r/chicagojobs

Relocating to Chicago in mid-late June and looking for full-time work. Any leads?

Hey everyone,

I’m planning to relocate to the Chicago area with my fiancée around mid to late June, and I’m trying to find something full-time. I’m currently in Kentucky and honestly really ready to get out here and start the next chapter somewhere that feels like a better fit for us.

I’ve mostly been applying to higher ed jobs, especially admissions, enrollment, student services, advising, student success, registrar/records, and support roles. Right now I work as a Special Education Teaching Assistant, so a lot of my experience is working with students one-on-one, helping them stay on track, communicating clearly, staying calm when things get stressful, and helping people feel like they have an actual next step instead of just being overwhelmed.

In college, I was also pretty involved on campus. I helped run a student arts/events organization, booked artists, helped organize campus/community events, and was part of creating a student group focused on belonging and honest conversations. So I’m comfortable with student-facing work, communication, events, records/documentation, customer service, and just being the person who helps make things feel a little less confusing.

That said, I’m open to more than just higher ed. I’d really consider anything full-time where I can use communication, organization, student/customer support, admin, records, outreach, or people skills. I just want a solid opportunity where I can work hard, be useful, and build a life in Chicago.

If anyone knows of places hiring, good job boards, schools/colleges/nonprofits to check out, or even roles I might not be thinking of, I’d really appreciate it.

feel free to reach out personally, if you know of anything or can vouch for me :)

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u/drunkhoboboy117 — 8 hours ago
▲ 54 r/chicagojobs+3 crossposts

The resume format that actually passes ATS and gets read by humans.

I rewrote my resume 12 times. The 13th version got me hired.

I want to tell you about 12 resumes. I made one every month for a year. Each one was "better" than the last. Each one failed.

Month 1 was a basic Word template. Plain. Boring. No callbacks.

Month 3 was a Canva design. Two columns. Color blocks. Custom fonts. Beautiful. Zero callbacks.

Month 5 was a "creative" resume with icons and a photo. I thought it showed personality. Still nothing.

Month 7 was an infographic style. Charts for my skills. Timelines with graphics. I was proud of it. It got zero reads.

Month 9 was a "modern" template from a resume builder. It had smart quotes and fancy bullets. I later learned these broke in many parsers.

Month 11 was a LaTeX document. Beautiful typography. Academic and clean. But the PDF text extraction failed on half the systems I tested.

Month 12 was a single column, plain text, Arial font. No color. No design. Just words. I got 3 callbacks in 2 weeks.

Month 13 was the same as month 12, but with better keywords. I got hired.

What I learned from failing 12 times

I kept every resume. I tested them all. I ran them through parsers. I asked recruiter friends to review them. Here is what actually works.

The system does not care about design. It cares about text. If the machine cannot read your words, you do not exist in search results. If the recruiter cannot scan your resume in 6 seconds, they close it.

These are two different problems. The machine needs clean text. The human needs clean layout. Your resume must solve both.

What the machine needs

The ATS is a search engine. It stores your resume in a database. When a recruiter searches "Product Manager Python," the system finds resumes with those exact words.

If your resume is an image, you are not in the database. If your text is corrupted, you are not in the database. If your keywords are hidden in graphics, you are not in the database.

Test this now. Open your PDF in a browser. Try to select the text. Copy it. Paste it into Notepad. If you see all your words clearly, the machine can read you. If you see symbols, missing sections, or blank space, you are invisible.

I failed this test with 8 of my 12 resumes. I was sending applications into the void.

What the human needs

Recruiters spend 6 to 10 seconds on the first scan. They do not read. They look.

They look at your headline. They look at your most recent job title. They look at your skills list. Then they decide yes or no.

If your resume is cluttered, they cannot find these things fast. If your resume has too much design, it distracts from the content. If your resume uses weird fonts, it slows them down.

My month 12 resume was boring. But it was scannable in 6 seconds. The recruiter saw "Senior Product Manager" at the top. They saw "B2B SaaS" in the summary. They saw "Python, SQL, Agile" in the skills. They said yes.

The format that actually works

After 12 versions, here is what I landed on.

Single column. Always. Two columns break parsers and confuse scanning.

Standard font. Arial, Calibri, Georgia. 10 to 12 point. No custom fonts. No thin weights. No decorative scripts.

No graphics. No icons. No photos. No charts. No color blocks. These are all invisible to the machine and distracting to the human.

No tables. The parser reads tables unpredictably. Your organized data becomes scrambled text.

No headers or footers. Some systems strip them. Your contact info vanishes.

Simple bullets. Hyphens or asterisks. Fancy bullets become question marks or merge your lines together.

Black text on white background. No color. No gradients. No creativity.

