Ten mistakes that cost you the interview
A recruiter spends seconds on your CV in the first pass. In those seconds they are not looking for a reason to accept you — they are looking for a reason to set you aside. These are the most common reasons, and the easiest to fix.
1. An unprofessional email address
cool_boy_2000@… kills the impression before it starts. Create an
address with your name: first and last. If it is taken, add your profession or a
short number. It is free and takes two minutes.
2. A missing or vague job title
The top of your CV should say who you are in one line: "IT & Systems Technician" or "Financial Accountant". Without it the reader has to infer your field from your history — and may not bother.
3. A summary full of filler
"An ambitious young professional seeking an environment that develops my skills" says nothing and everyone writes it. Replace it with facts: years of experience, field, and your strongest achievement. Full guide to the summary here.
4. Listing duties instead of achievements
"Responsible for inventory management" describes the job, not your performance in it. Anyone in your position would write the same sentence. Write what you did and what changed because of you, backed by a number.
5. Excessive length
The practical rule: one page for under ten years of experience, two pages beyond that. Three pages for a fresh graduate is a negative signal, not a positive one. Cut unrelated old roles and compress anything older than ten years into two lines.
6. One CV for every job
The single most expensive mistake. The employer is looking for someone for this role. Reorder your experience and skills so the closest match appears first, and rewrite the summary to address the advertised role. Ten minutes doubles your chances.
7. Unexplained gaps
An empty year raises a question, and silence lets the reader assume the worst. Write one line: "Full-time study", "Family leave", "Job search after restructuring". Brief honesty beats a vague gap.
8. Spelling errors
One error on a single page says: this person does not check their work. Read your CV aloud, then read it from the end backwards (this catches errors your brain skips over), then ask someone else to review it.
9. Excess personal information
National ID number, full home address, children's names, health status — all unnecessary and some risky to your privacy. Name, city and country, phone, email and a LinkedIn link are enough.
Nationality and photo are a regional exception: usually expected in the Gulf, usually unwelcome in North America and Europe. Details here.
10. Inconsistent formatting
Two different fonts, uneven spacing, dates in several formats (2021 in one place, 03/2021 in another). Visual disorder suggests disorder in your work. Standardise everything: one date format, one font, equal spacing between sections.
And finally: the file name
cv_final_v3_last.pdf arrives in a recruiter's inbox among hundreds
of files. Name it Name_Job-Title.pdf so they can find it — a small
detail that makes a difference.
Put this into practice — the builder gives you a live ATS score as you edit.
Build your CV free