10 Years, 100+ Applications, 140+ Interviews: Why I Built tryresumematch
I’m a data analyst working in the IT industry with a background in psychology. Here is the unvarnished truth about how recruitment actually works—and why manual resume editing is broken.
Leopold Abai
Founder · Senior Data Analyst in Tech
Master’s in Psychology (Adam Mickiewicz University) · Data Science Certificate (The Johns Hopkins University) · Ex-CRM Analytics Lead (Welltech) · Ex-Senior Data Analyst (Allegro, Hostinger, Fandom).
1. The Dual Lens: When Psychology Meets Data Analytics
My background isn’t a standard software engineering trajectory. I studied psychology at Adam Mickiewicz University, specializing in human cognitive processes, perception, and decision-making, before earning a data science credential from The Johns Hopkins University.
Over the past 8 years, I worked as an individual contributor and team lead across e-commerce, media, and HealthTech—companies like Allegro (Central Europe’s largest marketplace), Fandom, Hostinger, and Welltech.
This combination gave me a unique vantage point on hiring. Data taught me to measure, optimize, and look for rigorous causality. Psychology taught me about cognitive ergonomics: how the human brain processes complex information under extreme stress and time deficits.
2. 10 Years in the Candidate’s Trenches (The Cold, Hard Numbers)
Most resume advice on the internet comes from career coaches who haven’t applied for a technical job in a decade. I wanted my platform to be built on reality.
To build this, I audited my own digital footprint across the last 10 years (2016–2026):
- 100+ formal job applications: Applications tracked across major ATS platforms (Workable, Greenhouse, Lever, SmartRecruiters, Ashby) to companies like Docplanner, Booksy, InPost, Capgemini, Affirm, and Kraken.
- 140+ interview rounds across multiple stages: Technical screenings, hiring manager deep-dives, live coding in Python & BigQuery, take-home case studies, and salary negotiations.
- 25 dedicated recruitment dossiers: Complete company-specific tailored resumes, cover letters, and analytical case study solutions.
- 8 companies worked for: Navigating the journey from junior analyst to leading analytics functions.
In senior tech roles, every advanced application moves through 3 to 5 separate evaluation rounds—from initial recruiter screening calls and live SQL/Python tasks to take-home project presentations, hiring manager deep-dives, and executive final interviews. Across 100+ applications over a decade, those processes yielded 140+ individual interview rounds.
What did this decade of being the applying party teach me? Candidate burnout is real, and it happens before the first call. Brilliant candidates spend 2 hours nudging margins in Canva or Word, exhaust their mental willpower, and arrive at the interview unprepared.
3. The Hiring Manager Perspective: What I Looked For
I was also on the other side of the desk. At Allegro, I contributed to analyst hiring by conducting technical interviews and screening over 20 candidates. At Welltech, I made the business case for a dedicated CRM Analytics function from scratch, designed candidate assessment scorecards, and ran final hiring manager interviews.
Here is what recruiters and hiring managers actually experience:
The 6-Second Cognitive Reality:
A recruiter reviewing 200 applications per role has severe decision fatigue. When they open a multi-column, icon-heavy resume with skill progress bars (e.g. “Python: 80%”), their brain feels cognitive friction and skips to the next candidate.
What wins is high information density with clean typographical hierarchy. A single-column document with quantified accomplishments (e.g. “Reduced query latency by 42% on BigQuery”) allows the reader to absorb relevance in seconds.
4. The 4 Golden Rules Built into tryresumematch
Rule 1: Density Over Decoration
Graphic templates designed for visual artists fail in technical and corporate hiring. We use publication-grade typography that maximizes readability and passes every ATS parser cleanly.
Rule 2: Semantic Alignment Over Keyword Stuffing
Recruiters spot mindless AI buzzword repetition instantly. Our engine analyzes the job description’s core technical requirements and highlights your genuine, corresponding achievements.
Rule 3: Complete Truthfulness (Zero Hallucinations)
Nothing destroys a candidacy faster than getting caught fabricating experience in a technical interview. tryresumematch reorganizes and reframes your authentic experience—never inventing facts.
Rule 4: Preserve Your Energy for Interview Prep
Tailoring your resume should take 60 seconds, not 2 hours. By automating the mechanical busywork, you can invest your energy into studying the company, brushing up on behavioral questions, and acing the call.
5. In-Depth Recruitment & Psychology Guides
View all in Knowledge Hub →Explore long-form essays combining cognitive science, eye-tracking research, and recruitment analytics:
What a Recruiter Looks for in the First 6 Seconds
Eye-tracking studies and the brutal reality of screening 200 resumes in 45 minutes.
ATS & Hiring SystemsWhy Chasing a 100% ATS Match Score Will Hurt You
The dirty secret of keyword scanners and how over-optimization sabotages interviews.
Cognitive ScienceThe Psychology of Cognitive Load in Resumes
How John Sweller’s framework explains why clean, publication-grade resumes win.
StrategyStop Wasting Time on Applications and Prep for Interviews
Why spending 90% of effort on formatting leaves candidates drained for the call.
Ready to Stop Wrestling with Resume Templates?
Take your base experience, paste the target job description, and get an ATS-optimized, publication-grade PDF in under 60 seconds.