5 Common Resume Mistakes That Are Costing You Interviews

Your Resume Has 6 Seconds to Live

Recruiters look at a resume for an average of six seconds before deciding to keep it or trash it. If you have any of these five mistakes, you’re going into the trash bin immediately.

1. The Objective Statement

Saying “Objective: To obtain a position as a marketing manager” is a waste of space. They know your objective; you applied for the job. Replace it with a “Professional Summary” that highlights your top three career achievements.

2. Lack of Quantifiable Data

Did you “manage a team” or did you “manage a team of 15 designers across 3 time zones”? Numbers provide scale and context. If you don’t have numbers, estimate them conservatively.

3. Spelling and Grammar Errors

This is obvious, but it still happens constantly. A single typo in a document you supposedly spent hours perfecting signifies a lack of attention to detail.

4. Listing Duties Instead of Accomplishments

Your resume should not read like a job description. Don’t say “Responsible for answering phones.” Say “Managed multi-line phone system, resolving 50+ customer inquiries daily.”

5. Wild Formatting and Headshots

Unless you are an actor or applying in a country where it is standard, do not include a photo. Avoid crazy colors and pie charts. Stick to clean, readable text.