🚨 The 5 Reasons Your Resume Keeps Getting Rejected

Raise your hand if you’ve ever sent out dozens (or even hundreds) of job applications and heard… nothing. No calls. No emails. Not even a rejection letter.

If this is happening to you, it’s not because you’re unqualified or because hiring managers have some secret vendetta against you. The truth? Your resume might be getting you rejected before a human even reads it.

Recruiters spend 6-7 seconds skimming a resume before deciding whether to keep reading or toss it. Worse? Most resumes don’t even make it to a recruiter. They get filtered out by applicant tracking systems (ATS), which means if your resume isn’t optimized, it’s not even getting a chance.

But don’t worry. If you’re not getting interviews, we’re going to fix that right now.

1.) It’s Not Tailored to the Job

If you’re using the same resume for every single job application, stop right now.

Hiring managers (and ATS software) look for specific keywords and qualifications that match the job description. If your resume is too generic, it won’t stand out.

✅ Fix it: Take 5-10 minutes to tweak your resume for each job. Look at the job posting and add relevant keywords in your skills and experience sections.

Example: If a job asks for experience with “project management” and “Agile methodologies,” but your resume just says “Managed projects,” that’s a missed opportunity! Update it to match the language they use.

2.) Your Resume Is Too Long (Or Too Short)

Let’s be real...recruiters don’t have time to read your life story.

If your resume is more than two pages, they might skip it entirely because it looks overwhelming. On the flip side, if it’s too short, you might seem underqualified.

✅ Fix it:

• If you have less than 10 years of experience → Keep it to one page.
• If you have 10+ years of experience → Two pages max.
• Cut irrelevant jobs (like that part-time gig from college unless it's relevant).

Pro Tip: Your most recent and relevant experience should take up 70-80% of your resume. Hiring managers don’t need to know about that summer job from 2012.

3.) Your Resume Isn’t Easy to Read

Imagine opening an email that’s one huge block of text with no breaks. You’d probably close it immediately, right?

That’s what happens when recruiters see a poorly formatted resume.

✅ Fix it:

• Use bold headers and bullet points to break up information.
• Keep margins and spacing clean - avoid cluttered text.
• Use an easy-to-read font like Arial or Calibri (size 11-12).
• Avoid images, fancy designs, or crazy colors—they don’t work well with ATS.

4.) Your Resume Lacks Results & Achievements

Most resumes sound like a boring job description.

❌ Bad example: “Managed social media accounts.”
✅ Better example: “Increased Instagram engagement by 150% in 3 months, leading to a 40% rise in website traffic.”

✅ Fix it: Turn job duties into achievements.

• Instead of “Handled customer service calls,” write “Resolved an average of 50+ customer inquiries per day with a 95% satisfaction rate.”
• Instead of “Worked on a sales team,” write “Generated $200K+ in revenue in 6 months by optimizing sales strategy.”

Numbers make your resume stand out. They prove you didn’t just do the job - you did it well.

5.) You’re Using the Wrong Keywords (So ATS Rejects You)

Did you know that 75% of resumes never get seen by a real person?

That’s because Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) scan resumes before they reach a recruiter. If your resume doesn’t contain the right keywords, ATS assumes you’re not qualified - even if you are.

✅ Fix it:

• Copy keywords from the job description and naturally work them into your resume.
• Use industry-specific terms (if they say “SEO Optimization,” don’t just say “digital marketing”).
• Don’t keyword-stuff! The resume should still sound human.

🚀 The Fastest Way to Fix Your Resume (And Start Getting Interviews)

If you’ve been sending out resumes and getting ghosted, don’t give up! Your resume just needs a few strategic tweaks to start getting results.

If you don’t have time to rewrite your resume from scratch, I can help. I specialize in turning “meh” resumes into job-winning ones that get results.

Need a resume that gets interviews? Let’s work together to make sure your next application lands you a callback!

Visit resumeaddict.com today to get started!