You are constantly applying to job opportunities and aren’t getting any response or have you received a reply
similar to:
“Hey thanks for applying for the role of Software Engineer with ABC LTD. Unfortunately, you are not shortlisted for the interview this time.”
Are you wondering what went wrong despite considering yourself qualified enough?
Are you confused on why you are not even shortlisted for the interview despite mentioning 3 different
programming languages, multiple pages of description, and much more quality things?
According to a report published by Forbes on top, “10 reasons qualified applicants to get rejected for a job
interview”, the top reasons for entry-level developers are mistakes in their resumes.
But don’t worry, after reading this guide, we assure you that this is unlikely to happen the next time you apply
for a Job!
According to the wiki definition,
A resume is a brief summary of your skills and experience over one or two pages.
A resume must be built according to a specific job opening and the company. Resumes can have different
formats based on the profile for which you are applying, the company to which you are applying, etc. Here, we
will discuss a format that is suitable for the role of Software Developers.
Below are some of the key points that everyone should keep in mind while writing a Resume:
- Customizing Resume: The most common mistakes everyone makes while writing a resume is to not
customizing it as per the job requirements. It definitely requires extra time, but it is worth it. If you are
applying for the role of Java Developer, and your resume doesn’t contain your proficiency in Java then
you are most likely to get rejected straight away. - Name of the resume file: We have seen some really cool names of resume files like, proCoder.pdf,
gamer360.pdf, abc.pdf, untitled.pdf. Are you one of these? If yes, you might want to reconsider your
filename again. Firstly, some cool and funky names like these will definitely ruin your first impression.
Secondly, these names don’t convey any useful information. A good resume file name can be
“arun_singh_java_developer.pdf”, this file name contains the name of the applicant and his job title. The
recruiter now has an idea about Arun before even opening his resume. - Single Page Resume: Recruiters do not have a lot of time to read everything that is written in a resume of 2-3 pages, they review a resume for 20-30 seconds. So, what do you think they will prioritize? The answer is “Work Experience”. As a fresher can you put your work experience in one page or half page? Obviously yes. So, keep your resume short up to a single page. Also, when you are writing less then you will write only important things about you.
- Don’t include Career Objective: This is also a common mistake done by job aspirants. A career objective generally read as, “Objective: To utilize my knowledge, skills, and abilities as a Software Engineer”. Now, what does this sentence refer to? The above quoted sentence, basically states the position you are applying for and your interests, which the recruiter already knows. So, writing a career objective will only consume extra space in your resume. There is nothing wrong with including a career objective but avoiding it will save you space for something more important.
- Include Accomplishments: Making your resume accomplishment-oriented instead of responsibilities oriented will help recruiters understand your excellence in possible areas. Accomplishments state the things you have achieved and how well you have managed your responsibilities.
- Count Matters: Do not misinterpret the meaning of the word count here. Count doesn’t refer to the number of experiences or projects or certificates you list in your resume. But whatever you write, adding count/figures in terms of your achievement will drive attention and make you stand out. For Example, if you have won any competition then do specify this achievement along with your rank. If you have developed a website and it’s live, mention the count of users you scaled it for.
- Avoid Grammatical Mistakes: Try to avoid any grammatical error in your resume. Do read it a couple of times before submitting it. We recommend using some plugins like “Grammarly”.
- Mention the relevant keywords: If you are applying on the job portal of any company or probably have asked someone to refer you. On most of these portals, the resume goes through a resume-filtering process where an automated algorithm scans your resume for specific keywords related to the job opening. So, try to create your resume by mentioning or highlighting your skills in a way that it covers most of these keywords. You can find the relevant keywords in the job description itself. If you are applying for a software developer role, some of the most frequent keywords are: Data Structures, Algorithms, Java, React, JavaScript, Problem Solving etc.
- More content, less space: Use a good resume template, with columns. This will allow you to fit more content on your resume while making it easier to scan for key information like company names and titles.
- Projects: Pick your best projects(projects you were an integral part of and remember every ins and outs of it) to list in your resume. Secondly, pick those projects which matches with the tech stack specified in the job description. For example, if you are applying for a Django developer role and you have projects in Ruby on Rails and Django both then mention Django on top of Ruby on Rails even if the Django projects seem less technical to you. You may also list an ongoing project if the project matches the tech stack of the company you are applying to. This is said because many companies have a resume filtering option. That is when you apply for a vacancy on their website your resume passes through an initial keyword matching process before it reaches the hiring team.
- Additional Experience: You may also add additional experiences but it will be of benefit to you only when your additional experiences match with the position you are applying for. For example, consider that you are applying for a software development role and you have added an additional experience of “Digital Marketer“. This will not seek the attention of the recruiter in any way. But if you add an additional experience of “Technical Content Writer” then it will surely credit some score to your resume.
- Do not Fake: Do not ever fake on a resume. Listing something fake on your resume has a very high chance of getting you into trouble. Recruiters always try to ask questions based on the resume. That is, things you have listed you have expertise in.
Share this article with your friends! Created with ❤️ by takeUforward!
Here is the latex code if you want the template of the above resume: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1H8GoLRS6VBiP_jgthUYMwYuLQbN3ttJa9i8tEzSC4ls/edit?usp=sharing