Ask HN: How does a great resume look like? What are the best tools to make one?

[rayalez]

Hey everyone! I'm a self-taught full-stack web developer. I've spent the past few years learning webdev, working on personal projects, and building a portfolio (https://startuplab.io/portfolio).

Now I want to find good clients, or work remotely for a startup, and to do that I need to make a resume(or CV?).

So I wanted to ask a few questions:

- What should I put on my resume?

- Can you share some examples of how a great resume should look like?

- What are some of the best tools for making one?

- What do you look for when deciding to hire a developer?

- Can you share some advice that would help me increase my chances of finding a good job?

[jaysonelliot]

One bit of friendly advice, and that's to ensure that it's been proofread by a native English speaker. "How does it look like" is not a phrase that would be used normally, although the rule is certainly confusing and easy to get wrong.

"What does it look like" and "how does it look" are both correct, yet for whatever reason, using both the words "how" and "like" in that construction ends up sounding awkward.

I hope that doesn't sound critical, I'm just trying to be helpful. When it comes to resumes, every little detail matters, even the ones that shouldn't. Good luck!

[make3]

There are many proof-reading services online and, from my experience, they are pretty good and deal pretty well with technical language

[nsxwolf]

I think "How does it look like" is actually wrong though I lack the grammatical education to explain why. "How does it look like" would be asking "How does it accomplish looking like <other thing>".

[panphora]

Do this:

1. Write a list of 5-10 places you'd love to work and the role you'd want to have

2. Research the people who work there, the company's mission, and the company's marketing materials

3. Spend a few hours writing a job description from the employers perspective, to get you in their mindset and see the importance of certain attributes and skills over others

---

After you do the above steps, you'll be able to see the parts of your resume/cover letter/portfolio that are important and the ones that can be left out.

All you need to do is learn how to shift your perspective... which is a hard thing to do. By doing the above steps, you should be able to achieve it, however.

In my experience, the insights you'll get from doing so are invaluable.

---

Also, use a professional paid-for resume generating service, subscribe for a month, and then cancel. I'd recommend: https://resume.io/?ref=producthunt (I left the parameter on the url so you'll get the 80% discount)

[adamb_]

If you're targeting a mid-sized company or bigger, your resume will most likely first be parsed[1], with key skills, education, years of experience (etc) extracted and stored in some kind of applicant tracking system, and then loosely searched against. Your resume will likely not be looked at by human eyes until it passes through this filter, so it's important to consider making your resume as machine-readable as possible: Minimal formatting, key technical terms should be abundant, standard date formats, etc. Only after this should consider how it reads naturally, and make any appropriate adjustments for subindustry (e.g. academically-focused jobs generally want to see education first, etc.) and company.

[1]: https://www.sovren.com/resume-job-parser/

[rconti]

Details are important. For example, my eyes immediately jumped to "how does / look like" in your very first sentence. I just interviewed a guy who Capitalized random Words on his resume, used (TM) after every product name (half of which were spelled wrong), etc. It's a bad first impression, but it doesn't make me round file the resume.

So definitely, proofread it yourself, have a grammar nazi proofread it, etc. Your eyes will completely miss mistakes you made -- and not because you don't KNOW they're mistakes, but because you know the content you wrote, and what you MEANT to say, so your eyes won't even see the error, even if they'd easily spot it on someone else's.

Unfortunately, this works against non-native English speakers, but that's all the more reason to seek out help if you need it, to put a non-native speaker on the same footing, to begin with, as a native.

Interestingly, the guy was a 180 degree opposite from what I expected based on the carelessness on his resume and the person who referred him. In the end, he still wasn't anywhere near up to my expectations, but, again, details.

[mlevental]

... but you still interviewed him...?

[jacob_rezi]

I must suggest my own company Rezi, https://rezi.io

Everything we do is centered around passing applicant tracking systems which is something no other resume company can say.

We also power South Korea's top university, Seoul National University, with all English resume needs, so we are doing cool things.

Please let me know if you have any questions, I'm happy to personally help you with yours.

