It’s Thursday! Let's start with a question. Microsoft just released its fourth-quarter 2023 financial results. How much do you think Windows revenues were down? Is it … 1%, 12%, 25% or 41%? You'll find the answer at the end. Now, you can use the reason to your advantage. That's why I shared this with you today.

🤗 Vicki asked me this: “I would love to share your newsletter; however, there is no link to do so in the email. How do I get a share code?” Thanks, Vicki! Look at the bottom of this newsletter for your unique share address. When your friends and family sign up, you’ll earn prizes like a free iPad! All right, on with more tech news you can use! — Kim

You apply and apply for jobs and hear nothing back. Is your search doomed? It might all come down to the bots. Studies show three out of every four resumes never make it to a real person.

How do you get your resume out of digital purgatory and into a hiring manager's hands? A crazy trick some tech-savvy job seekers are using made the news, and I want you to know about it.

Bottom of the pile

Applicant tracking systems help managers and recruiters filter out applicants based on a job's requirements. Some programs have built-in artificial intelligence (AI) that can rate and rank applicants, help recruiters search by keywords, and prioritize internal candidates or referrals.

They can also auto-reject applicants who lack preferred certifications or years of experience. In a perfect world, the hiring manager would check each resume to make sure AI is doing its job, but this isn’t a perfect world.

Resume power move

That’s where a new technique called "white fonting" comes in. Social media influencers who've had luck with “white fonting” say it helps you get past that initial AI bot screening that scans resumes for keywords. 

▶️ All you have to do is copy the relevant keywords from a job you're applying to, paste them into your resume, then change the font color to white. Wait, what?

The color change makes the keywords invisible to the naked eye, so your resume looks totally normal to hiring managers and recruiters. But AI bots will pick them up and potentially bump you to the top of the list. 

Sure, the trick has a proven track record of success, but it's not always a guaranteed win. Some programs automatically scan your resume and input sections into an application. If that's the case, your white font may also slip through to human eyes.

Jazz up your calling card

Whether you try out “white fonting” or not, spend some time making sure your resume's polished to perfection.

• Keep it short. Only include experience relevant to the job you're applying to. A good rule: Stick to jobs from the last 10 to 15 years — and aim to keep your resume no longer than two pages.
• Focus on numbers and metrics to clearly demonstrate your awesomeness. Recruiters and hiring managers want to see specifics. 
• Adjust your resume based on each job you’re applying to. Even just a few minor adjustments can go a long way.
• Put some personality into your cover letter. That's your chance to show who you are — just don't go too far. No one cares you had a black belt in high school, sorry.

We all know someone looking for a job. Use the buttons below to share and pass along this crazy way to hack the AI job system.

😂 How would you write “I changed a lightbulb” on your resume? “Single-handedly managed the successful upgrade and deployment of a new environmental illumination system with zero cost overruns and zero safety incidents.” (I think this guy might be my contractor!)

You don’t say: In shocking news to no one, the FTC says its broadband speed standard of 25Mbps for downloads and 3Mbps for uploads is outdated. Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel proposes a new standard of 100Mbps for downloads and 20Mbps for uploads, plus affordable access for all Americans. Sounds good, but how much is it gonna cost taxpayers?

🧑‍⚖️ Party like it’s 1787: AI isn’t the best tool to tell you whether it created something or an actual human did. Case in point: AI-detector GPTZero says the U.S. Constitution is completely AI-generated. Why? The text has been repeatedly fed into its training data. Hey, maybe this means the NSA finally read it!

Tag, they’re it: Apple’s $29 AirTags are great for finding your purse or bike. New research says parents are now tucking them into their kids’ backpacks and pockets and attaching them to their wristbands and lanyards. Also on the rise are putting one on your pet (I do!) and using them to track loved ones with dementia.

🪽 It’s a car! It’s a plane! The very pricey $759,000 ASKA A5 was just OK’d by the FAA and DMV. The four-seater is the size of an SUV and gets 250 miles of range up to 150 mph. It can take off and land vertically. Cue “The Jetsons” theme song.

Too easy to blame the algorithm: A lawsuit just filed claims healthcare insurance giant Cigna used AI to “systematically, wrongfully and automatically deny” claims to the tune of over 300,000 last year. Cigna spent an average of 1.2 seconds on each one. If you got denied by Cigna, resubmit your claim.

