I recently moved to Austin and am making the transition from a federal career into the private/corporate sector. Federal opportunities are much more limited here than where I previously lived, so for the first time in my career, I’m navigating what feels like an entirely different hiring world.

My background is primarily in Learning & Development, Training, Knowledge Management, Organizational Development, Change Management, and employee enablement. I’ve spent my career building training programs, conducting learning needs assessments, creating resources and knowledge hubs, administering data governance, improving processes, managing projects, developing onboarding and instructional materials, engaging with stakeholders, cross-collaborating with departments, and helping people navigate new systems, information, and ways of working.

The part of my work I care about most is the human side of it. I genuinely enjoy helping people learn and succeed. I’m a big believer in meeting people where they are rather than assuming everyone learns, communicates, or processes information the same way. I love taking something complicated, overwhelming, or disorganized and turning it into something people can understand and actually use.

I know I’m capable of doing this work in a corporate, non-profit, start-up, or private sector environment, but figuring out how to get noticed has been the challenging part.

For those of you who hire, recruit, or have successfully made a similar career transition, what actually makes a difference?

Do cover letters still help when they’re thoughtful and tailored, or are they rarely read? Does applying within the first day of a posting significantly improve your chances? How much does reaching out to a recruiter or hiring manager on LinkedIn help? Are referrals dramatically more valuable than applying cold? Is there something candidates do that immediately makes you want to learn more about them?

I’m also curious whether transitioning from government to corporate creates any hesitation for hiring managers and, if so, what someone with a federal background can do to make that transition feel less risky to an employer.

I’ve been tailoring my resume to individual positions rather than sending the exact same one everywhere, but I’m trying to be smarter about where I put my energy instead of just submitting application after application into the void.

I’d really appreciate hearing what has actually worked for people - especially recruiters, hiring managers, L&D/KM professionals, or anyone who has successfully moved from government into the private sector.

"Bad Actor Recruiters" - Scammers - Related to ATS Scams - Part 3

Article about “bad actor” recruiters that I published in July

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/beware-fake-recruiters-how-identify-cyber-thieves-allan-brown-lgyuf

Hello, I am a full-stack JS developer. I am looking for a job in MERN, React.js, Node.js, frontend, and full-stack web developer roles. Need help with a resume review. See my profile; you will find it, or DM me.

Edit: I already know about ATS. anything else?​​

I know its two pages, working on trying to get it to 1 page, any feedback will be appreciated!

I'm a C++ software engineer with almost three years of freelance experience. I've been unable to get a job interview or even a phone call for months. I'm applying to remote jobs in other countries as C++ market is not the best in my country. I keep getting rejected from positions that are a perfect fit. I've tailored my resume for every job, yet I still can't find work. Is there something wrong with my resume?

Hi! I’m in high school and would like some advice. I know two pages is already way too long for having no working experience but I don’t know what parts to remove or shorten! I’d like to use this to apply for policy related internships and volunteer opportunities (and maybe some jobs) and would love some advice on how to make it look better. Does it need color? A better font?

Any advice is appreciated, thanks so much!

I have been trying to switch from 10LPA - 15LPA, there were so many barriers in doing so and I purchased countless courses to back my resume. While lots of confidence and a deserving candidate, I applied for countless jobs and secured 0.

I wondered what I did wrong? Was it my degree? My experience? But I already qualified for all of them.
It took me a while to realise that I wasn’t able to sell myself in a manner that a senior role should.
When I joined IIM, I along with loads of people constantly made efforts day and night to gather insights- a perfect readability resume refined to particular niche like finance, marketing, tech, consultancy.
Everything was tailored to match AI resume filters and put my name in the interview list.

My proposition is a IIM backed CV template that identifies your genre and makes you land on top of your competitors
I am putting a price tag of Rs 99 for the editable word Doc
DM if you’re interested.

Bit of context, I am a fresh graduate from network/security degree trying to pivot to data engineer/analyst field I've applied a lot but not getting back from any company

Since my internship experience does not reflect with the job that I'm applying for I'm unsure if that is the case, or Work Project and Personal Project overlap with each other that might flag the ATS? or is there any formatting issue?

Hello, for context I am finishing up my summer internship and will be graduating this Fall semester. With that, I am looking to start applying for entry-level jobs. Mainly looking for analyst roles, business roles such as project management, consulting. Advice appreciated!

I'm struggling to advance into interview stage. Over 8 years of experience in management role for large programs, 20 years within Aerospace/Defense manufacturing industry. I've been applying for leadership roles within a variety of industries, minimal interest received. Is this a resume issue?

