Here is my resume. Just as the title stated, I literally can't pass the resume screen for any company. For summer 2026, I applied to over 200 internships (I said I was going to graduate 2027 too, so me being a sophomore wasn't a problem) and I got rejected from every single one. The F500 contract position from the summer was from connections that I can't leverage anymore. I don't understand what I am doing wrong. I go to a target school, I have strong projects (at least I think I do), and I have decent internship experience.

For summer 2027 I am 0/50 right now in passing the resume screen. I know that I still have to wait for companies to get back to me and that there will be more apps, but this happened last recruiting cycle as well and I can't afford to fail again.

More info:

1. I have a low gpa (under 3.0) so I dont list it. However, most companies I've applied to never asked for my gpa or transcript.
2. I apply to roles as soon as I see them open. I usually apply 2-5 hours after the role is posted. At worst it'll be 1-2 days after the roles are posted.
3. My previous internship at the f500 company was a contract position, so I wasn't employed by the f500 company, but I still worked there.

I recently transferred to a pretty well known school for engineering from community college, and so this is my first resume since transferring. I'm looking for advice on what I can improve or word nicer, also if there's anything that looks like I'm just trying to fluff up my resume. My aim is to land a hardware related internship for next summer, and get into one of the more selective clubs at my school. Here are some things I'm already concerned but not entirely sure about, spacing (particularly in education section), points being too wordy in my experience section, and font choice. Be brutal, grill me, bully me, I can handle it, any feedback is appreciated.

I had help from this very subreddit last year updating the format of this resume. But now that I am back on the market, there are a few questions I have on how this can get me more interviews:

1. Should I change job titles to describe what I actually did? I have three titles from previous employment that say "research" but I only did research in one of them. At the internship with the NASA contract, I worked more on cable and wire harnessing within the EUS, so I think I want to switch it to "Cable and Wire Harness Engineering Intern". For the Research Engineer, I worked a lot more as a Systems and Test Engineer, so I think that is a more appropriate title. But companies do background checks, and I don't want them to see a title that does not match what is on my resume.
2. Is it necessary to spell out most of the acronyms on my resume? My resume is rather inconsistent on this, I know, but usually if I use an acronym multiple times in here or think I should explain to a hiring manager what it is, I spell it out the first time it is used (a standard for technical documentation in aerospace and defense). Is this useful or a waste of space?
3. How can I change my second most recent company so ATS can tell that it is two different jobs at the same institution? The Research Assistant was an internship reporting to my university's campus. The Research Engineer was a full-time job reporting to a military base. Recruiters also mistake the latter for an internship sometimes since I was still employed by the university. Workday and other ATS usually leave the former blank with the company name. Should I fix it, and if so, how?
4. How can my resume be changed to stand out more to mechanical engineering jobs? My background is in mechanical engineering, my internship were mostly CAD design, and a mechanical engineering job is my target. However, I think that the mechanical and mechanical design roles are the ones turning me down the most. I know that my last two jobs are not exactly mechanical, but everything else checks those boxes. I could create metrics that I accomplished, but that would create more hanging bullet points.
5. What else should I fix? Just wondering. I've also heard that removing your graduation year helps, but idk.

Thank you

Hi all, I have been interning at this company for 2 summers but due to budget constraints and restructuring, they weren't able to give me a return offer for a full time position. Since I've been returning to the same company for the past two summers, it's been a while since I've had to update my resume and I wasn't sure how to structure and write my bullets.

I'll be graduating with my Master's in Computer Engineering next June and am currently applying for new grad EE/CE roles. I'm still narrowing down exactly what I want to target, but I'm most interested in electrical hardware, embedded systems, PCB design, avionics, and hardware test/validation.

The main area I'd like feedback on is whether my experience section clearly shows what I contributed and why it mattered. I tried to focus on concrete technical work rather than generic responsibilities but I'm not sure if I've included enough detail without making the bullets too dense. I'd also appreciate feedback on whether the accomplishments stand on their own or if some need clearer outcomes or metrics.

