Mastering Job Applications

You’re busy, and so are HR professionals. Recruiters spend just 6 seconds looking at a CV, so it's important to make it count. Your CV is your first chance to impress, and it could be the deciding factor between landing an interview or getting rejected. A strong CV highlights your skills, achievements, and personal brand in a clear, strategic way. Here are 4 steps to improve your CV and boost your job search: 1. Understand What Recruiters Want: Recruiters like CVs that are clear and to the point. Make sure to tailor yours for each job, include relevant keywords, and show how your career has progressed. 2. Build Your Personal Brand and USP: Your personal brand is a mix of your skills, values, and personality, while your USP (Unique Selling Proposition) is what makes you valuable to an employer. Highlight these to make your CV stand out. 3. Use an Easy-to-Read Layout: A neat, organized CV is easier to read. Use headings, bullet points, and list your details in a clear order: contact info, summary, education, and work experience. Stick to a simple format and list jobs in reverse order (most recent first). 4. Highlight Achievements and Skills: Show what you've accomplished using specific examples. Use numbers when possible to show your impact. List your skills and certifications to prove you're the right person for the job. For more career tips, follow Smriti Gupta #JobSearch #ResumeTips #CareerAdvice #CVWriting #PersonalBranding

A recruiter gets 400+ applications on LinkedIn for one role. Here's how they decide who to contact first: LinkedIn shows recruiters exactly which of your skills match their job posting, and they're using this to filter hundreds of applications down to a manageable few. What's happening behind the scenes: ➙ Recruiters can see a "skills match" score for every applicant (5/10 for example would be pretty good) ➙ It tells recruiters exactly which skills match the role and where you used the skill ➙ If a skill isn't attached to a role on your profile it tells the recruiter how long the skill has been listed on your profile ➙ Recruiters can filter applications by skills ➙ No skills match = lower ranking or not showing up in filtered results 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡: You could be the perfect candidate, but if your LinkedIn skills don't mirror the job posting, you're invisible to recruiters. How to fix it (takes 15 minutes or less): ✓ Pull up your top 5 target job postings ✓ Identify the 10-15 most common skills listed ✓ Add these exact skills to your LinkedIn profile skills section ✓ Attach each skill to a position listed on your profile Pro tip: Even a 5/10 skills match is considered "pretty good" because most applicants I've seen don't even have 5 matching skills. #LinkedInTopVoices #JobSearch #Careers

References matter more than interviews. Let’s be honest, most interviews are theatre. Rehearsed, practiced, polished. “Tell me a time when…” “What will you achieve in your first 90 days…” “Where will you be in five years' time….” We all know the script, and too often hiring panels mistake interview performance for capability. That’s why references matter. And why they matter more than interviews. It’s also why at Luminary we go “off base” with our reference checking. We don’t just rely upon the hand-picked names candidates put on the CV. We tap into our network. We ask the people who’ve been in the trenches with them. We seek out colleagues, former bosses, customers, even. It’s time-consuming. It takes skill and experience to uncover the truth. Think of LinkedIn for a moment. What does your profile say about you? Deep down you know, it’s not the polished profile that matters; it’s the provenance. It's what you've achieved. Provenance means the origin, the source of truth, the verifiable history of something. In art, it’s what tells you if that painting is the real deal or a fake. In leadership, provenance is the story of your career. Did you have real impact? Did you actually deliver what you claim? And will you be a genuine cultural fit for the next move? I’ll never forget the day a CV landed on my desk for a General Manager role. Flicking through, I stopped cold. The “signature achievements” were projects and client wins I had personally delivered years earlier at a different company. That wasn’t a one-off. I’ve seen it time and again, from Non-Executive Director applications through to C-Suite roles. Inflated, borrowed, or outright fabricated. This is why references matter. Because without provenance, you’re not hiring a leader, you’re hiring a story. And in an AI future where words, profiles, and even video can be faked, manipulated and embedded, provenance is everything. So, here’s the stark reality: if you’re a CEO or HR leader and you’re outsourcing references to a tick-box service, offshoring them, or skipping them altogether, then you’re failing. You are failing your culture. Failing your leaders. And failing your people. Because you’re not getting a verifiable story of a leader’s achievements. You’re buying the painting without checking if it’s authentic. I hear it all the time: “References are worthless…” “No one reads them…” If that’s true, then why does every senior leader stress about who their referees are? Why do they make sure those names are rock-solid? Because deep down, we all know: references matter more than interviews. Don’t get lazy at the end of the hiring process. References aren’t a tick-box, they’re the truth test. Take the time. Dig deeper. Ask harder questions. If you can’t go the extra mile, discreetly, through trusted network, then it’s time to rethink your hiring strategy. And if I’m hiring a leader, you can bet your bottom dollar I’m chasing provenance, over performance.

