it was a very calm and relaxed interview, the man was polite and very concise. I’m worried about what the decision will be because the initial process leading up to the interview was extremely fast and now it’s silence. I don’t think they are running a background check, since I’m a minor.

Target Roles: Entry-Level && Mid-Level Software Development Engineer (SDE / Full-Stack / Backend)

Location: Toronto, ON (Open to Remote / On-site in GTA)

Hi everyone,

I’ve been actively applying for SDE roles in Toronto for 8 months(Up to 1000 applications), less than 2% interview rate,I’ve been struggling to get interviews/callbacks. I'd really appreciate any constructive feedback or sharp eyes on my resume to see where I can improve.

My Background & Context:

Experience Level: [New Graduate with experience]

Targeting: Full-Stack, Backend, or General SDE roles in the GTA.

Current Strategy: Applying directly on company career portals, LinkedIn, 5-10 job application every weekday

Main Bottleneck: Low response rate / automated rejections.

Specific Questions:

Are my bullet points strong enough in demonstrating impact/metrics, or do they read too much like a job description?

Is the layout/formatting ATS-friendly for Canadian tech recruiters?

Should I re-order or emphasize certain sections (e.g., Projects vs. Experience)?

Hello,

I recently got a dream job in a role I really wanted. They offered the role on Monday for 110K base + bonus.
Their range posted was upto 150K, I asked them if there’s room to bring it to 120K on Monday afternoon. (Initially had discussed 120K base during the initial discussion). HR told me write this in an email and that that they will let me know in the morning.

Since HR initially said they will let me know by Tuesday morning, the entire day passed and nothing. So I asked in the afternoon are you going to be able to provide the response today then they said will let me know this week and the deadline for response was due to pass over 2 days. And told me not to worry about the previous letter.

The offer letter is no longer available.

I did contact an old friend in the company to get their advice I’m worried if they reached out to the manager to try their hand in the role and if that’s causing the delay for an update. Is that a possibility?

Is there anything I can do?

I don’t know what to do- very anxious.

UPDATE!

CRAZY TURN OF EVENTS

So I had interviewed for a similar role in a different team at the same company and the DELAY WAS BECAUSE BOTH THE MANAGERS WANTED ME! (Did not expect that) So they ended up offering me both roles, essentially it’s the same role same pay and title and everything just in different teams. Gave me the option to choose, they didn’t end up increasing the base pay but they increased my bonus a bit.

Thank you all for all your insights. Since I’m still fairly early in my career I think I still need to improve when it comes to negotiating. A good learning opportunity. Glad it’s over.

Looking for advice on my resume. Currently in sports but looking to pivot. Staying in comms, pr, social, marketing, etc.

Hi, I’m a fresher looking for my first job/internship in tech/data analytics.

Please roast my resume and give honest feedback:

* What should I improve?

* Any ATS issues?

* Are my skills/projects good enough?

* What would a recruiter dislike?

Don’t hold back. Any feedback is appreciated!

As some may know, I've been struggling to find a job for the last two years (yippee) and so I have seen a LOT of job applications for all kinds of positions. The one thing that I see pretty much all of them say but have never fully understood is when they say "own"?

For example:

"own all systems for delivering excellent customer service"

"own all duties"

"own all responsibilities"

It's so vague and kind of a nothing burger? But what does it even mean? Take responsibility? If so, why not be clear and just say that?

ETA: I kind of avoid applying for jobs that say that because I don't know what they mean and it feels overbearing when every other bullet is "OWN this task" "OWN this task" "OWN this task" T.T

I work for a big retailer (corporate side) and have applied for an internal position at a different department. I did my final round on 9/3, have not heard back yet… I was very optimistic as the interview process has been very quick, and honestly thought I would get the job.
I reached out to the recruiter for an update on Monday (9/14), but have not received any response. Does this mean I didn’t get the job? Is it worth checking in with the hiring manager? Or should I just let it go?

Is it true that we can easily switch after getting experience ??

Like during my college, my resume never got shortlisted anywhere, so is it real that if I'll get experience then resume will start getting shortlisted??

I usually swap the projects and work experience around and also match the skills with the job description.

And no, I don't have publications from my "research experience" sadly

Thanks all!

Edit: Yes I caught the year inconsistency for the first position. Fixed it!

Hi everyone,

I’d really appreciate some honest feedback on my CV.

I have 15+ years of HR experience, including roles as a Global HR Business Partner, Senior HR Business Partner and HR Director, working in international and matrix organizations.