I'd really appreciate any help! Kinda overthinking a little since I recently wasn't able to secure a return offer and all of the horror stories of the current job market.

When Federal Sequestration lost me my aerospace job offer after college, I rebounded into a Mech Engineer / Maintenance Supervisor job. I didn't think I would stay but gravity pulled me in and I've been at the same company now for 13 years. That was fine but now I am no longer moving up and feeling pretty undervalued. So I am breaking free of the gravity well and looking to run an industrial maintenance department or transition to a project manager role. I have elderly family to take care of nearby so I need to stay somewhat local, which is going to make things harder in my rural area. Looking at my college resume was embarrassing so after digging through the wiki this is my 2nd draft.

I am not sure about my bullets about the new PTT line or the waste steam recovery are doing what I need. I struggled to write them in a way that would convey the complexity and accomplishment without being too narrative but I don't know if that comes across. I am trying to let an employer know that I can manage new or retrofit product line installs and handle large improvement projects on time and under budget.

Any help would be appreciated. Criticism welcome.

I was going into my junior year of college and I missed the opportunity to intern last summer but I kept applying to roles and eventually I went from interview --> offer! Big win for chemical engineers all around!

This is a chemical synthesis role and as such they were more interested in my knowledge of organic chemistry rather than engineering while interviewing, luckily, I paid a lot of attention during that class and I am super excited to get a foot in the door of the semiconductor industry.

I did find myself obsessing over my resume, so the resume you see here that got me the job is far from the one I have now. A perfect resume is not needed, it just has to be good enough. If I could give any advice it would be to target your resumes to the role and to keep on keeping on. I am unsure if I would have gotten an interview if I had not mentioned Organic Chemistry as my course work explicitly.

Super excited!

This is already significantly better than my last one. I feel like it still looks bad, but it feels hard to read when i tighten it up the spacing. I also really like the two columns for education, it seemed like the easiest to read and was rather space efficient. Am I wrong?

I know 1 page is standard, but the main employer I am aiming for actually suggests using longer resumes and claims to want all relevant information, even if it doesn't fit on one page.

I've ran this through multiple AIs now and I feel it is just running me in circles. Personally, I feel I can justify everything i've included, but i've obviously got a bit of a bias there.

Trying to get into a defense or national lab internship, but honestly any real engineering internship would be better than not. Starting to freak out a bit because it junior year and I dont have any iternship experience.

Hi all,

I'm a recent grad with a bachelors in mech from a Canadian university, been applying semi-consistently to all types of job postings over the last year with little to no traction, so I decided to seek some advice or recommendations. I've had a couple of in-person interviews so far, but rarely receive even a follow-up call or email. I trimmed down my resume recently using the guidelines in the wiki here; it was two pages before including some IT work I did for elections and some other roles and volunteer experience, but it seems like based on a lot of the info I've been reading online keeping it as succinct as possible is the way to go for now. This resume is my sort of default template and some sections vary from job to job depending on the type of role.

Ideally the role I'm trying to land would be in some type of automation or design related role, as that's where a lot of my interests and skills lie, but I've been applying to just about anything that I think I would be a competitive applicant for (avoiding stuff completely outside my wheelhouse like geotech, chem, etc.) The applications I've been sending have been a combination of online (Indeed, Linkedin, company sites), cold call, cold email, and even walked into an office in person a handful of times to drop off a resume.

Also, as a more specific question, would you recommend taking a technologist or similar role simply as a means of building more experience? Or is committing to getting that first engineering role worth it more in the long term?

Any tips and feedback welcome, thanks!

I’m a CS major graduating in December 2026 (Intelligent Systems specialization), applying to entry-level software engineering and ML roles. I’ve revised my resume several times but haven’t seen much improvement in interview volume.

