Career guides

Guides that get you hired

Practical, no-fluff playbooks for resumes, ATS filters, cover letters, and applications — written from what actually works.

Guide 01

How to write a resume that gets interviews

Recruiters spend seconds on a first scan. Your resume must answer three questions instantly: who are you, what have you shipped, and why should I keep reading?

  • Lead with a 2–3 line professional summary tailored to the role, not an outdated objective statement.
  • Start every bullet with a strong action verb and end with a number: “Cut page load time 42% by…” beats “Responsible for performance.”
  • Put your most impressive, most relevant experience first — hiring managers rarely scroll with full attention.
  • Keep formatting boring on purpose: one font, clear headings, no tables or graphics that confuse ATS parsers.

Guide 02

Beating the ATS: get past the filter

Most applications are screened by software before a human sees them. An ATS-friendly resume isn't about tricking the system — it's about being readable by it.

  • Mirror keywords from the job description naturally: if they ask for “stakeholder management,” use that exact phrase where it's true.
  • Use standard section titles — Experience, Education, Skills. Creative titles like “My Journey” get misfiled.
  • Avoid tables, text boxes, headers/footers, and images for critical content; parsers often skip them.
  • Check your score before you apply — paste the job description into an ATS checker and fix what's missing.
Check your ATS score free

Guide 03

Cover letters that actually get read

Nobody reads generic cover letters. A good one is three short paragraphs that connect your specific wins to their specific problems.

  • Paragraph 1: the role you're applying for and the one achievement that makes you a fit — in two sentences.
  • Paragraph 2: proof. One concrete story with numbers that maps to something in their job description.
  • Paragraph 3: why them. Name something real about the company — a product, a value, a recent launch.
  • Keep it under 200 words. If it's longer than the hiring manager's attention span, it's a liability.

Guide 04

Tailor every application in 15 minutes

One generic resume sent 100 times loses to a tailored resume sent 20 times. Tailoring doesn't mean rewriting — it means reordering and rewording.

  • Keep a master resume with everything, then copy and trim it per application — never edit your only version.
  • Reorder bullets so the most relevant achievement for this role sits at the top of each job.
  • Swap in the posting's vocabulary for skills and tools you genuinely have.
  • Rewrite your summary's second sentence for every single application. That's the highest-ROI 60 seconds in job hunting.

Guide 05

Track applications like a pipeline

Job hunting is a sales pipeline where you're the product. People who track follow-ups and stages get more interviews from the same number of applications.

  • Record every application: company, role, date, contact, and current stage.
  • Follow up once, 7–10 days after applying, with a short note restating your fit.
  • Review weekly: which resume version converts to replies? Double down on what works.
  • Never let an opportunity die silently — a polite nudge reopens more doors than you'd expect.

Resume questions, answered

Ready to Land Your
Dream Job?

Edit your resume, pass ATS, apply to jobs, and track every application — all in one place.

Jordan Chen

Senior Software Engineer

ReactNode.jsAWS

94% Match

Ready to apply