RESUME MISTAKES

Stop Losing Event Coordinator Jobs to Bad Resumes

Identify and correct the critical mistakes that keep hiring managers from seeing your event planning expertise.

How This Page Helps
This page helps event coordinators pinpoint frequent resume pitfalls, understand why they hurt your candidacy, and apply actionable fixes that improve ATS scoring and recruiter appeal.
Spot the 7 most damaging resume errors for event coordinators
Learn why each mistake reduces your interview chances
Apply step‑by‑step fixes with real before‑and‑after examples
Boost your resume’s ATS compatibility instantly

Common Mistakes That Kill Your Chances

Each mistake includes why it hurts, how to fix it, and before/after examples

Generic Objective StatementMEDIUM
Why it hurts
  • Provides no value to recruiters
  • Lacks keywords that ATS scans for
  • Fails to showcase your unique event planning strengths
How to fix
  • Replace the objective with a 2‑sentence professional summary
  • Highlight years of experience and key event types you manage
  • Insert high‑impact keywords such as "venue sourcing" and "budget oversight"
❌ Before

Objective: Seeking a challenging position where I can utilize my skills.

✓ After

Professional Summary: Dynamic Event Coordinator with 5+ years orchestrating corporate conferences and large‑scale festivals for audiences up to 20,000. Expert in vendor negotiation, budget management, and on‑site execution, consistently delivering events 15% under budget.

ATS Tip
Lead with industry‑specific keywords early in the summary to ensure they’re captured by ATS parsers.
Detection Rules
Contains the word "Objective"
Lacks measurable results or industry terms
Resumly Tip
Swap the objective for a concise summary that sells your event coordination impact.
Listing Duties Instead of AchievementsHIGH
Why it hurts
  • Makes you look like a task‑taker rather than a results‑driver
  • Hard for ATS to match quantifiable keywords
  • Recruiters skim quickly and miss your real value
How to fix
  • Start each bullet with a strong action verb
  • Add numbers, percentages, or audience sizes
  • Show the outcome or benefit of your actions
❌ Before

- Coordinated logistics for corporate meetings. - Managed vendor relationships. - Handled event registration.

✓ After

- Coordinated logistics for 30+ corporate meetings, overseeing budgets up to $250K and achieving a 98% on‑time delivery rate. - Negotiated vendor contracts, reducing costs by 12% while maintaining service quality. - Implemented an online registration system that increased attendee sign‑ups by 25% and cut processing time by 40%.

ATS Tip
Include quantifiable metrics and relevant software names (e.g., Cvent, Eventbrite) to improve keyword density.
Detection Rules
Bullets start with "Responsible for" or "Managed" without numbers
No mention of tools or results
Resumly Tip
Turn every duty into a measurable achievement to capture recruiter attention.
Missing Event‑Specific KeywordsHIGH
Why it hurts
  • ATS filters out resumes lacking core industry terms
  • Hiring managers may assume you lack required expertise
How to fix
  • Research job postings for common terms (e.g., "venue scouting", "budget reconciliation", "on‑site coordination")
  • Weave at least 5–7 of these keywords naturally throughout Experience and Skills sections
  • Use exact phrasing when possible
❌ Before

Experience: Managed events and handled budgets.

✓ After

Experience: Led venue scouting, contract negotiation, and on‑site coordination for multi‑day conferences with budgets exceeding $500K, ensuring seamless execution and client satisfaction.

ATS Tip
Create a keyword bank from 3–5 recent job ads and sprinkle them across headings, bullet points, and the skills list.
Detection Rules
Skills section missing terms like "Cvent" or "budget oversight"
Experience bullets lack industry jargon
Resumly Tip
Add a dedicated 'Key Skills' block with targeted event‑planning terms.
Inconsistent Date or Location FormattingLOW
Why it hurts
  • Confuses ATS parsers, causing data loss
  • Creates a sloppy visual impression for recruiters
How to fix
  • Standardize dates to "MMM YYYY" (e.g., Jan 2022)
  • List locations as "City, State" consistently
  • Align dates to the right margin for readability
❌ Before

Event Coordinator ABC Events – New York June 2020 – March 2022

✓ After

Event Coordinator, ABC Events — New York, NY Jun 2020 – Mar 2022

ATS Tip
Use plain text characters (no em‑dashes) and avoid abbreviations that ATS may not recognize.
Detection Rules
Dates appear as full month names with day numbers
Location lines mix city‑state formats
Resumly Tip
Adopt a uniform date and location style to keep ATS parsing smooth.
Overly Long Resume (More Than 2 Pages)MEDIUM
Why it hurts
  • Hiring managers typically spend <30 seconds per resume
  • ATS may truncate content beyond the first two pages
How to fix
  • Focus on the most recent 10 years of experience
  • Combine older roles into a single "Earlier Experience" section
  • Remove unrelated jobs and generic soft‑skill statements
❌ Before

Full 4‑page resume detailing every part‑time job since college.

✓ After

Concise 1‑page resume highlighting 5 relevant roles, key achievements, and core event‑planning competencies.

ATS Tip
Keep the file under 2 pages and under 500KB to ensure full ATS ingestion.
Detection Rules
File length exceeds 2 pages
Word count > 800
Resumly Tip
Trim excess content; quality beats quantity on a resume.
Formatting Guidelines
File Types: PDF, DOCX
Sections: Contact Information, Professional Summary, Key Skills, Professional Experience, Education, Certifications, Volunteer Experience (optional)
Naming: FirstName_LastName_EventCoordinator.pdf
Consistency
Length: 1–2 pages (ideal: 1 page for <5 years experience, 2 pages for 5+ years)
Date Format: MMM YYYY (e.g., Jan 2023)
Location Format: City, State (e.g., Chicago, IL)
Resume Quality Checklist
  • Contact info includes phone, email, LinkedIn URL
  • Professional summary is 2‑3 lines with keywords
  • Each experience bullet starts with an action verb and includes a metric
  • Key Skills list contains at least 8 event‑specific terms
  • Dates are formatted uniformly and aligned right
  • File saved as PDF with the naming convention
ATS Alignment Guide
Common ATS Systems: iCIMS, Taleo, Workday, Greenhouse
Keyword Strategy: event planning, venue sourcing, budget oversight, vendor management, on‑site coordination, Cvent, Eventbrite, stakeholder communication
Heading Format: Use standard headings like "Professional Experience" and "Key Achievements"
Quick Fix Workshop
Paste a current Experience bullet you want to improve
  • Add a strong action verb
  • Quantify the result (percentage, dollar amount, attendee count)
  • Insert relevant event‑planning software or methodology
Download Checklist PDF
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