I hear the same story from job seekers: "I’ve applied to 100+ jobs and don't hear back." You've been taught incorrectly. Applying for as many roles as possible won’t land you the job you want. It's a mistake. By sending generic applications to lots of companies: ❌ You Don't Stand Out ↳ Employers can tell when a CV isn’t tailored. ❌ You Overlook Networking ↳ Personalised connections beat online applications. ❌ You Burn Out ↳ Spending hours applying to every role drains energy. Instead, focus on fewer, high-impact actions: 1️⃣ Target Your Dream Companies ↳ Pick 15 companies across 3 industries that excite you. 2️⃣ Tailor Every Application ↳ Use the JD to customise your CV & LinkedIn ↳ Show how your experience matches their needs. 3️⃣ Network Strategically ↳ Connect with hiring managers, recruiters & employees. ↳ Send personalised LinkedIn requests like: Hi [Name], I admire the work you’re doing at [Company]. I’m exploring roles in [field] and would love to hear about your experience! 4️⃣ Track Your Efforts. ↳ Use excel to monitor applications, follow-ups & responses. 5️⃣ Leverage LinkedIn ↳ Optimise your profile, show results & post content. ↳ A strong personal brand makes you more visible to recruiters. Employers notice effort. Stand out by: - Doing research - Tailoring applications - Building relationships My clients have used these strategies to land roles at companies like Google, TikTok & Deloitte. Stop applying to everything. Start applying intentionally. Quality beats quantity in the job search - every time. Do you agree? Comment below ⬇️ Repost ♻️ to help other job seekers. Follow Dan Mian for more.

🔍 The resume tip no one tells you Most resumes are built like job descriptions. They tell you what someone was assigned to do… but not what actually changed because they did it. Here’s the mindset shift: ❌ “Responsible for building a dashboard in React” ✅ “Built a React dashboard used by 300+ engineers, reducing bug triage time by 35%” Adding impact + scope + numbers doesn’t just sound better. It shows you think like an owner. 🧠 Here’s why this matters: According to a 2023 ResumeGo study, recruiters spend an average of 6.25 seconds scanning a resume. And resumes with quantified results had over 40% higher callback rates. Your resume is your pitch deck. Lead with outcomes, use verbs that punch. And if you can’t measure it, describe the before/after. Think: “What happened because I was there?” “What would not have happened if I hadn’t done it?” ✨ Bonus tip: Write your resume as you go. Keep a running doc of wins, metrics, experiments, and quotes from teammates or managers. You’ll thank yourself later.

Rushing your career move is the most expensive mistake you'll make this year. I've coached hundreds of engineers through this. The pattern is always the same. The engineer who sends 200 applications with the same resume and wonders why no one calls back. The one who preps for interviews the week before and freezes when it matters. The one who takes the first offer just to make the uncertainty stop. And six months later they're exhausted, underpaid, and starting over. Not because they weren't good enough. Because they moved too fast to position themselves right. Speed feels like progress. But most of the time it's just noise. The engineers who land offers they're proud of don't hustle harder. They slow down long enough to get clear. On their story. On their worth. On what they're actually looking for. That clarity is what gets you the offer. Not the volume of applications. Not the late nights refreshing your inbox. A sloppy job search doesn't save you time. It costs you months of starting over.

There is a big change happening in hiring now. A recent OECD study found that companies are often looking for skills first. Recruiters most often searched using skills criteria only when using LinkedIn searches filtering over filtering for both skills and degrees. This pattern is partly driven by labour shortages in key industries. So what does that mean for you? Companies are starting to look more at what you can do, not just what school you went to or degree you have. When creating your LinkedIn profile: • 𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗷𝗼𝗯𝘀: Think about what skills you actually used. What problems did you solve? How did you work with others? What tools did you use? Ensure those skills are mentioned throughout your profile.    • 𝗙𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Having reviewed hundreds of LinkedIn profiles for my clients, I know the skill section is one that many skip as it can be time consuming. Remember that you can add up to 100 skills. Add all the important skills you have and ensure your connect them to the role where you acquired this skill. • 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘄, 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹: Don't just list what you did. Tell a short story about how you used a skill to get a good result. What do you think about this hiring trend?

