Most resumes fail a quick scan for a handful of fixable reasons: the key skills are buried, bullets describe duties instead of results, projects do not work when opened, and the same generic version goes to every role. Diagnose yours against a checklist, fix the top issues, and pair it with referrals.
What people tell me
I have projects, internships or a few years of experience, and I think my skills are solid, but my resume is rarely shortlisted. I have tried different templates and applied to many companies, including large tech firms, sometimes after moving to a new country. I cannot tell whether the problem is the resume itself, my LinkedIn, the way I apply, or my skills.
A composite of the messages behind this question, with personal details left out.
Key takeaways
- A recruiter's first pass is fast. Role, core skills and your strongest result must be visible in the top third.
- Replace duty bullets with results: what you built, with what, and what changed because of it.
- Every project and profile link must work and match exactly what the resume claims.
- Tailor to the role family and mirror the listing's wording; parsing systems and people both look for it.
- A strong resume without referrals or outreach still underperforms, especially at large companies.
Start with a diagnosis, not a new template
Changing templates is the most common reaction to rejection and usually the least effective. When I review resumes sent to me, the problems are almost never the font or the colours. They are about what a reader sees in the first few seconds and whether the claims hold up when checked.
Run your resume through the checklist below. Be strict: if you are unsure, mark it as failing.
The shortlisting checklist
| Check | What passing looks like | Common failure |
|---|---|---|
| Target role is obvious | A headline such as "Backend engineer, Java and Spring" | Generic "motivated software engineer" summary |
| Skills visible early | Grouped skills near the top: languages, frameworks, tools, cloud | Skills section at the bottom of page two |
| Matches the listing | Key terms from the job description appear naturally | Same resume for frontend, backend and data roles |
| Bullets show results | "Cut report generation from 20 minutes to 2 by caching queries" | "Responsible for developing features" |
| Projects have depth | One or two substantial projects with real features and decisions | Many tutorial clones with identical stacks |
| Links work | GitHub, live demos and LinkedIn open and match the claims | Broken demos, private repos, dead portfolio sites |
| Consistent details | Dates, titles and company names match LinkedIn | Internship on LinkedIn, full-time on the resume |
| Readable and short | One page for early career, two at most with experience | Dense blocks, tiny margins, three pages |
| Clean formatting | Simple single-column layout, standard section names | Tables, icons, text in images, multi-column layouts that parse badly |
| Education placed sensibly | Near the top for students and recent graduates | Hidden at the end when it is your strongest credential |
Three or more failures explain most silence on their own.
Fixing the highest-impact problems
1. Rewrite bullets as results
Use a simple shape: action, what, how, outcome.
- Weak: "Worked on the frontend of the company website."
- Stronger: "Rebuilt the product listing page in React with server-side pagination, reducing load time on mobile and removing a long-standing scroll bug."
You do not need invented percentages. A concrete, checkable outcome is better than a made-up number.
2. Fix or cut weak projects
Recruiters and engineers click links. If a feature you list throws an error, or the repository contains committed dependency folders and no README, the project hurts you. Keep your best two, make sure they run, add a README with screenshots and decisions, and remove the rest.
3. Tailor by role family
Keep a base resume, then maintain one version each for the role types you target. Reorder skills and projects to lead with what the listing asks for, and use its wording where it is honestly true of you.
4. Align LinkedIn
A recruiter who likes your resume often checks LinkedIn next. Match titles and dates, add a clear headline, list the same projects, and make sure every employer you list is identifiable.
Aiming at large tech companies
Large companies receive enormous application volumes, so an unreferred application from a strong candidate can still disappear. For those roles:
- Show scale and ownership in bullets: users served, systems you owned, incidents you resolved.
- Highlight fundamentals: data structures, system design exposure, testing and reliability work.
- Treat referrals as essential, not optional. Reach out to engineers on the specific teams you want.
- Apply across several companies at a similar level rather than only the most famous few.
If you recently moved to a new country
Local recruiters may not recognise your previous employers or universities. Add one line of context for each employer (industry and size), state your work authorisation clearly if you are allowed to, use the local resume conventions for length and personal details, and lean heavily on local networking, meetups and alumni groups.
A two-week fix plan
- Day 1: Run the checklist, list every failure, and collect five listings for the exact role you want.
- Days 2 to 3: Rewrite your headline, summary and skills to match those listings. Move education up if you are early career.
- Days 4 to 6: Rewrite every bullet as a result. Delete anything you cannot explain confidently in a conversation.
- Days 7 to 9: Fix, redeploy or remove projects. Add READMEs, screenshots and working demo links.
- Day 10: Align LinkedIn with the new resume, line by line.
- Days 11 to 14: Send twenty tailored applications, half of them with a referral or direct message, and record the results so you can compare against the old version.
When it is not the resume
If your resume passes the checklist and you still hear nothing after a few weeks of targeted applications, look elsewhere: the role level may be wrong, you may be applying late, or you may be relying only on portals. Track applications by channel and compare response rates between referrals, direct outreach and portals.
If you are still stuck
The complete, step-by-step rewrite process is in Why your resume is not getting shortlisted, and LinkedIn for engineers: what actually works covers the profile recruiters check next. For honest feedback on your own profile and positioning, book a free 1:1 session.
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