10 Common CV Mistakes That Cost You Interviews

The ten mistakes

Read through this list with your own CV open beside you. Most applicants are guilty of at least three.

• Listing duties instead of achievements. Fix: rewrite each bullet to show a result, ideally with a number.
• One generic CV sent everywhere. Fix: tailor the summary and top bullets to each role.
• Typos and inconsistent formatting. Fix: read it aloud and have someone else proofread.
• Burying the best experience on page two. Fix: lead with your strongest, most relevant role.
• Vague, unmeasurable claims. Fix: replace 'improved performance' with the specific improvement.
• Too long. Fix: cut anything older than ~10 years or irrelevant to the target role.
• An unprofessional email address. Fix: use a simple name-based address.
• Dense walls of text. Fix: use short bullets and clear white space.
• Missing keywords from the job description. Fix: mirror the posting's language where it honestly applies.
• No clear headline or summary. Fix: tell the reader in one line what role you are targeting.

Fix the structure once, reuse it forever

Many of these mistakes come down to structure — and a good template solves them by default: it forces a clear hierarchy, sensible length, and consistent formatting. Build the structure once, then tailor the content for each application.