How to Create a Compelling Developer Resume

As a recruiter for top tech companies, I’ve reviewed 1,000+ resumes. You only need to get these 5 sections right to land 6-figure interviews. 1. Positioning Statement Forget the generic “motivated team player” summary. Your top section should tell me in 3 lines: - Who you are - What kind of problems you solve - Where you’ve done it Example: “Backend engineer with 4 years of experience scaling infra at early-stage startups. Shipped distributed systems handling 50M+ requests/day. Currently focused on latency, observability, and developer experience.” If this section is clear, I’ll keep reading.  If it’s vague, I won’t. 2. Experience (But Structured Like a Case Study) Instead of dumping tasks, each role should answer: - What were you hired to do? - What did you actually build or own? - What changed because of your work? Bullet points should reflect results, not responsibilities. Redesigned caching logic → reduced API latency by 47% across 3 services. Led incident response for system outage → cut recovery time by 60%. That’s what hiring managers remember. 3. Company/Team Context Especially if you worked at a large company, give 1 line of context. “Worked on the Ads ML Infrastructure team at Meta, supporting $XXB in annual revenue.” It helps recruiters understand the scale and environment — fast. 4. Projects Section (Optional, but powerful) For newer engineers or people transitioning into tech, 1-2 serious projects can carry a resume. But only if you show real thinking and impact. Instead of: Built a web app using React and Node. Try: Built a budgeting tool used by 800+ users; integrated Stripe and Plaid APIs, reduced error rate to <0.3%. Show that you didn’t just code, you shipped. 5. Skills That Support the Story Don’t list everything you’ve ever touched. List the tools, stacks, and domains that match what you’re applying for. And reinforce them in your bullet points. “Python” in your skills section means nothing if your experience doesn’t prove you’ve used it in real scenarios. Your resume's job isn’t to tell your life story. It’s to get you in the room. If yours isn’t built to convert, it’s time to rethink it. Repost if this helped. P.S. Follow me if you are a job seeker in the U.S.  I talk about resumes, job search, interview preparation, and more. 

I often hear from early-career ML/DS folks who feel stuck or from folks who want to move in AI/ML. Here’s what I’d recommend based on my own hiring experience: 💻 Reframe your resume - One page only: Focus on the last 1–2 years of most relevant work. If >10 years, add second page. Make sure you can explain each and every project/ algo in detail. - Bullet points over paragraphs: “Built and deployed an anomaly detector in PyTorch on 1M records with 95% precision” beats “Experience with PyTorch.” - Group courses vs. projects: Put certificates (DeepLearning.AI, MLOps, GCP) in a small “Training” section; highlight actual projects and results first. This can also go into the skill section. Make sure whatever you put, you've actually worked on. 💻 Show production readiness - Recruiters want more than “I trained a model.” - Emphasize (learn if needed) end-to-end work: data pipelines, Docker containers, CI/CD, cloud deployments, monitoring. 💻 Build a portfolio of small wins - Pick 2–3 mini-projects that mimic real problems: train a neural network, RAG chatbot, data ETL pipeline, simple API serving a model. Perhaps share your experience on medium/blog. - Share code on GitHub with a clear README and hosted demo (e.g., Streamlit). Create PR requests to open source projects, if possible. 💻 Ace coding challenges - Practice timed Python/data-structure problems on LeetCode or CodeSignal. Can't emphasize how important and useful this is, purely for interview. - Practice again. Even when not interviewing. 💻 Network with purpose - Ask for 15-minute “resume reviews” or quick feedback on a project. - Engage on Discord communities (e.g., MLOps, DataTalks) — personal referrals carry weight. Landing that first ML role can feel like an uphill climb, but every resume tweak, project post, or friendly referral moves you closer. Keep iterating—and you’ll break through.

