Landing an interview can feel impossible these days. You have the right skills, the perfect experience, and you’re genuinely excited about the roles you’re applying for. But weeks go by without a single callback, and you start wondering what’s going wrong.
Here’s something that might surprise you: the problem isn’t necessarily what you’re saying on your resume. It could be how you’re saying it. The visual presentation of your resume plays a huge role in whether you make it through both automated systems and human reviewers.
Qualified candidates can struggle for months simply because their resume format is working against them. The good news? Once you understand what’s happening behind the scenes, these issues are completely fixable.
Your Resume Has Two Audiences
When you submit an application, your resume typically goes through two very different review processes. First, it faces an Applicant Tracking System (ATS)—software that scans and evaluates your document before any human sees it. Then, if it passes that digital gatekeeper, it lands on a hiring manager’s desk.
Both audiences care about formatting, but for different reasons. The ATS needs to be able to read and categorize your information correctly. If your resume confuses the system, it might miss important details about your experience or even reject your application entirely.
Hiring managers, on the other hand, are forming their first impression of you based on what they see. They’re usually reviewing dozens of resumes and want to find key information quickly. A clean, professional layout suggests you pay attention to detail and can present information clearly—qualities that matter in almost every job.
Think of it this way: your resume format is doing some of the talking before anyone reads a single word about your experience.
Read more: Resume Writing Tips to Get Noticed
5 Formatting Mistakes That Kill Your Chances
1. Getting Too Creative with Your Layout
The temptation to make your resume stand out with graphics, multiple columns, or decorative elements is understandable. It feels like you’re showing creativity and making your application more memorable. Unfortunately, this approach backfires when it comes to modern systems.
An ATS can struggle with complex layouts. When your information is scattered across columns or embedded in graphics, the software might read it in the wrong order or miss it completely. Systems can turn a well-organized resume into gibberish simply because they can’t process a multi-column design.
Hiring managers aren’t fans of busy layouts either. When they’re reviewing applications quickly, they want to scan for relevant information without having to decode your design choices.
2. Using Unclear Section Headers
Your resume sections need to be instantly recognizable. When you get creative with headers like “My Journey” instead of “Work Experience” or “What I Bring” instead of “Skills,” you’re creating confusion for both systems and people.
ATS software looks for standard section names to categorize your information correctly. If it can’t find a section called “Work Experience,” it might not know where you’ve listed your job history. Human reviewers rely on familiar headers to navigate your resume quickly too.
3. Mixing Different Fonts and Styles
Using multiple fonts throughout your resume creates a messy, unprofessional appearance that distracts from your qualifications. Resumes with three or four different font types, various sizes, and inconsistent formatting can look like they were cobbled together from different documents.
This inconsistency makes you appear careless about details—not the impression you want to make. Applicant Tracking Systems can also have trouble processing unusual fonts or too many formatting variations, which might cause your information to be read incorrectly.
4. Including Outdated or Irrelevant Information
Many people hold on to old information that no longer serves their job search. Maybe you’re including software skills from 10 years ago, job experiences that aren’t relevant to your target position, or personal details that don’t belong on a modern resume.
This outdated content takes up valuable space and dilutes your message. When hiring managers see irrelevant information, they might struggle to understand how you fit the position they’re trying to fill. Worse, they might assume you’re out of touch with current industry practices.
5. Choosing the Wrong File Format
Submitting your resume in an unusual file format can prevent it from being opened or processed correctly. Some systems can’t read certain file types properly, which means your resume gets rejected before anyone reviews your qualifications.
Even when systems can open different formats, the conversion process can scramble your formatting or lose important information entirely.
Read more: Tips for Writing a Strong, Effective Cover Letter
The Real Cost of These Mistakes
Each of these formatting issues creates a barrier between you and the job you want. In the best-case scenario, your resume makes it through the ATS but looks unprofessional to hiring managers. In the worst case, the automated system rejects your application before any human sees your qualifications.
What’s particularly frustrating is that these formatting problems can overshadow genuinely impressive experience and skills. You might be the perfect candidate for a role, but if your resume can’t communicate that effectively, you’ll never get the chance to prove it in an interview.
Let’s be clear: your resume doesn’t need to be a work of art. The goal isn’t to create the most beautiful document anyone has ever seen. The goal is to present your qualifications in a way that both automated systems and human reviewers can process quickly and easily.
Hear back from employers with Masis Staffing.
The formatting challenges we’ve outlined here might seem overwhelming, but they’re all solvable. Understanding what doesn’t work is the first step toward creating a resume that actually supports your job search instead of hindering it.
At Masis Staffing, we see how much difference proper resume formatting can make in a candidate’s success. We work with job seekers every day who have great skills but need help presenting them effectively to potential employers.
Struggling to get responses to your applications? Let’s talk about how we can help you present your qualifications in a way that gets results. Contact Masis Staffing today.
