Four Tips for Writing and Applying with Your Engineering Resume

At MongoDB, we’re always looking for creative and passionate engineers who want to make an impact on the world. If you’re interested in a role on our Engineering team, we encourage you to apply! Before doing so, here are a few things you can do to make your engineering resume stand out at MongoDB.

1. Keep it concise

It can be very tempting to want to detail out every project you’ve worked on and courses you’ve taken. However, I suggest highlighting the most important aspects of your background. Keeping your resume succinct demonstrates that you have a good understanding of your key accomplishments and that you can communicate effectively. I would recommend keeping your resume to one page with the exception of candidates who are 15+ years into their career. In that case, two pages is appropriate.

I would also note that listing numerous programming languages, frameworks, and tools can often be confusing and distracting. Focus on what you have the most experience with. I’d recommend listing out core technologies and tools that you have concrete examples of working with, whether it was a recent work initiative or something you use for personal projects, and using those to provide context as to the work you were doing.

2. Keep it clear

Ensuring that you choose a clear font and format for your resume is very important. Consider using standard fonts like Times New Roman or Arial and keeping the layout clean and easy on the eyes. Formatting your resume in a way that is intuitive is also key. I’d recommend highlighting your most relevant experience closer to the top. For example, if you’re a recent college graduate, I’d note your education towards the top of your resume. If you’re further into your career, I’d ensure your experience is listed chronologically and that your accomplishments are sorted by relevance to the role you’re interested in. Unless you’re interviewing for a more creative job such as UX or Product Design, I’d focus on clarity and a standard layout rather than too many customizations. For a software engineering role, clarity and legibility are most salient.

3. Be intentional

Be intentional about the roles that you apply to. If a job description is looking for a certain skill set that you have, make a point to tailor your resume and highlight that skill set. This intentionality doesn’t just apply to how you build your resume. I’d also recommend taking the time to look over all roles on the career page and only apply to the ones that best suit your background and interests. Being intentional about the roles you apply to is a great way to also demonstrate that you understand your strengths. That being said, we don’t expect candidates to have all of the skills listed in our job descriptions. If you are interested in the role and feel that it could be a good fit for your experience, we are happy to look at your resume.

4. Think about what makes you unique

Adding an interests section or a summary to your resume can add some color as to who you are as a person. Frequently, the first few minutes of a MongoDB interview before diving into coding will involve some form of the question “Tell me about yourself”. Although we are certainly interested in your work experience and accomplishments, we are also interested in what makes you, you!

For the summary section, I’d keep it related to your engineering background, the type of role or environment you thrive in, and your interest in MongoDB specifically. For interests, you could mention something exciting in the engineering space you’re passionate about or something completely unrelated, such as hobbies, genres of books you enjoy, and places you’ve traveled.

Ultimately, your resume is your opportunity to be true to yourself and show a potential next employer what makes you special. Highlighting your skills, keeping things clear and concise, and being intentional are the best ways to start your recruiting journey with MongoDB. We hope to see you in our interview process soon!