Sorry to be one of those! Serious Advice Needed not many callbacks even with good assessment performance + Option to Pursue Funded Startup

M

mixedVN

Joined
5/28/25
Messages
3
Points
1
Hi all despite strong signals (Akuna 201, competitions, advanced projects, actual research under well-known profs) I’m not getting many callbacks and obviously no offers. I’m a non-Asian international student, OPT-eligible, with no need for immediate sponsorship as I’ll become a permanent resident after my work permit expires

I’ve attached my resume below. I’m open to honest feedback on whether I’m over-signaling, underselling key things, or if the market bias is just that real right now (or absolutely any comments anyone would like to provide, I know doing this is annoying) I’d also appreciate takes on whether it’s smarter to go all-in on my platform/startup instead of continuing to reapply this season or in general, kinda discouraged at the moment (about applications, I still trade and read in my free time).

Thanks so much to everyone that takes the time to read.
IMG_8488.webp
 
Last edited:
Sort by date Sort by votes
First impression is that your resume is ill-formatted and extremely dense, making it unreadable.
You will get a much better chance to work with a professional career coach or consultant who can work with you to review resume and provide tip on how get better results.
Contact @Ash Cross for a consultation. I know at least 2 members who got good reviews on her services.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Andy Nguyen said:
First impression is that your resume is ill-formatted and extremely dense, making it unreadable.
You will get a much better chance to work with a professional career coach or consultant who can work with you to review resume and provide tip on how get better results.
Contact @Ash Cross for a consultation. I know at least 2 members who got good reviews on her services.
Click to expand...
Thank you so much, I really appreciate your response, it is also quite discouraging! I say that because a simpler resume (only projects 2-3, no skills section, less text in each experience) I had created alongside advisors from the finmath masters at my university has been explicitly rejected because of a lack of technical depth, I assumed trying to fit more keywords was the way for ATS since I only get assessments from top firms (which is bad, since they send them to everyone), I assume I need to find a middle-ground.

If I may, do you think this is the single most relevant thing to change? Can external services beyond assessment prep be as useful as Career Advancement at a “top” university realistically? I do not want to come across as a smart-ass I am just green as a student and can’t imagine in what ways they could help as even grad offices can only give you so much info on opportunities and resume guidelines (if you’re not getting an underpaid job from a professor like many do).
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Generic career services won't cut it. Generic resumes won't cut it.
Personalized help from people who are working in this industry is not cheap.
I'm obviously not qualified to provide such help. I do know that optimizing your resume is the easiest thing to tackle. It may have a best ROI for you.
You may think you optimize it for ATS (applicant tracking system) but no human recruiter will see this and be impressed.

Once you get this addressed, you can see if it helps you pass the first screen. Then on to the next obstacle with OA, interview performance, etc.

I think you should dedicate your energy on securing the first internship/job. You will have an issue with work employment so use that to your advantage. Get some big names on your resume, build some relevant experience. You will grow more by being around smart people, working on challenging issues.
That is much better than betting everything on your startup. The probability of success for these is extremely small.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom