If you’re applying to roles you know you can do—but your resume feels like it’s disappearing into a black hole—there’s a good chance it’s being filtered out (or skimmed past) for avoidable reasons. Here are 7 common ATS + recruiter traps and how to fix them quickly.

1) Your top half isn’t telling a story

Recruiters often decide in 6–10 seconds whether to keep reading. Make the top third do the heavy lifting:

• Add a 2–3 line summary tailored to the role
• Follow with a Core Skills section that mirrors the job posting
• Put your most relevant experience first (not necessarily the most recent tasks)

2) You’re using “creative” formatting that breaks parsing

ATS systems can struggle with design-heavy layouts. Avoid: tables, text boxes, columns, icons, and graphics for key info. Use instead:

• Simple section headers (e.g., Experience, Skills, Education)
• Consistent dates (e.g., Jan 2023 – Nov 2025)
• Standard fonts (Calibri, Arial, Times New Roman)

3) Your bullet points describe duties, not outcomes

A strong bullet is Action + What you did + Result + Proof.

Upgrade this: “Responsible for weekly reports.”

To this: “Built weekly KPI dashboards in Excel, reducing reporting time by 30% and improving leadership visibility.”

4) Missing keywords (or hiding them)

Even qualified candidates get filtered out if the resume doesn’t match the job language.

• Pull 8–12 keywords from the posting (tools, skills, certifications, role-specific terms)
• Place them naturally in Skills and Experience
• Use the exact phrasing when appropriate (e.g., “stakeholder management,” not “stakeholder communication”)

5) Skills section is too vague

“Hardworking, team player, communication” doesn’t differentiate you. Create a skills section with:

• Tools: Salesforce, SQL, Jira
• Methods: Agile, A/B testing, forecasting
• Domain: B2B SaaS, HIPAA, supply chain

6) Your resume is longer than it needs to be

Length isn’t the enemy—irrelevance is.

• Early-career: often 1 page
• Mid-career: usually 1–2 pages
• Senior: 2 pages is normal if it’s impact-rich

7) You’re applying with one “generic” version

A “one-size-fits-all” resume is usually a “fits-none” resume. Try this lightweight approach:

• Keep a master resume
• Create a “target” version by swapping:
  • Summary
  • Top skills
  • 2–4 most relevant bullets per role

Quick self-check before you hit submit

• Can someone tell your role + level in 5 seconds?
• Do your bullets include numbers (%, $, time, volume)?
• Does your resume include the posting’s key terms?

What’s the one resume change you made that most improved your interview callbacks—or what’s the biggest resume challenge you’re stuck on right now?