Insights from Get Into IT Live featuring Karen Santiano Francis, VetJobs
The IT job market is competitive right now. That is not a hot take. Anyone actively applying knows it firsthand. More candidates, more automation in the screening process, and hiring managers who can afford to be selective. The people breaking through have one thing in common: they are not doing what everyone else is doing.
Karen Santiano Francis has spent years watching job seekers make the same preventable mistakes. She has reviewed more resumes than she can count, coached hundreds of people through the process, and worked on the front lines of military-to-civilian career transitions through organizations like VetJobs and the Institute for Veterans and Military Families. When she joined Get Into IT Live, she came ready to answer the questions our community keeps asking. Her verdict? Most job search problems come down to a handful of fixable issues, and most of them have nothing to do with qualifications.
The Biggest Resume Mistake Nobody Talks About
Karen did not mince words. The number one resume killer is failing to tailor the document for each application. “Not tailoring the resume, not mirroring the language that’s in the job description,” she said. “The job description tells you this is what we want, right? Give it to them. And give it to them in the top one-third of that resume.”
This matters more than most job seekers realize. The first person reviewing a resume is often a recruiter who may not fully understand the technical role they are filling. They scan for keywords pulled directly from the job description. If your resume speaks a different language, it gets skipped. Karen’s example: if the job description says “teach,” use that word. Not “educate.” Not a synonym. Their word.
Karen has a name for the opposite approach: spray and pray. That is when someone sends the same generic resume to 50 jobs a day and wonders why nothing lands. “You’re not giving that recruiter or hiring manager what they want,” she noted. Volume is not a strategy. Precision is.
How Long Should Your Resume Actually Be?
Two pages is the target. If you are a 20-year military veteran trying to cram certifications, education, skills, and a full service history onto one page, Karen says that is “close to impossible.” Two pages is not just acceptable. It is normal.
Where most people go wrong is with what goes where. If you completed an IT training program and came out with Security+, Network+, or a CISSP, those credentials belong near the top of your resume. Not buried at the bottom of page two. “If it says on that job description, mandatory, must-have, requirement, Security+… put it up there where they can see it,” Karen emphasized. “Do not be subtle. Subtle resumes don’t work.”
She even suggested bolding the certifications that appear as requirements in the job posting. The goal is to make the recruiter’s job easy. Draw their eye to exactly what they are looking for before they have to go hunting for it.
A five-to-six-line summary at the top, written using language from the job description, sets the tone before a recruiter ever gets to the experience section. Skills listed in a clean table format with columns and bullets reinforce the match. Everything above the fold should say: this person checks the boxes.
The Follow-Up Strategy Most People Get Wrong
Sending an application and then emailing the recruiter daily is a quick way to get ignored. Karen recommends waiting until the application deadline closes, then following up the next day.
“Some recruiters will wait until the closing day and then start the slog of going through resumes,” she explained. Following up right after the deadline means you reach them when they are in review mode, not when they are still fielding a hundred new applications. One well-timed follow-up carries more weight than five poorly-timed ones.
After that, follow up one more time. If you still hear nothing, move on. And throughout all of it: “You should never stop looking. You should never stop applying.”
Networking Is Just Starting Conversations
“I absolutely hate the word,” Karen admitted. Her reframe: networking is just starting conversations. You do not need a perfectly polished pitch. You need an introduction.
She recommends having a short personal intro ready before walking into any job fair, industry event, or professional gathering. Something that covers who you are, what you do, and what you are looking for. Adjust it based on the room. If you are in an IT-focused space, lead with your technical background and certifications. If you are at a military networking event, your service record opens doors.
Two common mistakes: finding one person you connect with and spending the entire event in the corner with them (that is not networking, that is having a conversation), and forgetting networking extends well beyond LinkedIn. Karen specifically called out the Chamber of Commerce. Most job seekers overlook it entirely, but a local chamber is full of business owners and hiring managers looking for exactly the kind of talent that comes out of IT training programs. VSOs, Fleet and Family, state VA offices, education offices. All of these connect people with opportunities, and most candidates never walk through those doors.
About 70% of jobs are found through networking. Getting comfortable with the uncomfortable is part of the job search.
LinkedIn: Your Professional Showcase
“LinkedIn is not Facebook. It is the professional you.” Karen sees too many profiles where the headline reads something like “proud father and baseball coach.” Recruiters are not searching for proud fathers. They are searching for candidates who can do what they need done.
The headline and “About” section are where you show what you bring to the table. LinkedIn gives users 2,600 characters for the About section and 2,000 characters per job entry. That is substantial space to go deeper on accomplishments than a two-page resume allows. Did you graduate from an IT training program and land your first role in four months? Say that. Did you earn five certifications while working full time? Say that too. This is not the place for modesty.
Karen also encourages job seekers to request endorsements, even though it feels uncomfortable. Her suggestion: make it mutual. “Write something nice about me and I’ll write something nice about you.” Endorsements from instructors, career advisors, and former colleagues carry real weight with recruiters, and most people simply never ask.
AI in the Hiring Process
From resume screeners to AI-conducted interviews, hiring has changed. Karen’s practical advice for the screening side: use a tool like SkillSyncer to run your resume against a job description before submitting. It flags how closely your document matches what the employer is looking for and shows you exactly what is missing.
For AI-conducted interviews, the approach does not change much from a human one. “Put the fact that it’s AI out of your mind,” Karen said. Take a beat before answering, bring the same professionalism you would to a live conversation, and do not rush. The fundamentals of a strong interview do not change just because there is no human on the other side of the screen.
The Mindset Shift Veterans Need Most
Karen works extensively with military veterans transitioning to civilian careers, and one mental block comes up more than any other: the belief that the first job has to be the perfect job.
“The first job does not need to be perfect and it probably won’t be,” she said plainly. Veterans who spent 20 years in a structured career track can have a hard time accepting that the first civilian role might be a bridge job. Something that opens doors rather than fulfilling every professional goal from day one. That is not a setback. That is how civilian careers are built.
Karen recalled telling a client who felt stuck in a role that was not quite right: “You can leave, right?” The concept had not fully registered. In the civilian world, leaving a role after six months for a better fit is not a red flag. It is part of the process. Employers who hire transitioning military understand this. Most expect it.
The most important mindset shift: define early success as progress, not perfection. Getting your foot in the door at a solid company while continuing to build credentials through additional IT certifications is a career strategy, not a compromise.
The One Thing Every Job Seeker Should Know
When asked for the single most important piece of advice before starting a search, Karen did not hesitate: “Job search is a marathon. It is not a sprint.”
She also pushed back hard on going it alone. There are organizations built specifically to help, at no cost. VetJobs and Military Spouse Jobs offer one-on-one career coaching, resume review, interview prep, and job readiness training to eligible candidates. Start at vetjobs.org or militaryspousejobs.org. MyComputerCareer is an official VetJobs partner because we believe exactly what Karen does: the resources exist. The job is to use them.
The candidates who break through in a competitive IT job market are not necessarily the most experienced. They are the most prepared. Tailored resumes. Strategic follow-up. Certifications prominently displayed. A LinkedIn profile that works for them while they sleep. That combination does not happen by accident. It takes the right foundation and the right support.
Ready to build the credentials that get you in the door? Check out our IT training programs and see how MyComputerCareer prepares students to compete from day one. Not sure yet whether IT is the right path? Start with 7 Signs You Should Consider a Career in IT.