--- title: "Xue's Tech Resume Fundamentals" description: "How I think about writing a tech resume that actually gets callbacks — philosophy, structure, content, and worked examples for students, new grads, and early-career professionals." subtitle: "Tech resume fundamentals for students, new grads, and early career" author: "Xue Hua" source: https://xue-hua.com/read/resume-guide published: 2026-05-24 updated: 2026-06-03 kind: guide tags: ["resume"] reading_time: 9 min read word_count: 1928 site: "Xue Hua" --- # Xue's Tech Resume Fundamentals *Tech resume fundamentals for students, new grads, and early career* > How I think about writing a tech resume that actually gets callbacks — philosophy, structure, content, and worked examples for students, new grads, and early-career professionals. **Source:** **Author:** Xue Hua **Published:** 2026-05-24 **Updated:** 2026-06-03 **Kind:** guide **Tags:** resume **Reading time:** 9 min read --- import Alert from '@/components/Alert.astro'; import Card from '@/components/Card.astro' import Accordion from '@/components/Accordion.astro'; import Audience from '@/components/accordion/Audience.astro'; import Assumption from '@/components/accordion/Assumption.astro'; import Objective from '@/components/accordion/Objective.astro';
  • High-school students, college students, early-career professionals, mid-career professionals (less than 10 years of relevant experience)
  • Anyone targeting US-based technical roles
  • Anyone pivoting into the tech industry
  • Anyone who has not received a call back despite submitting numerous applications
 Seeking technical roles, based in the US. Not getting past the resume stage To break down how to effectively craft a tech resume. This guide was reborn as an MDX in the great migration. ## Introduction Hello, hello! Welcome to ✨ Xue’s Tech Resume Fundamentals ✨ First things first, there is no one-size-fits-all resume. We all have different experiences. Conveying value is an iterative process. Expect to get conflicting feedback from different sources. Recruiters and other decision makers are *people* and different people have different preferences! Check out my other guide: [Surviving the Cringe Known as “LinkedIn Networking”](https://topmate.io/xue/214842) ### Philosophy Most folks struggle with resume writing because they fail to answer core questions before they start: >Why you? Why should I hire you? What’s your evidence? Your resume should highlight why *you* specifically are the *best fit* for this *specific* role. It should not read like a job ad but showcase your technical ability, competency and how you could potentially contribute to the company or team's bottom line (e.g. ⬆️ profit, ⬇️ costs, and how to work together without losing our minds, etc.). It should express, >"Yes, I am competent in this role and here is my evidence" It should shout >"Yes! I am a great person to work with!" Your resume needs to convince a recruiter/hiring manager that you can do the job *and* that they should pick you over everyone else. ### Why should you listen to me / follow this guide? - You don’t have to. - I have been on hiring teams for interns, new-grads, and entry-level to junior engineers. - I have reviewed 300+ tech resumes since 2019. Majority get improved callback rates. - I regularly have meetings and conversations with experienced recruiters in tech to determine the most effective strategies and if my advice is industry relevant. I did not have a target profile and pivoted into the industry. Read more about my story [here](/breaking-into-big-tech). ## ⛰️The Basics - Build in Microsoft Word or Google Docs, export as PDF - Use a sans-serif font for easy readability (e.g. Arial, Verdana) - Keep it one page - 1-column format - Please, no graphics, no charts, no logos and *no unnecessary information* ## 💬 The Building Blocks ### Header and Contact Information ![Resume header and contact section](../../assets/posts/resume-guide/screenshot-01-header-contact.png) Include your target role. Communicates you are clear on expectations.

