7 Resume Mistakes That Can Ruin Your Chances in 2025

Your resume is your first impression. If it’s weak, confusing, or unprofessional, you might never get that interview — even if you’re the right person for the job.

The good news? Most resume mistakes are easy to fix.
Below are the 7 most common errors that cost people job offers — and how to avoid them.

🎯 Want to play it safe? Use Resume101 — a smart resume builder that helps you avoid common formatting and content mistakes instantly.

1. Typos and Grammar Errors

This is the #1 deal-breaker for many recruiters. Just one mistake can make your resume look rushed or careless.

Solution:

Always proofread twice
Use tools like Grammarly
Ask a friend to review it

🛠 Or use Resume101, which offers real-time spelling and formatting suggestions.

2. Using a Generic Objective

A vague resume objective like “Looking for a challenging position to grow professionally” says nothing specific and sounds outdated.

Bad example:

“To get a job where I can grow.”

Good example:

“Detail-oriented marketing student seeking an internship to apply skills in SEO and content creation.”

Tip: Always customize the objective for the job you’re applying to.

3. Listing Duties Instead of Achievements

Recruiters don’t want to see what you were responsible for — they want to see what you actually accomplished.

Instead of:

“Responsible for social media accounts”

Say:

“Increased Instagram engagement by 40% in 3 months through content planning and community interaction.”

Use numbers and results where possible.

4. Poor Formatting and Layout

A cluttered resume with inconsistent fonts, spacing, or alignment will get ignored — even if the content is good.

Signs of bad formatting:

Too many fonts or colors
Unaligned bullets or text
No clear sections
Too much text in one block

Quick fix:

Use a template from Resume101 — all the formatting is handled for you, and the layout is modern, clean, and ATS-friendly.

5. Making It Too Long (or Too Short)

For most jobs, your resume should be 1 page. Two pages are acceptable only if you have 5+ years of experience.

Too short = not enough information.
Too long = you’re not being concise.

Tip: Stick to the essentials. Cut out old or irrelevant roles.

6. Not Tailoring to the Job

One-size-fits-all resumes rarely work. If you send the same resume to 20 jobs, you might not get a single call back.

Tailor these:

Objective or summary
Keywords (match those in the job ad)
Highlight relevant skills and tools

🛠 Bonus: Resume101 allows you to duplicate and customize resumes for each job you apply to.

7. Forgetting Keywords (and Getting Rejected by ATS)

Most companies use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) that filter resumes before a human ever sees them.

If your resume doesn’t contain relevant keywords, it might be rejected automatically.

Tip:

Scan the job posting. Look for repeated words like:

“Customer service”
“Project management”
“Salesforce”
“JavaScript”

Make sure they appear in your resume naturally — especially in the skills and experience sections.

Extra Tips for 2025:

🚫 Don’t include outdated information like “References available upon request”
📅 Double-check all dates for jobs and education
🖼 Don’t use profile photos unless you’re in a creative field
📂 Save your resume as a PDF to preserve formatting

Final Words

A few small mistakes can ruin your chances of landing your dream job. But by avoiding these common resume errors, you’ll instantly stand out from the crowd.

Need help putting it all together?
Try Resume101 — the smart way to build a job-winning resume in minutes. No stress, no formatting issues, and no second-guessing.