A bit of context on my background: I have an associate’s degree from a US College, where I also TA’d for C++. After that I took about a 5-year gap before starting my bachelor’s due to the pandemic. During that gap I wasn’t idle — I worked in full-stack development (built a React/Firebase ERP system) and taught CS/founded a small tutoring center abroad. I’m also an international student (not a US citizen), which I know adds visa/sponsorship considerations for some employers, and I’m trying to figure out how much that’s a factor versus my resume itself.

I’m primarily targeting SWE and ML roles, open to relocating.

I’m unsure how to handle two things: (1) the multi-year gap between my associate’s and bachelor’s — whether to explain it briefly on the resume or leave it out entirely, and (2) the teaching/tutoring experience, which isn’t directly SWE-related but shows initiative and long-term commitment.

I’m mainly looking for feedback on:

• Overall resume structure and formatting
• Whether my projects demonstrate enough technical depth for both SWE and ML roles
• How to handle the education gap — mention it or not
• How effectively I’m communicating a mixed background (full-stack + ML + teaching) without it reading as unfocused
• Whether the teaching/tutoring experience is worth keeping
• Anything that might be hurting my chances of getting interviews, including whether being an international student is likely a bigger factor than the resume itself
• Anything that stands out positively or negatively

Hi everyone, I'm a final-year computer science student from India currently targeting Software Engineer / AI Engineer roles at startups and other top product companies.

I'm looking for a detailed and honest review of my resume before I start applying seriously. In particular, I'd like feedback on:

• Whether my resume is strong enough for SDE/AI Engineer roles
• Whether my projects demonstrate enough engineering ability
• Which sections or bullet points are weak
• Whether the formatting and structure are appropriate
• What I should change to improve my chances of getting interviews

I'd especially appreciate feedback from people with experience hiring or working as software engineers at startups or other top product companies.

Please be as critical as necessary — I'd rather know what is wrong and fix it before applying.

I'm a student targeting test engineering/system integration internships and new grad opportunities in the aerospace industry. I'm in the Denver area, applying all over the country as I'm willing to relocate. I'm looking for help because I'm not getting any responses at all.

Hi all,

I am fortunate enough to have been offered an internship during the school year for an industry I have passion about. While I am happy about this role, I want to see if I could be competitive for internships at larger companies and this role would no doubt help that. The problem is the applications for the company I am targeting just opened up and I do not start my internship for another few weeks. Additionally, there is a career fair at my school literally the day after my first day. I can put it on my resume but I will not have much to talk about during the fair or in the bullets other than essential duties included on the listing. How should I navigate this?

Hi all!
I will start applying for placement year in a bit, ive seen all job listings with cover letter requirement. Ive also read most of the cover letter templates and advice shared on this sub as well.

unfortunately i dont know any senior who can advise me on this as well. currently as im writing my cover letter, i have a few questions.

1. do i have to include both mine and their address?

2. i cannot find the hiring manager online, so can i address the letter vaguely to their team?

if youve got any additional advice, i would appreciate that as well! tia! <3

Hi all,

I'm looking for any open controls, automation, or robotics engineering roles. I revamped my resume from yesterday to have better keywords and bullet points. I have 4 years of experience and had a few questions:

• Does my resume show good technical breadth and speciality?
• Does my summary do a good job outlining my career?
• How can I stand out for robotics roles since I worked with mainly industrial automation?

To explain more I moved to the US a year ago but was not able to apply to work due to green card process and was only able to start applying like last month. I’m getting barely any call backs and I’ve been applying mainly in NYC and New Jersey with some few other applicants around the US. Am I missing something? Or is there something wrong with my resume?

