Why Your Resume Gets Rejected

Rejections usually come from one of four places: a requirement, the match, the presentation or the competition. Only the first three are in your control.

Four causes of rejection

What to do about each

A free check against a real job ad

Check my CV / resume against a job

First check is free. No account. Your CV / resume isn't stored.

1. A requirement isn't met or isn't visible

Missing licence, certification, language, years of experience or right to work. If you have it, make it impossible to miss. If you don't, consider closer roles.

2. The match isn't clear

Your experience is relevant but written generally, in other words than the ad, or below less relevant content. Tailor the top of the page and use the ad's terms where they're accurate.

3. The presentation gets in the way

Complex layouts, text in images, long blocks of text, spelling mistakes or a CV / resume that's much too long. Keep it simple, scannable and checked.

4. Someone else was a closer fit

With many applicants, a good candidate can still be rejected. You can't control this, which is why it helps to look for patterns across several applications.

Duties versus evidence

Weaker

Responsible for reportsHelped the team

Stronger

Built monthly sales reports in Power BI for 12 regional managersTrained 4 new team members on the order system

Only write the stronger version if it's true for you.

Check one job you didn't hear back from

Paste your CV / resume and the job description. You'll see your match score, which requirements your CV / resume doesn't show, and what to change.

Run a free check

Works for CVs and resumes in English, German, Swedish, Danish and Norwegian.