Don’t Just List Tasks—Showcase Your Value on Your CV Your CV should not be a list of the jobs you’ve held—it should demonstrate the unique impact you’ve made throughout your career. Yet, so many CVs end up being little more than task lists. Take a look at this. 👉 Instead of saying, “Managed social media accounts,” Say, “Increased social media engagement by 45% in six months through targeted campaigns.” See how one focuses on tasks and the other highlights results? Employers want to see the value you bring, not just what you were told to do. A Client’s Success Story: I recently worked with a client who was in marketing. Her CV initially read like a job description: “Created email campaigns” and “Collaborated with sales teams.” While this is great for using key works and incorporating the job description, it just doesn't have any impact. We reframed her experience to focus on results: ✅ “Launched email campaigns that boosted open rates by 25%, contributing to a 15% increase in sales leads.” ✅ “Developed cross-departmental strategies with sales, resulting in a streamlined funnel and increased conversion rates by 10%.” The result? Not only did her CV stand out, but it led to interviews where she could discuss her real contributions. Here are some ways you can showcase value on your CV: 1️⃣ Use numbers, percentages, or metrics to quantify your achievements. 2️⃣ Highlight the outcomes and benefits of your work, not just the actions. 3️⃣ Start bullet points with strong action verbs like boosted, increased, reduced, streamlined, or led. Make it clear why you’re the one who can deliver results. www.joanneleecoaching.com 👉🏻Employers - let us know in the comments what you are looking for on a CV in 2025. #cvwriting #careercoaching #careerdevelopment #jobsearchtips

People have always asked me how to build the best CV or resume. No document guarantees anything. But avoidable mistakes can stop a qualified person from getting an interview. For most industry roles, here is what I recommend: • Know the role or job family you are targeting. • Keep one master resume, then tailor it to each opportunity. • Make your level, specialty, and value clear within seconds. • Use a clean, readable, single-column layout with standard headings. Avoid tables, skill bars, text boxes, and complicated formatting that may confuse an ATS. • Opinions on photos differ. Many recommend leaving it off but some true experts like Ethan Evans think it can make you memorable. I leave this to your call. • I also like a statement of purpose of leading paragraph at the top that wraps everything together, especially if you won't use a cover letter. • Keep it concise. One page is often enough early in your career; two pages are reasonable when relevant experience warrants them. No more. • Use short bullets, not dense paragraphs. Readability helps in general and with the ATS • Focus on accomplishments, not only responsibilities. Show what changed because you were there. • Start bullets with strong verbs and quantify impact when truthful and meaningful. • Never invent a metric. Clear qualitative impact is better than a fake number. • Give more space to recent, relevant work and less to older or unrelated experience. • Include important skills, tools, platforms, certifications, and keywords naturally and in context. • Prove qualities such as leadership, collaboration, and initiative through evidence rather than adjectives. • Include relevant projects, freelance work, volunteer work, open-source contributions, and community leadership. • Make your portfolio, website, reel, ArtStation, GitHub, or work samples easy to reach. • For games, name shipped titles when permitted and explain your platforms, engines, discipline, scope, and contribution. • Keep titles, employers, dates, and major facts consistent with LinkedIn. • Never inflate titles, ownership, skills, dates, or results. Be ready to explain every bullet. • Check every link, proofread every word, and follow the requested file format. Then know when to stop. Build it properly. Get credible feedback. Tailor it intelligently. Then focus on relationships, referrals, outreach, targeted applications, portfolio quality, and interview preparation. Set it and forget it - most waste way too much time going in circles over materials once set. A great resume helps someone quickly understand why you deserve the conversation. That is all you are trying to accomplish: going from A pile to B pile.

I got offers from JPMC, ITC, Tata, Big4s etc by following these tips. Avoid these mistakes to stand out from the competition: 1. Keep it concise: If you’re a fresher, aim for a one-page CV. Avoid overwhelming the reader with unnecessary details. 2. Use a professional design: Stick to a minimalist and clean layout unless you’re applying for a creative role. Let your qualifications and experience shine. 3. Make it ATS-friendly: Optimize your CV with relevant keywords and proper formatting to improve your chances of being shortlisted. 4. Proofread thoroughly: Ensure your CV is free from errors and inconsistencies. Typos can leave a poor impression. 5. Be truthful: Honesty is critical. Exaggerations or inaccuracies will likely be uncovered during interviews and can harm your reputation. 6. Follow a logical structure: Arrange your content chronologically, starting with your most recent achievements and experiences for clarity. 7. Include a tailored cover letter: A personalized cover letter can showcase your interest in the role and set you apart. 8. Use PDF format: Sending your CV as a PDF preserves formatting and ensures compatibility across devices. 9. Rename the file professionally: Avoid generic or unprofessional file names. Use a format like “YourName_CV” for a polished touch. 10. Customize for each job: Tailor your CV to highlight skills and experiences relevant to the role you’re applying for. Your CV is often the first impression you make on potential employers. By avoiding these common mistakes, you can present yourself effectively and increase your chances of landing the role you want. What are your own tips and experiences? Share them in the comments below—we can all learn and grow together!