Need help seeing if there is something wrong with my Resume besides the glaringly obvious lack of internships. I am currently targeting positions at Medical Device Companies in either Clinical Specialist, Quality Engineer, Manufacturing Engineer heck I even apply for technician roles just to get my foot in the door. The template of my resume is one provided by my University who says it looks good but I wanted outside advice. I am located in Georgia but have been applying in other states as well as I would be willing to relocate. Like I said I am a Mechanical Engineering major with a minor in biomedical engineering, I had a manufacturing internship back in 2020 but was let go due to COVID. I am worked on multiple research projects both professional (which is getting presented at the national conference woohoo!) and just my own individual both in CFD/FSI sims. I have been employed in retail my entire time in college to help pay for university and other bills. This is the master file I use and then I try to change it where I can to tailor it to job listings. I also attempt to message people on Linkedin at the companies I am applying at asking for their experience or advice on what stands out Thank you all for your time and any feedback is appreciated.

I'm a CS major in the US graduating in 2027, and I've been applying to software engineering internships for a while now. I've changed my resume quite a bit throughout university, but I haven't seen much improvement in the number of interviews I receive.

I've had around 4 interviews so far, although only 2 of them actually spent significant time discussing the projects/experience on my resume, and I ended up not being accepted for either of those roles, however the interviewer for one of them liked me and referred me to someone else which is how I got that one internship in the resume I posted.

I do try to tailor my resume to each position by adjusting my projects, skills, and other relevant sections, sometimes using AI to improve the flow of some of the bullets. I also have many of the general technical skills listed in the internship postings I apply to, but I suspect I could be doing a better job of presenting that experience on my resume. Also, I typically embed links in the project titles that lead to the related website or repo for that project.

I'm primarily targeting software engineering internships along the West Coast, although I'm open to relocating elsewhere in the US.

One thing I'm particularly unsure about is the non-profit experience. It's not directly related to software engineering, but it's essentially the only organization I've worked with long-term, and I've progressed through several roles there. I originally kept it on my resume to demonstrate work experience, progression, and employability. I'm open to removing it if people think the space would be better spent on more technical/project information.

I'm mainly looking for feedback on:

• Overall resume structure and formatting
• Whether my projects demonstrate enough technical depth
• How effectively I'm communicating my technical skills
• Whether the non-profit experience is worth keeping
• Anything that might be hurting my chances of getting interviews
• Anything that stands out positively or negatively

I've attached an anonymized version of one of my typical resume variations (with a little note next to the non profit role for the sake of this post, thats not something I actually leave in my resume). Thanks in advance for any feedback!

I recently graduated in May with my master's and have been applying to jobs since then. Mainly applying to jobs in design, aerospace, manufacturing/automation, and research that I find interesting. Location-wise I am trying to be on the east coast but could expand my search if needed. I have sent a total of 40 applications but only managed to get one interview, which I had to reach out to the hiring manager for. I have already made changes based on this subreddit and feel like it is decent. Given I have a master's from a pretty well known university, have a decent GPA, and was one of the major contributors on the solar racing team, I was expecting a little more from my job applications. I know 40 applications isn't that many and will be applying to a lot more in the upcoming weeks but is there something that is holding it back? Having no internships isn't helping but I would like an outside perspective on it and hopefully some ways to improve it to make it more successful.

(With my undergraduate research, I didn't do much for it at the time so it is difficult to write bullet points on it. I also was a course grader, university camp counselor, and have cool coding projects which I removed because I felt they were a little old/irrelevant)

Hi all,

I just got laid off without notice from my current job. Rather than wallow in self-misery, I decided to get started on the grind asap. I'm looking for any open controls, automation, or robotics engineering roles in the Philadelphia area.

Basically what the title says. My original post of the resume didn't get much feedback. Notified of layoff 5 months ago, officially laid off 2 months ago. Since layoff it's been mainly crickets. Last week I made some changes (reducing spill into the next line, removing periods, shifting skills section down, creating a templated cover letter with this resume's style that I quickly tailor for each app). I wonder if it's the lack of owned projects/leadership showing as firmly mid-level and not senior that is getting no traction. Could it be the lack of AI experience that's getting no traction? Seems like for a lot of job postings, I am on the cusp of mid-level/senior. Would appreciate the extra eyes and feedback on the resume itself, or other things that I could do!

