c/career-advice

Question about people who think a cover letter is just a repeat of their resume

I've been helping with hiring at my company for about 6 months now. I keep seeing cover letters that just list the same bullet points from the resume. That's not the point. The point is to explain why you want this specific job at this specific place. Last week, I read one that literally copied three job duties word for word from the attached CV. How do you get people to understand the difference? Has anyone found a good way to explain this to applicants?

Vent: I was at a coffee shop in Portland and overheard a guy bragging about how he got a 20% raise just by asking. Made me realize I haven't even asked for a cost of living bump in 3 years.

Question about salary negotiation for a promotion

My boss offered me a lead cook spot last month. Said we'd talk pay after a trial week. That week turned into three. Finally sat down yesterday, and the raise was only fifty cents more an hour. I had a whole list of my extra duties ready, like managing the weekend prep list and training two new hires. Took me almost a month just to get that lowball number. How do you push back without sounding like you're just complaining?

Saw a job posting in Seattle that listed 'unlimited PTO' but required a doctor's note for any single sick day...

I was checking out a tech company's careers page downtown and the policy seemed to contradict itself. It got me thinking... is 'unlimited PTO' often just a trap to make people take less time off? Where do you stand on this?

My boss in 2015 said my resume looked like a phone book

I used to cram every single job duty onto one page, thinking more words meant more value. After that comment, I cut it down to just the big wins and numbers. Now I keep it to three bullet points per job, max. Anyone else have a boss give them a resume wake up call?

Vent: I used to write cover letters like a robot and got zero calls back

For years I'd just list my skills and duties. After my friend in HR said they all sounded the same, I started opening with a quick story about a specific project, like the time I saved our team $15k on a vendor contract. Do you actually read the cover letters you get?

I almost lost a $15,000 job because I didn't check a reference

I was in my shop in Boise, about to sign a contract to manage the fleet for a local delivery company. Their main guy, Mike, called my previous employer from three jobs back who said I was 'hard to work with.' I had to call Mike directly, explain the old conflict was about scheduling, not my work, and offer a 90-day trial period. He agreed, and we've been working together for two years now. How do you guys handle bad references from old bosses?

Question about cold emailing vs just applying on the company site

I sent 50 applications through LinkedIn Easy Apply and got 2 replies, but a targeted email to a hiring manager at a firm in Austin got a call back in 3 days. Anyone have a better script for those emails?

I always thought networking was just awkward small talk until a guy I met at a coffee shop in Cincinnati told me about a sous chef opening.

Just hit 100 rejections on my job applications and it felt like a win

I kept a spreadsheet after getting laid off from my marketing job in Denver last fall. When the counter hit 100 'no's' or ghostings, I realized I'd built a thick skin and a much better pitch. Now I'm curious, has anyone else found a weird number that actually helped them push forward?

My boss told me my project updates were confusing everyone

He said to stop listing every single task and just give the three key points blocking progress. I switched to that format last month and our weekly meetings got 20 minutes shorter. Has anyone else had to simplify how they report on work?

Paid $400 for a resume rewrite and it got me zero calls

I hired a service to redo my resume after being out of work for six months. They made it look nice but it felt generic and didn't highlight my project management skills. Has anyone had a good experience with a different type of career coach instead?

Warning: I tried a weird trick to get my boss to notice my work and it actually worked

My manager never seemed to read my detailed project updates, so last month I started putting the main point in the email subject line as a simple yes/no question, like 'Approve the $500 budget for the Denver client?'. He started replying within an hour, every time. Has anyone else found a silly little trick that finally got someone to pay attention?

Shoutout to the guy who told me to track my time for a week back in 2018

I thought it was pointless busywork until I saw on paper that a simple bathroom clean in a Denver suburb was taking me 90 minutes, not the 60 I'd been charging for. I adjusted my rates and my schedule, and my profit went up by almost 20% that quarter. Anyone else have a piece of simple advice they ignored that actually paid off?

