A resume fails at the screen for ten reasons, and most resumes have two of them. They are not the typos. They are the summary that answers nothing, the bullets that stop after the verb, the layout the parser cannot read, the dates that do not add up. Here are the ten, in the order a screener meets them, each with the fix. The proofreading pass at the end catches the typos, which matter less than people think and still matter.
Key points
- The first mistake a screener meets is a summary that says nothing. Fix it first.
- Bullets without results are the most common mistake and the easiest to fix.
- A layout the parser cannot read fails before anyone reads it.
- Dates that do not match the master are the mistake the check finds.
- Proofread out loud, backwards, once. Five minutes.
The ten
| In the order met | The mistake | The fix |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A summary of adjectives | Three sentences: what you do, one thing with a number, what you want next |
| 2 | A title line that is a slogan | The role, in the posting's words |
| 3 | Bullets that stop after the verb | Verb, scope, result. One number per bullet |
| 4 | Every bullet starts with "responsible for" | A verb you did: led, built, cut, replaced |
| 5 | A two-column layout or a table | One column, plain headings |
| 6 | A wall of thirty skills | Six to twelve, grouped, each with a bullet behind it |
| 7 | A role without dates, or dates in two formats | Years on every role, one format |
| 8 | The same resume for every posting | The posting's words, fifteen minutes, the tailoring guide |
| 9 | A gap with nothing said | One line in place, with dates |
| 10 | A photo, an objective, "references on request" | Remove all three |
Most resumes have two of these. The summary and the bullets are the usual two.
The first three, in detail
The summary of adjectives
"Passionate, results-driven professional with a proven track record." The reader has read that sentence four thousand times and no longer sees it. The fix is a number. "Product designer, seven years. Led the console redesign that cut route assignment from four minutes to forty seconds." The guide on summary examples has six.
Bullets without results
"Managed the design system." That is a job description, and the reader has the job description. "Managed the design system used by four product teams, replacing three divergent libraries" is a bullet. The guide on bullet points has the formula and the before-and-afters, and the score on this site counts the bullets with a number.
The layout the parser cannot read
Two columns, a table for the skills, the name in a header, text in an image. The parser reads across columns, skips headers, and sees an image as nothing. The guide on ATS-friendly resumes has the nine rules, and the score shows what the parser saw.
The mistake the check finds
Dates that do not match. A role moved a month to close a gap. A degree year that drifted. A title with a level the employer never gave. The background check compares the resume to the employers' records, and a mismatch is a withdrawn offer, which is later and worse than a rejection at the screen.
Keep a master resume with the true dates, and cut every tailored copy from it. The dates never move.
The mistake nobody sees
Sending the same resume to every posting. It is not visible on the page. It is visible in the tracker: thirty sent, two replies. A resume that fits every posting answers none, and the fix is the fifteen minute method in the tailoring guide.
The proofreading pass
Five minutes, once, before the master is saved. Then the tailored copies inherit it.
- Read it out loud. The ear catches what the eye skips.
- Read the bullets backwards, last to first. Each one has to stand alone.
- Check every number against the source. A number that is wrong is worse than no number.
- Check the contact line. The one typo that costs an interview is in the email address.
- Export, open the export, and read the first page as the screener: name, summary, first role. Stop there. If that third does not make the case, nothing below it will be read.
Questions
Does one typo cost an interview?
In the contact details, yes. In a bullet, rarely. A screener reads for the case, not for spelling. Two typos in the summary suggest the rest was not checked either.
Is a creative layout a mistake?
For the parser, yes. For a design role, the portfolio is where the design goes, and the resume stays plain. The guide on resume formats explains why.
Do I list every job?
Every job in the last ten to fifteen years, with less depth as they age. The guide on how far back a resume goes has the rule. Removing a job is the mistake the check finds.
What about a resume that is too short?
A first-job resume is short, and the white space is fine. A ten-year resume that is half a page has left the results out, which is mistake three.
Can the score catch these?
The score on this site catches five of the ten: the parse, the contact line, the bullets without numbers, the bullets without verbs, and the structure. The other five are the summary, the tailoring, the dates, the gap, and the photo, which a person has to read for.