I Applied to 500 Jobs with 2 Different Strategies, Here’s What Worked
Apr 07, 2025
8 months ago, I decided to run a crazy experiment, I applied to 500 jobs with 2 different strategies.
– 500 job applications and 2 different strategies.
– One got me ghosted. The other got me 35+ interviews.
Here’s the unfiltered truth no one tells job seekers.
I did this because it would be extremely useful to students and job seekers in my ultimate job hunting course community.
I wanted to see for myself what works in job applications and what doesn't.
Because let's be real: everyone has advice, I give tons of advice, but very few people test these things at scale.
So I did.
Half of them (250 applications) with a single, generic resume,
the kind that people usually send out when they mass-apply.
The other half?
Customized resumes, tweaked for every job description,
every requirement, every company.
I wanted to know:
- Does customizing your resume actually make a difference?
- Or is it just a waste of time?
- What are recruiters really looking for?
And most importantly, what are the mistakes that get your application ignored?
Here’s what I found.
► Phase 1: The "Spray and Pray" Approach
This is what most job seekers do.
Take one standard resume.
Blast it out to hundreds of jobs.
Hope something sticks.
I did exactly that, 250 times.
Yeah, it was brutal :(
Here’s what happened:
- 19 recruiters responded. That’s 7.6% response rate.
- 5 interviews. Just 2% of applications turned into an actual conversation.
- 0 job offers. Nothing. Not a single one.
► Why did we fail?
- Too much generic language
- recruiters saw it and immediately thought: "does this person actually fit the role?"
- answer: no.
- why? because it didn’t directly match the job description. it was just a broad list of skills with no clear connection to their needs.
- Formatting mistakes and typos
- a tiny mistake can kill your chances.
- i had a few small errors, some spelling mistakes, awkward phrasing.
- Resume sounded just like the J.D
- my original resume just listed responsibilities instead of achievements.
- recruiters don’t care about what you were supposed to do.
- they care about what you did and how it impacted the company.
- Stuffing Keywords Backfired
- I followed the usual "ATS hack" advice, load up on job description keywords.
- It worked to get past the ATS, but in interviews?
- They would’ve grilled me on skills I barely had.
- They weren’t impressed, they were skeptical.
► Phase 2: The Personalized Approach
For the next batch of 250 applications,
I rewrote my resume for every single job.
Painful? Yes.
Time-consuming? Extremely.
Worth it? 100%.
- 41 recruiters responded. That’s 16.4% response rate
- more than double the first batch.
- 35 interviews. That’s 14% of applications.
So, what did we change?
- Using the J.D as it should be
- I highlighted the exact skills each job listed.
- I removed irrelevant experience that didn’t match the role.
- I made sure my achievements reflected what the company needed.
- Focused on readability:
- no typos. no unnecessary jargon. just straight-to-the-point achievements.
- recruiters scanned it in seconds and instantly saw why i was a fit.
- I Wrote Achievements, Not Job Duties
- instead of saying:
> "managed product launches and worked with cross-functional teams."
- I wrote:
> "led 3 successful product launches, increasing revenue by 27% in 6 months."
See the difference? The second one shows impact.
- Stopped keyword-stuffing
- Instead of blindly throwing in job description keywords, I wrote naturally.
- I made sure I could actually talk about every skill listed on my resume.
If your resume isn’t working, it’s not because you’re not qualified.
It’s because it’s not clear how you fit the job.
- Your resume should instantly show why you match the job.
- The closer your skills match the job description, the better.
- Typos = automatic rejection.
- Use bullet points. Keep it clean and easy to scan.
- Quantify your impact. Use numbers.
- Customize your resume every time
- It’s extra work, but it’s worth it.
- Small tweaks make a huge difference.
► How can you make this easier for yourself?
Customizing your resume for every job is exhausting.
That’s why I started using Teal and Jobright to automate parts of the process.
- Teal: AI-powered resume builder that helps tailor resumes in minutes.
- Jobright: Uses AI to find exactly what recruiters are looking for and helps tweak your resume accordingly.
Here is the Link if you are planning to you can use this will give you some preference:
https://link.yudij.com/tealbyyudi
https://link.yudij.com/jobrightbyyudi
If you’re blasting out the same resume to hundreds of jobs, you’re doing it wrong.
Recruiters aren’t looking for the best candidate.
They’re looking for the right candidate.
Make it obvious why you are the right fit.
-Yudi J