Just realized I was wasting hours on my resume formatting

I kept getting ghosted after applications, so I tried something my friend in HR suggested. She told me to copy the exact keywords from the job description into a white text box at the bottom of my resume file. I did that for a marketing manager role last month, and I got a call for an interview within a week. It just tricks the automated system. Has anyone else tried this specific trick, or did it backfire for you?

3 comments

3 Comments

nora5352mo agoMost Upvoted

Copy the exact keywords from the job description" is a smart move. I've heard it works, but doesn't it make your resume look weird if a human actually reads it? I'd worry they'd notice the weird formatting.

christopherwilliams2mo ago

Oh that's a common mix-up! You don't just paste the keywords in a weird list. The trick is to weave the exact phrases from the job ad into your own bullet points. So if they ask for "project management," you say you did "project management" on a real task. It reads totally normal to a person but also checks the box for the software.

sethanderson1mo ago

You're way overthinking this. "Doesn't it make your resume look weird" - man, who cares if it looks weird? The robot reads it first. If you don't get past the robot, no human ever sees it. I've been ghosted 40+ times on clean, pretty resumes. Switched to keyword stuffing in white text. Interview rate went up. The human reader isn't going to zoom in on the bottom of page three looking for hidden text. They skim for 6 seconds.