The job market right now is ruthless. Employers are picky because they can afford to be — there are hundreds of applicants for every opening. I've helped hundreds of international students and professionals revamp their resumes, and here's the one thing that consistently gets more interview callbacks: make your experience transferable, not specific.
When I edit resumes, the first thing I do is swap industry jargon for plain language. Things like GMV, CTA, KOL — I spell them out, or better yet, replace them with terms any HR person would understand. If you've worked with niche tools or region-specific platforms, generalize them. Xiaohongshu becomes "social media." Platform-specific programmatic terms become "digital advertising." The resume should be readable by someone with no background in your exact field — that's the bar you're writing to.
I also cut brand names, internal project titles, and campaign names that only make sense inside your last company. Outside of your former team, no one knows what those mean, and they take up space you could use for something that actually resonates. Save those details for the interview. And if you have experience from a market that's unfamiliar to most hiring managers here, I usually recommend removing most of it or heavily reframing it.
The reason for all this is simple: ATS systems and recruiters filter fast. If you list only Mailchimp and the job requires HubSpot, you're out. If you write "email marketing CRM," you at least stay in the conversation long enough to explain you can learn it quickly.
The same principle applies when you're crossing industries. If you're moving from B2C to B2B, reframe your past experience using B2B language — leads, MQLs, SQLs — so the interviewer sees the overlap immediately. I make a point of researching the company and the hiring manager before any interview coaching session, because speaking their language is half the battle.
© 2026 Rachel Hong · Accelerator Consulting