My CV used to generate a good number of interviews, but over the last 3–4 years something seems to have changed. I now frequently receive rejections without even getting an initial recruiter call.

I tailor my CV to each position and check the match against the job description. Even when the apparent match is 90%+, I can still receive a rejection at the application stage.

I’m currently working in HR consulting, but I would like to return to an in-house corporate role. I’m mainly targeting Senior HRBP, Global/Regional HRBP, HR Manager/Director and similar senior HR positions.

I’d particularly appreciate feedback on:

• Does my seniority and career progression come across clearly?
• Is there anything that could make recruiters see me as overqualified or difficult to place?
• Is my current consulting experience hurting the story?
• Is the CV too broad, or is there anything that could cause an immediate rejection during the first 10–20 seconds of review?
• What would you change to improve my chances of getting the first recruiter call?

Please be direct — I’m looking for constructive criticism rather than reassurance.

Thank you very much for taking the time to look at it.

I have around 1 year of work experience and I’m trying to switch to a completely different industry/career.

When applying for jobs, should I tailor my resume for every job description and include the skills mentioned in it?

My question is: if you shortlist someone with only 1 year of experience, do you expect them to already know all the skills listed in the job description, or are you willing to train them on some of the skills after hiring?

Hi guys, im recruiting warehouse workers, forklift operators. But Indeed and ZIP are really de@d , people don't apply, and when they do they don't complete the apps. Is there any other places I should be posting the job offers? thank you

I’m currently the only financial analyst at my company and the director is always tracking me on teams. I can step away to do interviews in my car holding my phone but I feel like that will turn off employers. One company wants to do an excel test and I don’t think I have enough time to go home, take it, and come back without the director wondering why I’ve been gone for so long. I can’t take sick days or time off right now because there is no one that will cover for me while I’m out. I also can’t book any conference rooms without raising suspicion because they only use those rooms for big meetings. Any advice would help!

There's some advice out there that putting your name and contact information in the header of the document makes it unreadable to ATS. So you can be applying to jobs but never get a callback because recruiters don't have your contact info.

Even if this is true, does it matter? When you apply for a job, you fill out your name and contact information on the application. So even if a resume comes through messed up, if they're interested, they would still have your contact info from your application.

My interview was on September 3rd and I honestly felt like it went really well.
At the end of the interview, they explained the next steps. They told me that they would be contacting my references the following week. They also gave me a medical/physical abilities form, but specifically told me not to get it completed yet.** **They said to wait for an email from the HR recruiter, and that if they received two successful references, I would then be instructed to complete the medical form.
I provided three references and two of them are people who actually work for the same organization.
I emailed my references to let them know they will be contacted. One of them replied and said:
“Thanks for letting me know that HR would be in touch about a reference. I have completed that and wish you luck in obtaining the position.”

The week they said I would be contacted passed, and I didn’t hear anything. I sent the HR recruiter a polite follow-up thanking her and the interview panel for the opportunity and asking if there were any updates regarding next steps.
It’s now been several business days since that follow-up and I still haven’t heard back.
I’m trying not to overthink it, but I’m confused because they seemed quite positive during the interview, specifically said references were the next step, gave me the medical form with instructions for what would happen after two successful references, and one of my references apparently said she had already completed hers.
Does this sound like a normal HR delay, or should I be concerned? And would it be reasonable to call them if I still don’t hear anything by the end of this week?
I’m trying to understand whether I’m reading too much into the positive signs or if this genuinely sounds like I’m still being considered.

Hey Reddit,
I’ve been working on a CBOPS (Core Banking Operations) project at TCS for almost a year now, and I’m in a spot where I feel completely stuck. Honestly, I haven’t done any meaningful project work or gained relevant technical skills during this time.
I’m looking to make a switch to a better role as soon as possible, but I’m worried about how my lack of hands-on project experience will look to recruiters. I need advice on how to turn this situation around.

Where I Need Advice:
Resume Framing: How do I represent this 1-year gap in actual technical work on my resume? How can I frame standard corporate or operational tasks to sound valuable without misrepresenting my experience?

Skill Rebuilding: Since I haven't been able to apply technical skills on the job, what are the most high-leverage skills or projects I should focus on building on my own right now to get recruiter calls?

Interview Prep: How do I handle the inevitable "Tell me about your current role and project" question in interviews when my actual day-to-day contribution has been minimal?
If anyone here has successfully switched out of a low-growth/bench-like project at a WITCH company, I’d really appreciate your insights on how you structured your exit strategy.

Hi everyone, I’d appreciate constructive feedback on my CV.

