75% of CVs are never read by a human. An algorithm rejects them before any recruiter sees them.
It's called an ATS, Applicant Tracking System, and it's the system used by almost every mid-sized and large company to filter candidates. It doesn't read your CV the way a person would. It doesn't value design, it doesn't understand context, it doesn't care that you worked hard. It just looks for keywords. If they're there, it passes. If not, it goes straight to the trash.
And the problem is that most people have no idea how it works.
Common mistakes that make a CV fail the ATS:
The first is using an overly elaborate format. Tables, multiple columns, skills graphs, icons. All of that confuses the ATS. The text parsers in these systems read left to right and top to bottom, linearly. If your CV has columns, the ATS might read the first word of the left column followed by the first word of the right column, mixing everything together. The result is incomprehensible text that the system discards.
The second mistake is not using the exact words from the job posting. If the posting says "project management" and your CV says "team coordination," the ATS doesn't connect them. They're not synonyms to an algorithm. You need to use the exact words the posting uses, in the exact form they use them.
The third is putting important information in headers, footers, or text boxes. Many ATS systems don't read those sections. Your name might be in the header and the system won't know what you're called.
The fourth is using incorrect file formats. Some ATS systems don't read PDFs well. The safest format is .docx. But it depends on the system. Ideally you have both versions ready.
How to know if your CV passes the ATS:
There's a quick way. Copy all the text from your CV and paste it into a plain text document. If it looks disorganized, if the sections don't make sense, if there are strange characters, the ATS is probably reading it just as badly.
The most accurate way is to use a tool that simulates the process. Resumelyn has a free ATS scanner that analyzes your CV and gives you a real score. Not the inflated score other tools give you to make you feel good. The score that tells you what's failing and why.
The ATS is not your enemy. It's a filter. And like any filter, if you know how it works, you can pass it.
Check your score now at resumelyn.com