#resume

Link below...

# How Experienced Professionals Are Still Getting Hired in a Biased Market

Many late-career professionals are being pushed out of roles earlier than expected. Some are encouraged into early retirement despite not being ready. Yet a significant number are still landing strong opportunities. Their success is not accidental. It reflects a strategic shift in how they approach the job market.

The hiring system often works against older candidates. Automated screening, compensation assumptions, and implicit bias create structural barriers. Waiting for fairness is ineffective. The professionals who succeed adapt instead.

## 1. Rewrite the Resume Around Results

Most seasoned candidates write resumes that read like job descriptions. That approach fails. Employers care about outcomes, not responsibilities.

Instead of listing duties, quantify impact:

• Reduced time to hire by 35 percent by implementing performance metrics.
• Generated 12 million in revenue and captured 18 percent market share in nine months.
• Increased operational efficiency through process redesign and KPI tracking.

Numbers signal business value. Decades of experience provide a deep well of measurable results. That is a competitive advantage when presented clearly.

It is also advisable to remove unnecessary age signals. Graduation dates, roles older than 15 to 20 years, and outdated technical skills add little value and may introduce bias.

## 2. Close Skill Gaps With Precision

Generic learning is inefficient. Instead:

1. Review 10 job postings in your field.
2. Identify repeated skills and language.
3. Compare them against your resume and profile.

If data driven decision making appears frequently, show metrics. If stakeholder engagement is emphasized, highlight examples clearly. Targeted alignment matters more than broad training.

Applied AI literacy is increasingly important. You do not need to be an expert. You do need practical usage. Identify one manual task in your field and automate or streamline it. Then quantify the improvement. Demonstrating real application shifts perception from outdated to current.

## 3. Build Relationships Before You Need Them

Desperate outreach rarely works. Reconnecting only when unemployed offers little incentive for others to help.

Instead:

• Reengage former colleagues while employed.
• Offer value before asking for favors.
• Stay visible in your industry by contributing insights and commentary.

The objective is referral access. Entering through trusted networks reduces dependence on automated screening systems.

## 4. Consider Fractional or Project Based Work

Full time employment is not the only option. Fractional roles are expanding across finance, marketing, HR, and operations. Many companies want senior expertise without full time overhead.

Working 10 to 20 hours per week across multiple organizations can:

• Provide income diversification.
• Offer schedule flexibility.
• Match or exceed full time compensation in some cases.

Framing your value as a targeted solution to a specific problem often makes hiring decisions easier for companies.

## 5. Reframe How You Describe Yourself

Avoid emphasizing years of experience. Instead, focus on problems solved.

Not:
"I am a marketing manager with 20 years of experience."

Instead:
"I help B2B SaaS companies scale from 1 to 10 million in revenue by building demand generation systems."

Organizations do not buy tenure. They buy results.

## Adapt Strategy, Not Expectations

The system may not change quickly. Bias and automation are real constraints. The professionals who continue to get hired share consistent behaviors:

• Quantified resumes
• Targeted skill alignment
• Practical AI usage
• Strategic networking
• Openness to alternative work structures
• Outcome based positioning

The market rewards relevance and measurable value. Position yourself accordingly.

• This is from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSblhOCY6bM

They wiped so many people. Update your resume, find something and Gtfo. If you see an internal listing, it’s a trap. We all sat around and asked ourselves when. When is here. Good luck.

There are two types of people at Xerox: (1) those coasting to retirement who are likely 55 and older who don't need another job, and (2) those with a career ahead of them.

If you are in group (1) then congrats on your upcoming retirement, it's likely to happen within the next year.

If you are in group (2) then I really hope you have your resume up to date, and are at a minimum exploring opportunities. Make connections to recruiters and other companies who are in your area, or who offer remote work if that's something you do. It can never hurt to get your name out there, even if it's simply to practice the interview process if you've spent most of the last couple decades at Xerox.

Group (2) might have years left, or days, you really never know. It's much easier to find a job when you have a job, than have to be under the stress of interviewing when you have no income or healthcare.

And no matter what, keeping your skills up to date is up to you. Xerox is unlikely to invest in you, but if you can find skill sets that compliment what you already know, or better yet help Xerox so you can justify continuing to build up those skill sets, then go for it!