From: My resume isn’t getting picked. To: I got an offer from Meta. I am still sad. Turns out: Fresh breakup. While I can’t disclose what we spoke about in my coaching call, but I can tell you how I got him past Meta's ATS and into their interview rooms. What was WRONG with his original resume: → 2-page monster with irrelevant internships from college → "Passionate software engineer seeking growth opportunities" (cringe) → Skills section listing 25+ technologies (red flag!) → Fancy two-column layout that ATS couldn't parse How I helped him fix it: 1. Brutal editing session Cut it down to 1 page. Removed every bullet point that didn't scream "hire me for this specific role." 2. Jake's Resume template from Overleaf Free, clean, ATS-friendly. Don't reinvent the wheel. 3. Bulletproof technical formatting → Single column (ATS systems hate fancy layouts) → Standard fonts (Arial, Calibri - save the creativity for your code) → Only 2 links: LinkedIn + GitHub 4. Metrics that actually matter ❌ "Improved user experience" ✅ "Reduced API response time from 2.3s to 450ms using Redis caching" ❌ "Led a team" ✅ "Mentored 3 junior developers, improved code review cycle time by 40%" 5. What he needed CLARITY on: → "Should I mention my college projects?" Only if they're more impressive than your work experience. → "What about soft skills?" Show, don't tell. Instead of "team player," write "Led code reviews for 5-person team, reduced bug deployment by 60%" Why this matters: Your resume has 7 seconds to convince a recruiter you're not another generic "full-stack developer." The result? From 0 responses to Meta interview in 2 weeks. P.S. To my heartbroken Meta engineer - congrats on the offer! And hey, at least you can cry into your signing bonus now. 😅 Need me to fix your resume? Book a topmate call 😇 #MetaJobs #ResumeAdvice #TechResume #BreakupToBreakthrough

As a recruiter, I’ve reviewed countless resumes, and one thing is clear: the most successful candidates know how to sell their skills effectively. A well-crafted resume isn’t just a list of jobs; it’s a story of your accomplishments and capabilities. Here are some key words and phrases that can make your resume shine: 𝗔𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗩𝗲𝗿𝗯𝘀: Words like led, managed, optimized, and spearheaded show that you take initiative and get results. 𝗦𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀 & 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝘀𝗲: Whether it’s project management, data analysis, or sales strategy, highlight what you’re great at—be specific! 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆-𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝗧𝗲𝗿𝗺𝘀: Use relevant jargon that speaks to your field. Agile, SEO, or UX/UI Design can make your resume more relevant to the role. 𝗔𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 & 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘀: Numbers matter! Use words like increased, boosted, or generated to show your impact—especially when you can back it up with data. 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 & 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Whether you mentored, directed, or coordinated teams, showcasing these experiences highlights your ability to lead and collaborate effectively. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺-𝗦𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴: Employers love candidates who can innovate, resolve, and streamline processes—demonstrating your value in solving complex challenges is key. 𝗦𝗼𝗳𝘁 𝗦𝗸𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘀: Things like adaptability, communication, and emotional intelligence can make all the difference in the workplace. Be sure to showcase them where appropriate! 𝗧𝗶𝗽 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝗯 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀: Take a look at the job description before you submit your resume. Tailoring your resume to the specific role with the right keywords can make all the difference—especially for Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS)! Don’t underestimate the power of a well-written resume. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀! #Recruiting #JobSearch #ResumeTips #CareerAdvice #Hiring #JobSeeker #CareerGrowth #JobTips