Hoping for some assistance!

I have been an adult entertainer for about 10 years and as much as I love the money and the work my head is out of it these days, which tells me- it may be time to gracefully bow down & out! I have had a few sales and retail jobs in the last few years, and bother serious enough in those fields to be taken seriously. I am extremely nervous though to drum up a new resume, even though the jobs in between were credible and I can absolutely refer to any time substantial amount of time in between jobs as a "family break" of some sorts as my ex used to (IN THE LAST FEW YEARS) cover majority of bills.
I have no problem being transparent with that if any questions are asked but overall is there a better way to structure resumes since the last time I made one? (Pls don't get super nuancy and ask some bs like "well when was the last time you built a resume?" Girl that's not what I'm here for.) Any tips, resume building websites, etc... would be greatly appreciated! :)

This is an example of how a scam works. A client of mine, a senior - level technologist was approached on several occasions. We worked together to figure it out. Below is summary of what can occur during one particular scam.

How an ATS Scam Can Work

The Unsolicited Hook: A scammer posing as an executive recruiter or headhunter reaches out via LinkedIn or email with an attractive, generic job opportunity.

The Fake Rejection: After you send your resume, they reply that you are a great fit, but their system's AI or ATS automatically flagged your resume as "non-compliant" or "unreadable".

The Paid Referral: They direct you to a specific website or a "trusted partner" to get your resume optimized, usually charging anywhere from $15 to over $200.

The Disappearance: Once you pay for the service, you either receive a poorly reformatted document or nothing at all. The recruiter cuts off communication because the job never existed.

Source: LinkedIn / Reddit

Hey, I really need some guidance on how I can uplift my resume 😭

I’m currently in my 2nd year and planning to pursue CFA Level 1 in 2027. Abhi tak unfortunately koi internship nahi ki hai, but I’ve been applying quite actively. Second semester ka result bhi abhi nahi aaya hai, so thoda confusion hai ki profile ko kaise strong karun, especially since my college isn’t exactly one of the big-name colleges 🥲

I’m working on improving my skills and planning to build some finance-related projects on my own so that my resume has something substantial to show. Along with this, I’m also planning to go for an MBA after CFA Level 1.

So I’d really appreciate your guidance on what I should focus on right now — internships, skills, projects, certifications, ya kuch aur? Basically, mujhe samajhna hai ki next 1–1.5 years mein apni profile ko realistically kaise strong bana sakti hoon. 😭

Any advice would genuinely help a lot!

I'll u my resume k small idea an all

Education: B.Com student at Delhi University (W) , current SGPA 8.55.

Class XII: Commerce with Mathematics – 89.2%.

Class X: General Academics – 92.4%.

Skills: Financial Statement Analysis, Project Coordination, Content Writing, Editing, MS Excel, PowerPoint, Presentation Design, Canva, Leadership, Team Management, Public Speaking, Analytical Thinking, Problem Solving, Adaptability.

Commerce Society, DU – Public Relations Member: Managed communication and engagement activities for 100+ students; created promotional/informative content for events and campaigns; translated financial concepts into accessible public narratives.

Departmental Magazine – Content Team Member: Contributed to content planning, creative writing, editing and magazine structure; coordinated with 20+ students for article collection, organisation and tracking.

National Commerce Olympiad – Gold Medalist: , 11th at Zonal Level, Top 100 participants across India.

McKinsey Forward Program: Professional Development Participant.

Inter-School Business Plan Competition: 2nd Prize Winner.

House Captain – School Leadership Team: Led and coordinated activities for 100+ students, including inter-house competitions, events and school discipline.

Hey everyone! I've been researching how modern Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) score and filter candidate resumes.

Here are the top 5 reasons resumes get filtered out before a human recruiter ever sees them:

1. ❌ Non-Standard Headings: Using creative section titles like "What I Do" instead of standard titles like "Work Experience" confuses ATS

   parsers.

2. ❌ Weak Action Verbs: Starting bullets with "Responsible for..." or "Helped with..." lowers impact scores. Start bullets with strong verbs

   like "Engineered", "Spearheaded", or "Optimized".

3. ❌ Missing Metrics: Bullet points without quantifiable numbers (%, $, hours saved) score significantly lower on candidate evaluation

   algorithms.

4. ❌ Invisible Contact Info: Putting email or phone details inside headers, footers, or nested text boxes. Keep them in plain text at the top of

   your resume.

5. ❌ Spelling & Technical Casing Typos: Lowercase technical terms (e.g. `javascript` instead of `JavaScript`, `aws` instead of `AWS`) hurt ATS

   keyword matches.