Here are some examples: http://blog.rezi.io/5-kick-a-rezi-ats-optimized-resume-examp...

Here is what one really awesome resume looks like: https://rezi.io/ats-resume-example/

[flanbiscuit]

This service looks pretty amazing. I'm currently in the process of writing my resume and it's a process I'm not very fond of (guessing not many people are).

[cv230498]

(Sorry for throwaway, I don't usually comment)

I've been very happy with limecv, check out https://olivierpieters.be/projects/limecv and https://github.com/opieters/limecv

When hiring devs, or anyone really, but this seems particularly problematic in tech: I always look for people who aren't completely full of themselves. If you think you're infallible or arrogant, I don't care what you've done. You're likely awful to work with. Be a person and remember you work with people.

[fenwick67]

How can I reflect not being arrogant in a resume, though?

[itamarst]

A good resume won't get you consulting clients. You need marketing - see e.g. https://doubleyourfreelancing.com/ which has lots of free content.

You are also not likely to get a remote job without some relevant work experience that demonstrates you can work independently. So your resume should heavily focus on that - show you can learn on your own, manage yourself, etc.. Lacking any programing job experience, though, it's going to be somewhat difficult.

If you don't have relevant job experience, can you get a non-remote job to begin with?

[johnmcd3]

The mistakes I see made most are:

(1) Not concretely listing the candidate's contribution (vs the team or project description), and

(2) Not focused on the most impressive and relevant items, but instead a laundry list of things unrelated to the opportunity at hand

Some tips and a resume template: https://www.careercup.com/resume

[jdmichal]

I've had the "opportunity" to read several 4+ page resumes like this. (Current record is 9 pages!) Candidates are definitely not doing themselves any favors. I expect that you used source control at your software engineering job. Listing it as a bullet point on your resume is just wasting your space and my time.

Another favorite is people who don't trim down previous experience. Every time I add a position to my resume, I go back over every other position and remove or compress bullet points based on what I think is important from that job now. And, of course, I've completely removed things like irrelevant college summer jobs. This is the main mechanism that allows my resume to still fit on a single (!) page.

[w0rd-driven]

This template follows where mine has ended up. I forget where I sourced the material from but it suggested listing the worthy contributions to the company with action verbs like "integrated large payments system responsible for millions in revenue". It's a very concise sentence that clearly explains the value you brought to a previous company. I used to have a resume like 'proficient in MS Word' which some companies do care for but they can usually suss out important things during a phone screen. We're also the types that largely self learn though so the "what you know" becomes more irrelevant than "what value you brought to the company based on what you know or have learned along the way". It's a subtle change that seems to have much greater impact.

My resume is ultimately more than one page, not much more, but it reads very quickly. In the source material I vaguely recall you have seconds, like maybe 30-90 to really hook the reader. Long paragraphs read much more slowly than concise yet robust bullet points. If you want to pack absolutely everything on your resume, keep the unimportant stuff towards the end. I list time travel as one of my interests at almost the very end of my resume. Getting comments on it let me know someone was either skimming for an interesting phrase or really read all of it.

[greatamerican]

If you tailor your resume you are wasting your time, period.

[EvRev]

Here is what works for me. Took me so many iterations to polish it. I use Inkscape.

https://github.com/evinr/Graphic_Design/blob/master/Resumes/...

[Humdeee]

I am not a fan of this format at all. It is exhausting to read. How many iterations? You have spelling errors in your bars...

[rhonsby]

I have trouble parsing your resume.

The bars require me to tilt my neck to read. If I don't, it's still challenging. The graph isn't very intuitive either.

What I care most about is the description of your role at your previous employment, but it seems to have the smallest font which makes it difficult to read when everything else is so large.

Testimonials also take up a lot of space and doesn't provide much.

[wyattk]

A piece of advice, two of the words in the large graphic are spelled wrong (explanation and experience).

[gkya]

I don't want to sound dismissive, but if I was hiring, I woudn't even read this one. Not because it's ugly, but because you're supposed to produce sth. I'll read but not helping even a little bit about that.