I've reviewed thousands of resumes. And there's one mistake I see 90% of the time: People describe what they did, not what they achieved. Here's the truth: Companies don't care about your job duties. Turn your job duties into achievements with Teal's Resume Builder → https://lnkd.in/g9KM_UHw They care about the impact you made. 💥 Think about it from their perspective: → They don't need to know you 'managed social media accounts' → They need to know you 'increased engagement by 45% and generated 200+ qualified leads' → They don't care that you 'handled customer service inquiries' → They care that you 'resolved 95% of issues on first contact, improving satisfaction scores by 30%' The difference? OUTCOMES over ACTIVITIES. Here's my formula for turning boring job duties into compelling achievements: 1️⃣ Start with a success verb Instead of 'responsible for' or 'duties included,' use power verbs like: • Accelerated • Generated • Transformed • Streamlined • Launched 2️⃣ Add the what (noun) Be specific about what you impacted: • Revenue • Processes • Team performance • Customer satisfaction • Product launches 3️⃣ Include the metric Numbers make it real: • Percentages • Dollar amounts • Time saved • Team sizes • Volume handled 4️⃣ Show the outcome Connect it to business impact: • '...resulting in $2M additional revenue' • '...reducing processing time by 3 days' • '...enabling team to take on 25% more projects' Can't think of metrics? Ask yourself: 💰 Did I make or save the company money? ⏱️ Did I speed up any processes? 📈 Did I improve anything measurable? 👥 Did I train or influence others? 🎯 Did I solve any major problems? Every role has measurable impact. Even if you think yours doesn't. Real examples from Teal users: Before: 'Managed inventory for retail store' After: 'Optimized inventory management system, reducing stock-outs by 40% and saving $50K annually in carrying costs' Before: 'Taught English to high school students' After: 'Elevated student performance through innovative teaching methods, achieving 92% pass rate (vs. 78% district average)' Before: 'Worked on marketing campaigns' After: 'Spearheaded 5 integrated marketing campaigns that generated 3,000+ MQLs and contributed to $1.2M in pipeline' Remember: Your resume isn't a job description. It's a sales document. And what you're selling is your ability to drive results. 🚀 Whether you're crafting bullets for your resume, preparing for interviews, or making the case for a promotion—always lead with impact. Because at the end of the day, companies don't pay for activities. They pay for outcomes. Turn your job duties into powerful achievements with Teal's AI-powered Resume Builder → https://lnkd.in/g9KM_UHw #ResumeTips #JobSearch #CareerAdvice #ResumeWriting #JobHunt #CareerDevelopment #LinkedIn #PersonalBranding ♻️ Reshare to help someone make their next job move. 🔔 Follow me for more job search & resume tips.

Many open jobs are getting 1,000s of applications now. It’s rough out there! And getting your resume to stand out is super difficult. I should know — I've reviewed 25,000+. Put these 8 rare things on your resume to be in the top 1% of candidates: 👇 1/ You were recruited by former coworkers to another job. A sign they think you’re a badass. They know you from real work experience… which is better than any interview. 2/ Show what you made happen. Define each role with a narrative like this: • Challenge: “We had NPS of 0.” • Activity: “I built a cust sat team and deployed best practices.” • Results: “NPS went to 80.” 3/ Say clearly what you want. Many resumes say, “OBJECTIVE: Any job.” That’s too vague. And looks lazy. Great candidates say what they want. 4/ Up and to the right. Your career grows with greater impact at each step. You’re taking on more. Asking for new challenges. And building on successes. When faced with adversity/bad bosses/etc., you’ve made changes. And kept grinding. 5/ Known & trusted referral. This is a tough one. It ONLY works if these two things are true: • The referring party has worked with you AND… • The hiring manager knows they are a badass. Otherwise, some rando calling on your behalf is not as helpful as they say. 6/ You were promoted. Did you get promoted at your company? Quickly? Did it happen multiple times? A good sign you’re making things happen on the job. 7/ You avoid basic mistakes. Too many people are winners – but blow it by screwing up the basics. Don’t: • Multi-page resumes • Education listed at the top (unless you’re a fresh grad) • Too many words • Omit contact information • Misspellings/grammar errors 8/ It all makes sense. You did appropriate tours of duty (not jumping around too quickly). You left jobs for good reasons. You looked for win-wins with bosses/you/employers. It all lines up to show you move mountains. Finally: Not every resume can or will have these things. These are uncommon for a reason. And factors like privilege, situation, and luck contribute to you having any at all. But if you can include them or plan your career for them, they will set you apart. tl;dr: Include these 8 things in your resume (if you can) to stand out: 1. Recruited by former coworkers 2. Resume shows impact 3. Say what you want 4. Up and to the right 5. Trusted Referral 6. Promoted Internally 7. Avoid common mistakes 8. It makes sense What do you think? Reply below.

