Last updated: January 1st, 2026 | 7 min read
What are the 7 deadly resume sins?They are the most common resume mistakes I see during screening, as a tech resume writer and former recruiter. I compiled a list of easy fixes you can apply today to get immediate results.
I used to recruiter for tech companies like Google and Groupon and I now run a tech resume service. While screening tens of thousands of CVs during my career I found that most candidates repeat the same mistakes which get them rejected.
Writing an amazing resume is hard and complex, but these common mistakes are the low-hanging fruits that you can fix today and see a direct improvement in results. I call them the 7 deadly resume sins.
Here's the full list:
Yes, everyone says you should. Recruiters do not care about length. They care about relevance.
What they do not want is fluff. What they do want is detail when it comes to relevant information. One page resumes rarely give enough space to go deep into technical detail.
I know you are trying to stand out 😉
Recruiters hate original layouts because it makes their job harder. They have to review hundreds of resumes, so they skim to find key information within seconds. If yours is different, they cannot scan it fast enough and they click next.
You might think your experience is too short to be summarized.
That is not what Profile Summaries are for. Recruiters usually review resumes in batches to apply a first filter, before reading a selected few in more detail.
The Profile Summary makes that first review easy. It does their job for them. As a result, your resume converts better.
The lowest hanging fruit. Almost none of the resumes I screen include soft skills.
When I worked with hiring managers at Google and Groupon, they obsessed over those. They can teach you technical skills. They cannot teach you critical thinking, collaboration, or communication.
If you do not believe it, look at hiring processes at Google, Meta, and Amazon and compare how many interviews evaluate soft skills vs core skills.
You might think your numbers are not impressive enough to list. Recruiters do not care about the number. They want to know you measure impact.
Not everything is quantifiable. In that case, use qualitative measurements such as positive feedback from senior management.
This is the difference between a decent resume and a great one.
Those who are called for interviews are those who send performance signals. That is done by explaining how you reached the outcomes you describe.
Talk about tools, techniques, strategies, frameworks, methodologies, processes, and actions taken.
Dive deep into technical details and do not worry about being over specific.
There is a ton of misinformation about ATS compliance, mostly to sell you tools.
The truth is simpler. It comes down to whether ATS can parse your text and preserve structure. Tables and pictures cause parsing issues.
Check it right now: copy paste your PDF content to a new document. If content, order, and structure are preserved, you are ok.
Fix these 7 mistakes and your resume becomes easier to screen, easier to trust, and more likely to convert.
If you want to level up the rest of your resume, I suggest reading my guide on how to write amazing bullet points.
You applied to hundreds of jobs: no result.
Companies will not bother
giving you feedback,
so you are stuck in a loop. This will keep happening until you know what is wrong.
Let us break this cycle today.
Learn why you are getting rejected with a Free resume review. You get a simulated recruiter screen and a clear list of action items.