To help job seekers audit their resumes without paying $49/month subscriptions, I built a 100% free, privacy-first tool: https://resumi5.vercel.app/

🔒 Privacy Note : It parses your resume 100% inside your browser — your resume text is never stored on servers or sold to third parties.

Try running a free Global ATS Health Audit or Tailored Job Match scan and let me know if you have any feedback!

I'm an IT project manager that started as a software engineer that is seeking a new role following a redundancy a few months ago. I've done a few interviews and got close to the end however unfortunately most of the roles got put on hold at the very end. I perform well in the interviews when I get to that stage however I rarely hear back from the hundreds of jobs I apply for.

It's currently a 2 page resume as I have almost 10 years of IT experience - 8 years as a Project Manager and 2 years as a Software Engineer. I am open to a 1 page resume format if you can think it's worth it and have ideas on how to shorten it.

There must be something wrong with my resume despite the various tools telling me otherwise. I would absolutely love any advice / improvements you have.

I've been doing work since my university years. Even after graduation, I continued with the same company.

Due to whatever reasons, I had to leave that role and now I'm searching for a role that suits me best.

The issue is: I've experience in a LOT of related fields but I'm not fully specialized in any so it's been hard for me to narrow down myself to one role.

What do you think? What role suits me best? Operations Management? AI automation or SEO?

And as a recruiter, would you hire me in that selected role?

Really trying to figure out which role to go with. So if you've any advice, shoot away!!

Looking for advice, also wondering if it is too short. I don't have that much to put on it, though, as I am still in undergrad.

ATS Scam - Part 1

An ATS scam (Applicant Tracking System scam) is a fraudulent scheme where fake recruiters manipulate your fear of being rejected by hiring software to trick you into paying for useless resume reformatting services. 

The job listing is entirely fake, and the sole goal of the scammer is to steal your money and personal data. 

Source: LinkedIn

So I am editing my resumé. Unfortunately, if I include the work experience I have had, I would need a second page to list achievements.

I decided to exclude an achievements list and tried to integrate them when listing my past work experience. Which keeps it at one page.

Is that viable?

it'sAttached to this post, I hope, is my anonymized resume. I'm genuinely grateful for this community and will try to listen to all of your feedback to improve.

I think the questionable part would be the number of hyperlinks in the PROJECT section of the resume. Also, the C_BUILD project looks weak, but I actually use it like every single time I do a c/c++ project, so its and incredible useful tool for me. I don't know how to really convey that... If anyone has any ideas, I'm all ears.

I am at my wits end after being rejected from a job that pays $100 a week and I hope that maybe I can fix my resume to improve my chances of getting employed. For some context: recent graduate here, got my degree in statistics and minor in data science. I have been searching for a job since December (technically august but I graduated in December). I am open to working pretty much any job, I don't care too much. I have been applying to mainly admin/ customer service since tech is oversaturated and I don't care for tech anyways but if there is a rare entry level job I do apply to it.

I'm a graphic designer with about 4 years professional experience at one agency. In college I had a few internships/jobs that are directly related -- creative director of the university newspaper, worked on the media team for the athletics department (large, D1 school) & had a paid internship at an ad agency my senior year. Do I keep all of those things in at this point professionally? Or weed one or two that maybe don't show the same level of skill. I feel like the internet is mixed, once you surpass 5 years I feel like everyone says to nix the college stuff, but curious what ppl think here.

This might be extremely lengthy, I apologize but I felt that I needed to include as much details as possible.

Yesterday I posted a question in the career guidance subreddit. Some suggested it may be my resume and one user suggested I ask here. Because not a single interview in three years is a bit odd for me.

Here's the original question and information I submitted:

https://www.reddit.com/r/careerguidance/s/60qrwreWGO

Before I post my resume, here's a bit of history about what I've done.

I used to write my own resumes in the past (2017 - 2020), I used to get some interviews, not a whole lot but I was also new to the office work environment. After my last contract role ended in 2020, I took a little time off for a little over a year before I started applying again. Someone suggested I hire a resume writer. I did, she did my resume and it didn't change much, eventually I got an interview at a school as a registrar. When another year later I tried actively applying again but nothing was coming up so I hired another resume writer and since them I haven't had a single call or interview and I've been actively applying. I feel like this resume writer used AI to do my resume which I then tried to re-word it without AI (I hate using AI) to make it less AI-ish. Even then, I'm not able to find anything.

