You spent hours on your resume. You tailored it, proofread it, exported a clean PDF. Then you applied for 30 jobs and heard nothing.
The problem might not be your experience. It might be that no human ever saw your resume. ATS software filtered you out before a recruiter opened your file. Here are the mistakes that cause that.
Tables and graphics
You built a skills matrix in a table. You added a bar chart showing your proficiency levels. It looks great on screen.
The ATS sees nothing. Most parsers skip table content entirely. Your entire skills section is invisible.
List skills as plain text. A simple comma-separated list or bullet points works for every ATS on the market.
The same applies to icons, star ratings, and progress bars. They might impress a human glancing at your resume, but the ATS can't read pixels. Every piece of information on your resume needs to exist as selectable, copyable text.
Contact info in headers and footers
You put your name, phone number, and email in the document header because it keeps them on every page.
Many ATS systems ignore header and footer content. Your resume gets parsed as having no contact information. The recruiter can't call you even if they want to.
Put all contact details in the main body of the document, at the very top. Name, phone, email, city. That's all you need.
Creative section headings
Your resume has sections called "My Professional Journey," "What Drives Me," and "The Toolkit." You thought it showed personality.
The ATS is looking for "Experience," "Skills," and "Education." It doesn't know what "The Toolkit" is, so it ignores everything under that heading.
Use standard headings: Experience (or Work Experience), Education, Skills, Certifications. Save your personality for the interview.
This is one of the most common mistakes career changers make. They try to stand out with creative labels, but the ATS needs predictable structure to parse correctly.
Wrong file format
.docx is the safest format. Nearly every ATS parses Word files reliably. PDF works with most modern systems but can cause issues with older ones, especially if the PDF contains layered graphics or was exported from design software like Canva or InDesign.
.pages files (Apple's format) are rejected by most ATS systems outright. They simply can't open the file. Same goes for .odt files from LibreOffice - technically fine documents, but many parsers choke on them.
Old .doc format (pre-2007 Word) is also risky. Some systems handle it, but you're gambling. Convert to .docx. It takes five seconds.
Save two versions: .docx for online applications, and a clean PDF for emailing directly to a hiring manager.
Unprofessional file naming
"resume-final-v3-FINAL(2).docx" tells the recruiter you went through multiple painful drafts and lost track. It's a small thing, but recruiters notice. They download hundreds of files a week.
Name your file: FirstName-LastName-Resume.docx. Clean, findable, professional. If you're applying for a specific role, you can add it: Sarah-Chen-Resume-Marketing-Manager.docx.
Photos and logos
In Australia, photos on resumes are unnecessary. The ATS ignores them completely - they're just dead space in the parser's eyes. Worse, they take up room that could hold keywords and achievements.
Some countries expect photos (parts of Europe, Asia). Australia doesn't. In fact, many Australian employers prefer resumes without photos to reduce unconscious bias in hiring.
Company logos from previous employers have the same problem. They look nice but add zero value for the ATS. Use that space for a bullet point about what you actually achieved at that company.
Two-column and infographic layouts
You downloaded a beautiful two-column resume template from Canva. Skills on the left, experience on the right. Clean, modern, visually appealing.
The ATS reads left to right across the full page width. Your "Python" skill in the left column gets merged with "Senior Account Manager" from the right column. The parser produces gibberish.
One column. Top to bottom. Every time. You can still make it look good with clean typography, consistent spacing, and strategic use of bold text.
Infographic resumes are even worse. They're essentially images with text overlaid. The ATS extracts little to no usable data from them. Keep infographic resumes for your portfolio website, not for job applications through online portals.
Missing keywords
This isn't a formatting issue - it's a content gap. You describe your work differently from how the job ad describes it. The ATS is matching words, not meaning.
You wrote: "Managed a team of 8 staff across two locations."
The job ad says: "People management experience required."
Those describe the same thing. But if the recruiter searches for "people management," your resume doesn't show up. The fix is simple: mirror the language in the job ad. Add "people management" somewhere in your resume alongside your existing description.
You don't need to stuff keywords artificially. Just make sure the exact terms from the "essential requirements" section appear naturally in your experience or skills sections.
Objective statements
Drop the objective statement. "Motivated professional seeking a challenging role in a dynamic organisation" tells the recruiter absolutely nothing. They already know you want the job - you applied for it.
Objective statements waste the most valuable space on your resume: the top third of page one. That's the first thing a recruiter reads (if they read it at all). Use it for a two-line professional summary that includes your key skills and years of experience.
Instead of: "Seeking a rewarding position where I can utilise my skills and grow professionally."
Write: "Construction project manager with 8 years delivering commercial builds ($2M to $15M). PMBOK-certified. Based in Melbourne."
The second version contains searchable keywords (construction, project manager, PMBOK, Melbourne) and gives the recruiter a reason to keep reading. The first version could belong to literally anyone applying for any job.
The quick checklist
Before you submit your next application, check these:
- Single-column layout, no tables or graphics
- Contact info in the body, not headers/footers
- Standard section headings (Experience, Education, Skills)
- Saved as .docx with a clean filename
- No photos, logos, or icons
- Keywords from the job ad appear in your resume
- Professional summary instead of an objective statement
- All text is selectable (not image-based)
Get these right and your resume will parse correctly in every major ATS. Then run it through our scorer to check your keyword match before you hit apply.