231. Customizing Your Resume Per Application

[@TheRealFaceInCake]

Nice video, thanks! This might be better discussed in another video, but what are the things one would look for in a portfolio? A person, (like myself), trying to get an entry level job doesn't have work experience to show off and so showing off personal projects or other contributions is the next best thing. However, I've never seen anyone talk about any red/yellow/green flags about what to present.

[@IAmTimCorey]

I've talked about it before somewhere, but basically you want to create portfolio pieces that are as close to what the employer will want you to do as possible. For example, most line-of-business applications need a few things. They need to access data (probably SQL if they are using C#), they need to send emails and maybe text messages (check out SendGrid or Twilio), and they need to capture, process, and display user input. So, create a portfolio app that does those things. That way, an employer can look at you work and go "I want them to do that for me."

[@OldGuyAdventure]

I generally do not have any issue with tailoring my resume to the applied jobs, what I get into issues with is I have a lot more experience and once I interview even with me selling my skills as an older developer I am still told they were looking for someone younger. I have been working with an agism coach and they say that 1-5 companies are discriminating because of age now.

[@IAmTimCorey]

Age discrimination, at least in the US, is illegal. If they told you they were looking for someone younger, then unless they are a small business, that's something you can turn them in for doing. Now some companies won't tell you that but will implicitly do that by finding other reasons why you aren't qualified. That's still something you can fight. However, you really don't want to be at those organizations anyway, since they are telling you they aren't great places to work. It stinks, but you still have the 4 out of 5 companies that aren't discriminating against you to go work at.

[@zacharywatson6799]

Thank you so much for your advice, this is incredibly helpful! These job hunting videos help me a lot in my job search for changing up my strategy. I have a request. I know it wouldn't be a typical video since we're usually watching work with code, but, what is the possibility of you making a video showing you improving a resume--basically, taking a generic, fake (but could be very real) person's resume that is not so good and improving it to match some (generic but could be very real) job ads? In other words, like when you make demo apps to show something, but instead of a demo code it's a demo resume. Hopefully it's not a strange request, but I think that would be of incredible value. Thanks.

[@IAmTimCorey]

This video is basically what you are asking for: kzbin.info/www/bejne/g5uqYqKldpeqrLssi=QJ5ltTMv0TQui9nD I reviewed the resumes and portfolios to talk through what I would recommend improving. I am working on more content that would cover customizing a resume to the job, though.

[@rogeriocastellano449]

Excellent advice! What are your thoughts on including the comprehensive resume with the job offer text, and customize it using an AI tool?

[@IAmTimCorey]

In theory it sounds good, but I actually think it is a bad idea for now. The reason why is because AI tends to make things up. You REALLY don't want that to happen on your resume. In theory, you could just review the finished resume, but the odds of catching an issue are actually rather low.

[@rogeriocastellano449]

@@IAmTimCorey Yes, it is true. Thanks for the consideration.

[@jeffsherman9638]

If someone is asking for 5 years of .NET but you have only 3 years experience, is it worth still pursuing the opportunity?

[@IAmTimCorey]

Absolutely.

[@smartlessgamer8696]

I'm having problem trying to land a entry level C# job, where i have no job exp, But I do have a portfolio with previous works. Any advices ?

[@IAmTimCorey]

Keep working on improving your portfolio. Make sure it looks professional and not like a series of tutorial projects. Also, make friends in the industry. Go to meet ups to meet fellow developers. Build your network of people you know and that know you.

[@TheDogfighter13]

@@IAmTimCorey Any advice for me ? i have little less then a year of .NET experiance (with 2 years of previous C/C++ experiance) , company went bust and i can not find a job in my country (or any other for that matter) for the last 7-8 months? Honestly i'm getting a little desparate here P.S. when visa is the problem for the remote job , most of my friends that work for american companies outsource it as a company to company(you can completely legally have a lump sum firm here and everything is legal and even encouraged by the goverment) and it works quite well if you can get it, i'd love to get a job like that in this market and with no connections abroad , aspects are slim.

[@adam4733]

Thanks for the priceless videos Tim. I asked if you'll be giving a discount on your MasterCourse purchases from $497 by December?

[@IAmTimCorey]

The Mastercourses are at their lowest price already. You get more content in software development than you would get in a 4 year college degree for the cost of one class (with lifetime access and updates).

[@TheDogfighter13]

Get devpass (i think its 65 dollars/month) but you get access to everything , for me personally , it was a better choice P.S. you get access to everything including mastercources

[@NN-gy7xl]

this doesn't work when half the jobs are ghost jobs

[@IAmTimCorey]

The minority of jobs are "ghost jobs". It isn't half. Just because you don't hear back from a job when you apply doesn't make it a ghost job. But even if half were ghost jobs, what does that change? You still need a job. You still need to improve your chances of getting a job. Just complaining about the situation won't help. What's the alternative to what I said? Doing things the same way you have been doing them, but expecting different results?

[@jay_wright_thats_right]

I need someone with 5 years of .NET experience. I see 8 years of C# experience, but who cares about that? 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@IAmTimCorey]

Remember that non-technical people are screening resumes. It is unfair to assume they will know that C# means .NET but that .NET doesn't always mean C#.