Your resume

A one-page resume that survives a few seconds of human scanning and an automated keyword filter.

Also called ATS, Workday, Greenhouse, Lever

What: Software companies use to receive applications, parse resumes into fields and let recruiters search and filter candidates by keywords, titles and answers to screening questions.
Why: Your resume is often read by an ATS search before a person sees it. A layout it cannot parse, or missing keywords, can hide an otherwise strong application.

Watch out

Believing an ATS "auto-rejects" most resumes; usually recruiters filter by keywords and knockout questions, so match the words and answer honestly.

Also called CV, one-page resume, single-column resume

What: A resume that fits on one page for early and mid career, in one column, with standard section headings, a readable font and exported as a PDF.
Why: Recruiters skim a resume in seconds, and single-column PDFs parse reliably in an ATS. Tables, icons, photos and two columns often scramble when parsed.

Watch out

Using a designer template with skill bars, graphics and side columns that looks good but parses into nonsense.

Also called XYZ formula, achievement bullets

What: Resume bullets written as what you achieved, how you measured it and how you did it, starting with a strong verb and including a number where you honestly can.
Why: Duties say what you were paid to do; results show how well you did it. Numbers make claims concrete and give people something to ask about.
Example: Weak: "Worked on the checkout API." Strong: "Cut checkout API p95 latency from 900ms to 250ms by adding Redis caching and fixing N+1 queries."

Watch out

Inventing or inflating numbers you cannot explain when asked about them later in the process.

What: Two or three projects with a one-line description, the stack, one or two results or scale facts, and links to the repository and live demo.
Why: For students and career changers, projects are the main evidence of skill. Links let a curious reviewer check your work in a minute.
Example: Expense Splitter: Next.js, PostgreSQL, deployed on Vercel. 120 weekly users from two university societies. GitHub and live demo linked.

What: Using the exact words a job description uses for skills you genuinely have, such as "Kubernetes" rather than "container orchestration", in your skills and bullets.
Why: Recruiters and ATS searches look for literal terms. Mirroring the listing's words makes a true match visible without changing what you claim.

Watch out

Keyword stuffing: listing tools you have never used, which falls apart the moment someone asks about them.

What: Adjusting a base resume for each group of similar roles: reordering bullets, swapping a project and matching the summary and skills to the listing.
Why: A few minutes of tailoring lifts reply rates more than sending twice as many identical resumes, especially for roles you really want.

Watch out

Rewriting the whole resume for every application and burning out; keep one base version per role type.

What: Periods without a job on your resume, such as study, caring, health, layoffs or relocation.
Why: Gaps are common and rarely disqualifying, but an unexplained one invites guesses. A short honest line, or projects and learning during the gap, answers the question early.
Example: A one-line entry such as "2025: career break for family care; built and shipped two open source tools" is enough.

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