When Charmaine finished her last role at the end of August, she gave herself one month to do absolutely nothing.
On the 1st of October, she started searching. By the 19th of November, she had an offer.
"I still can't believe it, to be honest."
And the most surprising part? She only sent around 30 applications the entire time.
A Strategic Shift
Charmaine wasn't just applying for roles she'd done before. She was going for a GTM Ops Manager position - a title that didn't appear anywhere on her CV.
That's where most people would have given up. Charmaine leaned into positioning instead.
"I think it's a hundred percent down to the whole positioning thing. Because I don't have GTM Ops Manager on my CV at all. I've never done operations. I've been a CSM and I've done programme delivery."
By breaking down everything she had done and drawing clear lines to everything the role required, she made it easy for hiring managers to connect the dots — even when the job title didn't match.
"They were able to piece together - okay, she's done this, she's done this, she's done this - so she could do this."
Joining TechTalk
Charmaine thought she'd already tailored her CV when she joined TechTalk. Then she realised she had to start again.
"I joined TechTalk and thought - oh no, I need to actually re-tailor my CV again."
The key achievements section was the unlock. Instead of listing responsibilities, she led with impact - making it immediately clear what she was capable of and what she could bring to a new role.
She also leaned on ChatGPT to stress-test her positioning, using it to map the similarities between her past experience and the roles she was targeting.
"ChatGPT helped me really see the similarities between what I did in that role versus what I'd be expected to do in the role I want to apply for. And that's when you can really start to believe - oh, I can do this job."
Quality Over Quantity
There were weeks where Charmaine applied to far fewer roles than she'd planned. She felt like she was letting herself down.
But every application she did send was deliberate, tailored, and positioned with intention.
"I was thinking, oh, I've let myself down. I should have done way more. But clearly it paid off in the end."
30 applications. Seven weeks. A role she'd never held the title for before.
The Lesson
For Charmaine, the takeaway is clear = especially for anyone going after a role that doesn't match their CV on paper.
"I can't go on enough about the whole positioning thing. Especially if you're looking for a job title that you don't actually have. Really breaking down what you've done in your previous roles = that's what makes the difference."
Her story is proof that in a tough job market, it's not always the most experienced candidate who wins. It's the one who can tell the clearest story about why they're the right fit.
🎥 Watch Charmaine's full story in the video below:
