5 CV Mistakes That Are Keeping You From Getting Interviews

I know that feeling – you send your CV and wait... and wait... and nothing.

Last month I spoke with Marta, a 28-year-old with 5 years of marketing experience. She sent 73 applications. Invitations to interviews? Zero.

"There must be something wrong with me," she said over the phone.

I asked for her CV. I opened the document and within 10 seconds, I knew what the problem was. It wasn't about her qualifications – those were excellent. The problem lay in 5 mistakes that caused recruiters (and ATS systems) to automatically reject her.

We fixed her CV. 2 weeks later she had 4 interview invitations. After a month – a job offer.

Below you'll find exactly the same mistakes that are sabotaging your chances. And most importantly – how to fix them in less than 10 minutes.

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Mistake #1: You write about what you did, instead of what you achieved

Example from Marta's CV (BEFORE):

Marketing Specialist | ABC Corp (2020-2023)

• Managing social media campaigns
• Creating content for company blog
• Collaborating with advertising agency
• Organizing industry events

Looks OK, right? Not to a recruiter.

This sounds like... a job description. Every marketing specialist does these things. What makes YOU better than the other 50 candidates?

The same CV (AFTER corrections):

Marketing Specialist | ABC Corp (2020-2023)

• Increased Instagram engagement by 240% in 6 months (from 2.1% to 7.1%)
• Launched company blog from scratch – 15,000 monthly visits in the first year
• Reduced customer acquisition cost (CAC) by 32% through Google Ads campaign optimization
• Organized 4 industry events (120+ participants), resulting in 18 new B2B clients

See the difference?

BEFORE: "I did things" (like everyone else) AFTER: "I achieved results" (measurable, specific)

Recruiters don't want to know what you did. They want to know what you changed.

How to fix this in 5 minutes:

Go through each bullet point in your CV and ask yourself:

• What was the effect of my work?
• How did my work impact the company/client/team?
• Can I measure it? (numbers, percentages, dates)

Magic sentence formula:

[Action] + [Measurable result] + [Context/method]

Examples:

• ❌ "Team management"

• ✅ "Managed a team of 5, reducing project delivery time by 40% through Agile methodology implementation"

• ❌ "Customer service"

• ✅ "Improved customer satisfaction score (NPS) from 62 to 81 within 8 months by implementing a new CRM system"

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Mistake #2: Not tailoring your CV to the specific job posting

The truth no one tells you:

If you send the same CV for every application, your chances of getting an interview drop by 60%.

Why? Because recruiters (and ATS systems) look for specific keywords from the job posting.

Let's see an example:

Job Posting 1: Junior Marketing Manager

Requirements: Google Ads, Facebook Ads, analytics (GA4), knowledge of marketing automation tools (HubSpot, Mailchimp)

Job Posting 2: Content Marketing Specialist

Requirements: copywriting, SEO, WordPress, content strategy, storytelling

If you send the same CV for both postings, your chances are... 10%.

Why? Because the ATS system scans your CV looking for:

• In posting 1: "Google Ads", "Facebook Ads", "GA4", "HubSpot"
• In posting 2: "copywriting", "SEO", "WordPress", "content strategy"

If your CV speaks generally about "digital marketing," you lose to a candidate who literally copied words from the job posting.

How to fix this in 3 steps:

Step 1: Analyze the job posting and list 10 most important keywords

Step 2: Check if these words are in your CV (exactly the same, not synonyms!)

Step 3: If missing – add them in the "Skills" or "Experience" section (of course, only those you actually have)

Pro tip: Use our CV ATS Optimizer – we'll automatically compare your CV with the job posting and show you missing keywords.

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Mistake #3: Your CV doesn't pass the "6 seconds" test

Shocking statistic:

Recruiters spend an average of 6 seconds on the first review of your CV. If they don't find what they're looking for in that time – your CV goes in the trash.

What do they check in these 6 seconds?

1. Position/title (does it match the job?)
2. Last workplace (is the industry relevant?)
3. Key skills (do they have what we need?)

If any of these points isn't immediately visible, you lose.

Example of a CV that DOESN'T pass the 6 seconds test:

John Smith
123 Flower St., London
tel. 123-456-789 | [email protected]

[1 page of personal description like "I am an ambitious, creative and motivated professional..."]

