10 ATS Resume Mistakes Costing You Interviews (And How to Fix Them)
75% of resumes are rejected by ATS before humans see them. Avoid these critical mistakes and dramatically increase your interview chances in 2025.
You're qualified. Your experience matches perfectly. But you're still not getting interview calls. Sound familiar?
The culprit is likely your resume getting filtered out by Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) before a recruiter ever sees it. These 10 common mistakes cause even the best candidates to be automatically rejected. The good news? They're all easy to fix.
⚠️ Is Your Resume Making These Mistakes?
Scan your resume in 60 seconds and get a detailed ATS compatibility report.
Check Your Resume Now →Using Complex Formatting (Tables, Columns, Graphics)
❌ The Problem:
ATS software reads resumes sequentially. Tables, multi-column layouts, and text boxes scramble the order, making your resume unreadable to the system.
Example of What Goes Wrong: Your "Skills" section in a table might be read as random words mixed with your work experience, destroying context.
✅ The Fix:
- • Use a simple, single-column layout
- • Replace tables with bullet points
- • Remove text boxes entirely
- • Use standard section headings
- • Test by copying your resume into Notepad—if it's readable there, ATS can parse it
Missing Critical Keywords from Job Description
❌ The Problem:
ATS systems are keyword-matching engines. If your resume doesn't contain the exact terms from the job posting, you'll score low and be filtered out.
Real Example:
Job Description: "5+ years experience with React, Node.js, and MongoDB"
Your Resume (Generic): "Extensive experience with modern web frameworks and databases"
Fixed Resume: "7 years of experience building scalable applications with React, Node.js, and MongoDB"
✅ The Fix:
- • Extract 10-15 key terms from every job description
- • Use exact terminology (not synonyms)
- • Include both acronyms and full terms (SEO + Search Engine Optimization)
- • Place keywords in multiple sections (summary, skills, experience)
- • Use our keyword extraction guide
Using Creative Section Headers
❌ The Problem:
ATS parsers look for standard section names. Creative headers confuse the system, causing it to misfile or skip entire sections.
❌ Avoid These:
- • "My Journey"
- • "What I've Been Up To"
- • "Career Highlights"
- • "Where I Excel"
- • "My Toolkit"
✅ Use These Instead:
- • Work Experience
- • Professional Experience
- • Professional Summary
- • Skills
- • Technical Skills
- • Education
- • Certifications
✅ The Fix:
Stick to conventional section names that ATS systems are programmed to recognize. Save creativity for the content, not the structure.
Saving in the Wrong File Format
❌ The Problem:
While modern ATS can handle PDFs, older systems struggle with them. Complex PDF formatting can become unreadable.
File Format Compatibility:
✅ The Fix:
- • Default to .docx unless job posting specifically requests PDF
- • If using PDF, create it from Microsoft Word (not Google Docs or Pages)
- • Test your PDF by copying text from it—if text doesn't copy properly, ATS can't read it
- • Never use image-based PDFs or scanned documents
Want to Know Your ATS Score?
Upload your resume and get an instant compatibility report. See exactly which of these mistakes you're making.
Analyze My Resume Free →✓ Instant results ✓ No signup ✓ 100% free
Embedding Important Info in Headers/Footers
❌ The Problem:
Most ATS systems ignore headers and footers entirely. If your contact information is there, the system can't find it.
⚠️ Commonly Missed:
- • Phone number in footer
- • Email in header
- • LinkedIn URL in footer
- • Page numbers with your name
✅ The Fix:
- • Place ALL contact information in the main body of your resume
- • Put your name, phone, email, and LinkedIn at the very top
- • Remove headers and footers entirely
- • If you need page numbers, put them in the main content area
Using Fancy Fonts or Special Characters
❌ The Problem:
Decorative fonts, symbols, and special characters may not be recognized by ATS, turning your carefully formatted resume into gibberish.
✅ ATS-Safe Fonts:
- • Arial
- • Calibri
- • Times New Roman
- • Georgia
- • Helvetica
- • Verdana
❌ Avoid:
- • Script/cursive fonts
- • Decorative fonts
- • ★ ✓ ☑ symbols
- • Emojis
- • Unusual bullet points (→ ♦)
✅ The Fix:
- • Use standard fonts (10-12pt for body text)
- • Stick to basic bullet points (• or -)
- • Avoid symbols—spell out words ("and" instead of "&")
- • Skip graphics, icons, and emojis entirely
Listing Skills Without Context or Proof
❌ The Problem:
Simply listing keywords without demonstrating how you've used them makes your resume look generic and raises red flags about authenticity.
