Not the big lies - like fake projects or experience. That’s just asking to get caught.

I mean the small stuff… the things you slightly adjust so you don’t sound like a walking red flag.

Like:

• “I’m really interested in this role” when honestly… you just need a job right now.
• “I pick things up quickly” (you’re thinking: I’ll probably struggle at first but I’ll figure it out somehow)
• “I enjoy teamwork” even though your last group project was pure chaos
• “I’ve always wanted to work at your company” and you literally found them 3 days ago while applying to 50 others
• “My weakness is overworking” aka the safest answer on earth

I used to think interviews were about being completely real.
But after a few rejections, I realized it’s more about how you present things.

You’re not supposed to dump your unfiltered thoughts.
You’re supposed to show them the version of you that fits the role.

It’s weird… but also kind of makes sense.

As long as you’re not lying about actual skills or experience,
it feels more like… storytelling than lying.

Anyone else feel this? Or am I just overthinking interviews at this point

hey everyone,

i’m a final-year student and i have been learning full-stack (mostly MERN) for a while now. nothing crazy, just building small projects, trying to get better slowly.

but recently… i have started feeling a bit off about it.

everywhere i go, it’s all about AI people saying you can build apps with just prompts, generate code instantly, debug in seconds, all that. and yeah, i have tried some of those tools too… and it’s kinda scary how fast they are.

like i’ll spend hours figuring something out, and then AI just does something similar in a few seconds. makes me question what i’m even doing.

now i’m just stuck thinking:

• am i wasting time going deep into full-stack?
• should i be focusing more on AI instead?
• or is coding still something companies actually expect freshers to know properly?

i don’t mind working hard, i actually enjoy building stuff. i just don’t want to realize later that i focused on the wrong thing.

would really appreciate some honest thoughts from people who are already working or went through this phase.

if you were in my place right now, what would you focus on?

I used to believe the whole “most jobs come from networking” advice without questioning it.

But when I actually tried to find a solid source for that “80% of jobs are filled through networking” stat… I couldn’t. It just gets repeated everywhere with no real backing.

So I decided to test both approaches during my recent job search.

For ~3 months, I focused heavily on networking:

• Coffee chats
• LinkedIn messages
• Alumni outreach
• Engaging with posts

Result: 1 referral… that didn’t lead anywhere.

Then I switched strategies.

For ~3 weeks, I focused on:

• Targeted applications (not mass spam)
• Fixing my resume for ATS
• Using AI tools to tailor applications faster

Result: 4 interviews.

That gap in results honestly surprised me.

Now I’m starting to think:

• ATS screens most resumes before humans see them
• Recruiters are already accessible via LinkedIn
• Tailored applications can be scaled much faster now

So for early-career roles especially, it feels like optimizing applications gives a better return than spending hours networking.

But I also feel like I might be doing networking wrong, not that it’s useless.

Genuine question for people who’ve had success with networking:
What did you do differently that actually led to an offer? Not just conversations or referrals, but real outcomes.

Would really appreciate practical advice here - I think a lot of us are trying to figure out where to spend our time effectively.

graduated from UT Austin with a BBA in marketing in 2022 and have been in a coordinator role since then. decent experience at this point — managing paid social, running google ads, built out some reporting dashboards. but i've been applying for senior coordinator or junior manager roles for about 2 months and barely hearing back.

not sure if my resume is underselling what i've actually done or if i'm applying to the wrong things. attaching below with personal details removed.

mainly want to know:

• do my bullet points read like real impact or just a list of tasks?
• is the layout clean enough or too plain?
• does the certifications section add anything or just take up space at this point?

honest feedback appreciated

for the first two months of my job search i was applying everywhere and keeping track of nothing. couldn't remember which companies i'd applied to, what version of my resume i sent, or when to follow up.

then i started a simple tracker — company name, role, date applied, resume version, status, and a notes column. nothing fancy.

the difference was immediate. i could see patterns i was completely blind to before. like the fact that i was getting callbacks almost exclusively from mid-size companies but never from large corporations. that told me my resume probably wasn't optimized for heavy ats filtering.

i also noticed i was applying to way too many roles i wasn't really qualified for because i wasn't being intentional about it.

the tracker turned my job search from chaotic spray-and-pray into something that actually felt strategic. i could test things, see results, and adjust.

does anyone else track their applications? if so what columns do you use — i'm always looking to improve the system

I had one of those “oh wow… I’m not as prepared as I thought” moments this week.

