How Apneetha landed her job after applying to 1,000+ jobs

Challenge:

During the summer of 2023, Apneetha applied to over 1,000 jobs but still struggled to land an internship.

Her resume had several issues, including formatting problems, a lack of relevant keywords in the bullet points, and an absence of quantifiable results.

“There’s no alignment, there are no keywords, there are no numbers.”

Solution:

Optimize resume

Apneetha put a lot of effort into sharpening her resume, ensuring every bullet point counted. She stressed the importance of quantifying achievements to clearly show what she did, why it mattered, and the impact of her work.

With her computer science background, Apneetha also built a personal website to showcase her projects. She strongly recommends adding a link to your resume to let your work speak for itself.

Once her resume was in top shape, Apneetha realized the power of “overselling” her experience and sharing her story effectively during networking opportunities. She emphasized how crucial it is to craft a compelling narrative when connecting with others in the industry—it’s not just about what you’ve done, but how you tell it.

Beat the ATS system

Attending the Grace Hopper Conference was a turning point for Apneetha. This pivotal event for women in tech offered her invaluable insights. One key takeaway: your resume needs to match 100% of the job description’s keywords to get noticed. She used FrogHire’s tool to seamlessly integrate these keywords into her resume, making the process easier and ensuring a stronger match.

After submitting over 1,500 resumes, Apneetha learned an important lesson: quality beats quantity. She discovered that when you find industries or roles you're truly passionate about, it’s worth focusing on those opportunities. By tailoring your resume and cover letter to be 100% aligned with the job description, you increase your chances of getting those crucial callbacks.

Highlights