If it says 'React Developer Extraordinaire' and you identify as a Fullstack Engineer, you put down 'React Developer Extroadinaire'. - Full name - Phone number - Email - LinkedIn - Your target role/position - Address (City, State): Don't put your full address. **City, State.** - Website, GitHub, etc. Do **not** include profile picture, marital status, visa status, 'US Citizen' note, etc. ### Experience or Relevant Experience ![Resume experience section](../../assets/posts/resume-guide/screenshot-02-experience.png) - Just list the roles for now (we will flesh this out in Content and Descriptions) - Include company name, position, and dates (month and year) If you’re running out of space, trim your experience down to experience relevant to the target role. Label this section as 'Relevant Experience'. Relevant Experience means experience that **directly** **relates** to your target role. For example, if you’re targeting SWE roles and you’ve only held Sales roles in the past. You do not have relevant experience unless you can directly relate it to Software Engineering. (This is not a bad thing, but we are trying to strategize) Feel free to include location, I never did, and it’s never been an issue for me. ### Education ![Resume education section](../../assets/posts/resume-guide/screenshot-03-education.png) - Include school name and degree you attained or are pursuing For **internships/new grad**, - Include graduation dates or expected graduation dates - Include GPA if its above 3.5, I personally never included it lol For **bootcamp grads**, - Include your bootcamp and how long the bootcamp took - You can include relevant coursework if you want and have space, but I would rather use the space to convey impact in my experience/projects - Relevant certifications/licenses also go here I would not link your LeetCode/CodeForces profile but that’s personal preference lol. In hiring, this gives me little information. ### Skills ![Resume skills section](../../assets/posts/resume-guide/screenshot-04-skills.png) - Split your skills to ‘Languages’ and ‘Technologies’, ‘Other’ is optional - Please try to keep it to relevant technical skills you’re confident in Do not use up too much space in this column. Your Experience and Projects section will showcase your proficiency in these skills Do **not** list professional skills like “communication”, “hard-working”, “problem-solving” etc. Use other sections to convey this, you are wasting space if you list it. ### Projects (optional) If you don’t have a ton of experience, I would leverage your projects Look at [Content & Descriptions](#content--description-most-important-part-) below - List technical projects, go into depth if it features relevant experience and technologies. ### Objective Summary (highly recommended) This is a really controversial section. I know a lot of people say not to do it because it doesn’t add value. The solution to that is to *add value* 🙃 Do this by answering: > Why are *you* specifically the *best fit* for this *specific* role? Write your objective summary *after* you’ve fleshed out your experience and projects Jump to [Content & Description: Objective Summary](#objective-summary-content) to learn how to write an effective Objective summary TODO ### Other Sections - Achievements, Leadership Experience, and Extra-Curricular are nice to have but are the lowest priority unless the job posting specifically ties into it - Interests sections are… unnecessary in my opinion and can lead to bias (good or bad, we don’t want it!) Do **not** include interests/hobbies, you can talk about in the interview. But I have never hired someone because they love fishing. And, I LOVE fishing 🎣 ## 👑Content & Description (most important part !!) **Content is king**. Take time to build upon this. This is an iterative process! - Again, do not write a Job Ad Description. Recruiters know that software engineers develop programs and code. - TAILOR YOUR DESCRIPTIONS TO THE JOB POSTING - Use past-tense and strong action verbs ### Framework - Content & Description **Show your impact** - How did you measure/prove them? **Use metrics when possible** - Please don’t just come up with random numbers **Passively demonstrate soft skills** - At least one example of Leadership and Teamwork skills **Always be asking yourself** - “Why would a recruiter care about this?” Know your audience. > You will get rejected if you don't express how you meet minimum requirements. Most recruiters are trained in discerning if you are a fit. **Recruiters care about:** - Specific, relevant technologies and skills (this is #1) - Ability to work independently **and** in teams - Collaboration skills - Problem-solving skills - Measurable results and impact ### Description Examples | 🚩 Weaker | ✅ Stronger | | --- | --- | | Developed a full stack application. | Independently developed a full stack application that predicted