Most large employers run applications through an ATS (Applicant Tracking System) before a human ever sees them.
Here's what tanks good resumes:
→ Tables and columns. ATS parses left-to-right, top-to-bottom. Columns get scrambled. → Headers/footers. Most ATS systems ignore them entirely — your contact info vanishes. → Graphics, icons, logos. Pure noise to a parser. → "Creative" section names. "Where I've Been" instead of "Experience" won't match the fields it's looking for. → Missing keywords. If the job says "cross-functional collaboration" and your resume says "worked with different teams" — it may not match.
Simple fix: single-column, clean formatting, mirror the job posting's exact language where honest.
You're not dumbing down your resume. You're making sure it actually gets read.