Good luck to everybody tomorrow. I have a feeling that it is not going to be that large, but we'll continue to see these targeted reductions throughout the year.

Working every contact, and applying for anything where my skills might fit. I'm becoming desperate. One single interview, and it didn't work out. It's as bad out there as everyone says. Watching Open Text's nosedive is freaking me out. We knew things were bad, and layoffs became the norm, but this feels like the death throes.

Is this what Sandip Dorkani meant by 100x, crashing the stock price? 52 week low of 234 could be reached at this point. One disaster after another lately with leadership. Brush up your resume and look elsewhere, the only thing that will 100x now is layoffs, if that is even possible

TMO does not give a sh-t about anyone. The we are a people first company mantra they constantly push is complete BS. TMO is a profit and growth first company, we the people are nothing more than a means to that end.

If you have not been impacted by any of the layoffs, don’t get comfortable and think that you’re safe. It’s only a matter of time before we are all walking out the door.

Update your résumé, and start applying for jobs now. The average job search is 6 to 9 months in this economy. Starting your job search now gets you ahead of that curve and if you get an interview, it helps you shake off the cobwebs and fine tune in your interview skills if it’s been a while. If by chance you get a job offer, you can always say no thanks.

Stop drinking The magenta Kool-Aid, you’re only going to get run over by the magenta bus in the end.
Stop believing all of the BS that Srini, Katz, Frier, King, etc spew they’re telling you what they want to hear to increase their bank accounts.

I learned from a recruiter yesterday that when you submit an application to a job board etc., do not put work history on your resume over / past 20 years. Apparently, the AI screening tools will automatically reject the resume if "they" see anything older than 20 years. Good luck out there!

I will have to re-do my resume!

Remember

People who are:
Conscientious
Educated
Loyal
Ethical
…often suffer more in systems that quietly reward politics.
You didn’t fail the system. The system failed you.
That realization is painful — but also freeing.
You are not behind.
You are not broken.
You are transitioning out of a place that could not hold you with integrity.

Onward and Upward!

https://www.cracked.com/blog/the-6-most-effective-ways-to-lie-your-resume

Get that resume updated for anything that's coming up sooner than expected..

1. Always Be “Market-Ready”

Job security in tech no longer comes from tenure—it comes from readiness.
• Update your resume every 3–6 months, even if you’re happy
• Keep a running list of accomplishments with metrics (your “brag doc”)
• Take occasional recruiter calls to understand your market value

Think of this as maintenance, not job hopping.

⸻

1. Build Transferable, Layoff-Resistant Skills

Roles disappear faster than skills.
• Stay close to revenue, customers, or measurable cost savings
• Cross-skill across functions (ex: product + data, engineering + cloud, ops + automation)
• Prioritize tools and platforms used broadly across the industry

Ask yourself: If my job vanished tomorrow, what skill would still be in demand?

⸻

1. Network Before You Need It

Most roles are filled through people, not postings.
• Reconnect with former colleagues regularly
• Be helpful without asking for anything in return
• Stay lightly visible on LinkedIn by commenting and sharing insights

Networking works best when it’s ongoing—not urgent.

⸻

1. Learn to Read Early Warning Signs

Layoffs rarely come without signals.
Common red flags include:
• Hiring freezes or denied backfills
• “Efficiency,” “realignment,” or “focus on core priorities” language
• Sudden leadership changes or org reshuffles
• Increased consultant or vendor presence

When multiple signs appear, quietly accelerate your search.

⸻

1. Maintain a Financial Safety Net

A financial cushion gives you leverage and calm.
• Aim for 3–6 months of expenses if possible
• Avoid lifestyle inflation after bonuses or raises
• Treat severance as a bonus, not a plan

Money buys time. Time buys better decisions.