Struggling to hear back from recruiters? Boost your chances with these 10 game-changing tweaks! What if I told you that the challenge lies in the one thing that connects you to recruiters? Your RESUME! Having conducted numerous resume review mentorship sessions, I've spotted common pitfalls. Here are my top 10 suggestions to overcome them: 📜 Trim the Fat: Keep your resume concise and skimmable. Recruiters dedicate an average of 6 seconds to skimming it. Your aim must be to captivate them with a single glance. 📜 Power of Bullet Points: Swap paragraphs for clear, concise, and impactful single-line bullet points. If they become lengthy, consider splitting them into two. 📜 Show your Impact: Utilize the 'STAR Method' to quantify your impact. Space on your resume is limited, so use it judiciously. Employ tangible, quantifiable metrics to showcase your actual impact rather than just listing responsibilities. 📜 Keywords are the Key: Incorporate role-specific skills and keywords aligned with the job. The more your keywords match, the higher your chances of getting noticed. 📜 Tailor your Resume for Every Role: Align your skills and experiences with the job description and requirements. Employ Word Cloud apps to extract essential keywords from the job description and integrate them authentically into your resume. 📜 Transferable Skills Matter: Highlight your versatile skills and unique experiences, even if they don't precisely match the job requirements. These highlights make you stand out. 📜 Simplicity Speaks: Forego fancy formats and fonts. Opt for a clean, standard .doc format. Pro Tip: LaTeX templates work wonders for maintaining a consistent, clean format. 📜 Structure Matters: Place your best projects at the top and other achievements in reverse chronological order. Recent graduates should prioritize their education and showcase their GPA. Ensure you provide clear start and end dates, organization names, and locations for each experience, whether personal projects, education, professional experience, or volunteer work. 📜 Master the One-Pager: Aim for a one-page resume if you possess less than a decade of professional experience. 📜 Narrow your Field to Improve your Chances: Craft a laser-focused approach that stands out in a competitive job market. Remember, your resume is a highlight reel, not your life story or a thesis! Keep details minimal and impact maximal! Pro tip: Optimize your LinkedIn profile and include as many details as you'd like. (Stay tuned for my LinkedIn Optimization guide!) ⭐ Bonus tip: Get a referral! That's the best way to get noticed and hear back from recruiters. What other resume tips do you swear by? #ResumeTips #CareerAdvice #JobSearch #ResumeWriting #GetHired #AmazonJobs #AWS #CareerSuccess #LinkedInOptimization #JobMarket #ProTips #hiring #recruiters #opentowork #mentorship #beavailable

#DearPhDs, recruiters spend only 1-2 minutes on your resume.  (some research suggests they spend a mere 6 seconds!) 👉 When you have 10 minutes worth of content in there, recruiters will grab some 1-2 minutes from it. These may not be your best 1-2 minutes. 👉 When you have 1-2 minutes worth of content in there, recruiters will grab those EXACT 1-2 minutes. So give them your best 1-2 minutes! When it comes to industry resumes, LESS is MORE! I tried this with my own job search. Resume on the left: 598 words. 54 applications. 0 interviews. Resume on the right: 243 words. 10 applications. 4 interviews. (and got my current role) 👇 Here are 9 ways to embrace 'LESS is MORE' in your resume: 1. Start with a strong non-generic summary to set the tone for the rest of your resume. 2. Avoid overly technical jargon and complex language to make your accomplishments easily understandable. 3. Eliminate information that doesn't directly contribute to your qualifications for the job. 4. Keep your contact information minimal: your name, phone number, email address, and LinkedIn profile. 5. Limit personal information such as your full address, hobbies, marital status, and headshot. 6. Tailor your resume for each job by including keywords directly from the job posting. 7. Use concise bullet points to help recruiters scan and digest information quickly. 8. Focus on achievements instead of duties and use quantifiable metrics to showcase your impact. 9. Use action verbs to convey a sense of proactivity and accomplishment as well as save space. P.S. Which one of these would you like to learn more about? #resumetips #phdtoindustry #phdcareers #altac

