The following dialog is a conversation among several readers who are giving constructive criticism to Abhishek Gahlot regarding his resume. Abhishek inquired about his resume and whether or not it had any flaws that were stopping employers from offering him interviews.
Abhishek Gahlot:
Hello everyone,
I applied for almost everywhere for a software engineering internship in the U.S. and most of the time I don’t get a reply. When I do get a reply, it’s always of
rejection.
I would like to share my resume :
LINKI am a foreign student from University which is not so good. I would like your suggestions/feedback if there are any.
Jason Choi:
I’m also in the same boat as you and my resume doesn’t even have the half the qualifications as yours does. It’s just the reality of the situation that the job market is competitive, especially a popular career choice like computer sciences and programming. I can’t really offer you suggestions on how to edit your resume, but I hope someone can answer it because I’m just as much curious. Good luck!
John Meier:
Your resume looks pretty good seeing as you have a good amount of experience. I would have someone that is fluent in English proofread your resume and public profile. A lot of times companies may not consider a non-fluent speaker because of the fear of communication issues in the workplace. Other than that, it looks like you are very qualified. I would keep sending your resume to people and hopefully someone will consider you. Good luck!
Jared Arrington:
Hi Abhishek. While your experience looks great, the language could definitely use some polishing. Grammatically, it is more or less acceptable, but the style could use some changes to make it stand out! Hope this helps.
Kristin Holmes:
Hello. I can see you have good experience, so that’s good. I agree with some of the other users to have someone proofread because there are a few grammatical errors. I would suggest you change your email to just include your first and last name.
Also, I think you should reformat your resume to be in a chart with subtitles that include objective first, education, work experience, activities, and references (optional). Keep your contact information at the top and at the bottom you can put your skills, such as computer skills and languages you are fluent in. Good luck!
Keith McIntire:
Everyone is correct, it does look like you have some solid and plentiful experience. These are not the issues with you getting an internship in this competitive field. The problem is your formatting; this is a problem that nearly everyone (not just students) fail to succeed at. Your resume has a very standard formatting. Everyone has a standard formatting. Imagine that a company like Google gets a stack of 50,000 resumes. Which ones are going to stand out? Your resume’s formatting should both grab the recruiter’s eye, but also scream “I’m a software engineer!” Just by looking at it (not reading it) someone should at least know that you are in a technical field.
You should consider changing the information that you have provided in your experience. Basically, you have described the companies that you worked for. Instead, you should describe what you did at these companies. The reader should say “This guy is looks impressive” not “This company looks impressive.” Describe the projects in which you were involved, what teams you collaborated on, what clients you worked with, etc.
One of the first steps that most people mess up when making a resume is opening Microsoft Word. Don’t. Use either Powerpoint or Photoshop or something that you can really design with. You will be able to make anything you want with these programs. Additionally, don’t be afraid to google resume format ideas. This is where you will get ideas and then you can make it your own with any of the design programs listed before.
Michael Anjorin:
I think you need to show how those experiences helped you develop your skills and what you actually gained from those experiences. Nice resume though.