How to frame my experience for my resume?
I've been really enjoying the all Interview Courses here on Taro. I'm currently putting together my resume to apply for Senior Engineer positions and I'm struggling to frame some of my experiences so that the level of my contribution/impact is clear.
For context: I've been working on a major backend system migration that's core to the company's flagship product. This migration has been happening for the last 2 years and is being handled by my team (6 people), of which we have a Tech Lead leading the project, and a mix of Senior and Mid-level Engineers. Throughout the last 2 years, I've been working closely with the Tech Lead to co-design the migration plan, which we've then been executing on over the last 2 years. I wouldn't say I'm leading the project but I've made significant contributions (almost like a co-lead) to designing the new replacement system, coming up with the migration plan, leading multiple smaller scoped initiatives (within the the bigger migration plan, each initiative spanning 1-3 months), up-skilling and mentoring more junior Engineers on the team.
I've played a more significant role than simply contributing but I'm not exactly leading the project here. What's a good way to think about framing my experiences here?
Discussion
(3 comments)- 2
a month agoMentor Coach for SWEs | Former Staff Software engineerOn your resume, you could say: "Co-led the migration of X to achieve Y", like Alex suggested, or even "Significant contributor to..."
In the actual interview, I'd focus on the pieces you designed, the migration plan you created, and the impact it delivered toward the larger project. I think it's less relevant whether you were the tech lead or the right hand of the tech lead.
What's much more relevant is the business importance and technical complexity of the pieces you owned and how they helped the larger project move along.
"The larger project needed X because...
It required many design decisions, a migration plan, and a series of steps were necessary to achieve it. The team composition was Y (split of senior/junior engineers).
I helped the tech lead design the new replacement in A, B, C ways. Get into the weeds of A, B, C to illustrate why they were important to the design. If the TL missed them or there was a difference in opinion between the two of you and your approach was better, highlight that. If the TL delegated it to you or you were more familiar with those parts, highlight that."
Follow the same script to describe your contributions to the migration plan and the smaller projects you led. Bonus points if you can put some numbers on these: $ impact on the business because of revenue or engineering time saved or future product potential unlocked, N gigs of data moved, %age efficiency achieved, whatever."
Give specific examples of how you mentored the junior engineers. What behavior were they exhibiting before vs after your mentorship?
You can also give examples of how the TL and the other senior engineers relied on you and why.
If you helped resolve any conflicts along the way or facilitated stalled conversations/progress, highlight that.
Thinking along these lines should help you craft a compelling narrative. Feel free to follow up with more questions.
- 1a month agoTech Lead/Manager at Meta, Pinterest, Kosei
This usually works: partition the major project and then be able to honestly claim that you led one portion of it.
Clearly, you were more than just a code monkey in this project, and we want that to shine through on your resume. I'd talk about the sub-project you led, the engineers you mentored, and (of course) the impact you landed.
- 0
a month agoTech Lead @ Robinhood, Meta, Course Hero"Co-lead" seems like a decent term honestly. It's clear that you are fairly high on the totem pole for this project, and you should get the appropriate credit for that.
Make sure to show the impact as while. This can be tricky for migration projects: "How can I demonstrate the impact of migration projects in a platform team?"
