Why am I not getting any job interviews after hundreds of applications?
Automated applicant tracking systems filter out resumes before human recruiters ever see them, rendering mass applications and keyword stuffing ineffective. This leaves job seekers stuck in a loop of silence for months without knowing what to change on their CV.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Reaching out to people for referralsDid this help you?
- 2Using AI tools to add keywords to the resumeDid this help you?
- 3Tailoring resume sections to highlight specific projects with metrics and concrete resultsDid this help you?
- 4Changing CV formatting to match local normsDid this help you?
- 5Removing photos and bar charts from resumesDid this help you?
- 6Targeting in-demand skills or roles offering visa sponsorshipDid this help you?
- 7Sending short proposals with attached portfolio and CVDid this help you?
- 8Relying on cold outreach or treating job applications as a numbers gameDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I have been keeping my proposals short on and to the point because I want clients to be able to read them quickly without being bombarded by a wall of text.”source ↗
“But I am not getting any interviews and I am starting to wonder if a short proposal is being seen as low effort even when the portfolio and CV are right there.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 3Getting zero feedback at work on whether I'm doing well
- 35Why do employers ghost you after a job interview?
- 7Why am I getting zero interviews despite having accounting experience?
- 5Users not replying to follow-up questions on IT tickets
- 3Why is the union local not responding?
- 4Found a mistake on my resume after submitting the job application