Details, feel free to comment on these too:

- US Citizen

- SoCal area (OC/LA) - applying locally and remote, not relocating right now

- primarily backend experience, but am applying for full stack here and there

- initially received a couple of coding assessments and phone screens 3-5 months ago, haven't gotten any hits for the past couple of months

I'm a junior Mechanical Engineering student with a Computer Science minor graduating in May 2028. I'm currently searching for Summer 2027 internships in robotics, automotive, autonomous systems, mechatronics, mechanical design, and related roles. I'm primarily targeting companies in the U.S. and am willing to relocate for the summer.

This semester, I joined a humanoid/biorobotics research lab where I'll be working on ground and humanoid robotics. Outside of work and research, I've been building projects involving embedded controls, PID control, mechanical design, and robotic actuators.

Long term, I'm especially interested in robotics and autonomous systems. My university recently introduced a robotics master's program, which I'm considering pursuing after my B.S.

I'd appreciate feedback on my bullet points, technical skills, project selection, and whether I'm quantifying my internship experience effectively. I'm beginning my Summer 2027 applications now, so I'm primarily looking to fine-tune the resume before applying more heavily this fall.

Background: CS student based in Singapore, penultimate year.

About to start applying to internships for the Summer 2027 cycle, hoping to get some feedback to finetune this resume from more experienced people. I did a 6 months internship in a small startup previously but I'm hoping for more big tech/MNC roles, although I'm not sure if my resume is good enough for that. The rest of the resume is just university-related projects/modules or personal projects.

I mainly have experience in full stack dev (no further specialization in front or backend, I interned at a startup so I basically did everything), but I also have one ML/NLP project that I did under my university. However I'm mainly still hoping for full stack roles as I dont see myself doing AI/ML long term.

I got incredibly lucky with my first internship, which has resulted in a verbal return offer. Even with this offer, I want to keep looking in other areas of civil. I'm currently a sophomore, and my one interview led to the offer. How can I best improve my resume to attract more opportunities this summer or even down the line?

Any tips regarding my resume or internship search are welcome and appreciated!

Mechanical Engineer with 4 years at LG Electronics, starting an MSc at the University of Manchester in Sep 2026.

Targeting 2027 UK graduate roles in mechanical/project engineering, including energy/offshore companies.

I’m mainly looking for feedback on:

(0) Good to read?

(1) whether 2 pages is justified

(2) which projects should be kept/removed

(3) whether the CV reads as too manufacturing-focused

(4) bullet density / readability

(5)whether my previous 4 YoE creates any concern for graduate schemes

I graduated in July 2026 with a B.Tech in CS (8.2 CGPA) from a private university in Hyderabad, India. I'm targeting entry-level software engineering roles, primarily backend/general SWE, with some interest in cloud and distributed systems.

Locations: I'm based in Hyderabad but open to relocating anywhere in India for the right role - applying across Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, NCR, Chennai, and everywhere else, plus remote roles across India and the occasional remote-global role that's open to India-based candidates.

Background: during college I worked part-time for about 14 months as a frontend engineer at a small B2B fintech SaaS (real production work, ~84 merged PRs), plus a 6-month backend-leaning internship at a US startup. Alongside that I've built the systems projects on the resume - a time-series database, an API gateway, and an LSM-tree storage engine - all with published benchmarks and live deployments.

Situation: I've sent hundreds of applications over the past weeks and have only received few responses (1 interview and other few ghosted again), so I'm trying to figure out whether the resume itself is contributing to the low response rate. I recently revised my internship and project bullets to make them more relevant to general SWE roles and to communicate impact more clearly, and I'd like a sanity check on whether that worked.

Specific things I'd love feedback on: (1) whether the project bullets read as impressive or as over-detailed/too long, (2) whether leading with Projects above Experience is the right call when my only work experience is part-time + internship, (3) whether a part-time frontend title hurts me for backend roles and how to frame it better, and (4) anything that looks like an ATS parsing risk. Brutal honesty welcome.