[walterbell]

Could you share more about the toolchain for producing the PDF, e.g. D3 to create SVG, then manual placement of SVG in an Inkscape file?

Were you trying to block machine readers by using an image for skills?

[bb88]

You should be an expert in Computer Science Basics. If I were a hiring manager, (and I have been in the past) I would probably push yours to the side for that reason alone.

[hypertexthero]

This is one of the best resume designs I have seen.

Yes, there are spelling mistakes, but for me, these show a human being behind the words and design.

Excellent work.

[imauld]

Anyone applying for an engineer position that lists MS Office as a skill won't be getting a call back.

[andrewmcwatters]

I would recommend removing your skill level graph, it doesn't provide meaningful information to recruiting or hiring managers, and takes away due to using an unorthodox visual in a professional document.

[karmapolic]

this one is awesome.

[sametmax]

The best advise i've been given is : don't use a text processor software to make it. Use a drawing software.

I myself use inkscape. The result is neat, pixel perfect resume and i can adjust the size and content aesthetically to make it fit on one page.

Of course it supposes that you got the content already figured out.

[adamb_]

This approach only works if you know your resume will be read by a person exclusively, and not machine parsed.

[maxk42]

Unfortunately, a lot of people are going to want real text.

[Blackstone4]

I'm a big fan of one page resumes and the minimum amount of text needed to put across your points. This means your strengths will stand out (i.e. not being diluted by unnecessary text)

Be achievement focused. i.e. don't water down what you write with a job description.

[minouye]

Start with getting to know your audience.

You're basically selling yourself and your skills. Length, design, content, formatting, etc. all will depend on who is actually reading your resume.

For a fantastic example of how your writing changes based on audience, check out https://getcoleman.com/.

[iamdave]

Wow. That website is probably the best example I've seen in a long time of "show don't tell" when it comes to marketing your skills and services.

Going to either extremes are chuckleworthy too.

[gkya]

getcoleman.com is really funny, made me laugh, but hire? I don't think so.

[rhonsby]

In my opinion, a good resume is one that is easy to read and isn't flamboyant (unless you're a designer).

As someone who used to interview at least three candidates a week, I tend to look at their resumes right before going into the interview. I want to be able to easily understand their backgrounds, what sort of responsibilities they've had in the past, and maybe what technologies they're proficient in.

Here's a checklist of things that I think should be included (in this order): - Name, number, email - Relevant work experience - Technologies that they're proficient in - Education

You can also choose to include personal projects if you have space for it. For new grads, I like to see personal projects that weren't class projects. That definitely makes them stand out from every other new grad.

For my own resume, I used Apple Pages and one of their standard templates. No need to get crazy and choose something wildly unique.

[monocasa]

I had a lot of success starting with a designer resume template and toning it down.

It ended up looking like a hipster restaurant menu, which I guess is what I was going for.

[bb88]

Phone numbers are abused these days. Never put one on. Email/Address is fine.

[fyfy18]

When I first started my career I used something I spent days building in LaTeX. After a few years I realised that none of that really mattered, and now just have a Word document (mainly so I don’t have to fumble around installing LaTeX every few years when I want to update it).

Yes, you should have something that stands out, but unless you are applying for a job as a designer, it should be your skills and experience that stand out, not how (subjectively) pretty you can make your CV. Additionally larger companies and recruitment agencies will parse your CV and strip all your formatting, before a human even sees it. Sending it over as a PDF (with the text embedded) probably helps with that.

[cuchoi]

I have my resume stored in sharelatex.com. The formatting issues of Word were driving me crazy. The only thing that concerns me about Latex is that is not as machine-readable.

[abhishekjha]

I have been using LaTeX for past 2 years and updating the resume starts taking a toll as I am not well versed with. Recently had my hard drive fail and ended up reinstalling and updating my very first draft which took a lot of time. Even after all this the point that gets me is the recruiter asking you to fill all the details one by one on their online job application portal while the resume has the very same details. I wonder why.