🤑 A reason to check Facebook: A guy in Michigan found out he won the lottery thanks to a message posted online. He recognized the location where the winning ticket was purchased, checked his ticket and took the $1 million lump sum. The winning numbers: 20-25-26-27-36-44. Hey, sometimes lightning strikes twice.

Make up to $900,000/year: Actors and writers are on strike, and you can bet Netflix’s new job posting is no coincidence — “A machine learning platform product manager” with a salary range between $300,000 and $900,000. That’s a fancy way to say this person will oversee AI content creation. Polish your resume.

🤪 New emojis, coming in hot: Over 118 new emojis are expected to roll out in late 2023 and early 2024 for iPhone, Android, and other devices and platforms. Get ready for a mythical phoenix (the bird), a mushroom, a broken chain, shaking and nodding heads, a lime wedge, and a bunch of tiny people with different skin tones and gender variants. Can’t wait to use that lime on Margarita Monday. Check ‘em out.

Sound like a tech pro, even if you're not one. Try my award-winning, daily podcast. Search for my last name with "K" wherever you get your podcasts and "Go Komando!"

Listen to my podcast, Kim Komando Today, here.

Samsung Galaxy Unpacked 2023 just went down in Seoul, South Korea, and there’s much to … unpack. All this new tech drops in August, by the way, though you can preorder now.

Flip it: The Galaxy Z Flip5, Samsung's clamshell-style flip phone, got a significant upgrade over last year's Flip4. The 3.4-inch screen on the front now looks a heck of a lot like the Razr+ from Motorola. 

You can use it to scroll through widgets, reply to messages and give your pal a sneak peek of the pic you're taking when you point the phone their way. At $1,000, do I think it's worth it? Nah …

Fold it: The Galaxy Z Fold5 opens up like a book. There’s not too much different here from its predecessor, aside from a narrower exterior screen, a 30% brighter inside screen and a slimmed-down stylus.

My take? Foldable phones just aren’t quite there yet — especially for the price. This one will set you back $1,800.

Speaking of expensive: Samsung's new tablets are pretty sweet, with AMOLED screens (blacker blacks and nice contrast), Vision Booster tech to detect ambient lighting and optimize the screen, 20% bigger speakers, and a stylus you can stick on via magnet to wirelessly charge.

But, as you can guess by now, they’re not cheap. The “cheap” model, the Tab S9, is $800, and the Tab S9 Plus will set you back $999.

Tick-tock: The watches are one place I can see splurging if you’re in the Samsung ecosystem. They'll be much more compatible than the Apple Watch and do many of the same things for a much lower price. The Watch6 starts at $300, about $100 less than Apple’s version.

Amazon Prime isn’t cheap. That $139 a year adds up. Here’s a secret: 

You can share your Amazon Prime account with anyone in your home. That includes two-day shipping, streaming movies and TV shows, music, free photo storage, and other perks for just one membership fee. 

• Go to your Amazon account settings.
• Click the Manage Your Household option. That's where you add another person and share your Prime goodies with them.

🍊 It's a great way to really squeeze the most juice out of your Prime membership. And don’t worry, the other person won’t see your purchases and that you really love your new nose-hair trimmer.

A virtual private network, or VPN, is a great place to start. A VPN encrypts your data and hides your IP address, giving you an extra layer of protection from snoops, advertisers and Big Tech companies looking to profit off you.

Some VPNs slow your connection or, worse, track your internet activity and compromise your security. Not ExpressVPN.

ExpressVPN’s servers run on RAM, or volatile memory, that’s cleared each time the server is reset — meaning they don’t save your data. You can connect in just one click from a Windows PC, Mac, iPhone, Android, iPad, you name it.

🚨 Deal alert: Get an extra THREE months free since you subscribe to my newsletter.

Something you never anticipate yelling as a parent: “Get that trout out of your mouth!”

💻 The answer: 12%. Microsoft blamed “PC market weakness.” In other words, if you’re in the market for a Windows-based laptop or desktop, look for parents jumping for joy. It’s back-to-school time and that means sales!

🌍 I’ll see you this afternoon with my daily Tech Hacks newsletter. If you haven’t signed up for that, do it before 2:30 p.m. so you get today’s issue. Sign up here now. That’s a wrap on our tech news adventure. Appreciate you joining the ride! — Kim

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