How to Get Your Resume Seen by Hiring Managers
Automated filters reject over 75% of resumes before any human sees them. LinkedIn Easy Apply won't save you. It's just another door into the same black hole.
The Resume Black Hole
Applicant tracking systems aren't your friend. They're built to slash through stacks of resumes, not to spot talent. Their purpose is to shrink the pile for overworked recruiters, which means most candidates get tossed into a digital void without a second thought.
A 2021 Harvard Business School study ("Hidden Workers: Untapped Talent") found that automated filters reject about 75% of resumes before they reach a human, often for arbitrary reasons like missing buzzwords or formatting the system can't parse. That's not a glitch. That's the design.
You'll never know why you got rejected. Was it a missing skill tag? A font the system couldn't read? The filter doesn't care about your potential. It's just a gatekeeper with a checklist.
- Formatting quirks (tables, columns, headers/footers)
- Non-standard file types or corrupted PDFs
- Missing exact keyword matches
- Employment gaps flagged automatically
- "Overqualified" filters at senior levels
- Arbitrary screening criteria set by recruiters
- Too many applicants - random sampling kicks in
The Easy Apply Trap
LinkedIn Easy Apply feels like a shortcut. One click, and your application is sent. Done. But here's the harsh truth: it's not a real bypass.
Sometimes Easy Apply skips the automated filters, sometimes it doesn't. Even when it does, you're still drowning in a pile of 500+ other applications. Everyone else clicked that button too.
That one-click ease means you're not standing out. You're blending in. Worse, the dopamine hit of clicking "Easy Apply" tricks you into thinking you've made progress. You haven't. Your resume is still lost in a sea of digital noise.
Ballista cuts through that noise by putting a physical packet in a hiring manager's hands. No clicks, just impact.
Resume Filter Myths vs. Reality
The Only True Way Through: Physical Mail
You can't optimize your way through a system designed to reject you. The only guaranteed bypass is to not use the system at all. Send your resume directly to the hiring manager's desk.
Zero Digital Gatekeepers
Physical mail goes straight to a desk. No algorithms, no filters, no automated rejection.
90%+ Open Rate
Business mail gets opened. Your resume doesn't compete with 500 others in an inbox.
Direct to Decision-Makers
Address it to the hiring manager, not "Recruiting Department." It lands where it matters.
Signals Serious Intent
Taking time to send physical mail shows you're strategic and willing to go the extra mile.
How to Get Seen with Ballista
Upload Your Resume
Drop your PDF. We print it on 80lb premium paper.
Find the Hiring Manager
Enter the company, hiring manager's name, and office address. We can help find this info from a job posting URL.
Add a Cover Letter
Write your own or generate one automatically. Personalized to the company and role.
We Print and Mail It
Professional packet, premium paper, USPS First-Class mail. Arrives in 5-7 business days. Optional certified tracking.