Resume Mistakes That Are Quietly Killing Your Chances

You've sent out more applications than you can count. You've watched the confirmation email land in your inbox, waited, refreshed, and waited some more without hearing a single thing back. Or worse, getting an immediate response in the form of an auto rejection.

So, you tweak the resume again. You change the font. You move a bullet point. You throw it into your favorite AI platform and hope this version is finally the one.

But I promise you, it's not the font, it's not that random bullet point, and it's not the summary you rewrote four times last Tuesday.

Honestly, the problem is rarely what you think it is, so I put together a list of the most common resume mistakes we see here at 6 Figure Chick Consulting. These are what's getting you filtered out by the ATS before a single recruiter or hiring manager ever reads your name.

The #1 Resume Mistake? Using a Canva Resume Template

This is the one that hurts the most to hear because Canva templates are genuinely beautiful … but also invisible to most hiring software.

The majority of companies run applications through an ATS before a recruiter ever sees them. Applicant Tracking Systems scan for text but, get this, they can't read columns, text boxes, graphics, or decorative formatting. When your resume is built with those elements, the system either scrambles the information or skips it entirely. Your name might not register. Your contact information might disappear completely. Entire positions you’ve held could go up in smoke.

The fix is a single-column, text-based document. Simple isn't the same as weak, and a resume that actually gets read will always outperform one that just looks good sitting in a folder on your desktop.

Should I Lie About Employment Gaps on My Resume?

No, and you don't need to. Instead of listing every job chronologically and making gaps visible, consider organizing your resume under a "Relevant Experience" section instead of a standard "Experience" section. This keeps the focus on what you've done rather than when you did it, and it lets your strongest work lead without drawing attention to time between roles.

If a gap comes up at all, that conversation belongs in an interview, not on your resume or in your cover letter. And even then, you're only addressing it if an interviewer asks directly. You don't owe anyone a preemptive explanation.

Also, if you took a leave or had a gap because of health reasons or to be a caregiver, tread carefully during the conversation. Bias against women who are caregivers or who've had health challenges is well documented, and leading with that information in any part of your job search may put you at an unnecessary disadvantage.

Should I Include a Job I Got Fired From?

Yes, if it’s relevant. You're not required to disclose on your resume that you were terminated. That conversation happens in an interview if it comes up at all, and there are composed, professional ways to handle it. You left for better opportunities elsewhere. You left because you were more aligned with the mission at another organization. You left because you got a grant to become an underwater basket weaver and decided to improve your skillset. Take your pick. 

What Do I Do If My Job Title Doesn't Reflect What I Actually Did?

This one costs women a lot of callbacks. You spent three years doing the work of a project manager while being titled as a coordinator. Your resume says coordinator, hiring managers filter for project manager, and you never get seen. You've got options.

You can list your official title and add a functional title in parentheses that reflects the actual scope of your work. Operations Coordinator (Project Manager) is honest and searchable. You can also let your bullet points carry the weight. If your title was entry-level but your responsibilities were mid-level, your bullets need to show that clearly. The title is one data point. The bullets are the argument for why you should be hired immediately. Make sure they illustrate that.

Should I Write a Resume Objective Statement?

Skip it. The goal of applying is obviously to get the job, so an objective statement tells a hiring manager nothing they don't already know. What belongs at the top of your resume instead is a strong professional summary.

Lead with your years of experience (just make sure to cap it at 10+ if you have more experience than that to avoid age bias). From there, highlight what you've accomplished, what you bring to the table, and the job title you're targeting. That's what earns the next five seconds of their attention.

Do I Need a Different Resume for Every Job I Apply To?

Not exactly. The smarter move is to build one resume per job umbrella. If you're targeting project management roles, write one strong resume for that lane and you can use it to apply for project manager, project coordinator, and program associate roles without starting over each time.

Where you do need to adjust is the language in a few bullets and your professional summary to mirror the specific job posting. If the posting says "stakeholder management" and your resume says "worked with leadership teams," swap it. Same skill, different language, and the ATS reads them very differently. This isn't gaming the system. It's a translation.

Should I List Every Job I've Ever Had?

Go back ten to fifteen years and prioritize what's recent, relevant, and shows growth. The retail job from 2003 doesn't need to be there unless it's genuinely the strongest example you have for what you're applying to now. Older, unrelated experience takes up space that belongs to the work that actually moves you forward.

Do I Need to Put References or "References Available Upon Request" on My Resume?

Absolutely not. "References available upon request" is outdated filler and it takes up space you actually need for all those amazing bullet points that illustrate your impact. References are rarely requested these days and, when they are, a company will ask for them directly. They don't belong on your resume at all, so use that space for something that actually gets you in the room.

Let's Wrap This Up

The reason your resume keeps getting ignored is because nobody ever taught you how a resume actually works in this job market. Not your college career center, not the YouTube video you watched at midnight, not the cheap resume service that handed you back the same document in a different template.

But that changes today. The women landing 6 Figure roles right now aren't more qualified than you. They’ve just learned how to package their skillset in a way that the market can relate to. Because your career is a tool you wield, not a sentence you're serving.

Ready for us to show you exactly how to wield all that experience? Our Resume Toolkit gives you everything you need to stop fighting the ATS and start getting noticed including our proven resume template, the step-by-step C.A.R.E. Optimization Strategy, and a real-time formatting demo so you can see exactly how it all comes together.

No guesswork. No starting from scratch. Just a clear strategy that works.