Simple tips to get more interview calls with a better resume format.

Hi guys,

For the last 3-4 months, I am helping my manager to screen resumes for junior and mid-level SDE roles in my company. Honestly speaking, most resumes coming to us are not up to the mark.

Many candidates are actually very good at coding and have done nice projects, but they don't know how to write a resume properly. Because of this, their resumes are getting filtered out immediately.

If you are a fresher or working in IT/MNCs, here are some practical tips from my experience on what we actually look for when screening resumes.

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### 1. Don't write your daily duties under experience

This is the most common mistake I saw. Under job experience, people write points like:

* *"Responsible for coding in React and Node.js."*

* *"Participated in standup calls and fixed bugs."*

See, every SDE does this. You don't need to explain the daily job. Instead, write **what you achieved or optimized.**

* *Don't write:* "Maintained SQL database and wrote queries."

* *Write this:* "Optimized database indexes and SQL queries, reducing search API response time from 1.5 seconds to 200ms."

This shows you actually know database optimization, not just basic syntax.

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### 2. Put metrics that make sense (Stop putting random numbers)

Everyone says "put numbers in resume." So people start writing things like: *"Wrote 5000+ lines of Python code."*

Honestly, as a senior dev, I don't care about how many lines of code you wrote. More lines of code sometimes means bad architecture.

Put metrics that show business impact:

* *Instead of:* "Refactored legacy code." (Recruiter will say: So what?)

* *Write:* "Refactored legacy email parser code, which reduced AWS billing by 20% every month."

Now my manager will care, because you saved actual money for the company.

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### 3. Canva colorful templates are actually bad for ATS

I know colorful templates with profile photos, sidebars, and "Skill Progress Bars" (like *Java: 4/5 stars*) look very fancy. But they are very bad for placements:

* **ATS reads left-to-right:** If you use a two-column resume, the scanner software gets confused and reads it out of order. Your text gets scrambled and you get automatic rejection.

* **Skill ratings are useless:** Who gave you 4 stars in Java? Self-rating has no value. Just write a simple comma-separated list of skills.

Please use a simple, clean, single-column black-and-white resume. You can use the free [CareerKosh Resume Builder](https://careerkosh.com/resume-builder) (I recommend "Classic Serif" or "Modern Tech" layout). It is simple, boring, but it parses 100% correctly in company databases.

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### 4. Categorize your skills properly

Don't just write 30 skills in one big paragraph. It is very hard to read. Make groups like:

* **Languages:** C++, Java, JavaScript, Python

* **Frontend:** React, Next.js, HTML, CSS, Tailwind

* **Backend & DB:** Node.js, Express, MySQL, MongoDB

* **Tools/DevOps:** Git, Docker, AWS (S3, EC2), CI/CD

This makes it very easy for the HR recruiter to check if your stack matches their requirement. If you are not sure, you can paste the Job Description and your resume text in the [CareerKosh ATS Match Checker](https://careerkosh.com/ats-checker) to scan for keyword gaps before applying.

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If you want me to review your resume, please redact your name, email, and phone number (for safety), and post it in the sub. I will try to help! 🚀