Mastering Job Applications

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've been writing resumes for over 15 years. A long time. After all these years, there is still one widespread mistake I see in these files that is easy to fix: Heavy emphasis on day-to-day tasks with minimal results. If you want your resume to stand out and be noticed, it must share value. Value is best demonstrated through results. Fill your resume with specifics, metrics, and personal initiatives, and aim to create results-rich resume statements like the samples below. Examples of helping a business do things faster, better, or smarter: 🔹 Lowered customer complaints 60% by launching a formal feedback system. 🔹 Improved product delivery time 23% after assigning clarified monthly job tasks to the entire team. Examples of making money, saving money, or increasing efficiency: 🔹 Grew revenue 44% and improved gross margin 25% in 1 year by standardizing business operating procedures. 🔹 Produced $2.5M in cost savings after renegotiating all supply and service contracts. Examples of personal success: 🔹 Built sustainable technical sales organizations from the ground up within 3 global organizations. 🔹 Generated over $4M in new revenue after identifying, pursuing, and securing 2 new international client contracts. The above statements can be further detailed for more significant impact with added context, but hopefully, you get the idea: * Focus heavily on results, not tasks. * Share metrics and measurements. * Be specific, not vague. * Focus on details unique to you that align with the target audience's requirements. If you don't think you have any results, check out the comments for a link to a free guide to help you better identify and track your achievements. Every person has done something well in their work, and these things can be measured more often than not. The key is to start identifying them and writing them down!

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?

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.

Recently, I reviewed a senior executive's resume and was shocked by several critical issues. It became clear that the resume was generated by a resume builder, which unfortunately led to significant shortcomings. Having worked with Senior Executives and helped them secure highly coveted leadership roles, I can confidently say that his resume had several critical flaws. This resume is unlikely to lead to interviews, networking calls, or any further opportunities. ➡ Critical Flaws in the Resume: - Lack of Context in the Summary: The summary was generic and failed to capture the executive’s unique career trajectory and expertise. - No Quantifiable Achievements: The resume lacked metrics to showcase the executive’s impact, making it hard to assess their contributions. - Lacked Value Proposition: There was no clear value proposition, missing an articulation of the executive's unique strengths and how they could benefit potential employers. - Not Aligned to the Target Job: The resume was not tailored to the executive’s target role, failing to highlight relevant skills and experiences. -One-Page Limitation: Constrained to a single page, the resume did not provide enough space to detail key achievements and qualifications, which is crucial for senior-level candidates. ✨ My recommendations for a Compelling Executive Resume: - Highlight the executive's unique career trajectory and expertise. - Use metrics to demonstrate impact. - Articulate unique strengths and problem-solving abilities. - Tailor the content to align with the target job. - Use a two-page format to detail key achievements and qualifications comprehensively. #executiveresume #jobsearch #executive

You don’t need more applications. You need better ones. If your job search strategy is “apply to everything and hope something sticks”... it’s time to pivot. In today’s market, the candidates getting interviews aren’t sending 100s of resumes. They’re sending 10 targeted ones - and making them count. Here’s how to shift from volume to precision: ✅ 1. Target with intent Build a list of 30–40 companies that align with your strengths, values, and career goals. Look for: - Roles that match 80–90% of your skills - Companies whose mission resonates with you - Places where you can add unique value based on your background ✅ 2. Research before you reach out You don’t need to read every blog post - but do enough homework to show you actually care. Check the company’s website, recent LinkedIn updates, or product announcements. Then tailor your message: “I saw your team recently launched [X] — I’ve worked on similar projects in [Y], and I’d love to contribute to [Z].” Small effort. Big impact. ✅ 3. Write your resume for the reader Each resume should speak directly to the job description. Use their language. Match their needs. Generic = ignored. Aligned = noticed. ✅ 4. Warm up the connection Before you apply, connect with someone on the team. Engage with their posts Send a thoughtful, short message Ask for insight — not a job This increases your odds of getting a response and a referral. ✅ 5. Treat applications like a pitch Use every touchpoint - cover letter, message, interview - to sell your value. Tie your experience directly to their needs. Be clear, confident, and specific. 🎯 More isn’t better. Better is better. 10 thoughtful applications can outperform 100 generic ones — every single time. If you’re ready to stop spinning your wheels and start landing interviews, follow me for daily job search strategies that actually work.