⸻

1. Separate Identity From Employer

Even great companies lay off great people.
• Layoffs are usually about timing and macro conditions, not performance
• Your career is a portfolio, not a single company bet
• Measure success by skills gained and impact delivered, not titles held

⸻

1. Adopt the Right Mindset
   • Loyalty should be to your career, not a logo
   • Staying prepared is not disloyal—it’s responsible
   • Mobility is the new stability

⸻

Bottom Line

Surviving mass tech layoffs means always being ready to move—even when you don’t plan to.
Those who fare best are not the most loyal, but the most prepared, adaptable, and connected.

https://www.businessinsider.com/former-tech-employee-struggling-find-job-work-shares-journey-frustrations-2025-12

A former AT&T worker has been job hunting for 3 years. Recruiters keep telling him to embellish his résumé.
By Jacob Zinkula - Dec 7, 2025, 4:40 AM ET

Miles Bradley has struggled to find work for three years after losing his AT&T contract role.
He believes some companies are seeking the perfect "Goldilocks" candidate in a competitive job market.
Bradley said he's coped with long-term unemployment by minimizing expenses and staying optimistic.
After more than three years of job hunting, Miles Bradley suspects his best chance of getting hired may be a strategy he refuses to try: lying on his résumé.

Bradley has been searching for work since October 2022, when he was let go from a contract software engineering role at AT&T. He said he's connected with several recruiters during his search, and that some have asked him to tailor his résumé to better align with a job posting — requests he's been happy to accommodate.

However, Bradley said some recruiters went a step further — making significant changes to his résumé without his approval, which he felt didn't accurately reflect his experience and qualifications. These changes appeared to help him land a few interviews, but once he realized which résumé had been used, he declined the opportunities and stopped working with the recruiters.

"I was like, 'wait, this résumé doesn't represent me at all, and I'm not ethically going to do this,'" said Bradley, who's in his late 50s and lives in New York.

Bradley is among the dozens of Americans Business Insider has spoken with over the past year who are struggling to find work. Amid economic uncertainty, the early effects of generative AI adoption, and a trend toward streamlining operations, US businesses are now hiring at one of the slowest rates since 2013. Job openings have fallen sharply since peaking in 2022, when they exceeded 12 million, to about 7.2 million as of this past August, the most recent data available.

In a competitive job market, some job seekers are willing to try just about anything to get hired. While stretching the truth on a résumé or during an interview, for example, might pay off, the strategy also comes with significant risks.

Some companies could be holding out for the perfect candidate
Bradley said he's concerned that a competitive job market encourages résumé embellishment by both recruiters and job seekers — and that it's hard for him to compete with fabricated applications.

If companies are patient enough, he thinks someone with the ideal résumé — embellished or not — will often eventually come along. And when that happens, Bradley said, he can't blame companies for choosing the candidate who appears to be the safe, logical option — even if they might not actually be the best person for the job.

"The industry has become addicted to finding the 'Goldilocks' candidates," he said. "They want to have somebody that exactly fits what they're looking for."

There's evidence that companies have become slower to fill job openings, whether due to economic uncertainty or the desire to find the perfect candidate. In October 2019, about 91% of job postings from companies in the Russell 3000 — a stock market index that tracks the performance of the 3,000 largest US public firms — were filled within six months, according to data shared with Business Insider by Revelio Labs. Of the jobs posted in October 2024, fewer than half were filled within the same six-month timeframe.

While Bradley prefers to be as honest as possible on his résumé, he said he's become comfortable being somewhat flexible with certain details. For example, he said he might present certain skills or experiences as more central to his past work than they actually were. However, he's careful not to include anything that he believes would misrepresent who he is or what he's actually done.

Coping with long-term unemployment
In his final days on the job at AT&T, Bradley said he did his best to "exit gracefully," which included training his replacement and ensuring his main project was in as good a shape as possible.

Once he officially left, he began searching for work, targeting engineering manager- and director-level roles. As his job search has dragged on, he said he has also explored product management and business analyst roles, and even applied for a barista position at Starbucks. Despite submitting hundreds of applications, he's still waiting for an offer.

Job-hunting for three years has taken a toll on Bradley's finances, but he said he's fortunate to have support from his partner and family. In addition to that financial help, Bradley said he has been able to get by because he has become a "hyper minimalist." He said he used to have multiple cars, but now drives a single 15-year-old vehicle.

"It means I don't get anything that I don't need," he said. "I've reduced it down to a couple of backpacks' worth of stuff."

