Resume & Job Search
Common Resume Mistakes to Avoid
Most resumes don't get rejected for one dramatic reason -- they lose points from a handful of small, fixable mistakes that add up.
Example: Vague Bullet Points vs. Specific, Measurable Ones
Weak: "Responsible for developing backend features and fixing bugs." Stronger: "Built a REST API for order processing that reduced average checkout time from 4.2s to 1.1s, and fixed a caching bug that had been causing intermittent 500 errors for roughly 3% of daily active users." The stronger version names the specific thing you built, a measurable result, and shows real impact -- not just a list of responsibilities.
The Most Common Mistakes
- Listing responsibilities instead of accomplishments -- "responsible for X" instead of "did X, which resulted in Y"
- No numbers anywhere -- percentages, time saved, users affected, scale handled
- A generic, one-size-fits-all resume sent to every job instead of tailored to each role's actual requirements
- Inconsistent formatting -- mismatched fonts, bullet styles, or date formats across sections
- Burying your strongest, most relevant experience below less relevant older roles
- Typos and grammatical errors -- an unusually harsh signal for a role that requires attention to detail
- A skills section listing every technology you've ever touched once, diluting the skills that actually matter for this role
Frequently Asked Questions
One page for most candidates with under ~8-10 years of experience; two pages is acceptable for more senior candidates with genuinely relevant additional experience to include. Padding a thin resume to fill a second page is worse than a focused, well-edited one page.
A brief, specific summary can work well if done right (see our resume summary examples guide), but a generic objective statement ("seeking a challenging role where I can grow") adds no value and wastes prime resume real estate -- cut it if it's not saying something specific about you.