Resume Advice

The resume is the first impression any recruiter or interviewer will have of you. It’s important to make it a good one. In this course, there will not be much information on how to make your resume stand out since there are many resources online. However, I’ve reviewed many resumes, and the following are the top recommendations for a good resume:

Length

Be as concise and specific as possible. Most resumes get 30-second glances, so make sure your key accomplishments shine through and don’t bog it down with unnecessary detail. I don’t like mandates like “a resume should only be x pages,” but I’ve yet to be impressed by a resume that was longer than 2 pages. Summarizing the key takeaways is a key TPM skill, so apply it to your resume as well.

Formatting matters

Many resumes are scanned using automatic scanners. While a fancy resume may look nice to a human person, it may not pass an automatic scanner. If you must have a unique resume format, then keep one with a standard format, and apply with both if you aren’t getting any responses.

Clear, progressive story

This is the one big piece of information that I see missing in a lot of resumes, especially from more senior folks. As you become more senior, you’ll want to demonstrate that you’re growing in whatever role you’re seeking and becoming a domain expert. It can be A.I., robotics, embedded systems, security, networking, mobile development, front-end, analytics, or any technical domain, but this becomes critical as senior roles tend to require more specialized experience. Even if you’re moving companies frequently, which is quite normal these days, you want a consistent theme across all of your roles to show growth in scope and responsibility.

Insert keywords

A nice trick I picked up early on was looking at job descriptions for roles I’m interested in and making sure to include keywords from that description in my resume, while still being truthful about my background. Companies often use different words to describe the same thing, so this is useful for helping to get noticed by recruiters and pass automatic scanners that look for certain words in a resume.

Polish

This is about nailing the basics. Make sure your resume is free of grammatical and spelling errors. Ask friends and family to proofread your work, or pay someone to do so professionally.

No lies

Of all the advice given, this is the most critical. Most companies, if not all, will do background checks before extending an offer to verify employment history. During the interview, you should be prepared to defend everything you have on your resume. If you claim to be an expert in something, then don’t be surprised if you get asked probing questions on that topic from someone who is one.