Bradley is among the Americans dealing with the economic consequences of long-term unemployment. While the unemployment rate remains fairly low by historical standards, it has risen to its highest level since 2021, when the economy was still recovering from pandemic-related disruptions. The share of unemployed workers who've been searching for work for 27 weeks or longer rose this year to the highest level since early 2022, and remains near that level as of the most recent data.

Bradley said he often reminds himself that, in the big picture, he's fortunate to have the lifestyle he does.

"I still live at the top percentage of the world's population," he said. "So what do I have to be upset about?"

Going forward, Bradley said he's at peace with the possibility that his job search luck may never change — but he still plans to keep looking for work.

"I love to help companies be successful," he said. "But at the same time, if nobody wants to hire me, I shrug my shoulders and keep going."

I’ve done everything people tell you to do, kept my skills current, paid for a professional resume, stayed active with networking, and kept applying consistently, yet I’m still sitting here with no offers after more than six months. The interviews I did get felt positive, but then I got ghosted after later rounds, which makes the whole process feel even more discouraging. At this point I genuinely don’t know what else I’m supposed to change to turn interviews into an actual offer.

Feb 6 it’s over. Better be getting your resume together

Next level cost cutting will happen for sure. Jan 1-20. Get ready with your resumes

Getting laid off feels lousy. But on the upside, I don’t have to dread work tomorrow. Usually on Sunday evenings, I feel a spike of cortisol in anticipation of the coming work week. I’m checking my work calendar to see what meetings I have, making my task list, deciding if I need to commute into the office, etc.

Tomorrow I will sleep late and there’s no need to check the calendar. Like many of you, I have to pound the pavement and look for a new job. There’s work to do in updating my resume and searching the job boards, but I’m also going to make it a point to relax a bit and enjoy the down time. I hope you’re able to do the same.

Shankar’s AMA session today once again confirmed that additional workforce reductions are expected within TPG in 2026. He also acknowledged that leadership was not able to complete all planned organizational adjustments before December, as had previously been anticipated. This round of impact appears notably smaller on the Ansys side based on empirical data collected through internal high-level communications, which now aligns with the delayed timeline because the leadership is still trying to figure out these legacy Ansys portfolios, e.g., under MBU, FBU, etc.

Given this uncertainty, it might be wise to use the upcoming holiday season to prepare for potential changes—refresh your resume, explore job opportunities, and take steps to strengthen your position for next spring. Taking proactive measures now can make a meaningful difference later.

in anticipation of any possible layoffs, i've just updated my resume. I used some resume writer from texas on Fiverr. Has anyone done the same just incase we encounter obstacles in our way and the company falls off the Cliff ?

I might be in the minority here, but I'm glad we were given some time before everything hits, even if the waiting is stressful and everyone’s nerves are shot. Getting blindsided with layoffs out of nowhere would have crushed me, and having at least some warning let me pull myself together, update my resume, check in with a few contacts, and take a hard look at my finances. It is not a huge amount of preparation, but it’s enough to give me a sense of control so that if I do get laid off, I will not feel like the floor just disappeared under my feet. A surprise layoff would have felt ten times worse, at least in my view.

More layoffs are coming tomorrow… Update your resumes.

Is everyone is busy updating their resumes and LinkedIn?
Why am I not getting meeting invites and requests?

Getting prepped for resume building and job interviews.

Months ago before Dan, my leader said we need to worry when upper management starts resume and interview prep talks come into play.

My Manager was pitching one of the “benefits” from my RA

I haven’t even looked at what was in my RA Letter

Are they reputable? Or is it more of a Resume chop shop?

This is part of year-end layoffs round. More information will be released soon. Brush up your resume and hang on tight.

The truth is that a little fear is good (for us that have been so comfortable with Target) it’s helping us do something we might have not thought about doing. Looking outside of Target. This is not the Target I know anymore. For those of us in Minnesota, things will be tough. Stay strong, update your resumes and start looking, even if you make it out.

About a decade ago I was cut together with may dear coleagues - us who were affected found real help from the industry... from networking to resume sharing to landing great next roles... Because there were many good people who stayed inside Target, many of those teammates eventually came back... If you are cut, use your network and move on... If you are not cut, be that network and help... The best we can do is show up for one another.

