A practical guide by RK HR Management Pvt. Ltd. (RKHRM) for India’s jobseekers—freshers to senior leaders
When great candidates get ignored, it’s usually not because they’re unqualified—it’s because their CV makes it hard for recruiters or Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to see the value quickly. Drawing on thousands of shortlists we build each year, here’s a no-nonsense guide to the most common resume mistakes—and exactly how to fix them—so you land interviews faster with banks, fintechs, IT firms, manufacturing leaders, and GCCs in GIFT City.
RKHRM is a Recruitment Agency in Ahmedabad and Human Resources Consultancy in Ahmedabad. We help candidates and employers cut through noise and match on real skills and outcomes.
1) Vague summaries that say everything—and nothing
The mistake: “Hardworking, team player looking for challenging opportunity.”
Why it hurts: It doesn’t tell a hiring manager what you do or what outcomes you drive.
Fix (Outcome-first summary, 3 lines max):
- “Data Analyst with 3+ years in retail and BFSI; improved forecast accuracy by 14% using SQL + Power BI.”
- “Relationship Manager (SME) managing ₹42 Cr portfolio; 0.9% delinquency, 118% target achievement FY24.”
- “DevOps Engineer (AWS) cutting deploy time from 45→8 minutes; SOC2-aligned pipelines.”
Pro tip: Tailor the summary to the job, echoing 2–3 keywords in the JD.
2) Walls of text; no scannability
The mistake: Dense paragraphs and long narratives.
Why it hurts: Recruiters scan in 7–12 seconds. If results don’t pop, you’re skipped.
Fix:
- Use bullets (3–5 per role), start with a strong verb + metric + tool.
- Example: “Reduced churn 12% by launching NPS-driven retention playbooks; SQL + Looker.”
- Keep each bullet one line; wrap only once if needed.
3) Responsibilities > Results
The mistake: Listing duties (“Responsible for…”) without outcomes.
Why it hurts: Anyone can have responsibilities; impact wins interviews.
Fix: Flip to results with numbers.
- “Processed 200+ LC transactions/month with 0 audit issues; turnaround <24h (GIFT City IFSC).”
- “Closed 31 mid-market accounts (₹9.6 Cr ARR) through ABM playbooks; CAC down 22%.”
4) Ignoring ATS basics
The mistake: Fancy templates, tables, text boxes, images, headers/footers with crucial info.
Why it hurts: Many ATS can’t parse non-standard layouts; your keywords vanish.
Fix:
- Use clean, left-aligned formatting; no tables for core content.
- Save as PDF (unless asked for DOCX).
- Repeat hard skills exactly as in JD (e.g., “AWS,” not only “Amazon Web Services”).
- Keep one column, standard fonts (Calibri/Arial 10–11 pt).
5) Skills lists with no proof
The mistake: 30 buzzwords under “Skills.”
Why it hurts: Recruiters need evidence in experience bullets.
Fix: For each skill you list, show one result in experience.
- If you say SQL, include: “Built 12 dashboards; query runtime down 37% via indexing.”
- If you say AML/KYC, include: “Cleared 1,200 alerts/month; false positives −19% with new rules.”
6) Education and certifications overshadow experience
The mistake: Putting education first when you have 2+ years’ experience.
Why it hurts: For most roles, impact at work > degree list.
Fix: Order of sections (most cases): Summary → Experience → Projects → Skills → Education → Certifications.
7) Generic CV for every application
The mistake: One CV for all.
Why it hurts: Roles vary—BFSI RMs ≠ SaaS AEs; Cloud DevOps ≠ Data Engineering.
Fix: Keep a master CV, then tailor a version (5–10 minutes) per application: tweak the summary, 3–4 bullets, and skills ordering to mirror the JD.
8) No “proof of scale” for leadership roles
The mistake: Senior profiles without scope.
Why it hurts: Hiring committees want scale, complexity, governance.
Fix: Add scale lines:
- “Led 7 direct / 84 indirect; 6 DCs; ₹220 Cr budget; SOX / RBI audit clean.”
- “Launched GCC analytics pod in 90 days; 26 hires; 0 production Sev-1s.”
9) Contact errors & missing links
The mistake: Wrong phone/email, no LinkedIn or portfolio.
Fix: One professional email, active phone, LinkedIn URL, GitHub/Portfolio if relevant. Ensure your LinkedIn headline mirrors your CV summary.
10) Typos and inconsistent formatting
The mistake: Random spacing, tense shifts, inconsistent dashes/quotes.
