Writing a Resume That Stands Out in Engineering

I’ve reviewed 2000+ resumes for AI/ML roles in the last 5 years. Here are 7 tips to make your resume stand out: 🔸 Tip 1: Showcase End-to-End Project Work Describe projects where you took an idea from concept to deployment. Outline the problem, data collection, model development, validation, and deployment. Demonstrate your ability to handle the entire lifecycle of an AI/ML project. 🔸 Tip 2: Quantify Your Contributions with Real-World Impact Use concrete metrics to quantify your achievements, such as 'Reduced customer churn by 20% through predictive modeling' or 'Increased sales by 15% with a recommendation system'. Real-world impact is more compelling than theoretical knowledge. 🔸 Tip 3: Highlight Collaboration with Cross-Functional Teams Showcase your ability to work with data engineers, product managers, and other stakeholders. Mention specific instances where you collaborated to deliver impactful AI/ML solutions. 🔸 Tip 4: Emphasize Deployment Experience Highlight your experience with deploying models into production environments using tools like Docker, Kubernetes, or cloud platforms such as AWS, GCP, and Azure. Include specific examples and the impact they had. 🔸 Tip 5: Include Open Source Contributions If you’ve contributed to open-source AI/ML projects, list these contributions. Mention any significant pull requests, issues resolved, or your role in major projects. This demonstrates your commitment and expertise. 🔸 Tip 6: Focus on Recent Technologies Mention your proficiency with LLMs, reinforcement learning, or other generative AI technologies. Highlight any recent work or projects involving these technologies. 🔸 Tip 7: Keep Up with Industry Trends Stay updated with the latest trends and advancements in AI/ML. Mention any relevant courses or technologies you have learned and always keep that tab up-to date. This shows your dedication to continuous learning and staying current in the field. #ai #career #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. 

Looking to make your resume shine and grab attention? With over a decade of recruitment experience and having reviewed nearly 250,000 resumes while working for industry giants like Amazon, Accenture (Avanade), Cognizant, and various startups through my agency, Proven Patterns, I’ve seen what truly makes a resume stand out. Here are some top tips to help you create a powerful resume that will leave a lasting impression: ☑ Keep It Concise: Aim for 2-3 page resume when possible. Focus on your most relevant experiences and achievements without overwhelming the reader. ☑ Tailor for Each Job: Customize your resume for every position you apply for. Incorporate keywords from the job description and highlight skills and experiences that match the role. If you don't have enough time at least match the resume summary section with the job description. ☑ Showcase Achievements: Use specific numbers and examples to quantify your accomplishments. Instead of saying "improved sales," say "boosted sales by 20% within six months." ☑ Professional Format: Opt for a clean, professional layout with consistent fonts and spacing. Save the flashy graphics for creative fields. ☑ Include a Strong Summary: Start with a compelling summary that highlights your key qualifications and career goals. Make it engaging and tailored to the job you're targeting. ☑ Highlight Skills: Clearly list your core skills and competencies. Be honest and focus on those that are directly relevant to the position. ☑ Proofread Carefully: Ensure your resume is free from typos and grammatical errors. A polished resume reflects attention to detail and professionalism. ☑ Add a Personal Touch: Include a brief section on your interests or volunteer work. This can help convey your personality and values beyond your professional skills. Your resume is your first impression; make it count! 🚀 If you found these tips useful, please repost ♻ and follow me, Kumud Deepali R. for more insights and advice on jobs and career!

Are you a student or early-career professional struggling to get callbacks after submitting your resume? I’ve been there. During my first year of grad school, I blamed the job market when I didn’t get a single interview for nearly seven months. I started applying for Summer 2024 internships in August 2023, but didn’t receive my first callback until March 2024. Over time, I began refining my resume based on what the industry values and what it takes to stand out. That made all the difference. Here are some of the most important lessons I’ve learned: 1. Keep the Format Simple Avoid horizontal lines, text-heavy formatting, or excessive bolding. They clutter your resume and make it harder to read. Could you stick to one page? If you can’t explain your work clearly and concisely, you’re not ready to present it. 2. Don’t Just List Tools or Describe the Problem, Explain What You Did Many students focus too much on the business problem (“Built a dashboard for retail analytics”) and gloss over the engineering behind it. Even worse, some just list the tools used: “Used Python, Flask, and AWS to build a service that did X.” Instead, go deeper. What did your Flask service do, exactly? What challenges did you face? What decisions did you make? As engineers, we’re expected to show technical depth. If your resume can’t reflect that, you’ll struggle to stand out, especially for technical roles. 3. Be Realistic with Metrics Many resumes include lines like: “Improved model accuracy from 12% to 95%.” This kind of stat, usually influenced by generic advice from career centers or the internet, raises red flags. It often signals that the project wasn’t technically complex to begin with. Instead of inflating numbers, focus on what you improved, how you improved it, and why your work mattered. Strong technical framing > flashy percentages. 4. Clarity > Buzzwords You might write something like: “Leveraged CUDA for token-level optimization of transformer inference under real-time constraints.” It sounds cool, but what does it mean? This happens when people assume the reader will be as familiar with the project as they are. But if someone in your field has to guess what you did, you’ve already lost them. Don’t rely on buzzwords to do the talking; let clarity drive the message. 5. Your Resume Isn’t for You Your resume isn’t meant to impress you. It’s intended to communicate what you’ve done to people who don’t share your background. Most first-round reviewers aren’t ML engineers or CUDA developers. They often rely on keyword checklists and rubrics to decide which resumes move forward. The one thing that matters is: Can you clearly explain what you did and why it mattered? That’s it. Feel free to put your thoughts in the comments. Follow me for more advice!

