Why Isn't Your Resume Good Enough?

As we move through 2024, the tech industry landscape continues to evolve rapidly. With the increasing number of computer science graduates, ongoing tech industry layoffs, and the rise of coding bootcamps, competition in the tech sector has become more intense than ever. If you want to stand out among countless candidates and land your dream job, your resume becomes your most crucial asset.

Let’s first address a common issue: Why do many resumes fail to get any response and miss out on opportunities with desired companies? I’ll share my perspective based on experience.

Understanding Your Resume’s Audience

Many candidates don’t give their resumes the attention they deserve. They often use generic templates found through a quick Google search, fill them with unremarkable content, and use cluttered, unappealing formats. It’s no surprise these resumes don’t lead to interviews. The inability to write an effective technical resume is a widespread problem.

As noted by design leader Shuang Ni on Twitter:

“A resume is essentially a mini product. Like any product, it needs to identify market demands and target audience, and use UX design principles to effectively communicate information and help HR and hiring managers understand the content easily.” Therefore, it’s beneficial to treat your resume as a long-term project that evolves over time.

Having been involved in technical hiring, I’ve reviewed numerous resumes that had already passed initial HR screening. Your resume typically goes through two key stages:

• HR Screening
• Technical Review by Engineers

Studies show that HR professionals spend an average of 7 seconds reviewing each resume. Therefore, making your resume easy to read and understand within this brief window significantly increases your chances of getting an interview invitation.

From my experience reviewing resumes as an engineer, even after HR screening, about 90% of resumes fail to capture interest. Most contain identical content - typically focused solely on React/Vue tech stacks and basic CRUD projects. For example:

Familiar with React fundamentals, experienced with React Router, Redux, and Create React App. — A common but ineffective resume excerpt

Reading such repetitive resumes becomes tedious, and they’re often quickly skimmed over. However, when a resume with unique highlights and a different approach appears, it immediately stands out and reinvigorates the review process. Let’s explore how to create such a “golden resume” that captures attention and interest.

The Solution

I believe there are two essential components that work together to create an outstanding resume:

First: Resume Styling

This goes beyond just using a template - it’s about creating a format that sets the baseline for your resume. Think of it as the attractive packaging of your professional story. A clean, visually appealing layout with clear hierarchy helps HR quickly extract key information.

But styling isn’t just about aesthetics. Consider incorporating modern web technologies: make it accessible online, ensure responsive design, implement good accessibility practices, or use modern CSS frameworks. Your resume itself becomes a demonstration of your technical skills. From personal experience, I once received a resume with a well-crafted online version that caught my attention - I even opened the developer tools to check the CSS implementation and discussed the technical choices during the interview.

Second: Resume Content

This component has two crucial aspects:

• Core Content: Guidelines for what basic information to include, such as which professional links to showcase, how to present work experience effectively, etc.
• Technical Highlights: This is the most critical element that determines your resume’s potential impact. It’s the engaging story of your professional journey. We’ll discuss strategies for identifying and presenting your technical achievements in later sections.