solar eclipses using Node, JavaScript, and React. Utilized Agile Development cycle methodologies to stay organized and on-task. | | Helped increase efficiency of application and overall productivity. | Collaborated with stakeholders directly to increase efficiency of application by 20%+ over a 3-month period. This contributed to overall productivity in the office by reducing wait times from 10 minutes to 2 minutes. | | Applied problem-solving skills for senior robotics project which received a grade of 'A'. | Implemented and programmed solution to solve "line-tracking" problem which blocked robot from detecting lines with the use of IR sensors and Regression Algorithms in C. Outperformed class average and received the highest grade available. | | Managed and facilitated daily activities of fast-food restaurant with 20 employees. Responsible for making sure orders were delivered on time and receiving a 4/5 satisfaction rating. Experienced in POSTech, Cashier+, Kronos. | Managed 20+ employees daily, ensuring that orders were delivered according to company deadlines. Improved delivery rates by designing and implementing a "1-2-3" productivity system. Corporate implemented this system as a protocol across all restaurant chains. | Why is it “weaker” if it follows the framework? It’s because that description would be good for a management role in that restaurant industry that uses those specific technologies. However, if you’re pivoting, you should re-frame your experiences to speak how you would do well in tech and only list relevant tools. ### Action verbs for your resume (source: Harvard) ![Resume action verbs list part 1](../../assets/posts/resume-guide/screenshot-05-action-verbs-1.png) ![Resume action verbs list part 2](../../assets/posts/resume-guide/screenshot-06-action-verbs-2.png) ![Resume action verbs list part 3](../../assets/posts/resume-guide/screenshot-07-action-verbs-3.png) ## ☁️ Objective Summary Content Alright!! You’ve made it!! I am such an advocate for this section. Sadly, if you don’t have space, this is the first one to cut ✂️ ### Framework - Objective Summary **Here’s my formula:** ``` Why you should pick me = Why I’m different (hook) + What I’m good at + Why we’re a good fit ``` Please, please, please don’t just repeat information in your resume Don’t be generic and boring. Here’s the perfect place to express your creativity and individuality! ### Examples - Objective Summary - Highly-motivated software engineer with 3+ years of experience building scalable solutions in JavaScript and React. Strong advocate for effective system design and tech-debt reduction. Seeking a company that builds large-scale applications that directly impact customer satisfaction. - Aspiring Product Manager with proven record of contributing to open-source front-end projects. Proficient in Agile Development and thrives in fast-paced settings. Pivoted from teaching English and posses transferable skills such as people management. Passionate about delivering high-quality products to clients and seeking to join a team that values creativity and independent input. - Results-driven Computer Engineering student with strong leadership skills. I drive impact through my involvement with Women Who Code by providing coding lessons to high-school students. Personable team member and effective collaboration skills as proven in completed projects. Seeking first internship with company that also focuses on impact through programming applications in the Environmental industry. ## ️🪜 The Order of Your Resume So, you have a few options, but basically you want to put your most relevant towards the top. ### Early Career / Mid-Career If you have strong relevant experience, - Header → Objective Summary → Relevant Experience → Projects → Skills → Education or - Header → Objective Summary → Skills → Relevant Experience → Projects → Education If you’re **pivoting** from a non-tech industry or role, - Header → Objective Summary → Skills → Projects → Experience → Education ### Internships / New Grad Education at the top with graduation date or expected graduation date. If you have target/relevant experience, order it first. If not, put it at the bottom and feature skills and projects. - Header → Objective Summary → Education → Relevant Experience → Projects → Skills - Header → Objective Summary → Education → Skills → Projects → Experience - Header → Objective Summary → Education → Projects → Skills → Experience ## ⭐ Tips and Notes - I like to use the Narrow Margins to give me more space (0.5 inches) - Pops of color are nice - Use AI to proofread, never to generate facts you don't have - Make sure everything is consistent, devil is in the details! (e.g. periods on every sentence if you have them) - Again, this is an iterative process. Don’t be afraid of feedback and several revisions ## Next Steps Good luck, now go out there and crush it :)