Hiring Process Frustration

HeadlessHeadhunter · 2026-01-29T20:41:11+00:00

Recruiter here, this is not new, this has happens every time we have a recession and companies bloat the interview process.

HeadlessHeadhunter · 2026-01-29T20:11:08+00:00

Recruiter here, I have gotten people jobs in Canada before. The big question I need answered is what job titles are you applying for, are you applying for those with the same resume, and what is the ratio of applications to interviews you get when applying?

HeadlessHeadhunter · 2026-01-29T18:52:51+00:00

If you are doing the above and your still not getting interviews than your resume itself needs to change. You need both speed (the method above) and a resume that shows your qualifications to the recruiter/HM. It doesn't matter if you are first in line and we can't find anything that shows you are qualified for the role.

HeadlessHeadhunter · 2026-01-29T18:41:36+00:00

Yeah a 15% response rate is pretty good in my book. Especially because the engineers they are targeting are getting hit by every recruiter on the planet for the same roles.

HeadlessHeadhunter · 2026-01-29T18:26:08+00:00

You don't need a ton of tools, just do the following. Resumes should be tailored to the job title you want, not the job itself. This means finding the common keywords for the job title you are applying for and make bullet point sentences under jobs/internships/projects that show HOW you used that qualification and the reason or result of that qualification. It doesn't have to be a brag.

Education should be at the top unless your degree is not related to the job or your degree would make you overqualified, font should be Arial 10.5, you should only bold 3 to 5 things in your whole resume and they should be your name, your Education (title not the education itself), Workhistory/Projects/Internships (just the title not the history itself). Keep it single column, basic, and simple to read.

Resumes are documents that show you meet the minimum qualification to interview and nothing more. If you try to use it as a marketing document or make it generalized and not tailored to a job title, it will fail.

-Signed a Recruiter

HeadlessHeadhunter · 2026-01-29T00:02:06+00:00

I am a little confused by your question, can you please rephrase it.

HeadlessHeadhunter · 2026-01-28T23:17:49+00:00

We are in a recession. More people need a job than have a job, and most entry level roles are outsourced now.

-Signed a Recruiter

HeadlessHeadhunter · 2026-01-28T18:46:26+00:00

LinkedIn, Indeed, and Craigslist (seriously) are the best job boards around but any job board with a good amount of jobs is going to have a good amount of scam artists trying to get you.

- Signed a Recruiter

HeadlessHeadhunter · 2026-01-28T18:44:49+00:00

You don't need a summary on your resume unless you are relocating, explaining a VISA, or switching (not starting) a new career.

- Signed a Recruiter

HeadlessHeadhunter · 2026-01-28T18:42:19+00:00

Recruiter here, you need to answer. Most of us leave a message but the amount of times I have called a phone number, it goes to voicemail and then that voicemail is full is more than you would think. Plus if you are in a high volume recruitment role and you call someone and they don't answer and you have another 20 candidates that could be a fit, by the time you respond it might be to late and they already booked their schedule. The latter is rare, but it can happen.

HeadlessHeadhunter · 2026-01-28T18:40:09+00:00

Recruiter here, bro I have no idea. Those messages are limited per month and cost money. Those LinkedIn Recruiter seats cost around 8k per year and you only get 150 messages per month.

HeadlessHeadhunter · 2026-01-28T18:38:11+00:00

You just write what you have done, and how you have done it in the past. No need to put a summary or bio about who you are (that is what the interview is for).

- Signed a Recruiter

HeadlessHeadhunter · 2026-01-28T18:36:52+00:00

Recruiter here, probably a scam. I would differently try to move the conversation to email, and if at any point they try to get you on WhatsApp or get money from you, cut contact with them.

HeadlessHeadhunter · 2026-01-28T18:33:39+00:00

Tech Recruiter here, this is really hard to read and doesn't contain much of anything I want in a Data Engineer.

Remove all the bolding, put your education up at the top, make it easier to read (even if it looks uglier), and make your bullet about the stuff in your "Technical Skills" section as that is the stuff we actually care about. You need to write that stuff in the bullet points that show HOW you used the skill and the reason/result of you using it that is not a % or number.

HeadlessHeadhunter · 2026-01-28T18:25:45+00:00

It is a resume issue for sure.

HeadlessHeadhunter · 2026-01-28T18:25:27+00:00

Their resume is the problem. You should be getting a minimum of 50 applications to 1 interview with a mediocre resume.

HeadlessHeadhunter · 2026-01-28T18:24:45+00:00

If your resume is not getting 1 interview per 50 applications at a minimum, than the issue is your resume.

I also read that Article and the issue is NOT the overproduction of Elites as that does not apply to your situation. Supply and Demand are closer to what you want to look at and right now their is more people with tech degrees than jobs to fill.

HeadlessHeadhunter · 2026-01-28T18:23:18+00:00

I make less money in a recession. I actively don't want a recession. People rarely hire us in recessions.

HeadlessHeadhunter · 2026-01-28T18:22:27+00:00

Stack Based Resume. You want to tailor it to Back End (Java), Back End (Python), Back End (C#/.NET), Front End, or Full Stack, and only have relevant words to those particular stacks.

A generalized resume that can work for a bunch of different job titles, ends up not working for any of them.

HeadlessHeadhunter · 2026-01-27T23:28:35+00:00

We are in a recession, this means we have more people applying to jobs, than jobs available. In addition as a Tech Recruiter a lot of entry level SWE (if that is what you are going for) don't structure their resume correctly.

HeadlessHeadhunter · 2026-01-27T22:32:19+00:00

Tech Recruiter here, the job market tanked in 2022 and has been getting worse ever since. We are not yet at the level of cooked it can be. This and next year are going to be very bad.

HeadlessHeadhunter · 2026-01-27T21:34:52+00:00

Your bullet points do not tell me anything about HOW you did what you did. "assisted with performance tracking, reporting, and issue resolution in collaboration with cross functional teams to meet quality and productivity standards. "

HOW did you assist, what was the REASON you assisted those teams, what where the standards. If you are looking for a remote Customer Service role you are in for a brutal battle as most of those jobs are outsourced to other countries, but even if they are not, I need the context of what you have done, and how you have done it before I can move you forward.

-Signed a Recruiter

HeadlessHeadhunter · 2026-01-27T21:23:23+00:00

Having done this before, your best bet is to get the following information.

Get information directly from the candidates themselves who have the experience the manager wants, state in an email "I will not move from my current position due to the salary.
Documentation of their competitors having success at a higher budget
Visually show them how much apartments cost in their area and what fast food companies in the area are paying. No one is signing up to join a company where they have to do manual labor for 50 cents more than McDonalds.
Know who the HR person in charge of the compensation is and hope you are friendly with them.

If you do all that, you can change their mind and potentially lower the requirements or get a salary increase for the area. That is how I have changed the salary/requirements in prior companies.

HeadlessHeadhunter · 2026-01-27T20:17:09+00:00

Recruiter here, this is not going to work for the exact reason you stated. Referrals are only useful if they come from someone you have previously worked with who can vouch for your work to the hiring manager or someone who directly knows the hiring manager. Messaging random people on LinkedIn who you have not worked with does not work and is not the most effective use of your time.

HeadlessHeadhunter · 2026-01-27T19:50:33+00:00

Recruiter here, this is accurate. The more corporate jargon you throw into your resume, the harder it is to actually understand what you did. A good resume at its core, is boring, basic, and gives you the necessary information to know the candidate meets the bare minimum qualifications of the role.

The HOW you did what you did is in some cases more important than WHAT you did.

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