gives you a set of yes/no questions to run against the document on your screen right now.
Mistakes Checklist
1. Anything that is not true. Adjusted dates, an inflated title, a degree you did not finish, a responsibility that was really someone else's. A 2018 CareerBuilder survey reported that 75% of HR managers said they had caught a lie on a resume. Fix: state what actually happened and reframe it honestly — "[Job title], covering [duty] during a staffing gap" is accurate; a promotion you never had is not.
2. Spelling and grammar errors, especially in the top third. A 2013 CareerBuilder/Harris Interactive survey of over 2,000 hiring managers found 58% named typos as a mistake that leads to rejection, and resume experts cited by CareerOneStop (U.S. Department of Labor) list spelling errors as their top frustration. Fix: read it aloud backwards line by line, then have at least one other person check grammar, spelling and punctuation, as CareerOneStop advises.
3. Your job titles, dates and employer names are hard to find in a few seconds. An eye-tracking study by TheLadders found recruiters spent an average of six seconds on an individual resume, and reporting on that study noted 80% of that time went to name, current and previous titles, start and stop dates, and education. CareerOneStop similarly says employers often spend under 30 seconds on a first pass, and a 2018 CareerBuilder/Harris Poll survey of more than 1,100 hiring managers and HR professionals found 23% spend less than 30 seconds. Fix: put title, employer and dates on one clean line each, in consistent order, with the title in bold.
4. Year-only employment dates or an unexplained gap. CareerOneStop notes some applicant tracking systems (ATS) look for month or day of employment, not just year, and the 2013 CareerBuilder survey found 27% cited resumes without exact dates of employment as a mistake. Fix: use Month Year – Month Year throughout, and be truthful about the dates even where there is a gap.
5. One generic resume sent everywhere. The 2013 CareerBuilder survey found 36% cited generic, non-personalised resumes as a rejection trigger. Fix: mirror the posting's own terms for the skills you genuinely have, high on the page — CareerOneStop advises that qualifications should be easy to find near the top and match the posting's wording, because a reader typically scans for 15–20 seconds.
6. Copying large blocks of wording straight from the job posting. The same survey found 32% cited this. Fix: match key terms, not sentences; describe what you did in your own words.
7. No skills section. That 2013 survey found 35% cited resumes with no list of skills. Fix: add a short, scannable skills block with tools, systems and languages you can actually demonstrate.
8. Content trapped in places parsing software handles badly. Text inside headers and footers, multi-column layouts, tables and graphics are documented sources of parsing problems — contact details in a footer can be dropped entirely. Fix: single column, text in the body of the document, contact details as ordinary lines at the top.
9. Invented or decorative section headings. CareerOneStop recommends standard headings such as 'Work Experience', 'Education' and 'Skills' so both people and applicant tracking systems find them quickly. Fix: rename 'My Journey' and 'What I Bring' to the standard labels.
10. Duty lists with no result. "Responsible for social media" tells a reader nothing. Fix: use action verb plus task plus measurable result, for example:
Template bullet — adapt with your own numbers
Rebuilt [process or report] for [team/department], cutting turnaround time by [X%] across [number] monthly cases.
11. Overused filler words. Indeed's career guide lists 'enthusiastic', 'experienced', 'go-getter', 'self-starter', 'hard worker', 'team player' and idioms like 'out-of-the-box' as phrases to replace with specifics. Fix: delete the adjective and keep the evidence.
12. An unprofessional email address. The 2013 CareerBuilder survey found 31% cited this. Fix: set up a plain address built from your name.
13. Inconsistent formatting — mixed fonts, punctuation and spacing. Resume experts cited by CareerOneStop list too many fonts, inconsistent punctuation and messy layout among their top frustrations. Fix: CareerOneStop recommends simple fonts such as Times New Roman, Cambria or Arial at 10–12 point, left-aligned text and roughly one-inch margins.
14. Length that does not fit your experience. CareerOneStop recommends 1–2 pages, with your name on each page if you use two; conventions differ by country and by field, so check what is normal where you are applying. Fix: cut to fit, starting with the oldest material.
