Common Mistakes That Lower Your Resume Score: How to Fix Them
By Editorial Team
22nd March, 2025
4 Mins
The current competitive job market demands outstanding resumes to succeed. Job seekers often make errors in their resumes that damage their resume check score thus making it hard to pass through Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) and attract recruiters' attention. Strong resumes go beyond basic experience descriptions because they need proper organization combined with ATS optimization and direct alignment with the target position. The online resume checker enables you to find issues in your resume before you submit your job applications. This text examines typical resume errors which decrease your score while presenting solutions for enhancing your job application success.
Most candidates utilize sophisticated templates or graphics as well as special fonts that create obstacles for ATS systems to process their resumes. A bad formatting approach in your resume creates data errors that cause ATS to misread your information which results in lower resume check score.
Common Formatting Mistakes
ATS software fails to interpret images and icons and text boxes because they do not have readable formats.
You should avoid using specialized fonts and refrain from applying multiple colors to your resume content.
The improper arrangement of content sections creates difficulties in reading the information.
Fix
Use a simple, ATS-friendly format with clear section headings like "Work Experience" and "Education."
Stick to fonts that are commonly used like Arial, Calibri, or Times New Roman.
ATS systems evaluate candidate resumes through their job-specific keywords. The absence of key terms from your resume prevents it from achieving a high search ranking thus leading to automatic rejection by the system.
Common Keyword Mistakes
Not using enough industry-relevant keywords.
ATS systems will not detect some of the alternative keywords you use instead of specific terms.
Multiple keywords in your resume become less effective when you add them excessively (keyword stuffing).
Fix
Job seekers should use an online resume checker to identify the most appropriate keywords in job descriptions.
The resume should include keywords which describe professional skills together with job responsibilities and industry-specific knowledge.
The resume should contain no repetitive information while maintaining readability for both human and ATS screening.
Lack of Quantifiable Achievements
Why Numbers Boost Your Resume Check Score
A job application containing just responsibilities which lack measurable achievements will appear unimpressive. Job recruiters prefer to see candidates demonstrate their achievements and performance data when applying for positions.
Common Achievement Mistakes
The resume includes generic team management statements which lack supporting details.
Listing duties instead of results.
The omission of promotional achievements and awards together with organizational recognitions.
Fix
You should present your achievements through numerical data such as "We achieved a 30% sales growth during six months."
The applicant conducted leadership of a ten-member team which resulted in a 25% boost to efficiency.
Focus on impact rather than just responsibilities.
Ignoring ATS-Friendly File Formats
Why File Type Matters
Job seekers often submit files which ATS systems cannot interpret because of which important information gets lost or misinterpreted.
Common File Format Mistakes
Applicants should avoid submitting PDF documents to ATS systems that support DOCX files to be evaluated.
Candidates who submit resumes through scanned documents or by using image files face compatibility issues with ATS systems.
ATS becomes confused when job seekers include additional headers and footers which are not necessary.
Fix
Review the job advertisement for its preferred file format because DOCX remains the most accepted format by ATS systems.
If using PDF, the PDF resume must contain text instead of images to be compatible with ATS systems.
Submit your resume to aresume check score tool to confirm compatibility with ATS systems.
Resume Writing Tips for Career Changers
Emphasize Transferable Skills: Career changers often make the mistake of not clearly illustrating how past experience is relevant to the new role. Be sure to highlight transferable skills that coordinate with the new career and are readily picked out by ATS.
Avoid Resume Errors Commonly Made by Others: A significant error in drafting a resume is not tailoring one's application to the new field. Keyword optimization is key here, emphasizing industry-related terms that are being filtered by ATS systems.
Showcase Quantifiable Achievements: Even if switching careers, measurable achievements should be showcased. Use numerical figures and measurable results to demonstrate how your previous roles made an impact, thereby improving your resume score.
Optimize File Formats: For career changers, it is of utmost importance to ensure that the ATS-friendly file formats in use limit any misinterpretation, be it round-the-clock support provided during file incompatibility complaints. Unfit file formats would pose potential risk, thereby even causing you to lose your resume somewhere between the recruiter getting it.
Use a Resume Checker: Always use an online resume checker like ResuScan for verification of mistakes and for ATS optimization, to fix word-formatting vagaries and analyze keywords.
The Role of a Resume Summary
Write an Intended Resume Summary: A resume summary should be an important overview of your abilities and experiences. Avoid vague statements; instead, incorporate keywords related to the job on offer, which will ensure more optimization of ATS.
Focus on Achievements: Do not simply list unnecessary duties; concentrate on quantifiable achievements instead. Mention how your accomplishments, like “increased sales by 30%,” can then be transferred to the new role.
Use Action Verbs and Measurable Results: Action verbs combined with quantifiable achievements will enhance resume readability and increase resume scores.
Make Sure the Formatting is ATS-Friendly: The actual design for a good resume summary must be ATS-friendly. Do not use unconventional characters or funky designs, which may decrease score or confuse ATS systems to read critical information.
Revisited and Optimized: Before you submit this resume, recheck your summary for relevant keywords and ATS-friendly formatting. This powerful resume summary will do wonders for your job-hunting success!
Correcting these basic resume blunders, enhancing ATS optimization, and concentrating on impacts for resume formats can significantly improve the resume score of career changers and job seekers, thereby effectively branding themselves in a competitive job market.
Correction of Errors
Your resume must demonstrate strength to secure job interviews although minor errors will reduce your ATS evaluation score. An online resume checker enables users to detect formatting mistakes along with keyword errors, achievements inconsistencies and file compatibility problems.
The correction of these standard errors boosts your potential to clear ATS screening tests and attract recruiter interest which leads to job acquisition. An online resume checker must examine your application before you submit it to verify its effectiveness for job acquisition.
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