Building a Great Tech Resume

Resources:
https://affinda.com/resume-parser/
https://resume-parser.vercel.app/
https://resumesbot.com/jobscan-ats-resume-checker/
https://promptapi.com/blog/article/build-your-own-resume-parser-using-python-and-nlp
https://www.reddit.com/r/jobs/comments/7y8k6p/im_an_exrecruiter_for_some_of_the_top_companies/ (includes a great resume template)
https://www.askamanager.org/2017/05/if-youre-not-getting-interviews-heres-how-to-fix-your-resume-and-cover-letter.html
https://www.askamanager.org/2020/02/my-step-by-step-guide-to-writing-a-resume.html
https://pca.st/qi4z99v8

Transcript

1. Jennifer Konikowski & Abbey Perini Building a Great Tech Resume Optimizing for Humans and Machines
2. Content Aimed At Hiring Managers
3. Use a professional email Example: jkoni@gmail not ilove90dayfiance@hotmail
4. Skip the objective/summary Exception: you are a recent career changer
5. Keep it to one page Exception: you have 10+ years experience… but your work experience should still be on the first page
6. Don’t put your full address Put City, State/Country at most
7. If you have room, add interests Helps you have a personal connection to the interviewer
8. Don’t use two columns Minimal, if any, improvement to readability, generally worse for parsing
9. Focus on achievements, not responsibilities
10. Use bullets Paragraphs are really hard to quickly scan
11. Prioritize Experience over Skills All of your skills should be in your bullets anyway
12. Do not list soft skills If you have a Skills section…
13. Keep the design simple Following traditional format will make your resume easier to skim
14. Get creative with your action words! Ex: instead of “helped”, use “enabled”, “advised”, or “recommended”
15. 10 seconds The amount of screen time your resume will get before someone decides yes or no
16. Submitting your resume
17. Name it Firstname_Lastname_Resume Don’t put the year or anything else in the filename
18. Submit as a PDF Exception: if it’s trying to parse it, submit it as a .doc/x
19. ATS Compatible Resumes
20. ATS Applicant Tracking System • A database of potential and current talent/job seekers/candidates (Bullhorn, Workday, Taleo, SmartRecruiters, etc.) • Jobs posted online and job boards get a lot of resumes. • An ATS will use a resume parser to try and grab all the keywords from a document and match them to open and future opportunities. • Smaller companies will use them to rate applies to give a hiring manager a head start on combing through them. • Larger companies will use them to keep track of hundreds to thousands of possible employees and their employment/interview status. • Job boards use them to match talent to jobs and give the data to companies.
21. Making the ATS Work for You • The reality of throwing your resume into the void is applying to hundreds of jobs on sites like LinkedIn, Indeed, Monster, etc. • Job boards and large companies are usually using a resume parser and an ATS. Having an easily parsed resume will work to your advantage on submittal (better autocomplete for their forms) and after submitting. • If your keywords match what it wants to see, the ATS will put your resume in front of more people. • Jobs that haven’t been posted yet • Jobs on other teams • Jobs at other companies • Hiring managers used to a high volume recruiting model will share resumes.
22. Making the ATS Work for You • Whoever contacts you after receiving your resume this way will typically ask for it again, so you’ll have a chance to update to the creative/human resume. • External recruiters submit reformatted profiles to make you as appealing as possible. • Internal recruiters will still want to make sure what they have is up to date. • If they don’t ask for your resume again, you likely have a profile in their database. • If a recruiter reaches out about a job that is not a fit for you, reply back with your resume and ask them to keep you in mind. • The goal is to get your name and skills in as many databases as possible via submitting your resume and talking to recruiters.
23. Caveats • There’s no transparency - you can’t predict how the systems will rate you. • There is usually still a human looking at your resume, so it’s not pass/fail. • If someone is adding your profile to a database, they will edit fields the parser got incorrect. • It will also open you up to recruiter spam. • Report the jobs that aren’t in the right industry as spam and reply back to the senior roles with your resume. • It may be months before you receive any bites from the wide net you cast. • Many of my interviews came from companies reaching out about new positions I was more qualified for a month or two after I originally applied.
24. Maximize Your Keywords • Declarative, crisp, explicit • List certifications and license numbers, if applicable. • Use easy to understand job titles and common abbreviations (e.g. “UX Designer” rather than “L4 Designer”). • Match keywords to the job description. • Kept text, spacing, bullet points, and characters simple. No tables, columns, word art, headers, footers, or unusual characters. • Use full dates and basic section names and keep it chronological.
