Resume Review & Career Guidance for Engineers

Chandan Kumar
Jul 5
2 min read

Date: July 4, 2025

Host: Chandan Kumar

Special Guest: Hiren Dossani, Senior AWS Architect

On July 5, we hosted a special edition of the TorontoAI Meetup, focused entirely on helping tech professionals polish their resumes and prepare for job interviews in today’s challenging market. The turnout was fantastic, with participants ranging from recent grads to experienced developers and data engineers.

Why This Session?

In today’s ultra-competitive job market—especially in tech—standing out on paper is critical. Many participants shared their struggles with rejections, lack of callbacks, and confusion over resume formats. Our goal was to bring clarity and practical help, not just theory.

Meet the Speakers

Chandan Kumar (Host, AI Platform Architect)

Chandan opened the session by emphasizing how volatile the tech job market in Canada has become and the importance of presenting skills in a clear, focused manner on resumes.

Hiren Dossani (Senior AWS Architect)

With over two decades of experience in hiring, resume reviews, and mentoring, Hiren shared deep, actionable tips tailored for engineers, cloud professionals, and developers.

Key Takeaways

✅ Common Resume Mistakes

Overloading resumes with irrelevant links (e.g., FedEx tracking links!)
Repeating keywords like “EC2” multiple times without context
Including certifications without dates or explanation
Over-condensed one-pagers with tiny fonts—impossible to skim

✅ Actionable Resume Tips

Always create a strong summary: A one-liner that states your role and specialization (e.g., “Java Spring Boot Developer”)
Put skills up top, not at the bottom
Back every skill with an experience: If you mention Python, show how you used it in a project
Use metrics: “Reduced deployment time by 30%” is more powerful than “worked on deployments”
Tailor your resume for every job posting by using keywords from the job description
Use GitHub strategically: Showcase your top 3 repos with clean READMEs and highlight your tech stack

✅ Market Realities

Chandan shared insights about the current hiring climate:

The tech job market in Canada is more competitive than ever due to a massive increase in skilled immigrants
Even with strong resumes, candidates need persistence and smart targeting to get interviews
Java and Spring Boot developers remain in high demand, especially for enterprise roles

Memorable Quotes

“If you're a Spring Boot developer, you’ll never go hungry.” — Chandan Kumar

“Your resume is not about what you did, but how it helped the organization.” — Hiren Dossani

“Pick the battle you can win—don’t try carpet-bombing your resume across every job board.” — Chandan Kumar

Special Shoutouts

Thanks to the participants who bravely shared their resumes and asked thoughtful questions—Jeremy, Havish, Bindu, Gurpreet, Jibraan, and others. Your openness made this session truly valuable for everyone.

📤 Want your resume reviewed in the next session? Submit it here:👉 Resume Submission Form

Stay tuned for more TorontoAI events—including upcoming webinars and in-person meetups.

Follow us on Meetup: https://www.meetup.com/torontoai/