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You’ve applied to 20 jobs.
You’ve refreshed your inbox approximately 287 times (while also packing lunches and signing field trip forms).
And… nothing.

Crickets.

Meanwhile, your college roommate’s cousin (who seems mildly allergic to hard work) just posted on LinkedIn about landing a new six-figure role with “unlimited PTO.”

Cue: rage scroll.

Real talk: if this sounds familiar, it’s not because you’re unqualified or “not good enough.” It’s because the tools you’re using to land jobs — your resume and LinkedIn profile — aren’t doing the heavy lifting for you.

>>> Here’s the deal: your resume and LinkedIn aren’t diaries of everything you’ve ever done.

>>> They’re marketing tools.

>>> Their entire job is to secure one thing for you: an interview.

And right now? If you’re not getting interviews, it’s because those tools aren’t optimized.

The good news? Fixing them doesn’t take an MBA in career strategy. It takes a few key shifts — and that’s exactly what we’re diving into today.

Grab your coffee (or that reheated cup you’ve microwaved three times already), and let’s get into it.

#1 – Stop boring recruiters with task lists

Real talk: if your resume still reads like a job description, recruiters are already asleep.

“Responsible for scheduling meetings.”
“Responsible for managing patient charts.”
“Responsible for overseeing budgets.”

Responsible for putting them to sleep — like bedtime stories, but without the snuggles.

Instead? Shift from tasks to results.

👉 Example:

• Before: Responsible for coordinating schedules.
  
• After: Coordinated schedules for a 20-person team, reducing project delays by 30%.
  

Boom — now you look like the powerhouse you actually are.

And here’s the glow-up: results are the little black dress of resumes. They fit every situation, and they never go out of style.

#2 – Quantify your wins (yes, moms can brag too)

If your resume is allergic to numbers, you’re missing the secret sauce.

Recruiters want to see:

• How much money you saved.
  
• How many patients/clients/students you impacted.
  
• How much efficiency you created.
  

Think of numbers like glitter for your resume: they make everything sparkle — and unlike actual glitter, they won’t haunt your carpet for eternity.

👉 Example:

• Before: Helped train new hires.
  
• After: Trained 12 new team members in 6 months, reducing onboarding time by 25%.
  

See the glow-up? Numbers don’t just show what you did — they prove it.

And moms, let’s be real: you already quantify everything.
Snack inventories. Nap schedules. The number of times Bluey has been watched this week. You were built for quantifying. Now just apply that same magic to your career.

#3 – Handle gaps like a pro (62% of workers have them, btw)

Repeat after me: a gap is not a career death sentence.

62% of workers have resume gaps. That’s most of us.

Whether you stayed home with kids, managed caregiving, or took a break for your own health — that time is not a red flag if you frame it right.

Tips to handle gaps:

• Keep it simple in your resume: “Family CEO, 2021–2023” works. Because let’s be real — you managed schedules, budgets, crisis response, and negotiations (aka toddler snack diplomacy).
  
• Highlight volunteer work, freelancing, or certifications during that time.
  
• Use LinkedIn’s “Career Break” category — they literally created it because so many people have gaps.
  

Your resume should work harder than you do on back-to-school night. Period.

#4 – ATS isn’t scary, it just hates your cute formatting

ATS = Applicant Tracking System.

Think of it as online dating for jobs: if you don’t use the right keywords, the algorithm swipes left.

Here’s what the robots hate:

• Tables
  
• Columns
  
• Icons (yep, even the cute checkmarks)
  
• Headers/footers with your contact info
  

Here’s what they love:

• Keywords from the job description
  
• Clean, simple formatting
  
• Standard section titles (Work Experience, Education, Skills)
  

So yes, your Canva resume is adorable. But if the ATS can’t read it, recruiters will never even see it. Save the pretty version for networking coffee chats.

#5 – Use keywords like you’re on a job-search dating app

Imagine you’re on Bumble. Instead of saying “I like hiking,” you wrote “I occasionally ascend outdoor inclines.”