15. Jobs from more than 10–15 years ago, listed in full. CareerOneStop advises including relevant jobs from only the previous 10–15 years. Fix: compress older roles into a single 'Earlier experience' line, or drop them.
16. 'References available upon request'. Indeed's career guide calls the phrase outdated and unnecessary, says it wastes space and removes your control over when references are contacted. Fix: delete it and keep a separate references document, with permission asked in advance, to send when an employer requests it.
17. A photo, where it is not expected. The 2013 CareerBuilder survey found 13% cited resumes that include a photo. Norms vary widely by country, so check local practice before adding or removing one.
Quick Self-Audit
Answer each question against the file you are about to send. Every 'no' points back to a numbered item above.
1. Is every date, title, degree and duty on this page something you could evidence if asked?
If no, go to item 1 and rewrite the claim as what actually happened.
2. Has someone other than you read it for spelling, grammar and punctuation?
Your own eyes skip errors you made. If no, item 2 — send it to one person today.
3. Can a stranger find your most recent job title, employer and dates in six seconds?
Time someone. If they hunt, item 3 applies: simplify the layout of your experience lines.
4. Does every role show a month and a year for start and end?
If you see bare years, fix item 4 — and check that any gap is shown truthfully rather than papered over.
5. Did you change anything in this version for this specific posting?
If the file is identical to the last ten you sent, that is item 5.
6. Is any sentence lifted word-for-word from the job ad?
If yes, item 6 — rewrite it in your own words while keeping the key term.
7. Is there a visible skills section a reader could point to?
If no, item 7.
8. Are your phone number and email in the body of the document, not in a header or footer, and is the page a single column with no tables or graphics?
If no, item 8 — rebuild the top of the page as plain lines.
9. Are your section headings the standard ones?
Look for 'Work Experience', 'Education' and 'Skills'. If you see something more creative, that is item 9.
10. Does at least one bullet under each recent role end in a result rather than a duty?
If no, item 10 — add a number, a volume, a timeframe or a percentage you can stand behind.
11. Can you find 'hard worker', 'team player', 'self-starter' or 'out-of-the-box' anywhere?
Use the search function. Each hit is item 11.
12. Would you be comfortable reading your email address aloud in an interview?
If no, item 12.
13. Is every bullet punctuated the same way, in the same font, at the same size?
If no, item 13 — standardise to one simple font at 10–12 point, left-aligned.
14. Does the length match your actual experience and local convention, with your name on page two if there is one?
If no, item 14.
15. Is anything on the page from more than 10–15 years ago, described in full detail?
If yes, item 15 — compress it.
16. Does the document end with 'references available upon request'?
If yes, item 16 — delete the line and prepare a separate references list instead.
17. Is there a photo, and have you checked whether that is expected where you are applying?
If you have not checked, item 17.
Sources
- CareerOneStop (U.S. Department of Labor) — Resume format
- CareerOneStop (U.S. Department of Labor) — Resumes
- CareerOneStop (U.S. Department of Labor) — Does your resume speak to employers
- TheLadders — TheLadders Eye-Tracking Study
- Recruiter.com (reporting TheLadders study) — TheLadders Reveals Research Reporting that Resumes Spend Six Seconds with a Recruiter
- CareerBuilder — Employers Share Their Most Outrageous Resume Mistakes and Instant Deal Breakers in a New CareerBuilder Study (2018)
- CareerBuilder — CareerBuilder Releases Study of Common and Not-So-Common Resume Mistakes That Can Cost You the Job (2013-09)
- Indeed Career Guide — “References Available Upon Request” and Other Phrases To Avoid on Your Resume (2026-05-04)
- CareerOneStop (U.S. Department of Labor) — Special tips
Written by
Marguerite Dunlevy
Marguerite oversees coverage of job hunting and career pivots, with a focus on how people make decisions when the path forward isn't obvious. She's drawn to the messy middle of a career change more than the tidy success story. Her writing tends to ask what a 'good job' even means to the person doing it.
