I graduated May '26, after being one single class short of graduating May '25 and that class only being offered in the spring. I have been applying as much as possible since May of last year, and I am defeated. I try to embody a quality over quantity methodology to applying, even though I have also applied to somewhere in the triple digit number of jobs. I use Claude to tailor my resume to each and every individual job description, I similarly submit a cover letter for all jobs that have a submission space for one, and I've been paying for LinkedIn premium in order to message at least one person employed by the company I'm applying to (either someone in the role I'm seeking or a hiring manager) for every single application I've submitted. I have also been referred to multiple jobs at ULA and at Rocket Lab, yet I have only had three call backs and have only made it through all interview rounds once.

I went back to school in my late twenties after working as a server and bartender in the service industry for 6 years because I realized if I had all the money in the world that, after traveling all over, I would want to make contributions to advancing human space exploration and understanding.

I know I should have been better about it during school, however, due to the hours I had to work weekly in order to support myself, as I am and have been operating without any outside financial support, I just did not have time to apply to more than a handful of internships each year, all of which I was rejected from. So, I am applying with zero non-project experience (thought I do believe my senior capstone project was quite great).

I also have a hard stance against working on any product that is used to kill people. I know this limits me, but I haven't run out of jobs to apply to, I just have no success with the ones I do.

Anyway, I am in credit card and student loan debt, I am staying in a family member's extra room, and I just cannot, nor do I really want to, handle living without enough money to exist for honestly another single day. Please help me, I genuinely don't know what to do anymore.

Attached is the most recent master copy resume I have.

Hello!

I graduated in summer 2026 with a 2:1 mechanical engineering degree, based in the UK and I have been struggling to get past to the interview stage with my applications. I'm mainly applying to design, and mechanical roles, in every industry I can find, and across the whole UK. Working to get a driving license if that's a concern. Is there something wrong with my CV, what am I missing?

Thank you for reading!

Hello everyone.

I am trying to apply in Environmental and sustainability Jobs in India and the UK (UK resume has my UK contact details but the rest of the things are the same).

I have gotten a bit of a mixed review of my resume above (70% positive) and about 30% negative.

For the negatives ones, they say the following and I wanted your opinions:

1. Does the resume look to full or Can you still read it comfortably. Do we really need a lot of white space as I would have to cut down on my things that i need to put in.
2. Put education above work or works above education? I am trying for entry level roles to get a footing in my careers in environment and sustainability?
3. I have tried to put in as many keywords as possible. Does my job descriptions still read generic or does it make it seem like i actually did a good job and bring something?

This resume has got me a few calls and interviews from some good international companies and university job as cmpared to before, but it seems i have hit a glass ceiling and am lost whether to make a new resume or not.

I am open to any helpful criticism for my resume and what improvements i could actual do.

If you do know any resources, Job portals or can guide/refer, I am open to for the same. anywhere in the world.

Thank you for your very valuable time.

Hi all! I am a Senior Front-End Engineer (React, Next.js, TypeScript), now a Tech Lead of a small team. I want to apply for Senior Frontend and Frontend Tech Lead roles in the US (remote or onsite).

Please review my resume. Thank you!

Final-year Computer Science student in the UK, graduating in 2027. Recently completed a three-month software engineering internship and have additional freelance and personal project experience.

Currently applying for 2027 graduate software engineering roles, particularly backend positions. I've received a mixture of rejections and assessment invitations.

Looking for honest feedback on my resume, particularly its technical content, structure, and how effectively my experience is presented. Any constructive criticism is appreciated!

I've applied to around 150 swe internships and have received only 6 online assessments and 1 interview so far. I'm looking for feedback on how to improve my resume and increase my response rate. I want to know if my experience bullets communicate enough technical impact, whether my projects stand out, and whether I'm presenting my skills effectively for SWE internship roles. I'd appreciate honest, actionable criticism on anything that might be holding my resume back.

I want some understanding on what changes would make the biggest difference in getting more callbacks.

I updated my resume over 20 times. Sent over 1000 applications. Interviewed with maybe 20 companies. Gotten to the final for a handful of companies. What am I doing wrong? Is it my resume, skills, or the fact that I am unemployed?

I've had this resume reviewed by some friends, but a lot of the ones with prior internship experience got it through a connection and unfortunately can't quite relate to cold applying.

I'm based in California and applying all over the state, specifically targeting SoCal and Sacramento since I live there. More than open to relocating to SoCal, even without housing assistance.