How I discovered that sending 100+ job applications is the fastest way to stay unemployed. Bold truth: More applications don’t mean more interviews. They mean more rejections. When I started working with job seekers, I noticed a painful pattern: They were exhausting themselves applying everywhere, only to hear nothing back. Here’s what I learned after analyzing hundreds of applications 👇 🔻 Why mass applying fails: ❌ Generic resumes get filtered by ATS ❌ Recruiters spot copy-paste cover letters instantly ❌ You spend hours but build zero real connections 🔑 What actually works (the strategy I use with clients): ✅ Apply to 10–15 targeted roles instead of 100+ ✅ Customize your resume with keywords from the job description ✅ Showcase achievements in numbers (not duties) ✅ Connect with hiring managers or employees on LinkedIn before/after applying ✅ Follow up 7–10 days later, most job seekers never do this The truth? One tailored application beats 100 random ones. That’s how my clients land interviews at Deloitte, JP Morgan, and Emirates without playing the numbers game. What’s your approach to quality applications or mass applying?

My advice for entry level jobseekers 👇 Sadly, I don’t have capacity to help everyone who messages me looking for career support. But in honour of National Careers Week, I thought I’d share my top tips for early career candidates looking for their first role. 📝 Your CV should be clear, concise and on one page.  Make it as easy to read as possible, focused on the outcomes you achieved and skills you built. And remember, all your experience is relevant! Always save and send as a PDF. ✉️ Your cover letter should answer three questions: why you want to do this job, for this company, and why you’re the right person for the role.  Don’t copy and paste from the company’s website, but show that you’ve done your research. What type of role is it? Why does that appeal to you? What interests you about the product, service or company and why? What transferable skills do you have from education or any part-time jobs you might have done? 🚫 Back away from ChatGPT.  The key to using AI effectively in job applications is being able to judge whether what it suggests is better than your version. If you’re very early in your career, you’re likely to think it sounds smarter than you - but it probably just sounds like AI. If you must, ask it for feedback, but always put your answers in your own words. 🤝 Use LinkedIn to its full advantage.  Find the people 2-3 years ahead of you in your dream job and ask them for advice on getting started. Some will ignore you, but others will be flattered, help you with your application, intro you to other people or even refer you in. Send connection requests with a polite intro and then ask nicely for a virtual coffee. 🙋🏻♀️ If you need accommodations, ask for them.  Many of the young people we work with are afraid of asking for adjustments they need and are entitled to. Learning to advocate for yourself will only help you get where you want to be. Most employers genuinely want to help you, but they can’t if you don’t ask. 👀 You’re probably not going to get your dream job right away.  I get it, the prestige of working for a big brand on a competitive scheme is appealing. Most people don’t start their careers this way. Look at smaller, less well-known companies. Can’t get into your dream role? Could you apply for a less competitive entry level role in the same industry and build your skills and experience so you can move internally in a year or two? #️⃣ Finally, quality over quantity. It’s always better to submit two tailored applications than ten generic ones. I’d love to be able to support more young people directly. The one thing I can do is tell you that if you sign up to our mailing list, you’ll get notified directly when applications to our next cohort open. Spoiler alert, you might not be waiting long: https://lnkd.in/ewhh6__6 And if you’re a more seasoned professional, what advice have I missed that you’d give to early career job hunters?

Executives don’t need longer resumes. They need better stories. As a LinkedIn Top Voice, I’ve read hundreds of resumes that say a lot… …but mean very little. Here’s what most exec resumes miss: They list the roles. They list the results. But they skip the story. At the senior level, facts don’t sell. Narratives do. 🔹 Why did you take that role? 🔹 What challenge did you step into? 🔹 What impact did you drive—and why did it matter? Here’s how to weave storytelling into your executive resume: ✅ Start each role with context. Ex: “Hired to turn around a $20M division losing market share.” ✅ Show your thinking. Don’t just say what you did—say why you did it. ✅ Connect the dots. Make each move feel intentional, not accidental. ✅ Include one-line reflections. “Learned how to lead under pressure while managing global teams.” Facts get you noticed. Stories make you remembered. 📌 P.S. A recruiter might skim your resume for 8 seconds… But a strong narrative? That sticks. Want to see an executive resume transformed by story? Drop a “VOICE” and I’ll share one with you.