5 Resume Mistakes That Get You Rejected
Qualified, but rejected
Daniel had everything to land the job: five years of experience, courses in the field, immediate availability. But his resume never reached the recruiter's hands. It was filtered out before. The reason? A typo in the job title and an old phone number.
Sounds unfair? It is. But that's how the process works. Very often a person is more than qualified for the job, but simple resume mistakes get them eliminated before the interview.
The good news: these mistakes are easy to fix. Here are the five most common ones.
Mistake 1: Wrong or outdated phone number
It sounds silly, but it happens far more than you'd imagine. The recruiter finds your resume, likes what they see, picks up the phone to call — and the number doesn't exist. Or it rings and nobody answers because it's an old number you no longer use.
Done. Resume discarded. The recruiter is not going to look for you on Facebook.
How to avoid it:
- After building your resume, call your own number and double-check it.
- Use a number with active WhatsApp — many recruiters message before they call.
- If you recently changed numbers, update your resume immediately.
- Include the full number with the area or country code, not a shortened version.
Mistake 2: A generic objective that says nothing
"Seeking professional growth in a dynamic company." Do you know how many resumes a recruiter reads with that sentence every day? Dozens. It says nothing about what you want, which field you are applying for, or what you can offer.
The objective has to work in 5 seconds. If it fits any job, it fits none.
How to fix it:
- Be specific: "Seeking an opportunity as a shop assistant" or "Looking for a position in logistics and warehousing".
- Adapt it for each job — on Monta meu currículo? you can create several resumes for free, each with a different objective.
Bad examples → Good examples:
- "To work in the desired field" → "Seeking an opportunity as a pharmacy attendant"
- "To contribute to the company's growth" → "Looking for a position as an administrative assistant"
- "To show my potential" → "Seeking my first opportunity as a cashier"
Mistake 3: Spelling and grammar errors
A small slip can go unnoticed. But serious errors create an impression of carelessness that counts against you — even if you are excellent at what you do.
And here's a detail many people don't know: many companies use systems called ATS to filter resumes automatically. These systems search for exact words. If you wrote "responsable" instead of "responsible", the system simply doesn't find the word and discards your resume without mercy.
Having spelling errors doesn't mean you are incompetent. It means the text wasn't proofread. And proofreading is something anyone can do.
How to avoid it:
- Ask someone you trust to read your resume before you send it.
- Read it out loud — your ear catches errors your eye misses.
- Use the spell checker on your phone or computer.
- Monta meu currículo? helps you catch common writing mistakes.
Mistake 4: Information that doesn't belong there
Many people cram everything they can onto the resume: national ID numbers, parents' names, driver's licence number, a photo, date of birth, marital status...
None of this helps the recruiter decide anything. In fact, it takes up space that could be used for something useful — like describing your experience better.
Worse: putting ID numbers on your resume can be dangerous. Your resume passes through many hands, and that data can be used for fraud.
What DOES belong on the resume:
- Full name
- Phone number (with WhatsApp)
- Neighbourhood and city (no need for a full address)
What does NOT:
- National ID or tax numbers
- Parents' names
- Photo (unless the job posting explicitly asks for one)
- Marital status
- Date of birth (unless the job requires it)
Mistake 5: A resume that is too long
For the vast majority of people, one page is ideal. Two at most, if you have a lot of relevant experience.
Recruiters receive hundreds of resumes per job opening. They don't have time to read five pages. In practice, if what matters isn't on the first page, they won't go looking for it on the third.
How to keep it short:
- Prioritize recent experience relevant to the job.
- Short descriptions: 2-3 lines per role, using action verbs.
- Cut very old roles (over 10 years ago, unless highly relevant).
- Remove hobbies that add nothing for this job.
- Replace long paragraphs with bullet points.
Rule of thumb: if a piece of information doesn't help you get THIS job, it doesn't belong on the resume.
Fix these 5 mistakes and you're already ahead
You don't need a perfect resume to get a job. But avoiding these five mistakes already puts you ahead of most candidates. Simple things that make a huge difference:
1. A correct, active phone number
2. A clear, specific objective
3. Proofread writing
4. Only the necessary information
5. One page, straight to the point
Review your resume now on Monta meu currículo? and make sure none of these mistakes is holding you back.
Next step: learn how to make your resume ATS-friendly so the screening software never filters you out.