If you need a better job or are waiting to keep this one my advice as a manager is take advantage of all these perks they go on about giving to employees. Take all the d-mb linked in courses and have them on your profile, have the company help pay for certifications or college or CE courses and bulk up your resume and work your a-s off, by 2027 there’s going to be a major shift and US workers will be a skeleton crew unless the laws change: Employee relations are staring to hire overseas workers who can’t u destined English and HR is non existent. They will keep piling on more ludicrous procedures for QA across all departments and doc you over the most insignificant thing so when they do lay you off it’s because you’re performance was bad and you failed to maintain quality and productivity. Start looking for other jobs now. Re write your resume and good luck.

Not trying to sound alarmist, but after the recent RIF, it’s fair to say things feel uncertain right now. Seeing cuts happen after H1 is definitely out of the ordinary, and if performance targets don’t hit the mark, this could become a pattern. Even if that’s not the case, April isn’t as far away as it seems.

The reality is that nobody ever thinks it’ll happen to them until it does. Staying ready — keeping your resume and LinkedIn current — is just smart practice. It’s not about doom and gloom; it’s about being prepared in case the winds shift again.

This is the favorite time of the year for Staples “holiday greetings” through November layoffs.

Get ready to be ready, it will be about cutting the staff, cost, manager preference, or last hard first fired.

Update your résumé, pay for it if you can NOW and circulate!

Connect with recruiters and send the hiring managers your resume directly through Linkedin or company email.

Pick out the top 10 companies (maybe 20-40), and start networking now.

I have a great track record over the last decade plus. I have gotten a raise for exceeding or meeting expectation every year . Several of those years have been exceeding, but I’m not going to wait. I have never seen it this bad.

When the layoffs happen, I noticed that my workload increases, but it doesn’t equal out to financial compensation if they were to hire a person to do it full-time! I refuse to be cheap labor for more time than I have to.

Most who leave Staples are compensated MORE and are less stressed.

Good luck, stay strong, be proactive!

Probably doesn’t help that hiring managers and recruiters use services that look at and summarize FB, Instagram posts, etc., and company-identified boards like this one, to not only get a sense of personal characteristics of applicants, but the culture from where they are/came.

It’s already super competitive marketplace for jobs in this industry. And it’s only going to get worse. No company using one of these services is going to hire anyone with F5 on their resume based on the comments here. Too many competitors will have applied for the same job without this baggage. And AI tools specific to this task will only make this sort of information more accessible.

Remove F5 from your resume if you can. Or, hope that the sh-t-posting stops - probably unlikely as humans are their own worst enemy when cornered, or laid off.

So, a round of applause for all the sh-t-posters. While they practice their freedom of speech, accomplishing nothing to change anything with F5 for the better, they are making it impossible for all of us to find another job if laid off.

Good luck out there. You’re going to need it - based on the comments here.

HR Reorg.. what a joke! Rotating favorites is the new strategy. What will their resumes say.. I laid off people when we had the category offense, I laid off people in the consumer offense, I laid off the laid off people… ha ha ha.
The CHRO is a joke, her minions are a joke.

Layoffs have continues across 2025 along with DEI grandstanding on the part of Christa Quarles and more reorgs:

• Sr. Directors across the org has been laid-off that one were the product directors
• More people from Marketing have are gone
• Engineers across the company based on tenor or so-called no culture fit for those in Mauritius
• Michelle Chiantera is no longer the CRO/CFO, she is now back to the CRO
• Waiting to see if Jason Royer SVP Finance will land the CFO title that was held by Jeff Byal, then given to Michelle Chiantera and taken away.

Since Christa started at Corel she has gaslighted everything and everyone. She was all about DEI except it's just talk. She is all about finding the right public opportunities with the aim of crafting a savvy persona. While she managed to cozy up for a photo-op with Martin Luther King III, it's pretty clear she has no interest in MKL's legacy. Brown American employees don't last and she only connects to brown people that have a c-level title. Try volunteering with an organization that is actually helping people with families like those you've laid off or go visit the National Civil Rights Museum rather than so-called volunteering at some Marketing (=more money). place.

Yes, more layoffs and consolidation to come. If you have performed your job and matured your practice, you will not last at Alludo. Your job will be given to someone else.

Keep your resume up-to-date.

