Caught myself applying for jobs the same way I did 3 years ago

Last week I realized I've been using the same resume template and cover letter format since 2021. I landed my current role at a marketing firm in Austin back then, but now I've sent out 20 applications with zero callbacks. A friend in HR told me recruiters now scan for keywords from the job description, not just general experience. Anyone else had to completely rework their application game?

2 comments

2 Comments

jamesmason4d ago

Honestly I think people overhype this keyword thing. I hired someone last year for my team at a tech firm and barely looked at the resume, I just called the people who seemed interesting from the first glance.

jackson.sarah4d agoMost Upvoted

Wait, you mean you can't just spam the same generic resume to 50 places and hope for the best anymore? That's been my strategy since 2008 and I'm shocked, shocked I tell you, that it's not working out. Seriously though, the keyword scanning thing is real. I've watched my wife, who's an office manager, go through piles of resumes for her company. If your resume doesn't have the exact words from the job posting, it goes straight in the trash before a human even blinks at it. You're basically playing a game of Mad Libs with your work history now. Take their job description, copy their fancy words, and cram them into your resume until it looks like you wrote it just for them. It's a pain in the ass, but that's the game. Either play it or keep getting ghosted.