25. Proofread
26. Spellcheck
27. Ask someone else to proofread and spellcheck Both Jennifer and I found typos on our own resumes prepping for this talk…
28. • Keep it to one page! • I can’t guarantee pipes won’t trip up a parser. • Simple, repetitive design • Sample parsers (next slide) pulled all of my skills keywords, email, links, education, and experience from this pdf. • This is the format I used for my job search, but I had a summary at the top with more keywords. One of the parsers thought my portfolio section was a summary. • Made in google docs and downloaded as a pdf Sample Resume $ELJDLO3HULQL 6NLOOV Ɣ -DYD6FULSW7\SHVFULSW3\WKRQ1RGHMV([SUHVV5HDFW5HGX[$QJXODU5(67IXO$3,3RVWJUH64/ 6HTXHOL]H(ODVWLFVHDUFK0RQJR'%%RRWVWUDS+70/&66'HSOR\PHQW'HEXJJLQJ)LUHEDVHJFORXG $GREH&UHDWLYH6XLWH6WDWLVWLFDOVRIWZDUH&RGLQJGDWD&50&RQIOLFWUHVROXWLRQ&XVWRPHU6HUYLFH 6RIWZDUH'HYHORSPHQW3RUWIROLR 3URIHVVLRQDO:HEVLWH _ KWWSVDEEH\SHULQLGHY _ KWWSVJLWKXEFRPDEEH\SHULQL3RUWIROLR _0DU Ɣ %XLOWLQ5HDFW&66DQGUHDFWWUDQVLWLRQJURXS,HQMR\HGOHDUQLQJDERXWFRGLQJVYJV&66YDULDEOHV DQGNH\IUDPHVDQG1HWOLI\,¶PPRVWSURXGRIWKHVYJVWKDWVZLWFKFRORUVZLWKWKHWKHPHV *DFKDVSKHUH _ KWWSJDFKDVSKHUHVXUJHVK _ KWWSVJLWKXEFRPEURGUL*DFKDVSKHUHFOLHQW _-DQ Ɣ *DFKDVSKHUHZDVEXLOWZLWKWKHLQWHQWLRQRIEHLQJDFHQWUDOKXEIRUDOOWKLQJVPRELOHJDPLQJ7KH KRPHSDJHGLVSOD\VWKHJOREDOXVHUUDQNLQJVIRUDOOWKHWRSJDPHV8VHUVFDQFUHDWHOLVWVRIUDWHG JDPHVWKH\KDYHSOD\HG,WZDVEXLOWE\DSHUVRQWHDPZLWK+70/&66-DYDVFULSW3RVWJUH64/ ([SUHVV5HDFW5HGX[DQG1RGHMV,IRFXVHGRQDFFHVVLELOLW\GHVLJQXVHUORJLQUHJLVWUDWLRQDQG DXWKHQWLFDWLRQWKH5HGX[EDFNHQGDQGIURQWHQG&58'RSHUDWLRQVDQGSURMHFWPDQDJHPHQW %XMR7R*R _ KWWSVEXMRWRJRVXUJHVK _ KWWSVJLWKXEFRPDEEH\SHULQL%XMR7R*R _'HF Ɣ %XMR7R*RLVDWRGROLVWDSSEDVHGRQ5\GHU&DUUROO¶V%XOOHW-RXUQDOV\VWHP9LHZ\RXUEXOOHWHGLWHPV LQPRQWKO\ZHHNO\DQGGDLO\VSUHDGVWUDGLWLRQDORUFDOHQGDUVW\OH%XOOHWVDUHVWRUHGZLWKGDWHWLPH VWULQJVDQGUHWXUQHGLQFKURQRORJLFDORUGHUEDVHGRQWKHWLPHUDQJHRIWKHYLHZ,QRQHZHHN,EXLOW WKLVDSSXVLQJ&66-DYDVFULSW1RGHMV([SUHVV6HTXHOL]H3RVWJUH64/5HDFW5HGX[DQG )XOO&DOHQGDU .QLWZRUWK\ _ KWWSNQLWZRUWK\QHW _ KWWSVJLWKXEFRPDEEH\SHULQL.QLWZRUWK\ _2FW Ɣ .QLWZRUWK\SURGXFHV³IXQIDFWV´WKDWFRPSDUH 5DYHOU\ $3,SURMHFWWLPHDQG\DUQGDWDWRUHDOOLIHWLPH DQGOHQJWKPHDVXUHPHQWV,WZDVEXLOWE\DSHUVRQWHDPZLWK+70/&66-DYDVFULSW%RRWVWUDS 6XUJH,IRFXVHGRQSURMHFWPDQDJHPHQWWKH$3,WKH³IXQIDFWV´LQ-DYDVFULSWGHVLJQLQJWKHORJR DQGWKHPHDQGDORWRIWKH&66LQFOXGLQJWKH³)LOWHUV´GURSGRZQPHQX 3URIHVVLRQDO([SHULHQFH 5DQGVWDG 6RIWZDUH$SSOLFDWLRQ'HYHORSHU _$SU Ɣ /HDG'HYHORSHURQDQHQWHUSULVH&50ZHEDSSOLFDWLRQLQPDLQWHQDQFHPRGHZLWKDFWLYHXVHUV Ɣ 5HVSRQVLEOHIRUSURGXFWLRQVXSSRUWPDLQWDLQLQJWKHHQWLUHV\VWHPGHSOR\LQJGHVLJQLQJDQG GHYHORSLQJQHZIHDWXUHVDQGH[WHQGLQJH[LVWLQJIHDWXUHV Ɣ ,QWHJUDWLRQV(QJLQHHUGHYHORSLQJDQGPDLQWDLQLQJ$3,VIRUDVHFRQGHQWHUSULVHZHEDSSOLFDWLRQ Ɣ 6SHDUKHDGLQJDFHQWUDOL]HGVHWRIGRFXPHQWDWLRQIRUWKHVHFRQGHQWHUSULVHZHEDSSOLFDWLRQ 5DQGVWDG(QJLQHHULQJ 7DOHQW6HUYLFHV0DQDJHU _1RY$XJ Ɣ 0DLQWDLQHGDFFXUDWHUHFRUGVLQZHESRUWDOV&50DQGWHDPGRFXPHQWV Ɣ &XVWRPHUVHUYLFHDQGFRQIOLFWUHVROXWLRQIRUFOLHQWVDQGHQJLQHHULQJFRQWUDFWRUV Ɣ 7UDLQHGLQFXPEHQW7DOHQW6HUYLFHV0DQDJHUV Ɣ 7HDPOHDGZKHQERVVZDVRQ372 Ɣ :RUNHGZLWKDFURVVIXQFWLRQDODQGPRVWO\UHPRWHWHDP 8QOHDVKHGE\3HWFR 6DOHV$VVRFLDWH _$SU6HS Ɣ 6DOHVFXVWRPHUVHUYLFHLQYHQWRU\UHJLVWHUDQGFOHDQLQJ &OHPVRQ8QLYHUVLW\ &RPSXWHU/DE0RQLWRU _0D\$XJ Ɣ 0DLQWDLQLQJSULQWHUVDQGODEFRPSXWHUVIRUVWXGHQWDWKOHWHVDQGGHSDUWPHQWVWDII Ɣ 6HWWLQJXSDQGWURXEOHVKRRWLQJODSWRSVIRUVWXGHQWDWKOHWHV Ɣ 6ROYLQJEDVLFFRPSXWHUSUREOHPVLQDSURIHVVLRQDOHQYLURQPHQW (GXFDWLRQ 'LJLWDO&UDIWV )XOO6WDFN,PPHUVLYH3URJUDP _6HSWR-DQ 2QO\RJD KU5<7&HUWLILFDWLRQ _-XQWR)HE &OHPVRQ8QLYHUVLW\ %6LQ3V\FKRORJ\0LQRULQ(FRQRPLFV _$XJ WR0D\
29. Resume Parsers to Try • https://affinda.com/resume-parser/ • https://resume-parser.vercel.app/ • https://resumesbot.com/jobscan-ats-resume-checker/ • Will compare your resume to a job description
30. Build Your Own! https://promptapi.com/blog/article/build-your-own-resume-parser- using-python-and-nlp
31. References • https://www.reddit.com/r/jobs/comments/7y8k6p/ im_an_exrecruiter_for_some_of_the_top_companies/ (includes a great resume template) • https://www.askamanager.org/2017/05/if-youre-not-getting-interviews-heres- how-to-fix-your-resume-and-cover-letter.html • https://www.askamanager.org/2020/02/my-step-by-step-guide-to-writing-a- resume.html • https://pca.st/qi4z99v8