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Hey There!

Welcome to Issue #180 of Jobseeking is Hard!

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Happy Wednesday!

Over the past few months on LinkedIn and X, I’ve been sharing a lot of resume advice based on real client work. Not theory or general tips, but actual adjustments that have helped Karpiak Consulting’s clients improve their job search results.

After seeing the same patterns come up again and again, I wanted to pull a few of them together. One of the biggest themes behind all of it is this: strong experience still gets ignored more often than people expect.

That’s what I want to talk about this week. This issue is about why that happens and what hiring teams are actually responding to when they review your background.

This week we’re talking about:

• Why strong experience still gets ignored, and how to make it easier to understand

• The best (worst?) job posting of the week

And for Premium subscribers I’m:

• Debunking bad resume advice about file formats

• Answering a Premium subscriber’s question about how many jobs you should be applying to each week. I’ll explain how to think about your job search from an ROI perspective.

Let’s get to it!

REAL RESUME ADVICE FOR THIS MARKET

There’s a good chance you’ve had moments where your background clearly lines up with a role, but you aren’t chosen for an interview. That disconnect is what most of these patterns come down to.

Broad experience doesn’t signal seniority on its own

A resume edit client came in with legitimate senior leadership experience and wasn’t getting attention for roles that clearly matched their background.

They had owned teams, influenced direction, and were responsible for meaningful outcomes. But none of that was obvious when you read the resume. It showed involvement, not ownership.

What we changed was how responsibility was framed. Instead of listing what they were part of, we clarified what they owned, what decisions they made, and what they were accountable for. That meant rewriting bullets to reflect decision-making authority, not participation.

If you’re in this position, look at your bullets and ask: does this show that I supported something, or that I drove it? That distinction is what signals level.

Lack of focus creates relevance gaps

A comprehensive resume review client was targeting roles aligned with their background but wasn’t getting interviews.

Their resume included a lot of valid experience, but it wasn’t clear what mattered most. Everything was presented at the same level, so hiring teams had to decide what was relevant.

We fixed that by prioritizing. The most relevant experience was moved up, expanded, and written in a way that matched the roles they were applying to. Less relevant work was still there, just not competing for attention.

If your resume covers a lot of ground, start asking: what do I actually want to be hired for, and is that the most visible thing on the page?

A resume should point forward, not just document the past

Another comprehensive resume review client had strong experience, but their resume focused on what they had done instead of where they were going.

It listed responsibilities and projects, but it didn’t clearly connect those to the type of role they wanted next. That left hiring teams to figure it out.

We adjusted that by rewriting bullets to mirror the responsibilities and expectations of their target roles. Same experience, but framed through the lens of where they were headed.

If your resume reads like a timeline, it’s probably missing this. The content should help someone understand why your past experience makes sense for the role you’re applying to now.

Trying to appeal to everything weakens positioning

A recently laid-off comprehensive resume review client expanded their resume to stay open to more opportunities.

They added more skills and more types of work, thinking it would increase their chances. Instead, it made it harder to understand what they were targeting.

We narrowed the focus by aligning the resume to a specific type of role and removing or downplaying anything that didn’t support that direction.

If you’re trying to keep options open, it usually shows up as a resume that does too many things. Pick a direction and make that the obvious takeaway.

Contract-heavy careers need a clear through-line

A resume edit client with years of project-based work was concerned their background looked scattered.

The resume listed projects one after another, but there wasn’t a clear connection between them. Even though the work was strong, it didn’t show a consistent pattern.

We fixed that by identifying what stayed consistent across roles. Similar types of problems, similar responsibilities, similar impact. Then we made those patterns more visible in the way the experience was described.

If your background includes a lot of short-term roles, focus less on the individual jobs and more on what you consistently did across them.

If it requires interpretation, it slows everything down

A resume rewrite client had strong experience, but their resume required too much interpretation during initial screening.

The connection to the role was there, but you had to think about it. That’s usually where things stop.

We restructured the resume so the most relevant experience showed up first and was written in a way that matched the role more directly. That reduced the amount of thinking required.

If someone has to figure out how your experience applies, you’ve already made it harder for them to say yes. Make the connection obvious in the first few bullets they read.

General career histories don’t help hiring decisions

A comprehensive resume review client had solid experience, but their resume read like a general overview.

It showed what they had done, but it didn’t clearly connect to what a company was hiring for. That made it harder to evaluate them against other candidates.

We aligned the resume to specific job postings. That meant using similar language, emphasizing relevant responsibilities, and structuring the content around what the role required.

If your resume could be sent to any job, it’s probably too general. It should feel like it was written for a specific type of role.

More applications don’t fix unclear positioning

A resume strategy client was applying broadly without getting results.

Their experience was strong, but the resume didn’t clearly prioritize what mattered for the roles they were applying to. There were too many competing signals.

We focused on tightening the narrative and making sure the most relevant experience was clear and easy to find.

If you’re applying to a lot of roles without results, look at your resume before increasing volume. More applications won’t fix something that isn’t clear.

Scope and level need to be obvious

A resume rewrite client had the right functional skills, but their resume didn’t clearly show the level they operated at.

They were doing higher-level work, but it wasn’t described that way. There was no clear indication of scale, ownership, or impact.

We clarified team size, scope of responsibility, and how their work affected the business. That made their level easier to recognize.

If someone read your resume quickly, would they know the scale you operated at? If not, that’s probably the gap.

Presentation affects how experience is perceived

A resume edit client had relevant experience, but the resume was hard to read.

The formatting was dense, there wasn’t much spacing, and achievements didn’t have enough context. It took effort to understand.

We improved layout, spacing, and added short context to key bullets so someone could quickly understand what was happening.

If your resume feels heavy to read, it’s going to slow someone down. Make it easy to scan and easy to understand at a glance.

Senior candidates need to show they’re already at that level

A resume rewrite client targeting higher-level roles had the background, but their resume read like they were still operating one level below.

It focused on tasks and responsibilities instead of authority and decision-making.

We reframed the content to show how they influenced direction, made decisions, and owned outcomes.

If you’re going after more senior roles, your resume needs to show that you’re already operating there. Not that you’re ready to grow into it.

When you look across all of these, the pattern is pretty consistent. The experience is there. The issue is how easy it is to understand.

Hiring teams are looking for candidates who already make sense for the role they’re trying to fill. If that connection isn’t obvious, they move on to someone where it is. It’s not about whether you’re capable…it’s about how quickly someone else can see that you are.

Have a topic you want me to cover in an upcoming issue? Reply or email [email protected] and tell me what you want to know!

BEST (WORST?) JOB POST

OF THE WEEK

Here’s the job post that got the most people talking on my Instagram this week!

employer math: 7 years’ experience = 1 internship

If you come across an irritating job posting, email it to the newsletter or DM me on Instagram and I’ll add it to the list to post!

Today's issue is also brought to you by The Deep View! C’mon give it a click…it costs $0 and helps support your favorite job search newsletter 🙂

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PREMIUM SUBSCRIBER QUESTION

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Jobseekers, have a great rest of your week, and good luck with those applications!

-Adam

PS!! If you're enjoying the newsletter, let people know! Forward it, post it on social, tag me, whatever...the bigger the discussion, the better! The idea is to help as many people as possible!

About Adam- Recognized as a leading voice on hiring and workplace trends, Adam has been recruiting and providing career advice since 2003, developing high-trust relationships based on honesty with companies and jobseekers. A highly sought-after speaker, he has appeared in numerous outlets, including Bloomberg News, Business Insider, LinkedIn, and CNNMoney. You can find out more about Adam's resume and coaching services here.

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