What Tech Recruiters Actually Look for in your Resume and First Interview

Have you ever applied to many tech jobs that suit your experience and skill but never heard back? Does it feel like you are sending your resume to a black hole? Then this is something you absolutely must read. In this post, 3 tech recruiters in Sydney, Australia answer what they look for in a resume/candidate profile. They also open up about top 3 things they evaluate while conducting the first interview. After you know what the tech recruiters are looking for you can tailor your resume that lands you an interview. Image from Unsplash 2019 started less than 3 weeks ago and I have seen many new tech roles open up. You can also read through and get an edge over your competition on your job hunt. I have also compiled a of companies in Australia that provide work visa sponsorship. Of course, it depends a lot on the role and the candidate too. practical step to land a tech job list Purpose of the CV/Resume What is the purpose of your resume? In my opinion, the main purpose of your resume is to land you the first interview. So, craft your resume to cater your audience very well. Then it is up to you to prove yourself worthy for the second interview up-to-the job offer stage. For initial review, you can run your CV through (has a free or paid version). I have found it to be quite helpful for tech-related CVs. CVCompiler.com Initial interview Initial screening interview by a tech recruiter is generally done over phone or audio/video conference. This helps filter out candidates that are not the best cultural fit or even small things like “Can the candidate speak good English?”. First interviews are generally short and not technical. It is like the entry of the funnel and getting past the initial interview should not be that difficult. What recruiters look for? I asked 3 internal tech recruiters in Sydney, Australia the following 3 simple questions: How many resumes/candidate profiles do you go through in a day usually? What are the things you look for in a resume sent for a technical role? What are the top 3 things you evaluate in a candidate when conducting the first interview? Read on to find out what they had to say about tech recruitment as an internal tech recruiter: The Answers I asked the above 3 questions to Cloë Stanbridge (Safety Culture), James Richardson (Quantium) and Kevin Yoon (SiteMinder). Below are their answers: Cloë Stanbridge (Safety Culture) looks for tech and soft skills has been working for for almost 2 years now. She is currently the Talent Acquisition manager there. Safety Culture’s mission is “to help companies achieve safer and higher quality workplaces all around the world through innovative, low-cost mobile first products.” Cloë Stanbridge Safety Culture Safety Culture has multiple open roles as of now. It has 5 offices around the world with 2 of them in Australia. Cloë expressed her point of view about the above question the following way: How many resumes/candidate profiles do you go through in a day usually? This can vary due to the volume of roles I have on hand but on an . average about 10 a day What are the things you look for in a resume sent for a technical role? Education, longevity, and is something I focus on. I also look into if the candidate has . This helps me evaluate that they are used to iterating, Continuous Integration (CI) and growth in their career worked for a product/SaaS company are focused on quality rather than being constrained by budget or time. Candidates who have worked in cross-functional teams is a plus. They don’t need to have all of these things but scoring on most of them would warrant them an interview. Grammar/spelling mistakes is also a . big no What are the top 3 things you evaluate in a candidate when conducting the first interview? : This is not just the ability to speak English but being able to explain technical terms to a non-technical person earns brownie points for the candidate. Communication : I would check if they have a side project. something new in their free time would result in a better rating. The questions they ask hints to me about their passion for what they do. Passion and interest for their craft Learning : I would also evaluate if they just want “a” job or do they actually want to work for this company. This would also include being excited for the learning opportunity they would get at work. How interested are they in the problems that we are solving She was quite precise about the things she would look for in the CV and the candidate in the first interview. James Richardson (Quantium) seeks alignment to JD and aptitude has been associated with for almost 2 and a half years. Currently, he is the “Lead Recruitment Business Partner” at Quantium, he is also the co-organizer of . Quantium is a consulting firm working in multiple domains and has multiple products, with a focus on Data Science and Artificial Intelligence. With 4 office location in Australia, Quantium has a total of 9 offices all over the world. James Quantium Node Sydney Meetup They are also looking for talented tech people like you. James answered the above questions as follows: How many resumes/candidate profiles do you go through in a day usually? It really varies. In peak times, I could be screening anywhere between 50–250 per day depending on the role. For orientated roles, these numbers reduce sharply. Looking at my current data, , with a spike on Tuesdays. software a recurring Backend role that is