I work in IT as a software dev and wonder if I should update my resume to list SAFe Agile experience at USAA? Will future employers think I'm just as useless as the Release Train Engineers, Agile Coaches, Scrum Masters and the rest of the bureaucratic dead weight floating around USAA?

Keep an eye on the waning demand for Labor generally and be prepared eg with resumes and maybe even retraining.

Bloomberg today:

It’s only the third day of a much-feared month of September and sobering US economic news is already piling up.

Yesterday it was six straight months of shrinking manufacturing. Today it’s job openings falling in July to the lowest in 10 months, adding to other employment data (including a report last month that caused Donald Trump to fire the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics) showing America’s once-robust post-pandemic jobs landscape continues to darken.

Even worse, the sectors most responsible for the new numbers aren’t cyclical and had been recent drivers of growth. Available positions decreased to 7.18 million from a downwardly revised 7.36 million in June, according to data published Wednesday by the BLS, a division of the US Department of Labor. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 7.38 million openings.

There no reason not to update your resume this weekend and start sending it into some companies your interested in. I’m sending mine to a few places to at least get the ball rolling if Larry kicks me to the curb.

Either you can reject the new job, take a new job or at minimum start finding the next gig.

It’s not a question “IF” Anthem/Elevance is planning more RIFs, it’s more like “WHEN”. Always just assume they are, and plan accordingly. No one is safe from the RIF, so get your resume and LinkedIn up to date, start looking for ways to network more, save as much money as possible, figure out ways to strengthen your mental health, and show up every day knowing it very well could be your last.

I didn’t want to have to start interviewing again, but the situation left me no choice. The thought of sending out resumes and preparing for interviews feels draining, but staying in a place that doesn’t value your work to this extent is even worse. I'll rather be uncomfortable then staying here longer than I have to.

If you are still employed at FIS, do yourself a favor and update your resume. It’s a tough job market out there and you need a head start or at least 3-4 months. Get comfortable with being uncomfortable and do better for yourself!

For those of you who are still with the company and are unhappy with the state of affairs, you need to start designing your exit plan. That may mean updating your resume, looking for new roles, hitting your network for opportunities and/or brushing up on new skills. Don't wait for senior leadership to tell you it's time, you control yours and the future for your family. Secondly, set a date. Once you have a set date of when you want to exit, whatever nonsense is happening will impact you less and you will be working towards something productive besides feeling unhappy about what senior leadership is doing and not doing. My last comment is about the topic of Toxic Leadership which has seem to come on to this board as a main point of concern. Toxic Leadership is always 100% a problem with the tone at the top. A top research in labor studies told me that these type of leaders learned, at a very young age, that if they did not have absolute control that they had no value. It is why the behaviors are so pronounced when they are in position to oversee others and to maintain it they surround themselves with yes men or those that will help create a work environment that normalizes the behavior. Remember, good people don't go around trying to destroy others.

Listen, it's NOT easy to start a job search, especially if you've been at a position in WIN for 10+ years. I left WIN over a year ago, but I keep tabs on this company because I've got a lot of friends that still work here, and I'm concerned for them. Not to mention my pension that may soon disappear.

When building your resume, you need to consider every aspect of your job, and every bit of training you've received, even if it's CBTs. Don't undersell your skillset. You probably know more about the Telecom industry than you're giving yourself credit for, and people outside the company are going to find your skills extraordinary (you just don't realize it because many of your coworkers have a similar skillset).

Think of every piece of equipment you touch, and put it on your resume. MUXs, test sets, DS1 monitors... It may seem silly, but name dropping, or brand dropping can make a difference. Think of the buzz words you see popping up on Stream. I promise you that, in regards to the tech talk, several of them are the same words that will catch the eye of an HR rep. ACD. PRI. AdTran. Unified Communications. Calix. Cisco. Mitel. Shoretel. Etc etc. You never know what equipment a company is using, or what buzzwords will resonate with a potential employer.

Make a couple different resumes, tailored to different job types. Support, technical, managerial. Accent certain experience or training based on the type of job, and start pumping them out. Check your current customers and their industry counterparts. You already know they use the products that you can support. Now you need to check their sites every week to see if they have an opening for a position you can fill.

You will find something better

#GOLD advice on making the #resume, posted originally by @XGW3EPD-1cjp