Here’s the 4-step process I used to craft resume bullets to help my client land a $200k offer. 1. List out heavy hitting accomplishments. Doesn’t matter if they’re big or small, just get them onto a piece of paper. Examples: - Started a mentorship program - Helped a team spend less time with a task - Increased unique users for an app 2. Determine how you measured success in what you accomplished - Choose metrics that quantify the impact. Examples: - Had 50 people sign up for Q2 mentorship - Reduced 4 hours from a 16 hr process - Added 1.3k new users in 12 weeks 3. List out the actions you took, in order, to achieve the accomplishment. Examples: - Built curriculum, advertised program, etc. - Performed times studies, ran a pilot, etc. - hired a UX designer, overhauled website. 4. Order the information into the following format: “Accomplished ‘Step 1’ by measure of ‘Step 2’ by doing ‘Step 3’ Simple right? The first pass will not be perfect, but it will give you an idea of what an effective bullet looks like. Improve from here. *Note: Yes, this is Google’s XYZ formula for resume writing. We also use other formats to construct effective bullets. It all depends on the target audience. - - - Did you find this helpful? Re-post it ♻️ Follow, Adam for daily job search tips. #jobsearchstrategies #careertips #resumetips

Top 5 resume tips that WILL get you more interviews... The advice rotating has reached levels of ridiculousness. Crazy hooks from people to get you to follow tips and tricks that honestly just don't matter. so here's 5 from me, a person that has looked at more resumes in his life than anyone should... 5. Summary - Yes please. a short concise paragraph outlining what you've done. To the point, a highlight reel. Not the whole season 4. Hard skills listed somewhere. In tech I would like to see them directly after the summary. Other professions or exec the bottom is fine. It will help you in searches in ATS databases and on job boards. No soft skills here 3. If you say you know .net, kanban, agile, you should have it listed in skills but also show me in the experience. This is because when I submit to a hiring manager, if they see a skill they need, but it requires 5 years of that skill, they are going to look for it in the experience to make sure you have the minimum required length of time in that skill 2. The number of pages should be relative to your experience. If you're 2 years into your employment adventure a page will probably do. If you're a 30 year seasoned pro with a bunch of promotions and sweet experience, use the minimum amount of words necessary to highlight what you've done. I have never rejected someone because their resume is too long. It's not true if someone says you were rejected for this reason and frankly sounds silly. 1. Use the most simple language you can. You don't know who's reading your resume and we don't all have the same vocabulary. bonus. When we used to hand a piece of really nice paper we picked out from the stationary store on that thick stock and it had that hint of blue, it was important to stand out. you wanted that good good thicc paper so when they shuffled through resumes it felt different when the HM touched it. That ain't this job market.. The absolute best way to stand out in this job market is to show how you hit the minimum required skillset and beyond in the simplest way possible so it is clear as day why someone should call you. Show your personality on the phone screen and interviews. Or by networking on Linkedin. Your resume is not a talent show, it's a key to open a door. Make sure the key fits the lock. PS- Education goes at the bottom in the USA. We look to see if you have it if it's required, which is starting to not matter in certain jobs, but the top is valuable real estate that needs to have skills and experience. Entry level stuff is different. #resumetips #recruiterlife #Ihave99problemsbutaresumeaintone