I thought asking for a raise was a surefire way to get on my boss's bad side.

For years, I just kept my head down and hoped my work would be noticed. Then my friend, who works in tech, told me to write down every single thing I did that saved money or brought in new business. I did that for three months, made a list, and asked for a meeting. I was shocked when my boss said yes to a $2 an hour increase right then and there. Has anyone else had a good experience just by showing the numbers?

Overheard a manager say they'd never hire someone who took a 2 year career break

I was in line at a coffee shop in Denver and heard two people talking about hiring. One manager said flat out they'd toss any resume with a gap over 18 months, calling it a 'red flag for commitment'. It made me freeze. I took 22 months off to care for my dad. How do you even explain that in a cover letter now? It feels like a hidden rule no one talks about. Has anyone gotten past a big gap like that in an interview?

I ignored the 'network at every event' advice and focused on just one person instead

Everyone kept telling me to collect as many business cards as possible at the Denver Tech Summit last month, but I spent the whole time talking to a senior developer from a local startup. We ended up having a 45 minute conversation about a specific coding problem I was stuck on, and he gave me a direct referral. Has anyone else found that a deep connection beats a stack of contacts?

Had to choose between a stable job offer and a risky startup role last spring

I got a solid offer from a big company in Boston, but a friend asked me to join his new tech startup for less pay but more equity. I picked the startup because the project felt exciting. It's been eight months now, and the hours are crazy but I'm learning way more than I ever did at my old job. Has anyone else taken a big pay cut for a role they believed in, and how did you make it work financially?

Serious question, I thought networking was just a buzzword until last month

I always figured my work should speak for itself, you know? But then a guy I met at a coffee shop last year (we talked about the best way to sharpen knives, of all things) called me out of the blue. He had a lead on a sous chef job that paid $8,000 more a year and wasn't posted anywhere. On one side, it feels weird that a random chat mattered more than my resume. On the other, it got me a real shot at a better job. Has anyone else landed a role through a connection they didn't even think was a 'connection'?

TIL that fixing a bad resume format cost me a full week of job apps

I was sending out applications for a marketing manager role and kept getting auto-rejections within hours. I figured my experience was the issue, but a friend finally told me my resume's layout was breaking the tracking systems. The columns and fancy graphics I thought looked cool were totally unreadable to the software. I spent the next three days just rebuilding it in a plain Word doc, line by line. I had to re-enter every single job detail and skill. After that, it took another four days to re-submit everything to the 20+ jobs I'd already applied to. The whole mess set me back a solid week. Has anyone else had a specific resume format that actually got past those bots?

I was wrong about networking for my whole career until a client's kid asked me a simple question.

I dropped $800 on a 'career coach' who just told me to update my LinkedIn

I paid for a six-session package with someone who called themselves an expert in tech job searches. All they did was read my resume back to me and say to add more keywords. I feel like I just paid for a very expensive mirror. Has anyone actually found a coach who gave real advice, not just obvious stuff?

Dropped $500 on a resume writing service, felt like a scam

Got a generic, fluffed-up document that didn't sound like me at all. Anyone have a better method for getting a solid resume done?

My biggest client just pulled a $15,000 job with no notice

It happened last Thursday afternoon. I run a small roofing crew, and this was a full re-roof for a property management company I've worked with for three years. They called me directly to cancel, said they were going with a bigger outfit that offered a lower bid. I had already ordered the materials and scheduled my guys for next Monday. Now I'm stuck with a pallet of shingles in my yard and a week with no work lined up for my team. I scrambled and called every contractor I know to see if they had any overflow, but no luck so far. What do you even do when a long-term client drops you like that? Has anyone else had a major project vanish right before it started, and how did you handle the financial hit?

Had to choose between a stable job offer and a risky startup role

I picked the startup for the potential equity, but after 6 months the funding fell through. Anyone else take a big swing that didn't pan out?