Lately, I’ve been receiving more requests to review resumes—from friends who've been impacted by layoffs to job seekers eager to land their next role to students prepping for summer internships or jobs after graduation. I'm fortunate to come across a lot of resumes and enjoy reviewing them, so if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this: your resume is your first impression. I know it's an extremely competitive job market, so I hope these quick tips support anyone looking to stand out: ✅ Lead with impact—Start each bullet point with a strong action verb and highlight results, ideally with a % impact - could be improvement in satisfaction scores, time saved, money saved, etc. And if you're leading a lot with "Managed" or "Coordinated," there are likelier stronger verbs to choose. ✅ Keep it clean & brief—Recruiters and hiring managers often skim, so make sure your resume is easy to read, well-structured, and free of fluff. My rule of thumb is if you have less than 8-10 years of work experience, it should fit on one page. And keep the format simple and ensure your personal data is safe: I only need to see your name, phone, email, and LinkedIn profile. Sharing home or mailing addresses isn't necessary and may signal an unwillingness to relocate. ✅ Grammar & consistency matter—A simple typo can cost you credibility! Ensure your formatting, punctuation, and verb tenses are consistent throughout. ✅ Tailor, tailor, tailor—One-size-fits-all resumes? Nope. Customize your resume for each role or company by mirroring keywords from the job description. Here's where AI can help... ✅ Leverage AI tools—Think of Copilot or AI-driven writing tools as your personal editors. They can catch grammar mistakes, improve clarity, and optimize your resume for keyword searches. You can also ask them for suggested learning courses or articles to improve upon skills that may be helpful in jobs you're looking for. ✅ Showcase YOU—Your resume isn’t just about what you’ve done—it’s about what you can bring. Highlight unique skills, projects, or volunteer experiences that set you apart. I often find that the most interesting and insightful interview questions can come from someone reviewing your resume and asking you something at the very bottom of it. For me, I was often asked about teaching dance fitness classes and why that was a passion of mine. If it's on your resume, ensure YOU want to talk about it! And while this post was all around resume/CV tips, I hope you prioritize networking and finding warm introductions through people in companies or with career paths that inspire you. Those connections can help and be an extension of your professional brand! Comment below any other tips or what resonates most ⬇️ #ResumeTips #JobSeekers

This resume got interviews at Amazon, Elevance Health, Cognizant, Autodesk & here are the reasons why: Strategic Information Hierarchy: - Education First: Master's student (graduated May 2025), placing education at the top is a strategic move. It immediately highlights their advanced qualifications and high GPA (4.00). - Clear Sections: Bolded headers like EDUCATION, SKILLS, and WORK EXPERIENCE create a clean, organized layout that is easy for recruiters to navigate quickly. - Consistent Formatting: The consistent placement of dates and locations on the right-hand side makes the timeline of their experience simple to follow. Quantifiable Achievements Everywhere: Metrics are used effectively throughout the resume to demonstrate tangible impact. This moves beyond simply listing duties and shows concrete results. "Boosted performance by 62% and cut test failures by 78%" "Developed a C++ module handling 1.5M+ events/sec" "Structured SQL databases to efficiently process 1TB+ of input voice data monthly" "Applied Elastic Autoscaling EC2 instances... supporting 10,000+ concurrent users" "Fortified hybrid cloud infrastructure by 30%" "Upgraded Natural Language Processing models... boosting overall accuracy by 20%" Action-Oriented & Tech-Specific Descriptions: - Each bullet point begins with a strong action verb, such as "Engineered," "Deployed," "Containerized," "Fortified," "Integrated," and "Revamped." - Key technologies and frameworks (Python, AWS, Azure, Docker, Pytorch, React, Rust, CUDA) are embedded directly within the descriptions of the accomplishments, showing practical application of their skills. Clear Progression Across Experiences: - The resume illustrates a clear and rapid growth trajectory, starting with an infrastructure-focused internship (AWS Cloud Intern) and progressing through machine learning, open-source development, and coaching. - The most recent roles at Elevance Health and Cognizant show a move into more complex AI and backend engineering responsibilities, demonstrating an ability to quickly learn and take on advanced tasks. I've been lucky enough to have mentors who have shared their resumes with me and I want to do the same for others. Find what VERIFIED resumes landed people interviews at Google, Meta, Microsoft: https://bit.ly/3HKbsOO Not every resume should look like this. I’m sharing it because this is what’s actually working in today’s job market. For me, I never had anyone share their resumes that got interviews at companies. It was always a black box. And if this post helps even one person get a foot in the door, then I’ll keep sharing.