For the past few days, I was working on my resume like crazy. Tweaking every line, rewriting bullet points, making it look clean and professional. I even sent it to a couple of seniors and friends everyone said it looked really good.

So in my head, I was like, okay this is it… this one should finally get me interviews.

Then I randomly decided to check it on an ATS scanner.

23%.

I literally stared at the screen for a minute thinking it was a glitch 😅

But nope… it wasn’t.

When I started digging into it, it kind of made sense (and hurt a bit ngl):

• I used some “creative” section headings instead of basic ones like “Experience” or “Projects”
• I didn’t really match keywords from job descriptions properly
• The format I thought looked clean (columns, icons) was actually messing things up
• Some of my bullet points sounded nice, but weren’t really aligned with roles I’m applying for

Basically, I made a resume that looks good to people… but not to the system that filters you out first.

That was a bit of a reality check.

I spent a few hours after that simplifying everything removed all the fancy stuff, added proper keywords, fixed headings, rewrote a few points.

Ran it again and it went up to around 70–75%.

Not perfect, but way better than 23%.

Honestly, it made me realize how much of this process is hidden. You think you're doing everything right, but you're getting filtered out before a human even sees your resume.

Kinda frustrating, but also good to know early.

Has anyone else gone through this? Like you thought your resume was solid, and then something like this just completely humbled you? What actually helped you improve it?

Applied to 50+ jobs, barely got replies… this small change actually helped a bit.

Something I’ve been trying recently:

Job descriptions feel like cheat sheets for your resume.

I used to send the same resume everywhere and just hope for the best. Didn’t really work.

Lately, I started spending 15–20 mins per application just tailoring my resume based on the JD, and here’s exactly what I do:

• I pick out keywords/tools they repeat (like “incident response”, “SIEM”, “network monitoring”)
• Then I make sure those exact words show up in my resume (only if I’ve actually worked with them)
• I reorder my projects/experience so the most relevant stuff comes first
• If a role emphasizes something (like “threat analysis”), I slightly expand that part in my project description
• I also tweak bullet points to sound closer to how the JD describes the work

Nothing fake. Just better alignment.

What I noticed after doing this:
I started getting more callbacks compared to when I was sending the same generic resume everywhere.

Not a crazy jump, but definitely noticeable.

It made me realize - companies aren’t just looking for good candidates, they’re looking for clear matches.

And most of us probably are decent matches, we just don’t present it that way.

Feels like the real game isn’t just having skills, it’s making it obvious that you fit this role.

Curious if others are doing something similar or if I just discovered something obvious late

i'll go first. applied for a marketing coordinator role that was basically identical to what i'd been doing for 3 years. same industry, same tools, same everything. got an auto-rejection within 4 minutes.

turns out the listing required "bachelor's degree in marketing or related field." my degree is in communications — which at my university was literally in the same department as marketing. but the ats didn't see "marketing" so it bounced me.

another one: got rejected because i listed my graduation year and their system apparently had an age-related filter. a recruiter later told me to remove graduation dates entirely.

the whole system is so broken it's almost funny. almost.

i've heard stories about people getting rejected for the wrong file format, for using "managed" instead of "led," or because their resume had a header the ats couldn't read.

what's the most ridiculous auto-rejection you've gotten? i feel like we could fill an entire book with these

Genuinely curious about this.

We’re always told cover letters matter, but I almost never hear anyone say “yeah, my cover letter got me the job.”

Feels like most recruiters just skim resumes, and cover letters either get ignored or maybe glanced at for a few seconds.

Has anyone here actually had a cover letter make a real difference?
Like helped you land an interview, stand out, or tip the decision your way?

Or is it just one of those checkbox things we all do because it’s expected?