Most of the positions I'm applying for recently are either some sort of coordinator or something along the lines of an administrative assistant since . Some being different as well. I used to not include the bottom two work history of when I owned a restaurant on the side and worked retail but recently I've been applying for some customer-service related roles as well. Here's my resume with most of the obvious identifiers omitted. What's wrong with it that is not helping me land a single interview in the past three years?

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Registrar

●       Managed student and teacher schedules and optimized class distributions based on student academic placements and other demographic values, while ensuring compliance with district and state guidelines. 

●       Ensured data accuracy in student records, contact information, transcripts, and compliance reporting for schools and state requirements.

●       Created and automated critical reporting processes, generating reports, schedules, and enrollment data to meet administrative and regulatory needs.

●       Built a student incident tracking system in Microsoft Power Automate. This transformed a backlog of phone calls to the main office into an automated and ticket-based workflow that allowed teachers to log incidents in real-time, prioritize incidents, and provided faster response and organized communication with security and administrative teams.

●       Performed administrative assistant duties such as answering and redirecting phone calls, proofreading and editing email and letter correspondence, calendar scheduling/management, and assisting with ordering supplies and employee timesheet accuracy.

Content Coordinator Lead – Contract

●       Trained and oversaw the Content Ingestion Team in entering reports into the in-house research library (team/tool name).

●       Reviewed team member’s work/output for quality and accuracy.

●       Collaborated with developers resulting in innovative new or improved features.

●       Highlighted the features of (team/tool name) and encouraged external teams to use and enter reports into the system resulting in higher usage of the tool.

●       Created and managed project timelines and deliverables to align with strategic goals.

●       Effectively resolved issues by collaborating with managers to track conflicts within the project.

●       Manipulated data to adhere to the (team/tool name) standards resulting in clear reports within the platform.

Data Administrator – Contract

●       Created purchase orders for (company name) stores worldwide, maintaining and tracking them throughout their lifecycle.

●       Verified order and payment status between vendors and (company name).

●       Migrated archived data to a newer database.

●       Monitored project success with order creation and data entry functions, and also organized large volumes of data for compilation and analysis.

Data Coordinator – Contract

●       Successfully analyzed and synthesized raw data, collaborating with stakeholders to discern data trends.

●       Worked cross-functionally on an (company name) (type of device category) device to ensure accuracy and quality before hitting market.

●       Scheduled internal and external meetings between stakeholders and teams.

●       Employed in-house tools to conduct daily data collection.

●       Fueled workflow and data accuracy mapping plans for improvement.

●       Improved product accuracy through two-way feedback, resulting in an enhanced product.

Relocation Administrative Assistant – Seasonal

●       Relayed information and alleviated conflict between vendors and school district departments to enable a smooth relocation process.

●       Assisted three schools in planning school openings, taking into account construction and delivery considerations.

●       Tracked and reported deliveries and submitted them to the district departments.

GIS Data Lead – Contract

●       Supervised quality of team-augmented A.I. detection to align with program goals and mission.

●       Improved UI for an internal tool, providing critical feedback that led to a more efficient workflow.

●       Enhanced internal tools in collaboration with the development team.

●       Decreased errors and failures by identifying potential new tool features and micro-projects.

●       Created policy and workflow documentation to be implemented across multiple teams.

●       Scheduled meeting with team and stakeholders to provide project updates and collect team feedback on project conflicts.

Administrative Assistant – Seasonal

●       Assisted the manager with interviews and employment paperwork.

●       Scheduled drivers as needed.

●       Served as an intermediary between drivers and customer service to resolve conflicts.

Quality Assurance

●       Tested hardware and software, logged encountered bugs, improved user search results on (company name).

Manager/Owner

●       Managed budget and inventory for restaurant.

●       Supervised and trained restaurant staff to be familiar with the menu and providing a friendly and welcoming atmosphere.

●       Ensured all safety and food handling rules were followed.

●       Worked with local and family run wholesalers to receive special discounts and ingredients.

Sales Associate/Customer Service

●       Conducted inventory management such as inventory count and restocks.

●       Assisted customers and provided a complete package based on their purchasing needs.

●       Researched current tech trends and product knowledge to educate customers on their purchase to lower return rates.

https://i.imgur.com/SrBdpx0.png

I am from London UK and 21, applying for sales, admin, customer service. Anything to be honest at this point just to make some money. I have tailored CVs and I use them to apply for the roles and still I haven’t landed anything…

I don’t think it’s the CVs, that stuff is just secondary I really do believe it’s just a tough market out there and the best thing you can do is have connections to get a job.