This sounds depressing if you are a designer. I get it. I am not a designer, but I wanted my resume to look good. I learned that in job hunting, readable beats beautiful every time.

Keywords matter more than design

My month 12 resume looked identical to my month 1 resume. Plain. Boring. The difference was keywords.

In month 1, I wrote what I thought sounded good. "Experienced professional with a track record of success." This means nothing to a search engine.

In month 12, I wrote what the job posts asked for. Exact words. "Product Manager." "B2B SaaS." "Python." "Cross functional collaboration." "Customer lifecycle."

I mirrored the language from the job description. Not because I was lying. Because I was speaking the same language as the system.

This is the single biggest change I made. It doubled my callback rate.

The job market is hard right now

I also need to be honest. 2026 is not an easy year to job hunt. Many industries are down. Tech is competitive. Marketing is flooded. Companies want exact matches. They do not train. They hire someone who has already done the job.

There are 300 people for every role. Your resume must be perfect because the recruiter will find 20 qualified people in their first search. You need to be in that 20.

If your resume is broken, you are not even competing.

How I apply now

I have one resume format. I never change it. I only change the words.

When I find a job post, I read the requirements. I find the hard skills. I find the exact job title. I match my headline. I add their keywords to my skills section. I adjust my bullet points to use their language.

This used to take me 45 minutes per application. It was exhausting. I would customize 3 resumes and need a nap.

Now I use tools to handle the mechanical work. I tried many. Most just gave me advice or scores. The ones that actually build the tailored resume for me are CVnomist or Hyperwrite. They read the job post, pull the keywords, and generate a resume that matches. I review it for accuracy. I send it. It takes 5 minutes.

This lets me apply to more jobs without burning out. And I know my format is always clean and readable.

Your checklist

Before you send your next application:

Test your PDF. Copy the text. Paste into Notepad. Fix anything broken.

Use single column. Standard font. No graphics. No tables.

Match your headline exactly to the job title.

List 15 to 30 hard skills in plain text with commas.

Mirror 5 to 10 key phrases from the job description in your bullets.

Keep it boring. Keep it readable. Keep it scannable.

I failed 12 times. The 13th try worked. Not because I became more talented. Because I stopped trying to be creative and started trying to be found.

reddit.com
u/ComfortableTip274 — 2 days ago

Freaking out.

First off, I know I am one MANY these days so I do not think whatsoever that my situation is unique or more important than anyone else's, and I also acknowledge that I'm lucky to not currently have the risk of losing my home.

I am an administrative professional with 18 years of experience. I've been an admin, an executive assistant, a project manager, I've been in customer service, I've worked in a myriad of different industries and I am very good at what I do.

I got a job last year that ended up being far different than advertised, and as hard as I tried to excel at it, and despite the company liking me a lot, it wasn't a fit and I've once again been out of work since the holidays.

I have a kid. I have chronic illnesses. I have a wife who is working and makes enough for rent and utilities, but that's it.

My last unemployment full check is this week.

I've had one interview in six months. My resumé is ATS friendly, well written, and I have several good references.

I need to work. Now. I only have our car part of the time.

Do UE/DD/Instacart/Flex even pay anymore?

I've hit up every temp agency I know of. I've even applied to stores. I did work a lot of retail when I was young.

Please. If anyone has anything, I'm interested, so long as I can physically do it. And I am sorry if this breaks any guidelines here.

reddit.com
u/Mave__Dustaine — 3 days ago
▲ 1 r/chicagojobs+1 crossposts

Role:

Manage emails, messages, and basic scheduling

Assist with communication between clients and team members

Perform simple administrative and online tasks

Help keep daily activities organized and on track

🔹 Requirements:

Good English communication skills

Basic computer/phone skills

Ability to follow instructions and stay organized

Reliable and responsive

💰 Pay:

Up to $50 per day (depending on availability and performance)

⏰ Time Requirement:

Minimum 1 hour per day (flexible schedule)

💳 Payout Options:

PayPal, Venmo, Cash App, Check

reddit.com
u/Educational_Piano418 — 3 days ago

Seeking employment

Hey all,

I am unsure if I will find anything but I figured it is worth a shot.

Anyone know or have any jobs that either pay in cash or don’t require a work permit.

USPS and USCIS messed up and I never received my physical EAD. It has been a battle getting another application approved. Due to this I have been out of a job for about 5 months.

I have an approved EAD just not the physical card and another application pending since they made me reapply to receive a a replacement.

I am open to any kind of job. Just wanting to bring in some type of income for me and my dog.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

reddit.com
u/Severe-Depth-6265 — 2 days ago

Burned out from customer service. What realistic careers can I pivot into in Chicago?

