Articles
Write a resume that gets read, then use it
Short, practical guides on the parts of a resume that decide whether it gets an interview, and on turning that resume into answers once you are in the room. Each one ends with how to do it in Opagine.
Writing your resume
The parts recruiters read first, and how to get each one right.
- Summary
How to write a resume summary that gets read
A resume summary is the first thing a recruiter reads. Learn what to include, a simple three-part formula, and examples of weak and strong summaries.
5 min read - ATS
How to make an ATS-friendly resume
Applicant tracking systems read your resume before a person does. Learn how ATS parsing works and how to format a resume that passes, without myths or keyword stuffing.
6 min read - Experience
How to write resume bullet points that show results
Turn job duties into achievements. Learn the action-result pattern for resume bullet points, how to add numbers when you have none, and which words to avoid.
6 min read - Length and layout
How long should a resume be? One page or two
One page or two? Learn how long a resume should be at each career stage, how to cut it down without losing impact, and how margins, fonts and spacing help.
5 min read - Tailoring
How to tailor your resume to a job description
A tailored resume gets more interviews than a generic one. Learn how to read a job ad, match your wording and reorder your resume for each application in minutes.
5 min read
After your resume: the interview
Everything you thought through to write your resume is your interview preparation. Here is how to use it.
- Interview prep
Your resume is your interview prep
Every line on your resume is a question the interviewer will ask. Think through the story behind each line as you write it, and you prepare for both at once.
5 min read - STAR method
The STAR method, built from your resume
Answer “Tell me about a time when…” questions with the STAR method. Your resume bullets already hold the Action and the Result: here is how to add the rest.
5 min read - First question
How to answer “Tell me about yourself”
The first question in most interviews. Answer it in about two minutes with present, past and future, using your resume summary as the outline.
5 min read - Hard questions
How to answer weakness and failure questions
Biggest weakness, failure, challenge, conflict: skip the clichés, pick a real story from your experience and spend most of the answer on what you changed.
5 min read - Gaps and changes
How to explain resume gaps and job changes
Gaps, short jobs and career changes show on your resume, so expect the question. Learn how to answer briefly, honestly and with confidence.
5 min read
Resumes for tech roles
What engineering hiring managers look for at each level, now that AI writes much of the code and many of the resumes.
- Tech: junior
Junior developer resume: prove you can finish something
No experience yet? With AI, a list of skills proves little. One finished, working project you can explain says more. What to build, how to show it, where education fits.
5 min read - Tech: mid and senior
Mid and senior developer resume: show scope, not stack
At mid and senior level your stack is assumed. What gets interviews is the size of what you owned, what changed because of you, and the judgment AI cannot fake.
5 min read - Tech: lead and staff
Tech lead, staff and manager resume: show your leverage
At lead level you are hired for what others ship because of you. How to show that on a resume, for staff engineers and engineering managers, and how to show you led the AI shift.
5 min read