Alex Toth Mentoring engineers to pragmatically apply theory to real problems and grow into leadership.

Why is your perfect CV getting rejected?

How we bypassed The CV "black hole"

Any questions? Drop me an email. And share with others who may benefit from this content. Remember: You joined this list for practical Systems Engineering advice that cuts through the academic noise. My goal remains simple: sharing field-tested strategies to help you stop fire-fighting and start architecting your career. Expect more pragmatic no non-sense tips coming your way ..

HINT: It's more to it than just the perfect CV!

You probably spend hours tweaking it trying to make it perfect.
​but the CV is not the complete answer - it's not enough ..

I know how frustrating that is. But there is a way to bypass the "black hole" entirely.

And I'll show you exactly how to do it in a second.

But first ...

Last weekend, I ran a private video mastermind call with five of my mentees.

Smart and capable early-career systems engineers.

But they were terrified.

Terrified of the ATS "black hole". Exhausted from tweaking resumes. Afraid of being exposed as "frauds" if they didn't meet 100% of a job's massive wish-list.
​hint: that's not necessary!

One of them even bluntly asked if he should just skip updating his generic CV altogether.

See...

they were doing what everyone else does.
Throwing paper at a wall and praying.

So I stepped in and changed the rules of the game. I gave them the exact playbook I use from the hiring manager's side.

Then we discussed and shared tips and experience. That resulted in more value than anything I could have told them. Because it came from them and not me!

And the relief in the room was palpable.

There was much more to the call than I can share here. BUT see a taster in the below Infographic.

I will share more and the conclusion later.

But first let me share some quick actions that you can apply right away ...

Here are just 3 of the exact pointers I gave them. You can apply them too right now to fix your job hunt:

1. Use the "Baseline" Strategy: Generic CVs are dead. Keep a master "baseline" document but copy-paste the exact jargon, keywords, and terminology from the job description for every single submission. This is the only way you beat the AI screeners.
2. Adopt the "Ticket" Mindset Your CV is NOT a binding contract of your absolute expertise. It is simply an enticing "ticket" to get you an interview. Make them curious enough to want to learn more. Employers actually expect a 3-to-6-month learning ramp-up. So stop disqualifying yourself. It's NOT your job to reject yourself even before you apply: your job is to sell yourself!
3. Deploy the "Side-Door" Protocol: The front door (online portals) is jammed; use the side door. Turn on LinkedIn's recruiter-only "Open to Work" flag, publicly broadcast your transition, and explicitly tell your existing contacts you are hunting. My mentees landed their current roles not by applying, but by converting casual event chats and internal friend referrals into direct introductions. When you trigger an internal referral or recruiter inbound, you hand your CV directly to a human, completely bypassing the algorithmic black hole.

Make sense? Good.

Because here is the truth ...

The biggest breakthrough my mentees had wasn't just my advice. It was looking around the virtual room and realising their peers were facing the exact same roadblocks. My lead amplified the conversation, plugged the gaps they didn't know and kept it grounded in the expectations companies have today.

The modern hiring system is broken for everyone!

But once you realise it's a systemic issue and not a personal failing then you can stop playing by their broken rules and start using insider strategies to actually win.

If it was me, I would skip the perfect CV altogether and completely bypass the ATS. Some even shared that they did that!
But that's advanced topics to discuss in more detail another time.

---

I had a blast running this mastermind!

Two of those in the call already changed jobs. A third one is in final interviews with several companies.

I was amazed by the impact it had and I want to help others too. I want to see this again!

Hence I will run some more of these live video group sessions in the near future. Next one is in June.

So If you want to join the next live mastermind session you need to take action now.

Where you don't just hear theory but actually learn what is working right now for engineers in the exact same position as you.

You'll get to share your own stories, trade tips, and get that "horizontal" peer feedback that my mentees found so incredibly valuable.

And I will be right there guiding the entire process.

I will moderate the discussion and validate exactly what works (and what doesn't) from the perspective of a senior hiring tech leader.

I'll point out the blind spots, share the insider tips the group missed and ensure you extract the absolute maximum value from the session.

(We might even spin up a private group chat afterwards so you can keep sharing wins and momentum).

But here is the catch:

I may never run a mastermind like this at this price again. This first one is for my subscribers only.

Click the link below to secure your spot.

Right now it only costs the price of a coffee to join, exclusive to my subscribers!

I am capping this at 6 seats so everyone gets time to speak and receive feedback and maximise value.

Because this is the first session the price is just $49. The price will increase for future cohorts. Click the link below to secure your spot for June 11th.

Secure Your Spot for $49

If the above button doesn't load then click this link. No excuses!

Live on Google Meet · Thursday, June 11 · 11 AM ET · 8 AM PT · 5 PM CET · Recording included

And keep an eye on your email.

Talk soon,
Alex