Sam Wright, a 31-year-old head of growth at Huntr, an AI-powered résumé builder and job search tracker based in Seattle, has conducted over 500 free one-on-one job search support sessions since July 2024. Wright works primarily with tech professionals—including software developers, engineers, UI/UX designers, and product managers—many of whom are coming from layoffs at major companies like Amazon and Google.
Huntr leverages AI technology to help job seekers optimize their résumés and track applications. The platform has analyzed data from over 1.2 million applications across more than 225,000 résumés, using this anonymized information to train and develop their AI tools while tracking broader job market trends.
Wright offers five key strategies for navigating today’s challenging job market:
1. Track Your Application-to-Interview Conversion Rate: In contrast to the early COVID era when tech jobs were plentiful, today’s employer-favored market requires a metrics-driven approach. Job seekers should treat their search as a sales process, monitoring how many applications result in interviews.
2. Focus on One Job Title at a Time: Wright recommends applying to 10-15 jobs with a well-tailored résumé over 2-3 weeks. If you haven’t received an interview within 20 applications (definitely by 50), it’s time to seek feedback and reconsider your strategy. Different job boards like LinkedIn, Indeed, and ZipRecruiter have varying conversion rates.
3. Use Google as Your Primary Job Board: Boolean searches on Google aggregate postings from all job boards, making it an efficient starting point. Google’s dedicated jobs tab indexes listings from across the web for SEO purposes.
4. Two-Page Résumés Show Better Results: Huntr’s data reveals a slight increase in responses for two-page résumés across all experience levels. Quality content that matches job descriptions matters more than length, with relevant awards and achievements from education sections proving helpful.
5. Show Impact, Not Just Metrics: Résumé achievements should follow the formula “I did X, which had Y result and Z impact.” Many candidates forget the crucial final element—explaining why their accomplishments mattered to the organization’s broader goals.
Key Quotes
Job seeking is one of the most vulnerable moments in someone’s life, so I started offering these free support sessions last July as an extra way to support those struggling in this job market, and I’ve now done around 500 calls.
Sam Wright explains his motivation for providing free job search support sessions. This quote highlights the human impact of the current challenging job market and demonstrates how AI companies are responding with both technological and personal support services.
In an employer-favored market, your North Star should be the application-to-interview conversion rate. Make sure you’re metrics-driven in your search approach, because it’s ultimately a sales process.
Wright emphasizes the importance of data-driven job searching in today’s market. This reflects how AI-powered platforms enable job seekers to track and optimize their performance using quantifiable metrics, similar to how businesses use analytics.
We’ve analyzed over 1.2 million applications across over 225,000 résumés.
This quote demonstrates the scale of data Huntr’s AI platform processes. The massive dataset enables the company to train AI models and identify patterns that would be impossible to detect through traditional methods, providing evidence-based job search recommendations.
Your achievements section of your résumé should look something like, ‘I did X, which had Y result and Z impact.’ A lot of people miss the last part, or the ‘why it matters,’ which is connecting the ultimate impact your achievement had.
Wright shares a key insight from analyzing hundreds of thousands of résumés through Huntr’s AI system. This data-driven advice shows how AI analysis can identify specific patterns that lead to better outcomes in job applications.
Our Take
This article represents an important intersection of AI technology and workforce transformation. Huntr’s platform exemplifies how AI is being deployed not to replace workers, but to help them navigate an increasingly difficult job market—ironically, one partially created by AI-driven efficiency gains and tech industry consolidation.
The irony is striking: tech workers who may have built AI systems are now relying on AI tools to find their next positions after being laid off. The scale of data analysis—1.2 million applications—demonstrates AI’s unique capability to extract insights from massive datasets that would be impossible for human career counselors to process.
What’s particularly noteworthy is the shift from intuition-based to data-driven job searching. Wright’s emphasis on conversion rates and A/B testing different approaches mirrors how AI itself operates—through continuous optimization based on measurable outcomes. This suggests the future of career development will increasingly rely on AI-powered analytics, personalization, and evidence-based strategies rather than conventional wisdom.
Why This Matters
This story highlights how AI technology is transforming the job search process at a critical time when tech workers face unprecedented challenges. The insights from Huntr’s AI-powered platform, backed by analysis of over 1.2 million applications, provide data-driven guidance that reflects real market conditions rather than anecdotal advice.
The article underscores a significant shift in the tech employment landscape—from the candidate-friendly market of early COVID to today’s employer-dominated environment where even experienced professionals from Amazon and Google struggle to find positions. This represents a broader trend of AI both disrupting traditional employment patterns while simultaneously offering solutions through intelligent tools.
The use of AI to analyze résumés and application data at scale demonstrates how machine learning is becoming essential infrastructure for career services. As job searching becomes increasingly competitive, AI-powered platforms that can identify patterns across hundreds of thousands of applications provide job seekers with actionable, evidence-based strategies. This matters not just for individual job seekers, but signals how AI is reshaping human resources, recruitment, and career development industries broadly.
Related Stories
- AI’s Role in Tech Hiring Freeze: White-Collar Job Market Slump
- The Future of Work in an AI World
- Business Leaders Share Top 3 AI Workforce Predictions for 2025
- Tailwind CEO Blames AI for 75% Engineering Layoffs, 80% Revenue Drop
- The Dangers of AI Labor Displacement
Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-resume-builder-shares-top-tips-for-todays-job-market-2026-1