A generalist IT resume got 2 interviews in 6 months. Then 16

We had a client who was let go by his company AFTER signing up for our service.

We were working with an IT Director with several years of experience leading infrastructure and operations for mid-sized companies.

Six months of blind applications

He had been job-searching for nearly 6 months. Mostly through LinkedIn, and mostly blind applications. In that entire time, he had landed exactly 2 interviews. One ghosted him after a panel round. The other cut him after round 2.

And here's the thing: his experience was solid. The problem was how he was packaging it.

Why a broad resume gets ignored

This is the most common mistake we see with technology leaders: they keep their resume broad, thinking a generalist profile will open more doors. Sounds logical. But in reality, hiring managers aren't looking for someone who can do a lot. They're looking for someone who has already solved the exact problem sitting on their desk.

A vague profile doesn't get you more interviews. It gets you ignored.

When we onboarded him, we repositioned him from a general IT leader to a specialist in operational transformation and zero unscheduled downtime for mid-size companies. Same experience, completely different story.

16 conversations after the layoff

Shortly after we started working together, he was let go from his current role. But the best place to fall sick is when you’re already at the hospital.

But because the positioning was already sharp, the interviews kept coming. We landed him 16 qualified conversations in total, including FedEx and Freddie Mac. One CIO replied to our outreach personally and connected our client directly to their executive recruiter.

He signed as Director of Infrastructure at a scaling manufacturing company based out of Chicago, with the kind of greenfield project he'd been looking for.

If you feel like your job search needs medical attention, we have paramedics waiting when you book a call ;)