How to create a great programmer resume: Learn from Google’s screening method

Every corporate job opening receives about 250 applications. Google receives millions. And only about five thousand candidates are actually hired every year. Though Google’s hiring process is quite similar to any other company, some specific features make it unique.

The most essential one is Google’s automatic screening process and this article will help you learn more about it. Knowing how to get through it will prepare you for landing any corporate job as a programmer.

What You Need to Know About the  ATS

What is Google or any other company looking for in their potential employees? Does age or social background matter much? First and foremost, organizations are on the lookout for talented, creative, team-oriented candidates who can think outside the box and resolve complex issues to get meaningful results.

Apart from the importance of standing out during an interview, let’s first consider some preliminary processes of sorting out candidates’ resumes. It’s about beating the ATS! The interview may be hard, but getting to it is still much harder. However, a great programmer resume can help you overcome this hardship.

An ATS is applicable for enterprises and small-level businesses. It works similar to customer relationship management (CRM) systems and is used for recruitment tracking purposes. An ATS uses special criteria such as keywords, information about schools attended, former employers, years of experience, and skills to filter applicants. These criteria should be considered while optimizing a resume to the needs of a specific company. The whole system is a screening bot, and your first task is to get past it.

That is why you need to focus on creating a perfect resume. Try to make it as short and clear as possible, highlighting your hard and soft skills, gains and achievements, and successful school projects and coursework if you are a newbie in the job market.

In the case of Google, no one knows for sure how its automatic screening process is organized due to the “super-secret” search algorithm. However, there are some keywords that are undoubtedly relevant to a specific job description. 

So, to start with, read the job description thoroughly and visit the corresponding website to get some extended information about the job opening and its requirements. Some other minor tips may hint at making your resume as concise and well-organized as you may need to improve the chances of your resume getting through bots.

To beat any job tracking system, you need to follow some essential recommendations concerning structure, style, and keywords.

Structure is everything

The first tip is about making your resume structured and easily browsable. Keep it as simple and friendly-looking as possible. Bear in mind the following key features to get this result:

1. Start your resume with your full name and the job desired/you are applying to.
2. Use common headings and subheadings like education, skills, work, experience, etc.
3. Try to avoid tables and charts, columns and graphs, pictures and other images.
4. Do not utilize specific colors and fonts (keep it black, Font 12).
5. Avoid spelling mistakes because they can prevent your resume from being scanned accurately.
6. Place your contact details in the resume body.

In short, avoid everything that may confuse the bot.

Focus on keyword optimization

Bots are usually looking for keywords, and this is indisputable. Hence, do the research! Find keywords that are most relevant for your industry and for the position you are applying for. Try to provide plenty of them to be sure, but keep your resume sounding natural. 

You may want to visit the company’s website and find the list of qualifications needed for the vacancy. If you do not want to be tracked immediately while doing this research, use a reputable VPN that allows P2P traffic to make yourself unrecognizable. If there is still a lack of information, regarding reviewing some other vacancy descriptions on reliable job sites or use a certain keyword finder to make this optimization process easier.

Stay away from buzzwords 

Don’t use generic terms or buzzwords such as ‘engaged’ or ‘highly motivated.’ They have become so trite that some companies put them in their blacklists.

When describing your soft skills, try to use words that highlight your personality and some specific traits that may be useful or required for the software developer or programmer position you are applying to.

Career consultants often recommend using  AI resume builders to avoid clichés, grammar, and spelling mistakes, and help you pass the ATS and land your dream job. 

Linkedin profile matters

Most companies will check your social media profiles before hiring you. Make sure your Linkedin profile is perfect because it is the first place they will look at. Take care of all the information and photos there—they need to be consistent and relevant to the purpose. If you still don’t have a Linkedin profile, try to get it instantly because this is a basic tool used by employers to search for their potential candidates. 

Even if you know how to answer all the basic programming interview questions, you may get lost while being asked about some specific details in your profile which do not coincide.

Pro tip

Last but not least, don’t be too specific. Of course, you should not omit all your employment dates, experience and education, personal qualities, and contact information from your resume. However, all this data needs to be relevant to the position you are applying for.

Show that you can provide value for the company, and HRs may get interested in hiring you even if you do not have all the necessary skills for the job. On the other hand, if the information given by you in the resume contains many minor details and specifications that do not correspond with the requirements of the position at all, you may be rejected by screening bots at the first stage of hiring already. 

To conclude, proofread and check the relevance of your resume to the company’s needs and requirements. Remember that your task is to go through the whole recruitment process smoothly and to bag the position you have been dreaming about for a long time. 

Even if you don’t mean to get hired by Google, getting past the ATS is the primary concern because it is widely used by companies nowadays. Using some tips from this article, you may spare yourself from the need of rewriting your resume over and over again. 

Once you learn how to avoid common mistakes in your great programmer resume and how to make it friendly and acceptable for any screening bot, you will feel that your further interviews will become the easiest part of the whole hiring process.

Connie Benton Author 3 Blogs