Be honest…
Have you ever hit “Send” on your CV and sat there refreshing your inbox, hoping for at least one reply—only to hear absolute silence? No rejection, no “We’ll get back to you,” nothing. Just that cold, empty inbox.
And you start doubting yourself:
“Maybe I’m not good enough… Maybe everyone else is just better than me…”
But here’s the truth no one tells you:
It’s often not your talent that’s the problem. It’s your CV quietly killing your chances before a human even reads it.
Recruiters don’t hate you. They don’t even know you. Your CV just never made it past that 10-second scan (or worse, the software filter). Let’s walk through the silent mistakes that are ruining freshers’ chances—mistakes so common that almost everyone makes them. And I’ll tell you what hiring managers are actually thinking when they see them.
The “I’m Trying Too Hard” Syndrome
You’ve packed your CV with big words:
“Highly motivated, detail-oriented, self-starter…”
You think it sounds professional. Recruiters think: “Okay, but show me.” If you’re claiming to be “detail-oriented” and then there’s a spelling error three lines down—you’re gone.
What to do instead: Drop the generic adjectives. Replace them with mini-stories:
“Created a spreadsheet that tracked 120+ sales calls, helping the team identify 3 major client trends.”
Typos That Scream “I Don’t Care”
I once spoke to a recruiter who tossed out 37 CVs in a single morning—because of typos. Not because those people weren’t skilled. But because if you didn’t take 5 minutes to proofread for your future, will you care about the company’s work?
Pro tip: Print it out. Mistakes hide on screens but pop out on paper.
The “Copy-Paste for Every Job” Mistake
Freshers often think:
“If I send my CV to 50 places, one will reply.”
What recruiters see is:
“They didn’t even bother to read what this job was about.”
Example:
If the job asks for someone with basic Excel skills, and your CV talks about your “great teamwork in a college drama society,” it’s irrelevant.
Instead: Take 10 minutes per job to tweak your CV so the most relevant skills are at the top.
The Formatting That Makes Recruiters Squint
Too small font.
Margins so tight it looks like a legal contract.
Giant chunks of text.
Remember: recruiters are scanning hundreds of CVs. If your CV looks like homework they don’t want to grade—it’s going in the “later” pile (which means “never”).
The fix:
Missing the Obvious
I wish I was making this up, but…
Recruiters have received CVs without a phone number. Without an email. Or with an email like cuteboy420@gmail.com. (Clipping)
Your CV is your handshake. If your contact details aren’t there—or aren’t professional—you’re not even in the game.
Ignoring the ATS Gatekeeper
Applicant Tracking Systems are robots that scan CVs before humans see them.
If your CV has fancy graphics, weird fonts, or is in a PDF format the ATS can’t read, it’s as good as invisible.
The trick:
No Proof You Can Do the Job
Too many freshers list responsibilities instead of achievements:
“Responsible for social media.”
That’s a chore. An action with no result.
Instead:
“Managed Instagram page, increased followers from 500 to 2,000 in three months.”
Results are what make a recruiter’s eyes stop.
What Recruiters Secretly Think
If you could sit in the recruiter’s chair for one day, here’s what you’d hear:
