Why Your CV Isn’t Getting Interviews (And How to Fix It)

Applying for jobs and hearing nothing back is frustrating. The worst part is that it can happen even when you are qualified.

In many cases, the issue is not your experience. It is how quickly a recruiter (or an ATS) can understand that your CV matches the role.

This guide breaks down the most common reasons CVs do not convert into interviews and shows fixes you can make without rewriting everything from scratch.

If you want to tailor your CV to a specific job description faster, you can use our tailoring tool here:
Tailor your CV

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A lot of CVs are not read in detail. Early screening is usually a quick scan for basic signals.

Recruiters tend to look for:

• Location / right to work (can the person be hired without issues?)
• Current role and level (title, seniority, recent responsibilities)
• Recent experience (company, duration, relevant industry)
• Key skills and tools that match the job description
• Education or certifications (when the role requires them)

If those signals are unclear in the first moments, your CV may be set aside even if you are capable.

What to do

Make the basics obvious:

• State the target role near the top and match the job title where it’s accurate (avoid vague labels like “Professional”). Example: “Sales Representative” → “Solar Sales Representative”

• Surface your most relevant skills first so they’re easy to spot at a glance.

• Write recent experience to support fast scanning with clear titles, companies, dates, and short outcome-focused bullets.

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Many employers use applicant tracking systems (ATS) to organise applications. ATS tools do not always reject people automatically, but they often:

• parse your CV into fields
• convert it into searchable data
• help recruiters search and filter candidates in a database
• rank your CV based on how well it matches the job description

This is why formatting and keywords matter. If your CV is hard to parse or too generic, it can be ranked lower before anyone manually reviews it.

Keep it ATS-friendly (formatting rules that usually work)

To make sure an ATS can extract your details properly:

• Use common, simple fonts (for example Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, Georgia)
• Use standard bullet points and keep them consistent
• Use standard headings like Work Experience, Education, and Skills
• Format dates consistently for example

  03/2022

  or

  March 2022

  and use one style everywhere
• Keep the layout simple and predictable

Avoid elements like tables and diagrams that can break parsing

Many ATS parsers struggle with complex layouts. Avoid:

• headers and footers
• columns
• tables
• heavy graphics and icons
• unusual symbols

If your CV is clean, it helps both ATS systems and humans.

Keywords matter because recruiters search databases

Once your CV is in an ATS, recruiters often search for specific skills and tools. One industry report suggests many recruiters search by hard skills and soft skills taken directly from job descriptions.

That means tailoring is not only about wording. It is also about making sure your CV contains the terms employers are actually searching for.

Example (tools and systems):
If a job description mentions certain tools for example Google Calendar, Microsoft Excel, Hootsuite, or Canva or any other tool, you should include them naturally where they apply.
Do not copy and paste the job description. Instead, connect the keywords to your real experience.

Avoid keyword stuffing: Employers do not expect you to match every single term. A short list used naturally will outperform a long list that looks forced.

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1) Your CV is not tailored enough

A generic CV often feels like it could be sent to any role. Recruiters want to see clear alignment with the job you are applying for.

Fix: Update three areas for each application:

• your title / target role
• your skills order
• the top bullets in your most recent role

You do not need to rewrite everything. You need to make the match obvious.

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2) Your target role is unclear

If a recruiter cannot tell what role your CV is for, they will not spend time figuring it out.

This happens when:

• the summary is vague
• the CV includes too many different role types
• the skills list is broad and unfocused

Fix: Add a clear headline under your name, for example:

• “Customer Support Specialist”
• “Junior Data Analyst”
• “Operations Coordinator”

Then make your first section (summary or skills) reinforce that direction.

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3) Your top third does not “sell” the fit

The top part of your CV is the most important. If it does not communicate relevance quickly, the rest may not be read.

Fix: Your summary should answer:

• What role are you targeting?
• What is your strongest relevant experience?
• What tools or skills are most relevant?

Example summary (edit to match your role):

Takeaway

Operations Coordinator with experience supporting scheduling, reporting, and process improvements. Comfortable with spreadsheets, stakeholder communication, and keeping projects organised across multiple teams.

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4) Your bullets describe duties, not outcomes

Many CVs list responsibilities. That does not help a recruiter understand impact.

Fix: Rewrite the first few bullets in your most recent role using this structure:

Action + scope + outcome

If you do not know exact metrics, focus on:

• scale (high-volume, multi-team, weekly cadence)
• reliability (reduced errors, fewer escalations)
• speed (faster turnaround, smoother handovers)
• quality (better documentation, fewer reworks)

Before:

• Responsible for handling customer queries.

After:

• Resolved customer queries across email and chat, improving response consistency by using clearer templates and escalation notes.

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5) You are including too much irrelevant content

A CV that tries to include everything often becomes harder to scan. Irrelevant detail distracts from your strongest evidence.

Fix:

• Keep older or unrelated roles to fewer bullets
• Prioritise recent, relevant experience
• If space is tight, cut detail before cutting clarity

If you are aiming for one page, relevance matters even more.

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6) Formatting makes it hard to scan

Even a strong CV can underperform if it is visually dense or inconsistent.

Common issues:

• long paragraphs
• tiny font sizes
• no whitespace
• inconsistent date formatting
• mixed styles for headings

Fix:

• Use clear section headings
• Keep bullets short
• Maintain consistent spacing and dates
• Use a clean template designed for readability

You can view our templates here:
CV templates

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7) You are missing a required signal

Some roles have non-negotiables: certifications, tools, degree requirements, or specific experience.

If those are missing (or hard to find), you may be filtered out quickly.

Fix: Pull required signals into the open:

• place key tools in your skills section
• mention required certs in a dedicated line
• make education easy to find if it is important for the role

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8) You are applying for roles that are not aligned yet

This one is difficult, but it matters. Sometimes rejection is a mismatch of:

• seniority level
• industry expectations
• required tools
• location constraints

Fix: If you are not getting interviews after many applications, try narrowing:

• apply to one role type for a few weeks
• tailor to that role consistently
• adjust your CV to match the market you are targeting

If you change targets every application, your CV will look unfocused.

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If you want a short “do this first” list:

1. Make your target role obvious under your name
2. Tailor your summary to match the job description
3. Reorder skills so the most relevant appear first
4. Rewrite the top 3 bullets in your most recent role
5. Reduce irrelevant detail, especially older roles
6. Use a clean, ATS-friendly template

Even doing half of the above can improve results.

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One page is not a rule for every person and every role, but it works well when:

• the role is clear
• the content is prioritised
• the CV is tailored to the job

A one-page CV forces you to remove clutter and highlight relevance.

If you want a deeper guide, see:
Why we focus on one-page CVs

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Before you apply, check:

• Is the target role obvious in 5–10 seconds?
• Do my first bullets match the job requirements?
• Are the key tools and skills easy to find?
• Is the layout clean and readable?
• Would a recruiter quickly understand why I fit?

If the answer is “not really” to any of these, that is your fix list.

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Not getting interviews is common. It usually comes down to clarity and alignment, not talent.

When your CV clearly matches the role, recruiters do not have to work to understand your fit. That alone can improve your response rate.

If you want to speed up the tailoring process, you can tailor your CV to a job description here:
Start tailoring your CV