Experience:
- Company X (2020-2023): Various tasks in the marketing department...

❌ Problem: The recruiter doesn't know:

• Who you are (what position?)
• What you can do (key skills?)
• What you've accomplished (results?)

The same CV AFTER corrections:

John Smith
Marketing Manager | Google Ads & Meta Ads Specialist
London | 123-456-789 | [email protected] | LinkedIn: /johnsmith

Key Skills:
Google Ads • Facebook Ads • GA4 • SEO • HubSpot • 5+ years of experience

Professional Experience:

Marketing Manager | Company X (2020-2023)
• Increased advertising ROI by 145% (from 2.1x to 5.2x)
• Managed advertising budget of £40k/year
• Built a team of 3 specialists from scratch

✅ Now the recruiter knows in 6 seconds:

• Position: Marketing Manager
• Skills: Google Ads, Facebook Ads, GA4
• Results: +145% ROI

How to fix this:

1. Add a headline/business card instead of boring "CV"
2. Place key skills at the top (don't hide them at the end!)
3. Use numbers and results in the first 2 points of your experience

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Mistake #4: Formatting that ATS can't read

A real-life story:

Tom, a graphic designer, created a beautiful CV – two-column layout, contact icons, skills section with graphic progress bars.

He sent 40 applications through online systems. 0 responses.

The reason? The ATS system couldn't read his CV. When the robot tried to "read" the document, it saw:

John Thomas Smith Senior Marketing Manager
2020 [phone icon] [email icon] Facebook Google Python

Complete chaos. The surname ended up in the position field, dates were confused, and skills – lost.

Most common CV killers for ATS:

❌ Two-column layout (tables) ❌ Graphics and icons (phone, email, LinkedIn) ❌ Headers/footers containing important data ❌ Non-standard fonts (Brush Script, Comic Sans) ❌ Photo (unless the job posting explicitly requires it)

✅ What to use instead:

• Simple, single-column layout
• Text instead of icons ("Tel: 123-456-789" instead of 📞)
• Standard fonts (Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman)
• PDF or DOCX format (not JPG!)

Test:

Open your CV in Notepad. If it looks like random gibberish – ATS won't understand it either.

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Mistake #5: Lack of specific numbers and results

Let's compare two CVs:

Candidate A:

I managed IT projects in a large company. I was responsible for team coordination and ensuring timeliness. Projects were completed according to schedule.

Candidate B:

I managed 7 IT projects (total value: £180k). Reduced project delays from 40% to 8% within a year. Implemented Scrum, which shortened implementation time by 35%.

Question: Who would you invite for an interview?

Candidate B wins because numbers speak louder than empty phrases.

How to add numbers to your CV (even if you think you don't have any):

If you're in sales:

• What was your sales target? Did you exceed it?
• How many customers did you serve?
• How much did sales increase in your region?

If you're in administration:

• How many documents/cases did you handle monthly?
• Did you shorten the processing time of any procedure?
• How many people did you support?

If you're in HR:

• How many people did you recruit?
• What was the time from posting to hiring?
• Did you improve the retention rate?

Formula:

[What you did] + [By how much] + [In what timeframe]

Examples:

• "Reduced operational costs by £15,000 annually by renegotiating vendor contracts"
• "Trained 45 employees on the new CRM system within 2 months"
• "Handled an average of 150 tickets daily, maintaining response time under 15 minutes"

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Summary: Your 10-minute checklist

Before you send your next CV, go through this list:

• ☐ Every bullet point has numbers/results (not just task descriptions)
• ☐ I tailored my CV to the specific job posting (keywords from the offer are in my CV)
• ☐ My headline tells who I am (position + key skills)
• ☐ Formatting is simple (single-column layout, no tables)
• ☐ I tested my CV in an ATS tool → Check now for free

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What's next?

If you've made it this far, you already have an advantage over 90% of candidates who send "blind" CVs.

Now it's time for action:

1. Open your CV and find these 5 mistakes
2. Fix them (seriously, it will take 10 minutes)
3. Test it with our tool – we'll show you exactly what else can be improved

Ready? Check your CV now – for free →

Remember: The problem isn't with your qualifications. The problem is how you present them.

Good luck! 🚀

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P.S. Marta from the beginning of this article? After 3 months she got promoted in her new job. It all started with fixing these 5 mistakes in her CV.