Fix: One style for all dashes, quotes, bullets; past tense for past roles, present tense for current; run a spell/grammar check; print once to spot layout issues.
11) Underusing a “Projects” section
The mistake: Hiding standout work inside long bullets.
Fix: Add 2–3 mini projects with outcome + tools:
- “Computer Vision QC pilot → false rejects −31% (OpenCV, Python).”
- “IFSC treasury reconciliation bot → T+0 close (UiPath).”
12) Leaving out GCC/GIFT City relevance (if you have it)
The mistake: Not signaling IFSC/GCC familiarity when applying to those roles.
Fix: Add a GCC/GIFT City line if relevant:
- “Supported IFSC processes; sanctions screening, swift messaging.”
- “Built analytics COE for captive (GCC) in Ahmedabad; 18% faster cycle time.”
A simple, recruiter-friendly CV outline (copy and adapt)
Name | City | Phone | Email | LinkedIn
Role Title / 2–3 keywords
Summary (3 lines max): Who you are, industry context, 2–3 quantified outcomes + 2–3 tools.
Experience
Company | Role | Location | Dates
- Result with metric + method (tool/process).
- Result with metric + method (tool/process).
- Result with metric + method (tool/process).
(Repeat for previous roles; last 10–12 years max in detail.)
Projects (2–3) | Tools
- Outcome, scale, tools.
Skills (cluster by category: Analytics, Cloud, Finance Ops, Compliance, etc.)
Education | Certifications (relevant, recent first)
Bonus: Micro-tweaks that boost shortlisting rates
- Mirror the JD’s vocabulary (e.g., “Collections Strategy,” not only “Recovery”).
- Add employer logos only if the template remains ATS-safe (optional).
- Use numbers naturally (%, ₹, time, volume).
- Trim to 2 pages (3 only for 15+ years with high complexity).
- Send as PDF unless specified otherwise.
Tailored guidance for your next step
Read more : Overcoming India’s Recruitment Challenges in 2025: The Power of AI and Automation
- BFSI & Fintech: Showcase audits, regulatory wins (RBI/IRDAI/SEBI), portfolio quality, and cross-sell metrics.
- IT / Product / Cloud: Quantify performance, reliability, cost savings, security posture.
- GCC / GIFT City roles: Highlight global process familiarity, controls, TAT, and compliance cadence.
- Operations / Supply Chain: OTIF, dwell, throughput, cost/quality, automation exposure.
How RKHRM can help you land interviews faster
As a Best Job Consultancy in Ahmedabad and trusted Executive Search Consultants, RKHRM reviews your CV against live mandates, flags gaps, and positions your experience to match business outcomes—not buzzwords. We actively hire for Job Vacancies in GIFT City, BFSI/fintech, IT/ITES, analytics COEs, manufacturing, and leadership roles across India.
What we offer candidates (free):
- JD-specific feedback (5–7 edits)
- One outcome-focused summary rewrite
- Keyword alignment for ATS
- Interview prep pointers for the role
Add these if you’re applying to GCCs (Ahmedabad / GIFT City)
- “Cross-border workflows (IFSC), exposure to international stakeholders, weekly compliance cadence.”
- “Process controls: 4-eye checks, maker–checker, audit trails.”
- “Tools: SWIFT, Temenos, Finacle/Oracle Flexcube, UiPath, Power BI, Snowflake (as applicable).”
Quick checklist (print this)
- Summary shows outcomes + tools in 3 lines
- Bullets = results with numbers (not just duties)
- ATS-safe layout, one column, no tables for core text
- Skills appear in bullets as proof
- Scope/scale added for leadership roles
- LinkedIn link + contact working
- CV length 2 pages (3 only if justified)
- Tailored to each JD (5–10 min tweak)
Keywords used (kept natural to avoid stuffing)
- Human Resources Consultancy in Ahmedabad
- Recruitment Agency in Ahmedabad
- Best Job Consultancy in Ahmedabad
- Executive Search Consultants
- (Optional in your site copy / internal links: “Job Vacancies in GIFT City” and “Recruitment Company in Ahmedabad” for location-intent pages.)
Let’s get you interview-ready
RK HR Management Pvt. Ltd. (RKHRM)
📍 Ahmedabad, Gujarat (serving pan-India)
🌐 www.rkhrm.com
✉️ [email protected]
📞 +91-8460662200
We’ll help you present your experience the way hiring managers and ATS actually read it—so you move from apply to interview to offer.