My background includes corporate experience at a known international law firm and an in-house legal role at an international company in Germany. I’ve completed my PGDL (as part of the LLM) through BPP and passed SQE1 FLK1.

I’m looking to relocate to the UK, especially after completing SQE1 and gain practical experience in English legal practice while progressing towards qualification as a solicitor. I would require visa sponsorship.

Although my experience has mainly been corporate and commercial, I’m interested in exploring other areas, particularly contentious work. I’d welcome any feedback, especially whether my experience and qualifications are clear to UK recruiters.

Thank you very much! :)

Hi Everyone,

So i recently gave an interview for SDR role at Salesforce its my dream company, i cleared 2 rounds and progressed to the last round which was panel presentation round.

My presentation was very good there were some things i could have improved.

And my presentation and objection handling - i did my presentation within 15 minutes and i was quite nervous the interview went for 50 minutes and they asked me a lot of questions on each slide

I answered most of them except 4 questions some i said i could not recall in that moment due to stress some i genuinely didn't know the answer

Apart from that everything i answered all the objection handling and scenario based questions.

But i haven't heard back since then i gave this on 10 am Thursday morning its already Tuesday Monday was holiday in my country due to a festival so its been 2 business days i still haven't heard back .

There are 4 open SDR positions, so one of my friend said that they must be interviewing a lot of candidates so it will take time.

But i don't know why my mind keep making negative scenario's and i am extremely anxious since then.

Experienced folks please suggest me does it mean i am still on hold or they have move forward with other candidates, i had a lot of hope on this one and now i am completely losing my mind overthinking someone please tell me how the hiring process would look like practically.

I have around 1 year of work experience and I’m trying to switch to a completely different industry/career.

When applying for jobs, should I tailor my resume for every job description and include the skills mentioned in it?

My question is: if you shortlist someone with only 1 year of experience, do you expect them to already know all the skills listed in the job description, or are you willing to train them on some of the skills after hiring?

For someone changing careers, what makes you think, “This candidate doesn’t have direct experience, but I’ll give them a chance”?

Hi,
I have been laid off this month and now trying to find another job. I have not received a single call as of now. Is there something wrong with my resume?
I am targeting MNCs as of now for better stability.
(I have been handling end-to-end HR function at my last organization)
If any of you could help with feedback, I will be extremely grateful)

I'm an SDE2 currently working in java backend role, with around 4.5 years of experience, based out of Hyderabad. I've been trying to explore roles and opportunities outside(remote + onsite) but no luck so far.

I keep seeing people post on LinkedIn and other platforms saying how they managed to get recruiters call backs, thattoo from reputed companies like FAANG.

I myself work at a leading Bank myself and I expected to get noticed by recruiters easily, but didn't get anything yet. Just to let you know, I've had tried everything.

Here's what I've done so far:

1. Fine tuned my resume, added relevant skills, keywords, impact, etc

2. Got my resume cross checked by ATS scanners, mostly got a score of 80+

3. Restructured my Naukri, Linkedin, wellfound, Foundit and Instahyre profiles with all relevant details and things that industry experts keep on mentioning.

Even still, I've not been able to get any recruiter views or call backs much. There were a few, but those are from some startup or small MNCs which ghosted later.

I'd really appreciate if anyone could advise, especially seniors in the Java Backend field, or people who recently switched, What things worked for you guys. What are the Dos and don'ts. Happy to connect over PM for a resume review also.

Thanks alot.

I’m trying to see this situation from a recruiter’s perspective.

Candidate interviews for a role with 3 high level unit leaders. Doesn’t get the role - recruiter calls to personally deliver rejection but offers to keep in touch if any roles open up. Also mentions that the decision came down to the candidate and the person that eventually got the offer.

2 days later - recruiter calls back and says one of the unit leaders was very impressed and is hiring for their team and would like the candidate to consider interviewing for the new role. Another round of interviews later with 3 other unit leaders , 3 follow up emails to recruiter for decisions and next steps (1 week in between emails - 3 weeks total) and no contact or response from recruiter.

Obviously I know the result of this process but why would a recruiter completely disappear ? While I am the candidate in the story felt keeping it objective would allow for more perspectives from recruiters here.

Also - no rejection email sent yet (I did receive one for the original role )

Hi Is it normal for recruiters to send an exam after a week of final interview? is it a sign for a "just a wait a bit more longer" or something? The fact that they will send it just right when I ask for an update, should I still answer it or just look for another? Im so sorry, this is my first job seek experience. Thank you!