I've got a background in a lot of different areas, especially manufacturing. GPA has been left off as it is a 3.19. This winter I was planning on getting some certifications like CSWP and potentially basic Lean Six Sigma stuff just to maximize keywords

Targeting whatever comes my way. Manufacturing, design, quality control, HVAC - managed to scrape 2 hirevues, both of which I got rejected from. I don't know if my resume itself is formatted badly, not written well enough, or I truly just haven't done enough to get an internship now.

I did my best to fix the bullet spill shortened the sentences, decreased the layout margins and even the font. Does it like make or break your resume? if so can anyone can help me change the ones i couldn't do.

Also please let me know if i am missing anything else or if i should add or remove something.

Hi everyone,

I'm a third year Computer Engineering student at a university in Italy, expected to graduate in July 2028. I'm a Turkish citizen, so I'm a non-EU student living in Italy on a student residence permit. I'm targeting software development internships, mainly backend and Python roles since that's where most of my experience is, but honestly I'm open to any entry level software role that would give me real experience.

Over roughly the last year I've applied to around 100 internships in Europe and in Türkiye, mostly through direct applications. I'm willing to relocate anywhere in Europe or Türkiye and I'd also be happy with remote positions. Not a single application led to a response. No interviews, no assessments, nothing at all. It has been really demoralizing.

I think my citizenship plays a role too. In Europe I'm a non-EU student, which I suspect makes some companies hesitant. In Türkiye the problem is different: since I'm not enrolled at a Turkish university, my school doesn't cover the mandatory internship insurance, so companies would have to pay it themselves, and most of them don't want to.

I did one short software internship in summer 2025 and I have a couple of personal projects, but I understand that the main problem is that my real software experience is still quite limited. I haven't built many projects on my own, and I'm actively working on that right now and trying to improve myself. Still, it feels really strange that not even one company is willing to give a chance to someone who is still a student.

So I'm seeking help because I'm not getting called back at all. Of course I'm going to keep improving, build more personal projects and make my resume stronger, but is there something on my resume that I should fix right now? I'd especially like feedback on the Projects and Experience sections, and on whether the Leadership & Activities section (mostly from high school) is worth keeping. More generally, what should I be doing to grow in the software world, and what actually makes a resume stronger at my stage?

Thanks in advance!

I am in my 4th year of CS in Canada (will graduate after my 5th). I have been applying to SWE/IT roles but I'm pretty sure I haven't been getting past ATS. I am in Canada and only applying to positions within Canada or anything available for remote work from Canada. I have 1 YOE total in internships from the same company. I just want to maximize my chances of making through ATS and getting through to the OA round and hopefully to interviews. I am a Canadian Citizen.

I've just started my second year at university as an electrical and computer engineering student. I joined a competition team this year, but as of yet I have not done anything worthy of adding to my resume. So far I've applied to about 50 internships in basically every EE/ECE field (MEP, Power, HW engineering, aerospace, embedded, basically everything except RF/chip design). Haven't been getting any interviews aside from a few auto OA's. Applying to internships in Seattle, SoCal, and SF. I realize my resume is pretty sparse, but I'm hoping my competition team and club from last year will give me more material to add soon. I'm also starting my major-specific coursework next semester. Any advice and/or critiques are welcome. Be brutally honest, I can take it. Thanks.

EDIT: One thing I just thought of. I'm intending to do a math minor (mostly just for fun). I technically will just declare that when I graduate, but should I add it to my resume at all? I've taken a few courses for it already.

Hello!

I'm a junior EE student based in the US (Southern California) with a US citizenship and I have been getting very little turn-out out of my applications. I'm mainly applying to hardware, embedded, and digital design roles. I've been applying to a wide range of industries from defense to medical to commercial to semiconductors. I've been careful to apply to internships where I fit pretty well and have been applying all throughout the US. Is there anything wrong with my resume or is there something I should do to improve it?

Thanks a ton for any advice!

I graduated with my BA in Physics in 2023. I’ve been working as a tutor for the past few years, as it’s allowed me to travel. I am now trying to pivot to aerospace. I have been primarily targeting entry-level systems engineering, GNC, simulation, and flight software-type roles. I have a decent amount of programming experience in Python and C++. Currently based in Huntsville, though looking to work elsewhere. Applying to jobs all over the country.

I have yet to get any positive feedback from any jobs I’ve applied to. I understand that this is the typical experience, but I wanted to post my resume here and ask for input. My primary concern is that my engineering experience feels thin. I've listed my major projects, my degree is in physics, and my work experience is educational. Should I focus some of my energy toward engineering projects?

