Ten CV mistakes that get applications rejected

Most rejected applications are not rejected for lack of ability. They are rejected for reasons the candidate could have fixed in ten minutes. These are the ten that come up most.

1. A CV that is a list of duties

"Responsible for", "duties included", "involved in" — the language of a job description rather than a person. Recruiters cannot tell from it whether you were good at the job.

Fix: rewrite each line around what you changed, improved, delivered or prevented, with a number where one exists.

2. No dates, or inconsistent dates

Missing months, overlapping roles, and gaps with no explanation read as concealment even when they are innocent.

Fix: use month and year for every role. If there is a gap, label it plainly: career break, study, caring responsibilities. A stated gap is far less damaging than an unexplained one.

3. Length that does not match your experience

Two pages of dense text for a first job, or six pages of everything since 1998 for a senior role.

Fix: one page under ten years of experience, two pages beyond. Cut the oldest roles to a single line.

4. Contact details that are missing or wrong

A typo in an email address, a phone number that no longer works, no city. It happens more than you would think, and it is the only mistake on this list with a zero-percent recovery rate.

Fix: read your contact block character by character, then send a test email to yourself.

5. A statement that says nothing

"Hard-working team player with excellent communication skills, seeking a challenging role." True of millions of people, therefore worth nothing.

Fix: state your role, years and specialism, then one specific proof, then what you want next.

6. Skills listed with no evidence

A column of twenty skills, five of which you used once in 2019. Interviewers pick the ones they care about and ask.

Fix: list fewer, and attach each one to a role where you used it. If it matters, it belongs in a bullet point, not a keyword list.

7. Design that hides the content

Three columns, icons for everything, a photograph, chart bars showing "leadership: 90%". It looks modern in a template gallery and reads badly in a stack.

Fix: single column, standard headings, generous white space, one accent colour at most.

8. No tailoring at all

The same document sent to a warehouse role and a project management role. Neither reader feels addressed.

Fix: twenty minutes per application. Rewrite the top third, reorder the rest, name their tools.

9. Unexplained seniority mismatch

Applying for a step down with a CV full of board-level achievements, or a step up with a CV that only lists tasks. Both create doubt the interview may never resolve.

Fix: emphasise the parts of your experience that match the level of the job you actually want.

10. Sloppy language

Mixed tenses inside one role (past for old jobs, present for the current one, please), inconsistent capitalisation, two different ways of writing the same job title, spelling mistakes in the words you use most.

Fix: read it aloud, then read it backwards line by line. Spell-check does not catch "manger" when you meant "manager" in a hotel CV, and neither does a recruiter's imagination.

The common thread

Every one of these is a question the reader had to ask themselves that you could have answered. Answer them on the page and your CV competes on your actual experience, which is the only fair fight.