How to craft your junior software engineer resume the right way

Writing a resume as a junior software engineer that strikes the right chord for both technical and non-technical readers is a crucial skill. In this guide, you will learn how you can craft a masterpiece junior software engineer that will get you more calls and possibly interviews.

You have applied to 10s of jobs (maybe it is reaching 100 or more) but you have not got even 2 calls. That means a conversion (hit) rate of less than 2%. There are multiple reasons for this situation. You need to make your resume as sharp as a butcher’s knife, you cannot cut meat with a butter knife.

Transcript

1. Craft your resume - The right way Geshan Manandhar Senior Software Engineer (Simply Wall St.) Google Developer Expert(GDE) for Google Cloud Platform (GCP) GDG Cloud Sydney Organizer
2. ◉ Senior Software Engineer ◦ @ Simply Wall St. Whoami ◉ Helped/mentored 20+ people transition from non technical casual jobs to technical full time roles ◉ Started AU Tech Jobs to help people find jobs and help people use the project as a bridge to first full time tech job. ◉ Taken 70+ technical/behavioral interviews in the past 5 years and given some too :) ◉ Blogging since 2007 at Geshan.com.np This slide deck ☝
3. I work for SimplyWall.st Make confident investment decisions
4. I am from Kathmandu, Nepal
5. Agenda • What is the 6 second test? • Understand the hiring funnel • Know the purpose of the resume and it’s audience • What recruiters look for in a resume • Guidelines for a great resume • A sample resume (with sample position description) • How to get work experience/internship
6. “ “Your resume says a lot about you, it determines whether you will be called IN for an interview or NOT” - QuoteMaster.org Source: https://www.quotemaster.org/Resume#&gid=1&pid=3
7. “ “Recruiters spend an average of just six seconds scanning a resumé before deciding if the candidate is worth calling in for an interview” - Research by The Ladders Source:https://www.businessinsider.com.au/what-recruiters-look-at-on-your-resume-2014-11
8. Understand the hiring process
9. Purpose of the resume • Primary a. Get that call from the recruiter b. Let technical readers know about your skills and capabilities • Secondary a. Tell things about yourself b. Inform about things you can do inside the scope of the job role
10. Audience of your resume? • The First person ◦ The recruiter/Talent Acquisition person who reads your resume (for 6-7 seconds) ◦ You have to sell your abilities in those 7 seconds, period. • Next ◦ The Engineering manager or Senior software engineer who will interview you ◦ The VP Engineering or CTO if it is small company
11. Quotes from 2019-2022 What recruiters look for in a resume?
12. “ I would check if they have a side project. Learning something new in their free time would result in a better rating. - Cloë Stanbridge (source)
13. “ I primarily go after: interest in the product, comprehension of technical challenges, and technical capability. - Scott Crowe, Canva (source)
14. “ If you present your CV in an organised, clean manner without typos, it certainly bodes well for our initial impression of your organisation and communication skills, as well as your attention to detail. - Pam Stevenson, Harrison.ai (source)
15. What is the gold standard? Guidelines for a great resume
16. 1 page resume is the gold standard • Make it 1 page, period ◦ Sell your skills in <7 seconds ◦ Use the real estate very efficiently and effectively ◦ I have 15+ years of experience and it fits in 1 page. • It surely fits ◦ Marissa Mayer - CEO of Yahoo - 1 page CV ◦ Mark Zuckerberg - 1 page CV ◦ Andy Jassy - CEO of Amazon AWS - 1 page CV
18. Things to include in your resume • Be ruthless in what you delete ◦ Ask yourself if it is relevant and can it get me that initial call, if the answer is no, remove it. • Include only relevant work experience and contacts (email/phone) • Include links to ◦ Github ◦ LinkedIn ◦ Your blog ◦ Side projects with working URL and link to code (if any)
19. How to write a resume that gets calls? • Follow the XYZ formula ◦ Accomplished [X] as measured by [Y], by doing [Z]." But just to make it easier to remember, let's shorten it to X-Y-Z. • Less of Business as Usual (BAU), more of impact • Latest things first - last job first then the older job • No typos, no grammatical mistakes • ChatGPT/Bard it - it’s fine but don’t lie
20. Some ChatGPT/Bard magic
21. Some important tips • Get referred by someone working in the company - skip the ATS and the queue ◦ Why would they refer you? - Referral bonus • Use networking to get referrals - Networking works ◦ Virtual meetups ◦ Linked In ◦ Join a tech community, help organize events • Reverse search the recruiter and message them • Have a hit list of companies and roles you want to apply for
22. Resume Sample • Here is a sample resume • Surely works in Australia • Has been used by 30+ people
23. Sample work experience Example of XYZ formula Some BAU is put in too Great work with numbers Contextual mention of tech/tools used
24. Students have got jobs using this resume template
25. Classic chicken and egg problem. How to get work experience/internship?
26. Work experience/Internship/etc • Start your own project/side project like app.autechjobs.com ◦ GitHub student developer pack + free services • Forage - virtual work experience programs (Entry Level) • Startmate student fellowship • Harrison.ai’s job seeker toolkit • Other resources ◦ Podcasts like Code newbie ◦ Ambassador programs - Google, Github, Stack overflow, Microsoft ◦ Hackathons Australia ◦ Event scholarships for students - Example (Yow Sydney) ◦ Volunteer in events/conferences
27. Communities/Job Boards • Communities and job boards ◦ Stint community - Job board ◦ Prospel - Job board ◦ Grad Connection (Seek) - Grad/Internship programs in Australia ◦ Earlywork.co ◦ My Startup Gig Jobs ◦ Work180 - Focused on women
28. Questions, are welcome :) You can find me at ◉ LinkedIn ◉ Geshan.com.np Thanks! Presentation template by SlidesCarnival LinkedIn profile ☝
29. Reference links • https:/ /www.freecodecamp.org/news/writing-a-killer-software-engineering-resume- b11c91ef699d/ • https:/ /www.freecodecamp.org/news/heres-the-resume-i-used-to-get-a-job-at-goo gle-as-a-software-engineer-26516526f29a/ • https:/ /cvcompiler.com/blog/40-words-to-spice-up-your-developer-resume/ • https:/ /ankurkhemani.com/tips-to-write-killer-software-engineer-resume/ • https:/ /www.themuse.com/advice/how-to-write-software-engineer-resume-example • https:/ /www.wikijob.co.uk/content/application-advice/cvs/how-write-software-engi neer-resume