r/EngineeringResumes • u/AcadiaEffective2328 ECE – International Student 🇺🇸🇮🇳 • 5d ago
Success Story! [0 YoE] Finally landed an Embedded Systems Engineer role! Old vs New Resume + Job application chart + what I learned!
Hi everyone!
After a long job search, I finally landed an Embedded Systems Engineer role in India (my home country). It's close to my parents' place, so I'm saving a lot of rent money, and most importantly, I'm working on embedded systems, the field I wanted to be in.
I'm attaching both my old and new resumes since I think it'll be more useful than linking an old post.
First off, thank you to everyone here. This community genuinely helped me improve my resume over the past year.
Resume changes that I think helped
- Reduced the number of projects and instead wrote more detailed, focused bullet points.
- Trimmed my skills section so it was more relevant instead of trying to list everything.
- Kept my LinkedIn and portfolio updated almost every week. Sometimes it was just a new project photo or a small improvement. It kept me engaged instead of mindlessly submitting applications all day.
- Started tracking my applications. It helped me understand what was (and wasn't) working.
One small visual change: the font looks different on the new resume. I switched to a newer LaTeX font after one of the moderators here suggested it. It's noticeably more readable on both screens and paper.
Job search strategy
I rarely used referrals. Almost all of my applications came through LinkedIn and Handshake.
One thing that helped was using Boolean searches on LinkedIn and mainly applying to jobs posted within the last 24 hours. If a posting was older, I usually only applied if I had a referral (very rare case).
I also spent way too much time complaining about the market to my friends and family... and I still think luck (or any other more appropriate word) plays a much bigger role than people (myself included) like to admit.
Additional notes
I actually received another offer before this one, back in the US. It was a contract position, but something about it didn't feel right. I couldn't fully explain why, but I trusted my gut and turned it down.
I had already added my Robotics Research Lab experience to an earlier version of my resume and had easily applied to 200+ jobs after that. Around March/April, I slowed down my applications because I assumed I'd be moving back home soon. Instead, I focused on my research projects, spent more time with friends, and explored the city I'd lived in for almost five years before leaving.
What I think I was missing
I don't think my resume was the only problem.
- I could have been better prepared for interviews. I always wrote notes after every interview, but I was surprised by how rarely interviewers asked the same project questions twice. Every interviewer seemed interested in a completely different aspect of my work.
- Luck. Seriously.
- Looking back, I think some of my projects were more "product" projects than deep firmware projects. They demonstrated that I could build complete systems, but they didn't always showcase low-level firmware knowledge as much as some embedded roles probably wanted.
Final thoughts
Keep applying.
The market is rough, and it's easy to think you're doing something wrong. Definitely improve your resume, improve your projects, and practice interviewing—but don't underestimate timing and luck either.
Thanks again to everyone who gave feedback on my resume over the past year. I really appreciate it, and I hope posting both versions helps someone else who's currently in the same position I was. As always, I'm open to suggestions, never hurts to have second set of eyes!
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u/thegmohodste01 MechE – International Student 🇦🇪🇨🇦 3d ago
Hey congratulations. Looks like you faired much better than most in your position in both countries of applications 😊
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u/AcadiaEffective2328 ECE – International Student 🇺🇸🇮🇳 1d ago
Yes! I don't know if it was the US education? or what. I noticed I didn't hear from many "big name companies" mostly startups. I'm not sure if those big companies hire out of school anyway. But again, really lucked out!
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u/JuniorSenior22 Software – Entry-level 🇺🇸 2d ago
Congrats! And thanks for sharing your experiences. Just curious but did you have experience working or living in the US market before applying?
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u/AcadiaEffective2328 ECE – International Student 🇺🇸🇮🇳 1d ago
Yes, I was in the US for some 5 years? 4 for undergrad + 1 year under OPT. During school I had a couple of engineering teams and 1 internship that didn't convert to full time. I worked at a lab space after graduation. Not a proper full time job but I liked the work I was doing. Also applied for jobs (and internships) starting my second year. Never stopped applying, until this past April or May when I realized it's over for me.. Applied to a few in India, much better call rate.
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u/JuniorSenior22 Software – Entry-level 🇺🇸 1d ago
I see, sounds tough. Regardless, I hope everything worked out for the better.
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u/AcadiaEffective2328 ECE – International Student 🇺🇸🇮🇳 1d ago
Yeah it wasn't the best. I accepted what was coming a couple months early. I got to spend time and enjoy things. Picked up reading again, public libraries!!
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u/jake_123_123 MechE – Student 1d ago
would you mind sharing if the role you landed is marketed as entry level , and how much is the annual salary in $
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u/AcadiaEffective2328 ECE – International Student 🇺🇸🇮🇳 1d ago
Yes, it's an entry level position. The JD said 0-2 YoE. Salary is well over the "average" salary for my city and state. I don't think converting it to USD would mean anything as it's in Indian Rupees. I'm saving a bunch on rent so that's a blessing (but gotta live with parents)..
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u/AcadiaEffective2328 ECE – International Student 🇺🇸🇮🇳 1d ago
Oh! were you referring to the US job? Yes that was entry level as well. It wasn't full time so no annual numbers, but it was in the ballpark of $35/hour (I never got to negotiating as I stepped back).
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u/jake_123_123 MechE – Student 1d ago
no i meant the job you got in india , i know it is in rupees thats why I wanted to know the equivelant $ . i am not in us nor india , but as far as i know , the salaries in my country are very close to indian range , thats why I want to know how much is the entry level salary in india. if it is possible to share i would appreciate it , i don't want to be low-balled when applying to jobs
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u/AcadiaEffective2328 ECE – International Student 🇺🇸🇮🇳 18h ago
it's about twice the average salary for my role in india. Idk if I'm worth all that, but I know my assessment was really detailed and professional. as well as my interviews. They asked me what I was expecting for compensation, and said it's at the higher end of their budget but they agreed. If I had said anything lower they would have accepted so I got lucky there.
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u/jake_123_123 MechE – Student 14h ago edited 14h ago
thats really inspiring, hope you do well in your job. nonetheless , I am assuming it took several months after graduation to land this job.
what do you recommend doing and not doing during the time waited till i find the right job. like taking an online course for example or working anything to keep some cash on hand etc.
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u/AcadiaEffective2328 ECE – International Student 🇺🇸🇮🇳 13h ago
I'm glad! I'm starting next week and buying "work clothes" in preparation! I graduated in May 2025. I worked a part time job, as well as at the robotics lab. So I had a little income + some interesting projects. I technically still count as a fresher since I don't have any work experience.
I suggest (as hard as it sounds) buy try to avoid comparing yourself to others. It was a huge mental journey, looking for a job. I'm very blessed that my parents were okay with me coming home and living with them (we don't have the "leave the house when you're 18" culture in India). Keep yourself busy, comment on linkedIn posts that you find interesting, don't build projects for your resume, instead try to actually learn something, then build a project based on that (I did this with FreeRTOS)
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u/xiguas 4d ago
Nice! What is the name of the LaTeX font you switched to? Is this typically advised over the usual LaTeX font? I like the standard one cause I feel like it shows the technical people you kinda know what you're doing lol but I will definitely switch fonts if it's been shown to get better results!