Would anyone swipe right? Nope.

It’s the same with resumes and LinkedIn. If you don’t use the actual words employers are searching, you won’t get matched.

👉 Example:
If a job posting says “Project Management,” don’t say “Oversight of projects.” Say “Project Management.”

Pro tip: Copy the job description into a free word cloud tool. See which words pop up the most. Use those exact words on your resume and LinkedIn.

Otherwise? The ATS is swiping left faster than you on a guy whose profile pic is still from spring break ‘09.

#6 – Your LinkedIn headline is prime real estate — don’t waste it

Your headline is the first thing recruiters see. And if it currently says “Teacher at XYZ School” or “Project Manager at ABC Corp”? You’re wasting space.

Formula to use: Role + Industry + Value Proposition.

👉 Example:
“Nurse Practitioner | Oncology & Survivorship Care | Helping Patients Thrive After Treatment”

That tells recruiters, boom-boom-boom: who you are, what you do, and why they should care.

Your headline = your billboard. Make it count.

#7 – About section = your career story, not your resume copy-paste

Your About section should sound like you.

Not a robotic copy of your resume. Not a list of buzzwords. Definitely not “seasoned professional with a proven track record of results.”

Think: if you were at a coffee shop explaining what you do to a mom friend who actually gets it (not the PTA mom who thinks LinkedIn is just for bragging). That’s your About section.

Tips:

• Write in first person (“I help…”)
  
• Share 1–2 career highlights.
  
• Add a line about what drives you (values, mission).
  
• Keep it human — yes, you can mention being a mom if it connects back to your work.
  

#8 – Skills + activity = recruiter magnet

Here’s a secret: recruiters filter LinkedIn searches by skills.

If you don’t have the right ones listed, you’re invisible.

👉 Action steps:

• Add 20–30 skills that match your target job postings.
  
• Ask colleagues for endorsements (yes, they still matter).
  
• Show up once a week: like a post, share an article, write a short comment.
  

That little bit of activity boosts your profile visibility and shows recruiters you’re engaged.

Bonus: Mindset Shift for You Mamacita

This part’s not technical, but it’s essential.

Stop apologizing for being a mom.
Stop hiding your career break like it’s something shameful.
Stop undervaluing the leadership, crisis-management, and multitasking skills you’ve mastered outside of work.

Motherhood didn’t stall your career — it sharpened it. You’ve negotiated bedtime, diffused meltdowns in the Target toy aisle, and still showed up to work calls. Trust me: a hiring manager is way less scary.

So your Next Steps….

Your resume and LinkedIn don’t need to be perfect works of art. They need to do one job: get you in the door.

And the truth? A few small shifts — quantifying results, reframing gaps, updating your headline — can make the difference between silence and interviews.

Here’s your challenge:

• Pick one resume fix and one LinkedIn fix from this list.
  
• Update them this week.
  
• Watch how recruiters start paying attention.
  

If you’re ready to stop guessing and get tools that actually land you interviews (without spending your weekends buried in formatting), that’s literally what I do.

👉👉👉 Book a discovery call with me today, or join my really spectacular newsletter for more career clarity tips designed for working moms.

Your career deserves better than ghosted applications and “we’ll keep your resume on file.” Let’s change that.

That’s all for now — text me when your LinkedIn headline glow-up lands you an interview. 😉

– Jane

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Jane’s Favorites This Week
Because life isn’t just resumes and LinkedIn headlines… here’s what’s keeping me sane, inspired, or just plain happy this week:

• Perfume I can’t stop wearing: Kerosene Unknown Pleasures — picture a gorgeous lemon Earl Grey tea that is wrapped in the warmest, coziest cashmere sweater.
  
• Podcast on my walks: It’s Only Perfume— listening to Dana and Steve is literally ear porn
  
• Snack fueling my writing sessions: Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Almonds (dangerous, but worth it).