10 CV Mistakes That Are Costing You the Job
February 19, 2026 · SeaVitae Blog
Your CV is the first impression you make on a potential employer. In many cases, it is the only impression — because if it does not pass initial review, there will be no interview, no second look, and no opportunity to explain yourself in person.
The frustrating reality is that most CVs fail for the same predictable reasons. These are not difficult problems to fix. But they are easy to overlook, especially when you have been staring at your own CV for months and stop seeing it clearly.
Here are ten CV mistakes that consistently cost candidates jobs — along with exactly how to fix each one.
Mistake 1: Using a Generic CV for Every Application
Sending the same CV to every employer is one of the most damaging habits in a job search. Recruiters read hundreds of CVs. They immediately recognise a generic document that has not been written with their role in mind.
More critically, Applicant Tracking Systems score CVs based on how closely they match each specific job description. A generic CV that does not use the keywords from the posting will score poorly and be filtered out automatically.
The fix is to tailor your professional summary and skills section for each application. You do not need to rewrite your entire CV — adjusting the top third to reflect the priorities of each role is usually enough to make a significant difference.
Mistake 2: Writing Responsibilities Instead of Achievements
The most common content error on CVs is describing what the job was supposed to involve rather than what you actually delivered.
"Responsible for customer service operations" is a responsibility. It tells the employer what your job description said. "Managed a team of twelve customer service agents, reducing average response time from 48 hours to 6 hours over six months" is an achievement. It tells the employer what you actually did and what impact it had.
Go through every bullet point in your experience section and convert responsibilities into achievements. Use numbers wherever possible. Even approximate figures are more compelling than none.
Mistake 3: Poor Formatting That Breaks ATS Parsing
Tables, text boxes, multiple columns, and decorative graphics may look impressive on screen but cause serious problems when your CV goes through an Applicant Tracking System. The ATS cannot reliably read content inside tables or text boxes, which means your experience and qualifications may be partially or entirely lost.
Use a clean, single-column format with standard fonts and clear section headings. This format works for both ATS systems and human reviewers. Read our full guide on ATS-friendly CV formatting for a complete breakdown.
Mistake 4: A Weak or Missing Professional Summary
The professional summary at the top of your CV is prime real estate. A recruiter will read it within the first five seconds of opening your document. If it is weak, generic, or absent, you have wasted your best opportunity to make an immediate impression.
Remove any summary that starts with "I am a hardworking, motivated individual" or similar. Replace it with a concise, specific statement of who you are professionally, what you specialise in, and what value you bring. Three to four sentences is ideal.
Avoid all of these mistakes from the start. Build your CV now on SeaVitae — it's free →
Mistake 5: Listing Skills Without Evidence
A skills section that lists "leadership, teamwork, communication, Microsoft Office" is nearly useless. Every candidate includes these. They add no differentiation.
Your skills section should reflect specific, relevant technical and professional competencies. Where possible, your experience section should provide evidence that you actually have those skills. If you list "data analysis" as a skill, there should be a bullet point somewhere in your experience that demonstrates you have done data analysis and what the outcome was.
Mistake 6: Including Outdated or Irrelevant Information
Including your secondary school results when you have a university degree, listing a job from fifteen years ago in full detail, or describing hobbies that have no connection to your professional life all take up space without adding value.
Every line on your CV should earn its place by contributing to the story of why you are the right person for the role you are applying for. If it does not contribute, remove it.
Mistake 7: Inconsistent Formatting and Dates
Inconsistent formatting signals carelessness to a recruiter before they have read a single word of substance. Different fonts in different sections, bullet points that sometimes end with a period and sometimes do not, and dates that switch between formats throughout the document all create an impression of sloppiness.
Pick a format and stick to it throughout. Choose one date format — "January 2022 — March 2024" — and use it everywhere. Make sure all bullet points are grammatically parallel.
Mistake 8: Spelling and Grammar Errors
This seems obvious, but it remains one of the most common reasons CVs are rejected. A single spelling error is enough for many recruiters to move on immediately. It signals that you do not pay attention to detail — which is a problem for virtually every professional role.
Proofread your CV slowly, out loud. Read it backwards sentence by sentence to catch errors your brain would otherwise auto-correct. Ask a trusted colleague or friend to review it. Do not rely on spellcheck alone — it will not catch words that are spelled correctly but used incorrectly.
You can create your professional CV on SeaVitae — structured correctly from the first section. Create your free CV here →
Mistake 9: Contact Details in the Header or Footer
Many popular CV templates place your name, email, and phone number in the document header. This looks clean on screen, but many ATS systems do not parse document headers. Your contact information effectively disappears.
Place all contact details — name, email address, phone number, LinkedIn URL, and city — in the main body of the document, not in a header field. This ensures ATS systems capture them correctly.
Mistake 10: Making It Too Long
Longer does not mean more impressive. A four-page CV full of irrelevant detail is much less effective than a focused two-page document that tells a clear, compelling professional story.
For most professionals, one to two pages is the right length. If you have more than ten years of experience, two to three pages may be appropriate. Beyond that, you are almost certainly including content that does not need to be there.
When in doubt, cut. A shorter, sharper CV gets read more carefully than a long one that gets skimmed.
How to Fix Your CV Right Now
The fastest way to address all of these issues at once is to rebuild your CV using a properly structured, ATS-friendly format. SeaVitae's free online CV builder walks you through every section and ensures your CV is clean, complete, and formatted correctly.
For more guidance, read our articles on why CVs fail to get interviews and what ATS systems actually scan for. You can also explore our guide to professional CV templates and our dedicated resource for fresh graduate CVs.
Your CV is not fixed. It is a living document that should be updated, refined, and improved continuously. Start today — the job you want is not going to wait.
Build a CV That Actually Works
Fix every mistake from this article in one go. Create your free, structured CV on SeaVitae.