The CV Mistakes That Are Costing You Interviews in 2026

That is one of seven mistakes below, and it is typical of them. At most large employers, your CV is screened by software before a human reads it, and a poorly formatted CV scores lower. When Jobscan checked the US Fortune 500 in 2026, it found an applicant tracking system at 97.4% of them. An application can be filtered out not because the applicant is underqualified, but because of formatting and content issues the software can't read or doesn't match. If you've been applying and hearing nothing back, there's a good chance one of these is the reason.

They split into two kinds: problems with how the file is built, and problems with what it says.

Formatting mistakes

These are invisible when you look at your own CV, because Word displays it perfectly. The trouble starts when software tries to read it. If you want the full picture of how that reading works, see how to get your CV past ATS screening.

1. Contact details in the document header

Many people put their name, phone number, and email in the Word document header, the section that appears at the very top of the page. This makes sense visually, but a large number of ATS systems skip the header entirely when parsing documents. Roche's careers site warns applicants that information in the header and footer "sometimes gets dropped by the ATS completely".

The result: a recruiter wants to call you back, opens your file, and there are no contact details to find.

The fix: Put your contact information in the main body of the document, styled to look like a header. Same visual result, completely readable by any ATS.

2. Skills sections built inside tables

A lot of CV templates use tables to create a neat two-column layout for skills. It looks clean in Word. The problem is that most ATS systems can't read text inside tables: the content simply doesn't exist as far as the screening software is concerned.

Your skills section could be empty as far as the ATS is concerned, even if it's the first thing a human eye would land on.

The fix: Move your skills into plain text, either as a simple comma-separated list or as regular bullet points in the body of the document. No tables, no text boxes.

3. Sending a PDF when they want a Word file

PDFs are not universally ATS-friendly. Some systems handle them fine. Others completely mangle the text when parsing them, turning your carefully formatted CV into an unreadable block of garbled characters. Unless the job posting specifically asks for a PDF, sending a .docx file is the safer choice.

The fix: Keep both versions. Send the Word file for online applications and email submissions. Use the PDF only when a company's portal specifically requests it or when you're handing it to someone in person.

Content mistakes

These are about the words themselves. They lower your score in the screening software, put off the recruiter who reads it next, or both.

4. Sending the same CV to every job

This is the biggest one. Applicant tracking systems, the software that screens CVs before a recruiter sees them, score your application against the specific keywords in each job description. A generic CV that doesn't reflect the language of the role you're applying for will score low every single time, regardless of how good your experience is.

It's not enough to have done the work. Your CV needs to describe it using the same terms the employer used in their job posting.

The fix: Before you apply for any role, read the job description carefully and adjust your personal statement and key skills section to mirror its language. You're not lying. You're translating your experience into terms the system can recognise.

5. Job titles that don't match the role

ATS systems match your stated experience against the job title they're hiring for. If the job says "Data Analyst" and your CV says "Reporting Specialist", even if the roles are functionally identical, the system may not connect them and will score your application lower.

The fix: In your personal statement, use the job title you're applying for at least once. You can also add it as a line under your name: something like "Experienced Data Analyst" or "Senior Marketing Manager" gives the ATS an immediate keyword match before it even reads your work history.

6. A personal statement full of buzzwords

Phrases like "passionate and driven professional", "results-oriented team player", and "excellent communication skills" appear on so many CVs that they've become completely meaningless. ATS systems have seen them thousands of times and don't score them. Human recruiters have too, and they find them actively off-putting.

Your personal statement is the first thing read. If it sounds like everyone else's, it gets treated like everyone else's.

The fix: Your personal statement should be three to five sentences, under 90 words, that tell a specific story: what you do, where you've done it, what impact you've had, and what you're looking for next. Concrete over generic, every time. There are worked examples by industry and career stage if you want a starting point.

7. No measurable achievements

"Responsible for managing a team" tells a hiring manager nothing about whether you were any good at it. "Managed a team of 8 across three time zones, reducing project delivery time by 30%" tells them quite a lot.

Numbers make achievements real and memorable. They also score significantly better in ATS keyword matching because they demonstrate specificity.

The fix: Go through every bullet point on your CV and ask: is there a number I could attach to this? Percentages, team sizes, revenue figures, time saved, budgets managed: whatever is honest and relevant.

The hard truth is that a brilliant CV that's formatted incorrectly will lose to a mediocre CV that's been properly optimised for the ATS. The system doesn't know you're brilliant until it decides to let a human look at you.

If you recognise three or more of these

Going through your CV and fixing every one of these issues takes time and requires knowing what you're doing. If you've been applying without success and want to rule out these problems quickly, a professional rewrite is often the most efficient option.

We fix all of the above as standard: reformatting for ATS compatibility, rewriting your personal statement, adding measurable achievements where possible, and tailoring the content to the specific role you're going for. You can order a rewrite for £9.99 and have it back within 24 hours.