How to get the job and 25 bad best practices to avoid, from a hiring manager
Updated: 10 minutes ago
Hi, thanks so much for taking the time to apply to the job post for Toption. I never planned to write 1:1 feedback for candidates since there are so many of you. Good problem to have!
But then, I knew the feeling of applying to jobs and getting rejected all too well. It sucks.
What sucks even more is not knowing what you can do to improve the odds.
So, I’m going to put in the effort and trade some weekend time to write objective feedback that could potentially help make your application better.
These are some mistakes I see people make. If you haven’t received an interview invite, I’ll likely tell you which reason it is, so you can actually improve.
Selfishly, one of the reasons why I want to do this is because I hope that you’ll have the interest to re-apply in the future if a position opens up. And you don’t think it’s a waste of your time and energy.
Or maybe, if you’re happily settled somewhere else, you’d still recommend Toption to your friends who're looking for a change.
If you don’t react well to feedback, I highly recommend reading a summary of the book “Thanks for the feedback”. It’ll change your perspective when someone comes in with not-so-nice feedback. I paid AltMBA something like $4,500 to pretty much learn how to give and receive feedback. That summary should shortcut your learning.
Keep reading, to see the top reasons why I've said no (for now).
Best,
Khushi Lunkad
Founder, Toption
A laundry list of items in no particular order
1. Check your file name.
Attention to detail matters. We live in an AI slop world. I want to be able to trust you to be able to not let slop get through.
So, if your file names are something like "New Formal CV02", it's not a great experience because that's the first thing I see.
2. Obsess over your work.
Typically, there is more demand than supply. So, you really need to shine through. Don't leave room for errors like this especially if you're a content writer.
This profile has some typos:
Dangling underlined portion after the word.
LinkedIn doesn't fit into that structure of bold with a second link, so it feels imbalanced.
E of ecommerce is dangling
I can't help but notice these issues in under a second. Obsess over every little detail in your resume or message because first impressions matter. Especially if you're applying for a copywriting positions.
3. Don't use AI.
Don't use AI when the instructions clearly specify not to use AI. In this example, I see the copy/paste function didn't work correctly. Letters are missing. Emdashes are a dead-giveaway that AI was used. Nobody writes about themselves in 3rd person. Don't use use AI, when a human is going to read it. Write less, but be you.
4. Do I speak the language?
When I go to your portfolio website, help me see 1-3 things that solidify your use case. The more experience you have, the more content you have to show for. But, I'm making quick decisions here whether I need to reject or move people into the shortlist. So, if I click through 3-4 videos on your portfolio.. and can't find anything in a language I speak (or my clients speak), then I can't make an informed decision to shortlist you no matter how good you are.
Restraint is important. Show less, but show your most impactful work that is relevant.
5. The quality of work is not senior enough
This is a hard one. Because how do you know the work is not good enough, until someone points it out? You need great opportunities to get better at what you do. So, it's a circular problem! I get it.
For example, the spacing is inconsistent here. The pipe icon is not properly aligned.. overall, it needs more polish. The same issue shows up in the actual work examples.
The solution is to hire someone 10+ years ahead of you in their career path. Ask them for feedback. Pay them for their time. And have them brutally review your resume. I did that in my early days. There should be a blog post about 'How to become a growth marketer' related to how I did that if you're interested.
6. Write well and put the effort
Toption is a calm company with no deadlines. We also offer 30 days paid leaves (take whenever you want). But, I really want you guys to put in the effort. Don't write short-hand like 'Exp for experience'. If your entire portfolio is a LinkedIn page, I'd need more context on what should I be looking for. Which post?
7. Don't follow up
Most career sites will tell you to follow up with the hiring manager. But please don't. It's unnecessary. We have a CRM, and we have a way of working through the applications.
Applicants started following up 1-2 days after they sent their application in.
I understand it's hard to recognize whether someone will appreciate a follow up message or not.
Consider whether following up helps a) the applicant or b) the hiring manager? If it helps the applicant and gives me no real benefit, then don't do it.
Also, please don't call me or remind me on WhatsApp. Some of applicants did have my personal details and I got calls/Whatsapp texts. That is again, not beneficial for me.
I make objective decisions based on the profile. Not based on how much someone follows up or want me to move you to the top of the inbox.
8. Skills don't match
If I'm hiring for a role that doesn't align with the skills you have, then this is the bucket it falls under. If you tell me to save your profile for future reference, I'll save it. But if you're actively applying for a position, then I look for a skill overlap.
For example, I'm hiring for a generalist growth operator for special projects. I'll need someone that can use Claude Code, let's say. So, if your primarily specialization is client management, or accounting... then it's not a good fit.
9. Links should be accessible without signing up
I shouldn't have to create an account or sign up for a service to view your profile. Test your links in Incognito mode and on different devices to make sure the end-user experience is one that you can control.
Another example. If you use Linktree, the free version, it'll force me to watch a 5 second ad before your link opens. So, if your portfolio is on Linktree, upgrade or switch.
Same issue with Medium. I am hit with a sign up form as soon as I scroll.
10. Please answer all questions
This was on the original job post,
"To apply, please fill out this simple form: toption.org/contact or email me directly at khushi@toption.org with answers to those questions."
There are a few mandatory questions like Annual CTC, so I can easily check whether I can hire you.
