10 Resume Formatting Mistakes Agencies See Daily

Why Formatting Mistakes Matter

A candidate can have perfect qualifications and still get passed over because their resume looks unprofessional. Hiring managers spend an average of 6-7 seconds on initial resume review. In that time, formatting issues create a negative first impression that colors the entire evaluation.

For staffing agencies, submitting a poorly formatted resume reflects on your agency's quality, not just the candidate's. Every submission is a brand touchpoint. Formatting mistakes signal that your agency doesn't invest in quality control.

Here are the 10 most common formatting mistakes we see across 1M+ resumes processed — and how to fix each one.

Mistake #1: Inconsistent Fonts and Spacing

The most common formatting mistake. It happens when candidates copy-paste from multiple sources — LinkedIn, old resumes, job descriptions — into one document. The result: a resume that uses 3-4 different fonts, inconsistent line spacing, and mismatched bullet styles.

• What it looks like: Calibri 11pt in one section, Times New Roman 12pt in another, Arial 10pt in a third. Spacing varies between 0.5 and 1.5 lines. Some bullets are round, others are dashes.
• Why it's bad: Looks unprofessional and signals lack of attention to detail — exactly the opposite of what you want a client to see.
• Fix: Apply a consistent template with one heading font, one body font, uniform spacing (6pt after paragraphs, 12pt before sections), and consistent bullet style.

Mistake #2: Two-Column Layouts

Two-column resumes look visually appealing in PDF form, but they break ATS parsing. Most ATS systems (Bullhorn, Greenhouse, Lever, iCIMS) read content left-to-right, top-to-bottom — treating the entire page as one column. A two-column layout scrambles the reading order.

• What it looks like: Skills listed in a narrow left column, experience in a wider right column. Or a sidebar with contact info and certifications.
• Why it's bad: The ATS reads the first line of column 1, then jumps to the first line of column 2, creating gibberish. Skills and experience get mixed together.
• Fix: Convert to single-column layout. Put the skills section as a grid (categorized table) above the experience section.

Mistake #3: Important Info in Headers/Footers

Candidates (and some agencies) put contact information, names, or even skills in Word headers and footers. Most ATS systems completely ignore header and footer content.

• What it looks like: Candidate name and phone number in the Word document header. Page numbers with 'Confidential' in the footer.
• Why it's bad: ATS can't read it. The candidate's name and contact info are invisible to the system.
• Fix: Keep all candidate information in the document body. Use the header area only for agency branding (logo, recruiter contact) which is intended for human eyes, not ATS parsing.

Mistake #4: Graphics, Icons, and Images

Skill bars, star ratings, icons for contact info, and decorative graphics are common in 'creative' resume templates from Canva and similar tools.

• What it looks like: Star ratings (★★★★☆) next to skills. Envelope icon next to email. Progress bars showing skill levels.
• Why it's bad: ATS can't parse images. The skill bars are invisible to the system. Icons don't convey information that text doesn't already provide.
• Fix: Replace all graphics with plain text. Remove skill ratings entirely (they're subjective). Use text labels instead of icons.

Mistake #5: Inconsistent Date Formatting

Dates appear in every possible format within the same resume: 'Jan 2023', 'January 2023', '01/2023', '2023-01', 'Q1 2023'.

• What it looks like: 'Jan 2020 – March 2022' in one role, 'April 2018 to 12/2019' in the next.
• Why it's bad: Inconsistency looks sloppy. Some ATS systems can't parse non-standard date formats, creating gaps in the timeline.
• Fix: Standardize to one format: 'MMM YYYY' (e.g., 'Jan 2023 – Present') is the most readable and ATS-friendly.

Mistake #6: No Clear Section Headings

Some resumes use creative section titles ('My Journey' instead of 'Professional Experience') or use formatting alone (bold text, larger font) without actual heading styles.

• What it looks like: Bold text that looks like a heading but isn't tagged as one in Word. Or creative labels like 'Where I've Made Impact' instead of 'Experience'.
• Why it's bad: ATS systems look for standard headings to categorize content. Creative titles aren't recognized. Faux headings (bold text without heading styles) don't appear in document structure.
• Fix: Use standard headings: Professional Summary, Skills, Professional Experience, Education, Certifications. Apply Word's Heading 2 style so they're structurally tagged.

Mistake #7: Excessive Length

Resumes that are 4, 5, or even 8+ pages long. Executive CVs that include every position since 1985.

• What it looks like: A 6-page resume where the last 3 pages cover roles from 15+ years ago. Or a resume that lists every technology ever touched, every training ever completed.
• Why it's bad: Hiring managers won't read past page 2-3. Excessive length dilutes the strongest qualifications. Client feedback often says 'too long, couldn't find the relevant experience.'
• Fix: For most candidates, 2 pages is optimal. 3 pages for senior/executive roles. Focus on the last 10-15 years. Summarize older roles in a brief 'Earlier Career' section.

Mistake #8: Tables with Merged Cells

Using complex Word tables with merged cells to create visual layouts. Common in templates downloaded from the internet.

• What it looks like: The entire resume is built inside a table with merged cells creating a complex grid layout.
• Why it's bad: ATS systems handle simple tables reasonably well, but merged cells create parsing chaos. Content from merged cells often gets misplaced or duplicated.
• Fix: Remove the table structure entirely. Use standard paragraphs with heading styles. If you need a grid (like for skills), use a simple 2-3 column table without merged cells.

Mistake #9: PDF Image Files (Scanned Resumes)

PDFs created by scanning a printed resume, taking a photo, or using 'Print to PDF' from certain applications. These are image files, not text files.

• What it looks like: A PDF that looks normal but you can't select or copy any text. The entire page is a single image.
• Why it's bad: ATS can't parse image-based PDFs at all. The content is invisible to keyword searches. OCR (optical character recognition) can extract text but with errors.
• Fix: Request the Word version from the candidate. Or use a formatting tool with OCR that can extract text from image-based documents and rebuild them as text-based files.

Mistake #10: Missing or Buried Contact Information

For agency submissions, the candidate's direct contact info should typically be removed and replaced with the recruiter's contact info. But for internal processing, missing contact info creates problems.

• What it looks like: No phone number. Email buried on page 3. LinkedIn URL in a text box that ATS can't parse.
• Why it's bad: If the ATS can't capture contact info, the recruiter has to manually enter it. For client submissions, having candidate direct contact info visible can lead to back-channeling.
• Fix: For client submissions: replace candidate contact with recruiter contact info in the header. For ATS intake: ensure name, email, and phone are in the first few lines of the document body.

How Many of These Does Your Team Catch?

The total fix time per resume ranges from 30-60 minutes manually. An automated formatting tool catches and fixes all 10 mistakes in under 60 seconds by applying a clean, ATS-safe template to any source resume.