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Top 5 CV Mistakes That Are Costing You Interviews

Top 5 CV Mistakes That Are Costing You Interviews

Let’s not mess around. If you’re applying for roles and not getting any bites, your CV is the first thing you need to look at.

Its only job is to get you into the room. That’s it.
Not to tell your life story.
Not to impress someone with fancy formatting.
Just to convince someone to speak to you.

And yet most CVs never even get close. Not because the person isn’t capable, but because the way they’re presenting themselves is working against them.

I’ve spent more than 20 years in recruitment. I’ve seen thousands of CVs. I’ve sat with recruiters while they skim through piles of applications, trying to make a shortlist in under 10 minutes. The way people think CVs are reviewed is not how it happens in real life.

So if you’re not getting interviews, chances are one of these mistakes is getting in the way.

Use my Free CV Template to get started or my AI CV Reviewer to get feedback on your CV.

1. You’re Including Too Much

This is the most common mistake by far.

You think giving more detail makes your CV stronger. But more detail just makes it harder to read.

Recruiters don’t read CVs line by line. They scan. Quickly. Usually in under ten seconds the first time around. If your CV is packed with long paragraphs, full of irrelevant detail, or tries to cover your entire life story, they’ll skim it and move on.

The fix: Strip it right back. Focus on what’s relevant to the role. Use bullet points. Use spacing. Make it easy to skim. Your CV should feel sharp and purposeful, not cluttered and overwhelming.

2. You’re Not Tailoring It to the Role

One CV for every application won’t cut it anymore. If you’re not tailoring your CV to the type of role you’re applying for, you’re making yourself easy to ignore.

Most job seekers write one version of their CV and hope it works across sales, customer service, operations, and admin. But that makes it generic. And generic CVs are forgettable.

The fix: Your CV needs to sound like it belongs in the industry or role you’re aiming for. That doesn’t mean starting from scratch each time, but your profile, skills, and language should match the job family.

3. You’re Listing Responsibilities, Not Results

There’s a big difference between saying what your job was and showing what you actually delivered.

Too many CVs are just lists of tasks.
“Responsible for client management.”
“Responsible for reporting.”
“Responsible for handling complaints.”

It tells me what you were supposed to do. Not what you did.
And definitely not whether you were any good at it.

The fix: Replace duties with achievements. Show what changed because of you. Give outcomes. Talk about results. That’s what builds confidence in your capability.

4. You’re Hiding the Good Stuff

The top half of your CV is the most important space you’ve got. That’s where attention is highest. It’s where decisions are made.

If your best experience, clearest achievements, or most relevant skills are buried halfway down page two, you’re making the recruiter work far too hard.

The fix: Make the first half of page one do the heavy lifting. Use it to frame your strengths, show what you’re about, and give the best possible reason to keep reading.

5. Your Format Is Getting in the Way

Fancy fonts, graphics, and overly styled templates might look good to you, but they often make your CV harder to read — especially when scanned through an ATS or opened on a phone.

Unless you’re in a very creative field, design won’t help you stand out. In fact, it might hurt your chances.

The fix: Keep it clean. Use simple fonts. Clear headings. Logical structure. Make the layout invisible so the content can shine.

Bonus: You’re Including Things That Don’t Belong

You don’t need your full address. You don’t need your date of birth. You don’t need a photo. You don’t need marital status. None of that helps.

At best, it’s clutter. At worst, it introduces bias.

The fix: Just include what matters — name, phone number, email, and LinkedIn. That’s it.

Make the CV Do What It’s Meant to Do

A strong CV doesn’t tell your whole story. It doesn’t need to impress everyone. It just needs to be good enough to get you into the room.

If you’re not getting interviews, strip it back.
Focus on what matters.
Show what you’ve done.
Make it easy to read.

And if you want help getting it right, the AI CV Reviewer will show you where your CV might be triggering hesitation. It’s fast, simple, and built around how recruiters actually read.

No guesswork. Just clear feedback.

Because the sooner you fix what’s holding your CV back, the sooner you’ll start hearing back from employers.

Start with these free tools that thousands of jobseekers use every week:

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