Hey guys, I recently decided to pursue a master’s degree hoping it would help me break out of the cycle of customer service jobs. Unfortunately, due to financial reasons, I may not be able to continue the program, and now I’ve found myself back in customer service again.
I’m trying to figure out a more realistic path forward and would really appreciate advice from people in Chicago who changed careers without going back to school full-time.
What are some jobs that:

are not heavily customer-facing

can realistically be learned through online courses/certificates
Or
provide training or apprenticeships

have actual entry-level opportunities in Chicago

I’ve been looking into things like UX design, cybersecurity etc but it’s honestly hard to tell what’s realistic vs. what’s oversaturated online.

I’m honestly very desperate for any job that is not customer facing.

Would really appreciate hearing what worked for you or people you know. Thank you.

reddit.com
u/Cautious_Face8972 — 3 days ago

[Hiring] Recruiting participants for a group chat research study – $25–$50/hr

We’re looking for active online communities that regularly hang out in voice chat, play games together, or enjoy group discussions for a conversation-based research project.

The goal of the project is to better understand natural group conversations in online communities, which will help improve future conversational AI systems.

We’re especially interested in communities like:
• D&D / tabletop RPG groups
• Social deduction (Mafia/Werewolf) communities
• English conversation / language exchange servers
• Writing critique groups
• Debate / philosophy communities
• Book clubs
• Other discussion-focused Discord communities

Basic requirements:
• Participants must be 18+
• Groups of 2–10 people
• English-speaking groups
• US/Canada residents

How it works:
If your group is interested, you can fill out a short interest form. Selected groups will be invited to a brief onboarding call where we explain everything and answer questions. If it’s a fit, we’ll schedule sessions and proceed from there.

Everything is coordinated directly with our team, and we aim to keep the process simple and transparent for participating groups.

reddit.com
u/Ok_Election8263 — 3 days ago

I'm in hell lol

I just moved here at the end of April and thankfully found a job, but it’s only $20/hr (but with taxes it's more like $16.60) and I can only get about twenty hours a week. I’m needed Monday through Friday, and since I don’t have a car, my CTA commute is an hour and a half each way.

I also have a second job, which I actually love, but it’s retail. Between both jobs, I’m working six days a week just to make ends meet. My rent is around $900, and I’m barely covering rent, health insurance, groceries, and basic expenses. I’m already blowing through savings.

Right now I teach for an after-school program because I have an arts background, but honestly it feels more like daycare. None of these kids actually want to learn art, which makes it hard to stay motivated. I’m just kind of miserable at the moment.

Does anyone have leads on full-time work with steady hours? Or serving gigs? I have a lot of customer service experience. Damn, this whole situation really blows.

reddit.com
u/Pretty-Breadfruit753 — 5 days ago

NJ Bartender Moving to Wrigleyville

Hey all! My girlfriend and I are moving to Wrigleyville in about 2 weeks and we’re super excited. She currently works remotely so nothing changes there, I however have been in the restaurant/bar industry for about 15 years - spending the last 10 of those either serving, managing or bartender or a combo of the two and am looking for a job.

I have worked in corporate restaurants, sports bars, mom and pop type places and hole in the wall dive bars. I tend to thrive in the dive bar/mom and pop hometown places. I’ve been doing some research but wasn’t sure if anyone in the area knew of places hiring and/or places they love to hang that they’d recommend would be a great place to work.

My only 2 things I’m standing strong on are

  1. No sports bar directly near Wrigley (sluggers, etc). I did that at Cask N’ Flagon in Boston and it’s just absolutely blood money

  2. 2:00 the latest close. I have seen some places are open till 3 or even 4. With us moving together, would like to be home at a somewhat reasonable late night hour so

I’m sure this questions gets asked a lot but appreciate any and all advice. It’s been a bit difficult with just scrolling through indeed and LinkedIn and I know I’ll have a lot more success when we get to the city and I can walk into places. Trying to get a bit of a head start. Thank you in advance!

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u/No_Preparation5020 — 4 days ago

[Hiring] General Labor – $20–$30/hr

We are looking for reliable general laborers to assist with moving, landscaping, and construction-related tasks in the Chicago area. Work involves lifting, organizing, and supporting small to medium-sized projects. This is an in-person role with flexible scheduling and pay at $22 per hour. Applicants should be punctual, hardworking, and comfortable with physical work. Please commit "interested" and DM if interested. Looking forward to working with you!

reddit.com
u/Ill_Barber8654 — 5 days ago

Any positions that offer health insurance? I can't afford mine past this month

Hi! I am a web developer with 7 years of experience. I unfortunately also have Crohn's and desperately need health insurance to be able to afford my medication, but I can't afford both that and other medical bills and rent and everything else. I've been looking for a job since January but I'm running out of time and don't know what to do.

