I just finished reviewing all the applications I received in the past two days. It was a hectic task but what made it difficult was not the number of applications but its quality. How to shortlist resumes when everyone is a 4 star on CodeChef/LeetCode or an Expert/Specialist at CodeForces? 🤔
My two cents after going through 1000+ applications:
1. DSA is necessary for coding assessments and interviews, granted. But what most students fail to realize is that they are not the only ones who are excessively solving questions day and night. Almost every aspiring software engineer is doing this. So how will you stand out in this crowd?
2. This is where projects, open-source and your extra-curricular activities come into the picture. Folks are so busy focusing on CPP that they miss out on all these things, which ultimately hurts their chances of getting shortlisted for Online Assessment itself. Because there's nothing that's making them unique.
3. Most of the resumes I saw were poorly formatted. Follow Deedy or Alta CV template on Overleaf for resumes, they are Applicant Tracking System (ATS) friendly and brings out important details efficiently.
4. There's a reason why I added subjective questions in the form. When you have thousands of applications, how can you figure out how to even get started? I did this by checking how much research the candidate has done on the company and why they think they are a good fit for the role. These two questions helped me filter out more than 50% of applications. If the candidate is not putting effort into their answers, then why would anyone refer them? Simple logic.
5.Most of the GitHub profiles were blank. Understandably, dev skills are not tested in interviews, but it doesn't mean that they are not taken into account at all! Candidates who were involved in open source gained a significant edge over other candidates.
6. In the subjective answers, simply writing “I am perfect for the job“, “I fulfil the requirements, hence I am good“ will not work AT ALL. Why? Because you did not mention any instances which showcased your qualities. Understandably, one cannot cover every detail in one paragraph, but a gist of your experiences is always appreciated.
There are more points, but these were some major ones I shared from my experience. If you feel I missed anything, you can share them below!
#resumetips #referrals #datastructures #competitivecoding #github
My two cents after going through 1000+ applications:
1. DSA is necessary for coding assessments and interviews, granted. But what most students fail to realize is that they are not the only ones who are excessively solving questions day and night. Almost every aspiring software engineer is doing this. So how will you stand out in this crowd?
2. This is where projects, open-source and your extra-curricular activities come into the picture. Folks are so busy focusing on CPP that they miss out on all these things, which ultimately hurts their chances of getting shortlisted for Online Assessment itself. Because there's nothing that's making them unique.
3. Most of the resumes I saw were poorly formatted. Follow Deedy or Alta CV template on Overleaf for resumes, they are Applicant Tracking System (ATS) friendly and brings out important details efficiently.
4. There's a reason why I added subjective questions in the form. When you have thousands of applications, how can you figure out how to even get started? I did this by checking how much research the candidate has done on the company and why they think they are a good fit for the role. These two questions helped me filter out more than 50% of applications. If the candidate is not putting effort into their answers, then why would anyone refer them? Simple logic.
5.Most of the GitHub profiles were blank. Understandably, dev skills are not tested in interviews, but it doesn't mean that they are not taken into account at all! Candidates who were involved in open source gained a significant edge over other candidates.
6. In the subjective answers, simply writing “I am perfect for the job“, “I fulfil the requirements, hence I am good“ will not work AT ALL. Why? Because you did not mention any instances which showcased your qualities. Understandably, one cannot cover every detail in one paragraph, but a gist of your experiences is always appreciated.
There are more points, but these were some major ones I shared from my experience. If you feel I missed anything, you can share them below!
#resumetips #referrals #datastructures #competitivecoding #github
