First, look at your numbers
Before you change anything, count the past twenty or so applications. Where the process breaks tells you what to work on.
| What you see | What it probably means |
|---|---|
| Instant automatic rejections | A knockout question or a parsing problem: reasons 1 and 7 |
| Silence from almost everything | The resume or the targeting: reasons 2, 3, 4 and 6 |
| Silence from big companies, replies from small ones | Too few matching keywords, or relying on job boards: reasons 2 and 5 |
| Recruiter calls, then nothing | The resume works. Look at your salary and how you present yourself on the call |
| Interviews, but no offers | The resume works. The issue is interview preparation |
1. Software cannot read your resume
Many companies pass applications through an applicant tracking system, which extracts the text from your resume so that recruiters can search it. Unusual layouts can come out scrambled: columns are read in the wrong order, and text inside tables, text boxes or images can be lost.
The fix: copy all the text from your PDF and paste it into a plain text editor. If the order is confused or parts are missing, the software is seeing the same thing. Our guide to how applicant tracking systems read your resume explains which formats are safe.
2. Your words do not match the posting
Recruiters search for the words used in the job description: titles, tools, methods. If the posting says “account management” and you wrote “looking after clients”, you may not come up at all, however good you are.
The fix: read the posting twice and mark every skill it mentions more than once. Wherever those are true for you, use the same wording. Do it for each application: tailoring takes about ten minutes and it’s the most useful habit you can build in a job search.
3. You are aiming too widely, or at the wrong level
Applying to many different kinds of jobs feels productive, but a resume aimed at everyone convinces no one. Applying too far above your level has the same effect, as does applying too far below it, which raises the question of whether you would leave after three months.
The fix: choose one or two target job titles. Read ten postings for each, and check how many of the core requirements you meet. Aim for jobs where you meet most of them, and keep a separate version of your resume for each title.
4. Your bullets describe duties, not results
Recruiters already know what a project manager does. What they want to know is how well you did it. A list of responsibilities gives them no way to tell you apart from anyone else with that title.
Before
Responsible for project planning, coordination of teams and reporting to stakeholders.
After
Delivered a 1.2 million systems migration two weeks early, keeping nine teams on schedule through weekly risk reviews.
The fix: rewrite your two most recent jobs so that each bullet starts with one of these action verbs and ends with a result.
5. You only apply through job boards, and late
A posting that has been up for three weeks may already have hundreds of applicants, and many roles are filled through people the team already knows. Sending every application through the same public button means you are in the most crowded line.
- Apply early: set alerts and aim for postings from the past few days.
- Find a person: look for someone who works on that team, and ask a short, specific question.
- Ask for referrals: many companies pay attention to candidates recommended by their own employees.
- Make yourself findable: recruiters search too. These LinkedIn profile tips help them find you.
6. The top of your page says too little
Someone skimming your resume looks at the top third first: your title, a summary and your latest job. If it’s not obvious what you do and what you are aiming for, they’ll move on.
The fix: make sure your title matches the job you want, and add a short summary that names your strongest result. These resume summary examples show how. While you are there, check that your resume is the right length.
7. A form screened you out
Application forms often have knockout questions about work permits, location, salary or years of experience. A single answer can lead to automatic rejection, often within minutes, and no one will ever see your resume.
The fix: always answer honestly, and leave the salary field empty or give a range if you can. If you need a visa or are relocating, say so clearly, along with what you have already sorted out. If you keep getting instant rejections, look at what those forms had in common.
A one-week reset
If you do not know where to start, stop applying for a week and do this instead:
- Choose one job title, and collect ten recent postings for it.
- List the skills that come up most, and mark those that are true for you.
- Rewrite your title, summary and two latest jobs around those skills.
- Check that software can read the file.
- Send five carefully tailored applications, and look for one person to contact at each company.
- Track what happens in a simple table: date, company, version and response.
