Every week I review resumes from strong candidates who are getting zero callbacks. The reason is almost always one of the same seven mistakes — all fixable in under an hour.
The 7 mistakes to fix today
- Using a multi-column layout. ATS parsers read linearly. Columns cause your job titles to merge with your dates, and your name to appear mid-sentence in the parsed text.
- Writing duties instead of achievements. "Responsible for managing social media" is a duty. "Grew Instagram following from 2k to 18k in 6 months" is an achievement. Only achievements land interviews.
- Using a generic objective statement. "Seeking a challenging position where I can grow" tells the recruiter nothing. Replace it with a 2-sentence professional summary tailored to the specific role.
- Including a photo. In Bangladesh, many candidates still include photos. Most global and progressive local companies have removed photos from consideration to reduce bias. Including one can trigger filtering in ATS systems.
- Listing skills without context. "Skills: Excel, PowerPoint, Teamwork" is meaningless. Show skills in context: "Built financial models in Excel for a ৳500M acquisition analysis."
- Using the same CV for every role. One resume, 100 applications is a losing strategy. Tailor the summary and top bullet points for every role. Takes 20 minutes. Changes your match rate dramatically.
- Making it too long. Under 5 years of experience: 1 page. 5–15 years: 2 pages. No exceptions. Recruiters stop reading at page 2 unless they're already excited by page 1.
The fastest way to fix all 7
Start with a blank Google Doc. One column. Times New Roman or Calibri, 11pt. Paste in your content with standard headings. Run it through Jobscan against your target JD. Fix the keyword gaps. Print it to PDF. That's it.
Quick check
Paste your resume text into Notepad or a plain .txt file. If it reads cleanly — job titles, companies, and dates all in the right places — your ATS formatting is likely fine. If the text is jumbled, you have a layout problem.
#resume#mistakes#ATS#job-search#career-tips
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