❌ Weak Example (No Context):
Skills: Project Management, Leadership, Python, Data Analysis
✅ Strong Example (Keywords + Context):
• Led cross-functional team of 8 using Agile project management methodology, delivering 15 products on time and under budget
• Built Python-based data analysis pipeline processing 500K records daily, reducing report generation time by 75%
✅ The Fix:
- • Have a dedicated Skills section with keywords (for ATS parsing)
- • Also weave those same keywords into work experience bullet points
- • Pair every skill with a quantified result or specific achievement
- • Use the formula: [Action Verb] + [Skill/Tool] + [Result with Number]
Keyword Stuffing or Hidden Text
❌ The Problem:
Trying to game ATS by repeating keywords unnaturally or hiding white text backfires. Modern ATS detects this, and recruiters immediately reject obvious stuffing.
🚫 Don't Do This:
- • Adding invisible white text with keywords
- • Repeating the same keyword 10+ times
- • Creating a paragraph of random keywords
- • Listing skills you don't actually have
- • Using font size 1 to hide keywords
✅ The Fix:
- • Use each keyword 2-4 times maximum across your entire resume
- • Always use keywords in natural, meaningful context
- • Only include skills and tools you've genuinely used
- • Remember: If it passes ATS but fails human review, you've wasted everyone's time
Omitting Important Dates and Details
❌ The Problem:
ATS systems look for specific data fields. Missing employment dates, locations, or degree information causes parsing errors and low match scores.
Required Information for ATS:
Work Experience:
- • Exact job title
- • Company name
- • Location (City, State)
- • Start and end dates (Month + Year)
Education:
- • Degree type and major
- • University name
- • Graduation year
- • Location (optional but helpful)
Contact Info:
- • Full name
- • Phone number
- • Email address
- • City and state
- • LinkedIn URL (recommended)
✅ The Fix:
- • Include complete dates for all positions (Month Year format)
- • Don't leave gaps unexplained—ATS flags them
- • Add locations for all jobs and education
- • Use consistent date formatting throughout
Using the Same Resume for Every Job
❌ The Problem:
Every job description has unique keywords and requirements. A generic resume will have poor keyword match for most positions, resulting in automatic rejection.
The Numbers:
- 2-5%Response rate with generic resume
- 15-25%Response rate with tailored resume
- 5xImprovement from customization
✅ The Fix (15-Minute Process):
- Keep a "master resume" with all your experience
- Extract 10-15 key terms from job description
- Update your professional summary to match the role
- Reorder skills section to highlight matching skills first
- Adjust bullet points to emphasize relevant experience
- Save with job-specific filename (CompanyName_JobTitle_Resume.docx)
- Run through ATS checker before submitting
Quick Reference: 10 ATS Mistakes to Fix Today
📥 Free Download: ATS Resume Checklist
Get our 100-point checklist that covers every ATS optimization factor. Print it out and check off each item before submitting your resume.
Checklist Includes:
- ✓ Formatting checklist (18 points)
- ✓ Keyword optimization (9 points)
- ✓ Section headers (5 points)
- ✓ Contact information (7 points)
- ✓ Work experience (10 points)
- ✓ Skills section (6 points)
- ✓ Education & certifications (7 points)
- ✓ Final review (15 points)
Fix These Mistakes in 60 Seconds
Upload your resume and job description. Get instant feedback on all 10 mistakes plus your ATS compatibility score.
Check My Resume Now →✓ Instant results ✓ Specific suggestions ✓ 100% free ✓ No signup required
FAQ: ATS Resume Mistakes
Will fixing these mistakes guarantee I get interviews?
Fixing ATS mistakes dramatically increases your chances of passing automated screening (from 25% to 70-80% pass rate). However, you still need relevant qualifications and experience for the role. Think of ATS optimization as getting your foot in the door—your experience gets you the interview.
How do I know if my resume passed ATS?
You won't get notification if rejected by ATS—you'll simply hear nothing. The best way to know is to test before submitting using our free resume analyzer. It shows your match score and identifies specific issues.
Can I use my nicely designed resume if applying via email?
Only if the company specifically says they don't use ATS. Most companies still upload email resumes into their ATS. Best practice: Have two versions—an ATS-friendly version for online applications, and a designed version for in-person networking events or direct emails to hiring managers.
What's the fastest way to fix these mistakes?
Start with the highest-impact fixes: 1) Convert to simple single-column format (30 min), 2) Add missing keywords from job description (15 min), 3) Use standard section headers (5 min), 4) Save as .docx (1 min). These four fixes alone will dramatically improve your ATS score.