Resume Optimization
Comprehensive guidance for creating effective software engineering resumes that pass ATS systems and resonate with hiring managers.
When to Use This Skill
- Reviewing or improving a software engineer's resume
- Crafting impactful achievement bullets from work experience
- Optimizing resume content for ATS keyword matching
- Tailoring a resume for a specific job description
- Understanding modern resume structure and formatting
Core Principles
The Resume's Purpose
A resume is a marketing document, not a job history. Its purpose is to:
- Pass ATS screening (keyword matching)
- Capture a recruiter's attention (6-second scan)
- Demonstrate value through quantified achievements
- Secure an interview opportunity
What Makes Engineering Resumes Different
Software engineering resumes should emphasize:
- Technical impact: Specific technologies, scale, and performance improvements
- Business outcomes: Revenue, cost savings, user growth, time savings
- Leadership signals: Mentoring, cross-team collaboration, technical decisions
- Quantification: Numbers that demonstrate scope and impact
Resume Structure Quick Reference
Recommended Section Order
- Contact Information - Name, email, phone, LinkedIn, GitHub (optional)
- Professional Summary (optional) - 2-3 sentences for senior roles
- Skills - Technical skills organized by category
- Experience - Reverse chronological, 3-5 most relevant roles
- Projects (optional) - For junior engineers or career changers
- Education - Degrees, certifications, relevant coursework
Length Guidelines
| Experience Level | Recommended Length |
|---|
| 0-5 years | 1 page |
| 5-10 years | 1-2 pages |
| 10+ years | 2 pages max |
Formatting Essentials
- Font: Clean, readable (Calibri, Arial, Garamond - 10-12pt)
- Margins: 0.5-1 inch
- Format: PDF (preserves formatting)
- File naming:
FirstName_LastName_Resume.pdf
Achievement Bullet Formula
Action Verb + Specific Task + Quantifiable Result
[Strong Action Verb] [specific task/project] using [tools/methods], resulting in [quantified outcome].
Strong Action Verbs by Category
| Category | Verbs |
|---|
| Technical | Architected, Built, Deployed, Engineered, Implemented, Integrated, Migrated, Optimized, Refactored, Scaled |
| Design | Analyzed, Designed, Documented, Modeled, Prototyped, Researched, Specified |
| Leadership | Championed, Coached, Led, Mentored, Pioneered, Spearheaded |
| Impact | Achieved, Boosted, Delivered, Improved, Increased, Reduced, Saved, Streamlined |
Quantification Types
- Time: "Reduced deploy time from 2 hours to 15 minutes"
- Money: "Saved $50K/year in infrastructure costs"
- Scale: "Scaled system to handle 1M daily requests"
- Improvement: "Improved test coverage from 40% to 85%"
- Frequency: "Reduced support tickets by 70%"
ATS Optimization
What ATS Systems Look For
- Keyword matching - Skills, tools, technologies from job description
- Job title alignment - Titles that match or relate to the target role
- Section structure - Standard sections that ATS can parse
- Clean formatting - No tables, columns, graphics, or headers/footers
ATS-Friendly Practices
- Use standard section headings ("Experience", "Skills", "Education")
- Include both spelled-out terms AND acronyms ("Continuous Integration (CI)")
- Mirror exact phrases from job descriptions
- Avoid images, icons, or non-text elements
- Use bullet points (-, *, •) not custom symbols
Keyword Extraction Strategy
When tailoring for a job description:
- Identify required skills - Listed in "Required" or "Must have" sections
- Note preferred skills - Listed in "Nice to have" or "Preferred"
- Capture soft skills - Leadership, communication, collaboration terms
- Extract action verbs - What the job says you'll "do" or "lead"
- Match technologies - Specific tools, languages, frameworks mentioned
Tailoring Strategy
The 80/20 Rule
- 80% base resume: Core experience and skills that apply broadly
- 20% customization: Targeted adjustments for each application
What to Customize
- Professional Summary - Align with job's key requirements
- Skills Section - Reorder to prioritize job's requirements
- Achievement Bullets - Emphasize relevant accomplishments
- Keywords - Incorporate exact terms from job description
Red Flags to Avoid
- Generic objective statements ("Seeking a challenging position...")
- Job duties instead of achievements ("Responsible for...")
- Unexplained gaps without context
- Typos or inconsistent formatting
- Outdated technologies prominently featured
References
For detailed guidance on specific topics:
Related Resources
achievement-bullet output style - Format for achievement bullets/soft-skills:track-win skill - Transform descriptions into achievement bulletsresume-coach agent - Interactive resume improvement
User-Facing Interface
When invoked directly by the user, this skill tailors a resume for a specific job description.
Execution Workflow
- Parse Arguments - Extract job description text or URL from
$ARGUMENTS. If URL provided, fetch the job description content. If no arguments, ask the user for the job description.
- Extract Keywords - Analyze the job description for required skills, preferred skills, soft skills, action verbs, and specific technologies.
- Find Resume - Search for the user's resume in common locations (current directory,
docs/, ~/.claude/temp/). If not found, ask the user for the resume location.
- Analyze Gaps - Compare resume content against job description keywords. Identify missing keywords, weak achievement bullets, and alignment opportunities.
- Generate Tailored Output - Produce:
- Keyword match report (matched vs missing)
- Rewritten achievement bullets incorporating job keywords
- Suggested skills section reordering
- Professional summary tailored to the role
- ATS optimization recommendations
- Offer to Apply Changes - Ask user if they want changes applied directly to their resume file.
Version History
- v1.0.0 (2025-12-23): Initial release with core resume optimization guidance