After weeks of sending resumes into the void and occasionally receiving the dreaded “We regret to inform you…” emails, I decided to subscribe to a resume builder.

These tools often include ATS testing. They check for keyword alignment, formatting issues, and general readability to help your resume get through automated systems. After several rounds of adjustments, I finally got my score up to 99%.

Now I’m curious—will it actually make a difference?

I’ll report back once I’ve had time to see if all this optimizing really helps.

For a look at the kind of work I do, you can check out my portfolio.

I used 1Million Resume to run ATS checks. It offered good guidance and useful insights. Though after a while, the tweaks started to feel repetitive. Even so, it felt good to have something measurable to work toward.

It’s hard not to wonder what’s really working in a job search. Is it the resume? The portfolio? Timing? Connections? Also, how much does age, niche, or general style play into it?

Of course, there’s no single answer. However, I’m doing my best to stay consistent and document what works—and what doesn’t.

Next time, I might write about a few other things that could be influencing results, like whether being a generalist affects how my portfolio is perceived—or if age is playing a role too.

We’ll see.