11. Take the next action for me.
Share less, not more. Have me click less. If you have 30 samples to show, unfurl them so all are visible on one page. I shouldn't have to click on each URL to see something. If you want to show metrics, show it to me on the same page next to the creative.
Basically, think about what you want me to see and take away. Then build the experience around it.
For example, I see blank pages here and need to navigate elsewhere.
Or each of these links requires me to click on something to get more info.
Click on the topic
Scroll
Click on the link
Scroll to see comments/likes
Close the tab
Click on a different link
...and repeat the cycle
Help me be lazy with your application :)
12. I can't change your tax bracket
I liked everything about you but I can't impact your salary as well as I'd like to. And I think you're already in a good spot in life. You're suffering from success :)
So, we must part ways for now, but I'd love for you to reapply in the future when our company grows!
13. Not located in Mumbai
Some roles require you to be in office because I want to be able to unblock you much faster or course correct.
14. Missing details in resume
I do want to know where you studied, what your grades were in, and what your background is. For example,
If your undergrad was in design or in engineering... that's important context for me.
If the role applied for is that of a storyteller but I can't find any storytelling examples amongst a sea of other examples.
15. Overly long/complicated resume
Things like:
3-4 pages is too long.
Grew leads by 42% in 3 months tells me nothing. Show me what led to that?
Tracked blog performance on Google Search Console is also not really useful if this is tablestakes for your job. Don't waste important real estate on tablestakes.
If the role applied for is that of a storyteller but I can't find any storytelling examples.
Many long sentences of what you achieved that all seem kinda similar.
16. Hide this section for human readers
This keyword dump that most 'best practices' sites will ask you to add? Remove it if you know a human is reading it. All it does is add noise to your resume.
17. None (or misattributed) sample work
Show the how behind the what. I do need to see the quality of your work. A portfolio of work in any format is required. If you claim that you've helped a company do XYZ in your resume, let me see the actual work that led to it. Back up your pitch with real work.
Alternatively, if you claim you've worked on a project but the public credits tag another set of people, I want you to be super specific what your role was. Otherwise, link to something else.
18. Don't be boring
Sometimes, we overcomplicate our resume writing to sound smart. We add jargon and fluff. Because the career gurus say so.
For example,
"I seamlessly blend human empathy and sharp positioning with AI operations (Claude, ChatGPT) to boost production velocity without losing tone or nuance."
Is so so hard to read. But if you read it a couple of times, it basically says, "you can use AI well." Which is awesome. So, say that, "I can create anti-slop AI content".
Don't make me reverse-engineer content.
19. Don't add your profile picture in your resume
I'm not judging based on how you look :)
20. Don't be cocky
Don't say you're the best hire I'll ever make for that role. Self-deprecating humour is wayy better than overconfident, especially not as your intro line. Humility is v. important.
21. Design for skim reading
What do you want me to take back in 30 seconds? Is that clear?
One person used really big font sizes. I thought this was super clever. A screenshot helps with credibility and the font size is huge.
A google drive with hundreds of links or many folders is really a bad UX. Please don't use a drive. I'm trying to look for a couple of great things in a resume that help me decide whether having a call is worth it. If I can't find it within 5m of looking, then it's going to be a rejection. Like my goal is to see th ebest in you. Help me see it.
22. Be optimistic
I like that you're being honest and sharing your story with me. But, think about what you want me to take back from reading your application. I want to feel happy. I want to want you on my team. So, if you complain about your existing life (no matter how true it is), it's not going to make me feel positive. Find things to be happy about and lean on that. Everyone has their own share of problems. Focus on what's good.
Good things applicants did that stood out to me
1. Personalized and filled a gap
I hadn't considered a sound designer. This is great pitch. The portfolio was really good too! I was quickly able to see why I'd want to have him on the team.
Please also see how it's just one proof of work: 100+ brands with 750+M views. It's short and builds all the credibility.
2. Very well organized with real examples
One of the best profiles I saw made it really easy for me to get to the work samples.
I could see the skills. Click on the CTA.
And then could easily see the samples of work. He didn't over explain or give me a giant text dump to read. Screenshots of the actual email is great.
From a journey perspective, this was excellent.
3. Testimonials were added in the portfolio
I've seen very few people do this, and it really works well. In fact, my resume has a testimonial from a few popular people in the industry. And it's at the top of my resume, because one of my mentors was surprised I had that testimonial. So, he suggested I add it at the very top of my resume. If you have great testimonials, show them off.
4. It's actually funny
If your writing makes me laugh multiple times, that's pretty cool. One email had a mix of really good achievements, but then brought on some self-deprecating humour right alongside it to balance it out.
And his entire portfolio site was equally funny. So I reached out.
Please also see how short his intro message was.
5. Actually, don't bold.
So, you're often told to bold. But some of the best applications I've received don't bold any text in their intro message.
When you bold text to highlight something and draw attention, it means something is more important than the rest. The art of good copywriting is that everything unimportant can be deleted.
So, use restraint. Try not to bold anything. Just delete things instead.
6. Easy to read with no fluff
Many resumes were easy to read on the eye, with proper visual hierarchy and font choices.
7. Answered all questions
Even the harder ones, and followed instructions well. No deviations whatsover! Love this.
8. Overall, looked very impressive
I read through your resume and was blown away by what you had achieved so far!
9. Really good intro email
I loved your email!
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