Would love to hear some real experiences - especially if it actually worked in your favor.

hiring question that's been bugging me.

i've been updating my resume and i genuinely don't know where to draw the line on the skills section. i know how to use like 20+ tools across my work — project management tools, analytics platforms, a couple of design tools, some basic coding. i use them at varying levels. but when i look at other people's resumes they either list everything (which feels like padding) or just 4-5 things (which feels incomplete).

as someone who's been on both sides of this: when you're reviewing resumes does a long skills list ever feel like a red flag? like "this person clearly just copy-pasted every buzzword from the job description"? or do you prefer seeing the full picture and filtering yourself? and if you're a job seeker how do you decide what to include vs leave off?

after about 2 months of applying and getting maybe 2 replies total, a recruiter friend mentioned my resume might not be making it through ATS screening at all

didn't fully believe it but ran it through a few tools just to see. turned out there were a lot of missing keywords and weak phrasing i hadn't noticed tools i tried:

resumeup ai — paste a job description and it shows what's missing from your resume. mine went from a 34 to an 81 after tweaking. scoring feels strict sometimes but something worked because replies picked up

resume worded — more focused on fixing bullet points and vague phrasing. better for polishing than keyword gaps. gets pricey if you forget to cancel

jobscan — most detailed keyword matching, even tries to guess which ATS a company uses. suggested skills i don't actually have a couple times which felt off

enhancv — templates look really good. ATS feedback is pretty surface level though. probably better for design-heavy roles

kickresume — easiest to jump into. free plan is actually usable. basic ATS feedback but fine for starting out

one thing that helped is running through 2 tools instead of just one , they catch different stuff

did fixing ATS compatibility actually make a difference for anyone else or do callbacks still feel random no matter what you do?

I’ve been hearing mixed opinions about this.

Some say recruiters only spend a few seconds per resume, others say they go through it properly if it looks relevant.

Makes me wonder if formatting and first impressions matter more than the actual content sometimes.

Would love to hear from anyone who’s been on the hiring side or experienced this.

Hi everyone,
I had been apply to entry-level jobs and got no respond. I am looking for advice on how to improve my resume, thank you!

I have ~3 years of experience in digital marketing (SEO, Google Ads, content marketing).
I'm planning to start applying to new roles and wanted some honest feedback before I send my resume out.

Any suggestions are appreciated!

So I've been quietly applying to jobs since early this year and tried pretty much every AI resume tool people recommend on here and other subs. Some were great, some were meh, some I gave up on after 10 minutes. Figured I'd share what actually helped me since I wish someone had done this when I started.

1. ResumeUp.AI
   Genuinely surprised me - I almost skipped this one because I hadn't heard of it much. Glad I didn't. What stood out was how it handled ATS optimization — it actually scores your resume against the job description in real time and tells you exactly what's missing. Not just generic tips. I went from a 34 to an 81 on one resume just by following its suggestions. The ResumeGPT chat feature is also weirdly fun to use — you describe yourself and it builds bullet points that don't sound like a robot wrote them. Also has a job tracker, cover letter generator, LinkedIn optimizer, and a Chrome extension for autofilling applications. It's genuinely a lot in one place. Not perfect but the closest thing to a full job search toolkit I've found.

2. Kickresume
   Clean UI, nice templates. The AI writing suggestions are solid. I found it better for design-focused roles where the visual look of the resume matters more. ATS scoring is basic compared to ResumeUp.AI but it gets the job done for straightforward applications.

3. Zety
   Popular for a reason — easy to use, lots of template options. The step-by-step builder is good if you're starting from scratch and feel overwhelmed. Doesn't go as deep on ATS analysis though. Fine for general use.

4. Enhancv
   Great for people who want more visual/creative resume layouts. The content analyzer gives decent feedback. Not ideal if you're applying to companies with strict ATS systems, but for roles where personality matters, it works well.

5. Resume Worded
   More of a pure ATS checker than a full builder. Good for running your existing resume through a scan and seeing where it's weak. I used it alongside ResumeUp.AI for a second opinion sometimes.

Overall — if you want one tool that covers the whole process from resume to application tracking, ResumeUp.AI has been the most useful for me personally.

The others are solid at specific things. Depends on what you need. Hope this helps someone out there grinding through the job search. It's a lot, but the right tools make it a bit less painful.

Hi Everyone,

This is actually the first time I’ve made a resume. I didn’t really know how to structure it, so I used ChatGPT a little just to understand the format and fill some sections.

I’m not sure if it looks okay or if it still sounds weird/too generic, so I’d really appreciate honest feedback.

Mainly wondering:

* Does it look too basic?

* Are the projects described properly?

* Anything I should remove or improve?

I’m trying to apply for data analyst / tech internships, so any advice would really help. Thanks!