[lessclue]

For tools, check out:

https://cvmkr.com and https://visualcv.com

[PenguinCoder]

These are pretty bad, to be honest. Hard to parse, cluttered and too much emphasis on looking 'unique'

[BreakoutList]

Regarding what you should put on a resume, check out this checklist we put together:

https://breakoutlist.com/engineer-resume-checklist

Regarding examples of a great resume, see the one in the photo above.

Also see the following template regarding this and your question about the best tools for making one.

Example resume on ShareLaTeX: https://www.sharelatex.com/project/55db6ac384d1be370a7d4b9a

> Can you share some advice that would help me increase my chances of finding a good job?

Treat it like an engineering problem. Analyze your funnel - what companies/opportunities are you starting with? What's your conversion rate between funnel steps? How can you increase that?

And, vitally, how can you put yourself in the shoes of the person on the other side? How can you simulate their perspective? At every point of interaction with you, if you were them, what would you think? And given that knowledge, how can you improve what you're doing?

Other things: check out @sehurlburt on Twitter, Stephanie gives great advice on this topic. Also search around and read threads like the following: https://www.reddit.com/r/engineering/comments/23e4df/entry_l...

[nfriedly]

I think your time is probably best spent sprucing up your linkedin first. It seems like most recruiters just search through linkedin for keywords.

Go through every job you've had and be sure to list your contributions, the impact to the business (if possible), and lots of keywords for every little language, library, technology, pattern, field, etc. that you're interested in working with again.

Then in the Summary section at the top write up some of your interests and experiences, this way you can include your side projects, and even name things that you'd like to work on but have no current experience with.

Set your Headline to the role you want.

Next, flip the switch at https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/career-interests/

Now, to answer your actual questions:

- What should I put on my resume? - Basically the same stuff as above, but shorter: contributions, impact, keywords, but limit it to the most impressive / interesting parts. Please try keep it down to one page.

- Can you share some examples of how a great resume should look like?

I don't know if I'd call mine great, but it helped me land my last few jobs. I think I was a lot more impressed with myself when I came up with the design 10 years ago. http://www.nfriedly.com/Nathan-Friedly-Resume.pdf

- What are some of the best tools for making one?

Microsoft Word. Or maybe Google Docs.

HTML might also be a sensible option for someone targeting a web role, but make sure it prints well, and that you can provide a .pdf version of it easily.

- What do you look for when deciding to hire a developer?

Intelligence, experience, and skill. The resume helps you get the interview, but it doesn't have much effect after that point.

- Can you share some advice that would help me increase my chances of finding a good job?

Besides the linkedin point, network. Talk to everyone you know and let them know what you're looking for.

Lastly, nice looking website!

[rohanm93]

Hey! Going to share my product which is really relevant here:

1) Resume Worded - it has handpicked resume copy/lines that you can use for inspiration (http://resumeworded.com).

2) Wherever possible, you should quantify each of your accomplishments by using numbers/metrics. Here's an example of a good resume line:

Managed a process re-engineering project to improve and consolidate end-to-end service processes; restructured communication flow among 10 departments, and cut down paperwork by 75%

Notice how the applicant has quantified the result of his work by using ‘cut down paperwork by 75%’ and '10 departments'. Other ways to quantify your lines include “reduced cost by 15%”, “reduced the need for 3 FTEs”, “reduced process time by 20 hours/week”, “increased revenue by $5,000”….

We've got a list of metrics you can use to quantify your accomplishments here: https://resumeworded.com/metrics

3) We also have a checklist: https://resumeworded.com/checklist

Get in touch if I can help further! Rohan

[dilatedmind]

After switching to a plain text resume a couple years ago, I have found it to elicit high response rates from the kind of companies I would like to work for.

[mosster]

If anyone's interested, I'm launching a resume side project called https://htmlresume.com/ soon, and if anyone would like one for free, shoot me a message at hello[at]htmlresume.com with HN in the subject line or tweet me at @mosstache.

you can have one for free as long as you promise to upload it on your website and make it live :)