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Comment by t_1589165433 | Hacker News Reader

I'd love to carefully tailor applications to jobs I'm suited for, get references through people, etc. Unfortunately, when I've tried this, I've been completely ignored or one-liner email rejected if I'm lucky, and it's a lot of effort - so my only option is huge volume, which means I can't carefully craft anything.

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If I may offer a suggestion, what works for me is that at the start of a job search, I first make a very large resume, with several excess bullet points and detailed lists of technologies. I am the only one that sees this version of my resume. Then, for every job I apply for, I cut out all of the uninteresting bullet points and reduce irrelevant terms for that job description until my resume is about a page long. For instance, if I'm applying for a Node.js role, I minimize my past Java and .NET experience (I may mention each just once to show a little bit of breadth) so that my JavaScript experience shows through more. Likewise, if I apply to a Java role, I minimize my JavaScript experience.

After I apply to a few companies, I can easily reuse resumes with little to no modifications. The goal is to hit as many job requirements in the job description as I have experience for without overwhelming the recruiters and hiring manager with irrelevant information.

I only submit cover letters if they are required, or if I have a unique connection that I can bring up (e.g., having met the hiring manager at a recent meetup).

> For instance, if I'm applying for a Node.js role, I minimize my past Java and .NET experience (I may mention each just once to show a little bit of breadth) so that my JavaScript experience shows through more.

What if you dont have any JS experience, but have say several years working on .NET and Java. Removing that experience makes it looks like you're an entry level candidate, when in reality theres actually a decent amount of transferable skill between the tech in question and if you have enough informal experience with Node (through personal projects, etc.) you should have little issue switching.

I agree with you that a lot of skill is transferable between technologies, but I suspect that some recruiters or hiring managers either don't realize that or they typecast you into a specific role. Resumes are a form of writing where being concise is better than being complete.

Also, I should have been more clear. I don't erase everything about a past experience if it's a different technology. Here are a couple hypothetical examples to help clarify. In this first version of a resume snippet, the applicant should be applying for a Java position since it's filled with terms that make sense to the Java community:

> Software Enginer at XXX Company

> * I led the design and implementation of XXX Company's internal payment processing service which processes $YYY million USD in annual revenue. The project used Java, Spring, Hibernate, and MySQL.

> * Introduced testing (JUnit and Mockito) into the engineering culture by leading brown bag talks. Increased unit test coverage on critical company projects from 0% to 73% over 2 years.

> * Used JNI to integrate critical path code with XXX Company's proprietary hardware driver, increasing average performance by 8x.

Here is a snippet representing the same experience, but catered toward a Node.js position. References to enterprise Java are removed, and the last bullet is replaced with a more relevant bullet:

> Software Enginer at XXX Company

> * I led the design and implementation of XXX Company's internal payment processing service which processes $YYY million USD in annual revenue.

> * Introduced testing into the engineering culture by leading brown bag talks. Increased unit test coverage on critical company projects from 0% to 73% over 2 years.

> * During XXX Company's annual hackathon, I implemented and presented a functional prototype service to present payment information in real-time using WebSockets.

Now these changes alone are likely not sufficient to get a call back from the Node.js job position, but it changes the automatic typecast from "experienced Java developer" to "experienced developer" Hopefully this candidate has some other past experience in Node.js/web development/JavaScript to flush out the story.

> I only submit cover letters if they are required

I use to think that a well crafted custom cover letter totally gives me a leg up on the competition. But recently, I've been gettin lazy and not sending cover letters and I still get responses. Go figure.

I used to have a 1.5 page resume covering boilerplate, keywords, and highlights with a longer cover letter giving more detailed background. In a post interview critique I was told that the resume was too sparse. I pointed out the cover letter has what he wanted to see but of course that never made it to his inbox. New tech job search can't reliably manage two digital documents so I just merged them into one as a safety precaution.

The notion of a cover letter is pretty outdated for most jobs. The people still teaching their use are firmly rooted in the age of sending unsolicited job applications via mail that will be screened by a human.

I still do them for some desirable ones - eg if covid hadn't intervened id have done a custom cover letter and cv for the grade 6-7 Civil service job I got pitched (Colonel to brigadier Range)

(that's around the same level of Matt Cutts Current Job)

Disclaimer that I’m a PM and your experience surely may vary. But I would suggest reallocating some of your time to move deliberately instead of scattershot and tailor your resume and/or cover letters. You may also want to consider having a trusted friend or a professional review your resume to see if there may be problems you’re not aware of.

Edit: I meant to add that I am also happy to review your resume and provide feedback, too. Contact in profile.

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