You applied to 40 jobs and heard nothing back from 38 of them. You assumed you weren't good enough.
Probably not what happened. What probably happened is a piece of software read your resume before any human did, looked for words that matched the job posting, didn't find enough of them, and filed you.
That's it. That's the whole thing. Most people never get rejected by a person at all.
The fix isn't lying or stuffing keywords. It's saying the true things about yourself using the words that job posting actually uses.
Find out what it's looking for
Copy the job posting. Then:
Here's a job posting.
[paste the whole thing]
Pull out:
1. The hard requirements, the ones that would auto-fail me
2. The exact skill and tool words they use, word for word
3. The 5 words they repeat most
4. What this job is really about, underneath the corporate
language
Give me the exact wording they use, not synonyms.That "exact wording" instruction matters. If they say "client relationship management" and your resume says "customer service," the software may not connect those. Same job. Different words.
Now compare it to what you've got
Here's my current resume.
[paste]
Compare it against that job posting.
1. Which of their requirements do I clearly meet, and where
does my resume already show it?
2. Which do I actually meet but my resume describes in
different words?
3. Which do I genuinely not meet?
4. What do I have that they'd want but didn't ask for?
For number 2, show me the line I have and how to rewrite it
using their words, without changing what's true.Category 2 is where the jobs are hiding. Most people are qualified and are describing it wrong.
Category 3 is honest information. If you're missing 4 hard requirements, that's not your job and you saved yourself an evening.
Rewrite it, one job at a time
Yes, one at a time. The same resume sent to 40 places is why 38 didn't answer.
Rewrite my resume for this specific job.
Rules:
- Every single thing has to be true. If you're not sure I did
something, leave it out and flag it for me.
- Use their exact words where they honestly apply to me
- Lead each bullet with what I actually did, not "responsible for"
- Numbers wherever I gave you numbers. Don't invent any.
- Cut anything irrelevant to this job, even if I'm proud of it
- Plain formatting, no columns, no tables, no graphics
Then list every change you made and why.That last line is your safety check. Read it. If it added something you didn't do, you'll catch it there instead of in an interview.
Plain formatting is not a style preference. Columns, text boxes and graphics are how screening software ends up reading your resume as gibberish. Save the pretty version for the interview.
Rest of it's yours
Drop your email and the whole thing opens up right here. No waiting on a confirmation, no download, nothing to install.
You'll also get the new ones as I make them. Leave whenever, no hard feelings.
The cover letter that isn't 4 paragraphs of nothing
Write a cover letter for this job using my resume.
- Under 200 words
- First sentence says something specific about THIS company or
role, not "I am writing to apply"
- Middle is one concrete thing I did that maps to their biggest
requirement
- No "passionate," no "team player," no "hit the ground running"
- End with a plain sentence about talking further
- Sound like a person, not a template
Nothing in it can be untrue.Most people write 4 paragraphs saying nothing. 150 honest, specific words beats it every time.
Interview prep, which is where it's genuinely excellent
This is the part people don't think to use it for and it's the highest-value thing here.
Based on that job posting and my resume, act as the hiring
manager.
Ask me the 10 questions you'd actually ask me, including the
uncomfortable ones about the gaps in my background.
Ask them one at a time. Wait for my answer. After each one,
tell me honestly what was weak about it and what to say
instead.
Don't be encouraging. Be useful.Run this the night before. It'll ask you the thing you were dreading and you'll get to be bad at answering it in private instead of in the room.
And the one everybody forgets:
What are the 5 best questions I could ask THEM at the end,
based on this posting? Not generic ones. Questions that show
I read it properly and make me sound like somebody who's
thinking about doing the job well.Two rules that keep you out of trouble
Everything on the page has to be true. Not stretched, not implied, true. Screening software gets you the interview; the interview is where a person finds out. Getting caught inflating is worse than not applying.
Check every number. If a number appears that you didn't provide, it's invented. Delete it or replace it with the real one.
What I'd do tonight
Take the job you actually want, not one of the 40. Run the posting through step 1. Run your resume through step 2.
Look specifically at category 2, the things you can do but described wrong. That list is usually longer than people expect, and it's the reason you weren't hearing back.
Fix those, send it, then do the interview prep before you hear anything. Best case you're ready. Worst case you learned what you're bad at explaining, which you needed anyway.