I understand from the wiki that there are some things I should tweak (more STAR, some formatting tweaks, etc). I’d be interested to hear any other thoughts people might have.

Thank you!

Hi everyone, looking for feedback on my resume.

Target Roles: Senior Software Engineer, Data Engineer, Platform Engineer

Location: Chicago, IL (targeting remote US or hybrid Chicago; no relocation)

Work Authorization: U.S. Citizen (no sponsorship required)

Background: 6 years of full-time software and data engineering experience (Python, Django, React, PySpark, Databricks, Azure), preceded by a military career. My recent roles have been contract-based (labeled as such on my resume).

Current Search & Challenge:

I get consistent inbound recruiter outreach on LinkedIn, but my direct applications yield very few callbacks. I suspect potential ATS or positioning issues.

Specific Questions for Feedback:

1. Is my resume trying to bridge too much ground by covering both Full-Stack and Data Engineering?
2. Are there any ATS formatting or parsing red flags?
3. Is my contract history hurting response rates despite explicit labeling?
4. Is the military section structured effectively/correctly?
5. Any general formatting or bullet-point optimizations you'd recommend?

Thanks in advance!

Sunday, October 18 - Saturday, October 24, 2026

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 I tried to keep the relevant things while keeping the useless fat but maybe i did it wrong.

A few thing i left out is GPA 2.64 I know its low and was worried it will scare of the recruiters. i also left some other irrelevant jobs cuz i wanted to keep it to one page : Housekeeping and dishwasher/prep cook.

I also feel like I show off my skill improperly, especially in my capstone project (local tissue removal) since it was a unconventional idea dont even know how the professors agreed to use doing it.

The one thing that I kind of dont like is how vague TM4C123 Embedded Systems Projects sounds, but there are too many to put on, should I just select one instead? Im specifically interested in FPGA engineering / microprocessor design work and possibly embedded as a "safe" backup.

By the end of my schooling I should have more advanced projects, specifically Im considering designing a RISC-V RV32IMC for my senior design project. What else would you guys recommend in terms of projects to complete and add, or just any general advice to help me land an internship? Thanks in advance.

I applied to some UK summer internships but got insta-rejected from all of them being a first year student, so pretty much my only options would be picking up a shadow research role at my uni or doing some sort of work experience (which, if you don't know, is a stinky 1-week training program for HS students to name drop in their uni app personal statements). I was thinking of applying to some in the USA (automotive, maybe also consumer hardware?) but before I did I was hoping to get my resume reviewed by this sub.

I used the advice given in the sub description + some of the stuff that I've seen in comments on posts on this sub to make it, but I'm not really sure about what's working and what isn't on my resume. Also people talk about tailoring the resume depending on the application but this is literally all I have so...

hi all, ive tried out a couple arrangement methods and settled on the one above.

any suggestions on if the arrangement is any good?

the last 4 work experience are retail, treasurer for uni society, student rep and co-host hackathon hence settled for a one liner (also due to space, since ive got alot to add on projects and FS)

i would appreciate any help! TIA :))

Hi! I'm a MechE student who wants to get into medical device design and manufacturing. I've applied to around 30 internships, and I have only gotten 1 interview (pending decision) and plenty of automated rejections. I'm attending SWE26, so I would love some feedback before I go. I'm open to relocation, applying anywhere and everywhere. I also have a leadership and extracurricular section that I didn't include because I'm worried it takes up too much space. That section has my position as a fundraiser for univeristy community events and my position on the SWE outreach board. I've only included this section for companies like J&J who explicitly prefer candidates with community involvement. Should I squeeze it in all the time? Although I can graduate in Spring 2028, I'm only a 2nd year student and I really want a co-op or two to push my graduation date back. Thank you!

Trying to apply to this thing which would help get into uni but I've recently realized that the only thing I have going for me is my grades and grades are the bare minimum for stuff like this. Is there anything impressive I can do in 5 months (that's when applications are due) that I can put on to make me seem more impressive? Also I feel like I should mention the fact that I only have £500 so I can't do anything too crazy.

Applying mostly to global remote jobs 70% and the visa sponsorship roles 30%. Applying mostly to backend roles, fullstack. FDE/AI roles as minority if the post is asking for junior. Now i have to admit that most global remote roles require 5+ yoe, but according to my research it's not a hard cutoff and 3.5 with relevant expeince is enough. I'm tailoring each cv and adding a cover letter (2 small parag, 1st on why i want to join, second on why they would want me aka added vlaue)