12 common ATS resume mistakes, and the fix for each one

Formatting mistakes

• 1. Two columns or a sidebar. The parser reads positions, not boxes, and interleaves the columns so titles land with the wrong dates. Fix: one column, top to bottom. Put the skills list under a heading, not beside the experience.
• 2. Text in tables, text boxes or the header/footer. Several parsers skip these regions entirely, and contact details in a header are the most common casualty. Fix: everything in the main body as normal paragraphs.
• 3. A headshot, icons or graphics. They parse as nothing at best and as garbage characters at worst, and a photo invites bias in many markets. Fix: no images. Write "Email:" instead of an envelope icon.
• 4. An image or scanned PDF. No text layer, nothing to read. Fix: export from the word processor; confirm by selecting text in the PDF.

Structure mistakes

• 5. Creative section headings. "Where I've Been" is not recognised as experience; "My Toolkit" is not recognised as skills. Fix: Experience, Education, Skills, Certifications, Summary. Boring is parseable.
• 6. Inconsistent or missing dates. The ATS computes years of experience from them; a role with no end date, or dates written three different ways, can read as zero years or as a gap. Fix: "Mar 2021 – Present" for every role, same format throughout.
• 7. Company and title on the same line in an unexpected order. "Acme, Senior Analyst" and "Senior Analyst, Acme" are both fine as long as every entry uses the same pattern. Fix: pick one order and keep it.

Content mistakes

• 8. Keywords in your words, not the posting's. "Client liaison" does not match "stakeholder management"; "GA" does not match "Google Analytics 4". Fix: use the posting's phrasing for every requirement you genuinely meet.
• 9. A skills wall. Forty comma-separated terms, most irrelevant to this job. The ATS gives equal weight to each; the recruiter trusts none. Fix: 10 to 15 skills, the posting's must-haves first, grouped.
• 10. Keyword stuffing and hidden text. White text, a "keywords" block, the job title repeated six times. Some systems flag it; every recruiter who notices rejects it. Fix: each keyword inside a bullet that describes real work, two or three times across the resume at most.
• 11. Bullets with no numbers or no verb. "Responsible for reporting" scores low on readability and tells a recruiter nothing. Fix: action verb, what you did, measured result.

Submission mistakes

• 12. The wrong file for the form. A .pages file, a locked PDF, a 9 MB export, or a DOCX with tracked changes still showing. Fix: text-based PDF unless the form asks for DOCX; under 2 MB; changes accepted; sensible filename.

Why these mistakes are invisible to you

Every one of these looks fine on your screen. The two-column template is attractive; the creative headings have personality; the header holds your contact details neatly. The problem only appears when software extracts the text, and you never see that extraction. That is why checking is worth five minutes: the copy-paste test shows you the parser's view, and an ATS checker shows you the score and the specific lines that cost points.

The fix in order of impact

1. Make the file parse: single column, text-based PDF or DOCX, standard headings, no header/footer content, consistent dates.
2. Match the posting: must-have keywords in the posting's words, in the summary, top bullets and skills.
3. Make it readable: verbs and numbers in the top three bullets per role, skills list trimmed.
4. Check it against the posting and fix whatever the checker flags.