Most of the times, and it's specially true in the US, people like it when you push back, when you argue and (sometimes) contradict, as long as you do it with solid arguments. Having an opinion and being able to express it, and defend it, is valuable and appealing.
To be eligible, your resume should clearly display how you meet the minimum requirements for the position.
A recruiter may spend 10 to 15 seconds looking at your resume.
Because of the potential volume of applicants to a certain position they are gonna try to find a reason to say "no" to you, to reject you. And they will say no to a lot of people. But it's your job to make it hard for them.
Recruiters will:
- Look at your education: They're interested in knowing if you have a Computer Science background. If you don't, but have similar formation (e.g. self-taught or programming bootcamp), explicitly state that
- Look at (probably only) your last two jobs: Beef up their description/content and, in contrast, have fewer details on older jobs
- Look for keywords: List out technologies in your resume but don't be excessive, only the ones you feel comfortable with
- Look for job hops: Whether or not you change jobs frequently
Your resume format needs to be simple and straightforward. No need to be original nor creative. Black and white colors are fine. Copying other formats is OK. Google Docs has templates for resumes.
Your resume should contain:
- Writing in the first person
- Details, for each job description, on:
- What you did
- Your achievements (with concrete numbers)
- What technologies you used
- Your team and team size
- Whether you managed people
- Mention of ability to work remotely and/or experience with it
- Present tense for current jobs and past tense for past jobs
Having said the above, your resume also needs to be one or two pages long (maybe 3), anything longer than that may be ignored. So be selective in what you say and how to say it.
Your resume should not contain:
- Your photo: to avoid potential discrimination
- Your full address: unnecessary information and potential safety and security concern. Having only the city and country is OK
- Your date of birth: unnecessary information and to avoid potential discrimination
- Your CURP: unnecessary information and potential safety and security concern
- Generic introduction/about/personal summary: Leave it out, unless you mention concrete information about yourself and your experience
- Irrelevant jobs: "irrelevant" in the sense pertained to the position you're applying to, e.g. experience as a baker is irrelevant to a construction job
- Wrong job history order: Jobs must be listed from newest to oldest
- Your references: unnecessary at this point in the recruitment process. References are asked for later on
- Your soft skills: unnecessary at this point in the recruitment process. You will be able to emphasize on this, when/if asked, later on
Your resume may benefit by adding:
- Your name in the format:
{Given name} {First family name}-{Second family name}, i.e. no middle name, family names hyphenated, e.g.Jorge Rodríguez-García - Certifications: Only if from renowned sources and if they don't make the resume too long
- LinkedIn profile
- Personal projects: Only if relevant to the position being applied to
- GitHub profile: Only if you have activity or have anything to show
- Phone number: Include country code for international calls
- Short description of what the company does under each position
A typical next step after submitting a resume is to have a phone interview of some sort. It means they are a little bit more interested in you, not a lot more, but a little bit.
And it's a good opportunity to talk about yourself, to communicate some of the pieces left off the resume and reinforce, in more detail, what you did put in.
You should have an "elevator pitch" prepared about yourself, i.e. a 30 second pitch about you.
What to say in your pitch:
- Who you are
- What you do
- What you did before, or where do you come from
- How you got here
- What do you want to do next
Practice it. You should be able to say it in your sleep.
"Topgrading" is a very popular interviewing methodology in the US. It is an extensive and intensive exercise to try and understand who you are as a person.
As previously mentioned, they are looking for people with opinions, that are passionate about technology, and that enjoy debate.
People want to know about your motivations, why you did what you did in your career. They're looking for coherence, for consistency, for a theme.
To help you come up with your own theme, take a step back and think about your career so far:
- What have you done?
- Why have you done what you've done?
- How?
- What are your values?
When you have it, go back and review your resume using that lense. Bring out your storyline based on it.
When talking about your weaknesses mention how you're addressing them, or plan to, and be honest. No one is perfect.
The question "Why do you want to work with us?" most of the times just means "Have you done any research on us? Do you know of us?". Explain what excites you about their company/mission/product.
When you're asked "Do you have any questions?" it can also generally be interpreted as "Do you care about us at all?".
- Who are your competitors?
- What's your value proposition?
- What is your business model? Why?
Come up with your own questions, always having the company in mind.
HR type of questions like asking about compensation, time off/vacation, and perks/benefits are OK if you're in the later stages of the process. Avoid them in the beginning.
Tech questions are OK if you're interviewed by an Engineer or a Hiring Manager.
When doing live coding do your best communicate your thought process and steps, overcommunicate if you have to.
Explaining employment gaps may be difficult, but it's always best to be honest and have concrete reasons: "I was laid off/downsized", "The project ended", "The culture of the company changed", "The role changed over time", "I took a chance and it didn't work out".