constantly advertised will attract around 40 applications per week What are the things you look for in a resume sent for a technical role? It all depending on the nature of the vacancy. . The wishlist on the JD usually turns out to be just a “wishlist”. I’ll focus on the core of the position. Generally, I’m looking for the following things: * Right to work in Australia: I tend to align to the JD “as much as possible” If this is a role we can sponsor/relocate, then usually I just blast straight past this. Experience in tech: If they have some experience, I’ll log them under potential future candidate for a more junior position. I pay attention to what they have delivered previously. A huge amount of newbies will apply for senior/lead roles and I will typically refer them to our graduate entry. Last company: This helps boost the candidate’s ranking. The best first stage assessment confidence bearing is having another reputable company do that assessment. If I find a candidate working for a company with strong engineering credibility, it is going to give me a high degree of confidence in them. Anyone working for a top tier engineering company is going to get a lot of attention. Tech relevance: I would check if have they been working in the tech stack we use? For instance functional programming vs web dev. (yes this happens). It will be hard to argue for a JS dev applying for a backend Scala functional role without significant side projects/open source work Meeting in person: Do I know them or have I met them counts too. If I Know people at their company that helps as well. Have I met them at a meetup? What are the top 3 things you evaluate in a candidate when conducting the first interview? : A positive attitude always leaves a good impression. Attitude : How well does the candidate understand concepts and processes. I don’t have the skills to check code but they should have the ability to code well. Aptitude : I would evaluate how easy is it to talk to the candidate. Their ability to understand new things matter as well. Another deciding factor is would I be excited to meet this candidate in person? Communication He adds “Essentially, being an in-house recruiter is about credibility. We LOVE hiring people, it’s what drives us to do the job. ” I must add he was pretty elaborate with his answers :) especially the 2nd question. We also need to establish that internal credibility to be successful. Kevin Yoon values experience and ability to change has been employed at for the past 4 months as the “Talent Acquisition Lead — Tech & Product”. SiteMinder is a SaaS company working in the hospitality industry with a focus on online booking and related things. Kevin SiteMinder They have a physical presence in 5 continents and are hiring for multiple roles . It includes some tech roles too. Kevin shared his opinions the following way: How many resumes/candidate profiles do you go through in a day usually? I review all applicant and referral CVs that have come through overnight. This depending on the number of roles we have publicly advertised and announced internally. varies between 20 to 50 CVs per day What are the things you look for in a resume sent for a technical role? First, it is . For mid-level and senior engineers, I focus on the most recent and any relevant personal projects or initiatives in that period. matched against the job description and the job briefing 3 to 5 years of work experience Any mentoring or hackathons attended are good signs. If the candidate has given talks at meetups or conferences that is a plus too. I also look for coaching experiences in the past 3 to 5 years. I evaluate the actual tech stacks used by the candidate and the context it was utilized in. I take a deeper look at how the candidate built solutions with the tools available. The candidate’s role in the projects done as an individual contributor or within a team context is important too. through their progression also catches my eye. Changes in tech used in each role/project What are the top 3 things you evaluate in a candidate when conducting the first interview? I would seek their in relation to the salary they command in their respective roles. I try to elicit factors that inspire them for a change in addition to money. motivation for change I also look for the candidate’s ability to handle of their skills. rapid change and criticism Finally, I attempt to find out their . I also intend to assess the environment which brings out their best performance. expectation from their manager Kevin was to the point and expressed his views concisely. He has highlighted some things that would generally skip your mind as a person applying for a tech position. Be ready to explain your motivation for a job change in your next interview. Conclusion I would like to thank all 3 internal tech recruiters for their time and the valuable information they have provided. I hope you have extracted out the “inside stuff” from the above answers. Now, I think you will start editing your CVs to mention the impact and craft it to be a tool to land more interviews. Similarly, you can also be well prepared for the first interview and ace it. Wish you all the best for your job hunt in Australia! Share your thoughts and experience of finding a job in Australia. Have you found a role that makes you career high? PS: I might do a part 2 of this :) If you have reached this far, please leave some “claps” and/or comments :). Thanks for reading! Originally published at geshan.com.np .