I'm extremely capable and I know I can do any job, in or out of my field, given a little time to learn if out. Any leads on jobs that offer health insurance, especially on getting hired, would be super super super appreciated, thank you.

reddit.com
u/AlpinFane — 4 days ago

40 jobs opened in Chicago this week

Heyy, I made a list of recent jobs for you all!

Let me know if you found this helpful by leaving a like or comment! Also comment what jobs you are looking for!

reddit.com
u/TheCryptoCaveman — 5 days ago
▲ 39 r/chicagojobs+1 crossposts

Starbucks cafe only store in Old Irving Park is hiring

Starbucks at 4365 Irving Park road in the Old Irving Park neighborhood is seeking closing baristas. Store hours are 5am-9pm and closing shifts are 1-9:30pm or shorter at 4-9:30pm. Clean play nights (Tues/Thurs) are until 10:30pm.

You MUST apply online https://apply.starbucks.com/careers

This is a GREAT cafe only store (no drive through, no parking lot, no headsets) with a hardworking drama free crew. It's a great neighborhood store with lovely customers. It's so nice there's no code for the bathroom!

Looks like starting pay is $17.25 plus tips (an extra $1-2 per hour). Part time employees who average 20/hrs a week are eligible for benefits including health/dental/vision insurance, 401k, stock grants, and free tuition to get a degree from ASU online.

Any questions, please ask.

u/MsStinkyPickle — 7 days ago
▲ 34 r/chicagojobs+3 crossposts

U.S. Salary Explorer by Category, State, Metro, and Salary Range

I made this tool to help people looking to change careers to get an understanding of market pay - hope it helps!

corvi.careers
u/jobswithgptcom — 6 days ago
▲ 15 r/chicagojobs+5 crossposts

Looking for student freelancers

Ubizz is looking for student freelancers.

You must be currently enrolled in full/part time post-secondary education or a recent graduate (within the last 18 months)

We work primarily with North American and UK companies and therefore local students are preferred.

English proficiency is required.

Please note: applications are subject to a vetting process so don't apply unless you meet the criteria.

reddit.com
u/Careful-Bet8065 — 8 days ago
▲ 11 r/chicagojobs+6 crossposts

The most common terms used in an IT management job postings.

Better make sure you have them in your resume.

IT Service Management

ITIL ITSM ServiceNow incident management change management problem management SLA MTTR helpdesk service desk Jira Service Management

Infrastructure & Cloud

Azure AWS AzureAD EntraID Microsoft 365 Office 365 VMware Hyper-V Active Directory on-premise hybrid cloud

Systems Administration

Windows Server Linux Group Policy Exchange SharePoint Intune SCCM MDM endpoint management patch management

Networking & Security

TCP/IP VPNf irewall SD-WAN VLAN zero trust Cisco Fortinet Palo Alto network security Zscaler

Cybersecurity & Compliance

ISO 27001 SOC-2 GDPR HIPAA vulnerability management risk management endpoint security MFA SSO Okta identity management

Monitoring & Observability

SolarWinds SplunkP RTG Nagios Zabbix Datadog uptime monitoring availability alertingS IEM

Project & Vendor Management

PMP PRINCE2v endor management RFP SLA negotiation IT procurement budget management contract management MSP third-party

IT Leadership & Governance

IT governanc edigital transformation IT strategy stakeholder management IT roadmap business continuity disaster recovery DR BCP capacity planning

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u/Enough_Charge2845 — 6 days ago

40 Part time entry-level jobs opened in Chicago and suburbs this week

If you're hunting for entry-level work, here's a fresh batch of openings that just hit the board. Good luck!

Would love to hear what you're looking for next—leave a comment and I can post another one.

reddit.com
u/TheCryptoCaveman — 7 days ago

Will anyone here be (or know of an eating place that’s) open to hiring a college grad with no prior work experience, to take on a dishwasher or busser role?

It has been a couple of years since I attended college but I have been struggling to get a job. Will anyone here be open to taking to taking a chance on a college grad with no prior work experience? I am currently trying to get a job as a busser or dishwasher.

reddit.com
u/Xemptor80 — 9 days ago
▲ 4 r/chicagojobs+1 crossposts

[Hiring] Remote meeting schedule assistant (US only)

Now I am looking for a reliable and responsive remote assistant to help with creating daily virtual meetings to support my remote work. No experience needed, and this is a simple passive income gig.

Responsibilities:

  • Setting up virtual meetings daily
  • Checking and troubleshooting any issues that arise, with reliable and timely communication

Term: 12 months

Location: United States (California preferred)

Compensation: $300/month

If you are interested, apply with a short introduction including your location and availability.

reddit.com
u/PeakMedium4850 — 7 days ago