Career intelligence
The Praxy Blog
Straight talk on resumes, interviews, salary, promotions, and the job market. No fluff.
Resume and screening
What ATS systems actually do, and what human screeners still decide.
Interviews
Scripts and strategy for the moments where your story gets tested.
Salary and leverage
How compensation conversations really move when you do not have a perfect hand.
Career moves
Promotion, tenure, and role-change advice grounded in market data.
Latest posts
why do entry level jobs require experience
AI Did Not Kill Entry-Level Jobs. Hiring Inflation Did.
Why do entry level jobs require experience? It's hiring inflation, not AI. The real cause, the data, and how to beat the screen as a junior.
Read →ai resume builder
AI Resume Tools Didn't Make You Better. They Made Everyone Identical.
An AI resume builder polishes your application into the same shape as everyone else's. Here's why specificity is the only signal left, and how to find yours.
Read →ai skills employers want 2026
The Skills That Quietly Entered Every Job Description
AI skills employers want in 2026 now carry a 56% pay premium across a billion job ads. Here's what counts as real signal, and how to show it.
Read →ai skills on resume
'"Proficient in AI Tools" on Your Resume Means Nothing Now'
Listing AI skills on your resume signals nothing now that everyone has the tools. Here's what hiring managers actually screen for, with weak vs strong examples.
Read →will ai take my job
AI Won't Take Your Job. The Annoying Truth Is the Cliché Is Right.
Will AI take my job? The honest answer from the data: no. But the peer running three AI tools out-produces you 30%. Here's how to be that peer.
Read →ats resume myth
The ATS Myth: What Resume Screening Software Actually Does (2026)
ATS does not auto-reject your resume for a missing keyword. Here's what applicant tracking systems actually do in 2026, and what to optimize for instead.
Read →confidence in interviews
Interviews Reward Confidence Over Competence. Here's How to Stop Losing to It.
Interviews reward confidence over competence because fluency is a proxy for skill. Here's how to make your real ability legible and stop losing rooms.
Read →should you accept a counter offer
The Counter-Offer Is a Pay Cut in Slow Motion
Should you accept a counter offer? It's a market correction extracted at maximum leverage, and it anchors every future raise to a number your boss conceded.
Read →how hard is it to become a product manager
Everyone Wants to Be a PM. The Data Says Good Luck.
How hard is it to become a product manager? Roughly 850k active PMs chase 7,300 open roles. The cold-apply path is the worst odds. Here's what works.
Read →ghost jobs statistics
Ghost Jobs: How Many of the Listings You Apply To Are Already Dead
Ghost jobs statistics: up to 1 in 3 US listings never hire. Why postings stay live, how to spot a dead one, and what to do before you apply.
Read →why employers cant match salary ask
The Real Reason They Can't Match Your Ask Isn't Budget
Why employers can't match your salary ask is rarely budget. It's internal pay equity. Learn the four levers that move when base salary won't.
Read →resume keywords ats
Keyword-Stuffing Your Resume Now Works Against You
Keyword-stuffing your resume for ATS now backfires. Here's why mirroring the job description makes you look like the other 243 applicants, and what wins instead.
Read →likeability vs competence hiring
They Hire the Person They'd Want to Get a Beer With. That's the Bug to Exploit.
Likeability vs competence in hiring: warmth gets judged first and often outweighs raw skill. Here's how to signal both and stop playing on hard mode.
Read →what is my market rate
There Is No 'Market Rate.' There's a 2x Range and Where You Land Is Politics.
There's no single market rate for your role. There's a 2x pay range and most people land low. Here's how to find your band and aim for the top of it.
Read →panel interview effectiveness
More Interviewers Doesn't Mean Better Decisions. It Usually Means Worse.
Panel interview effectiveness plateaus fast. After four signals, more interviewers add noise and reject your best candidates. Here's what the data shows.
Read →portfolio vs resume
For Half of New-Economy Roles, the Resume Is the Wrong Document
Portfolio vs resume: for engineering, design, writing, and data roles, the resume is now just the cover sheet. See why proof beats claims, and what to build.
Read →annual raise vs inflation
Your Annual Raise Is Probably a Pay Cut
Your annual raise vs inflation rarely works in your favor. Here's the plain arithmetic on why a 3% bump is really a pay cut, and the moves to claw it back.
Read →working with recruiters job search
The Recruiter Is Not on Your Side. Use Them Like You Know It.
Working with recruiters in your job search? They're paid by the employer, not you. Here's how to use them for access and intel without losing leverage.
Read →how important are referrals
The Job Board Is the Slow Lane. Referrals Are the Whole Highway.
How important are referrals? Referred candidates are roughly 10x more likely to get hired than job board applicants. Here's the math and how to act on it.
Read →does salary negotiation actually work
Salary Negotiation Is Mostly Decided Before You Open Your Mouth
Does salary negotiation actually work? Mostly the band, level, and company decide the number before you ask. Here's the 80% you can move earlier.
Read →salary negotiation without competing offer
How to Negotiate Salary Without a Competing Offer (2026)
No competing offer? You can still negotiate. The exact number to ask for, the one-ask script, and what to say when they claim the band is fixed.
Read →who should name salary first
Whoever Says the Number First Doesn't Lose. That's Outdated Advice.
Who should name salary first? The old never-go-first rule costs you money when you know the band. Here's the two-question test for when to anchor.
Read →tech sales vs engineering salary
The Highest-Paid Person in the Building Is Often in Sales, Not Engineering
Tech sales vs engineering salary, honestly compared: the enterprise AE ceiling is uncapped while the engineering ceiling is set by a leveling committee.
Read →average job tenure 2026
The 40-Year Career at One Company Is Gone. Stop Mourning It.
Average job tenure in 2026 sits near four years, not forty. Here's what actually changed, who moved the risk onto you, and what to build instead.
Read →how many jobs should i apply to
Applying to 300 Jobs Is a Symptom, Not a Strategy
How many jobs should you apply to? The volume game is rigged against you. Here's the funnel math and the channel shift that actually gets interviews.
Read →job search funnel benchmarks
You Can't Control the Offer. You Can Control the Denominator.
Job search funnel benchmarks show one tech offer can take 100-300 applications. Here's why you quit too early, and the denominator you can actually control.
Read →how to get promoted
You Don't Get Promoted in the Review. You Get Promoted Two Quarters Earlier.
How to get promoted: the decision is made in calibration weeks before your review, on documented impact. Here's how to win the cycle that already happened.
Read →how long recruiters look at resume
Your Resume Gets Seven Seconds. You Wrote It for Seventy.
How long recruiters look at a resume: about 7 seconds. Here's exactly where their eyes land and how to put your strongest proof above the fold to win it.
Read →networking weak ties job search
Your Best Friend Won't Get You the Job. Your Acquaintance Will.
Weak ties beat close friends for finding a job. The research is 50 years deep. Here's who to message, what to say, and the catch nobody mentions.
Read →why are you leaving answer
How to Answer 'Why Are You Leaving?' When It's Complicated (2026)
Leaving for a hard reason? Here's how to answer 'why are you leaving?' honestly without oversharing or lying, with real scripts for the messy cases.
Read →