Helping students pass the resume screen and advance in the hiring process

Overview

I was the user I was designing for

In the summer of 2024, I was actively applying for jobs — updating my resume, second-guessing my formatting, and wondering what actually gets someone past the initial screen. I kept searching for real examples of resumes that had worked at companies I cared about. There was nothing useful out there.

When I brought this up to a group of friends, five engineers had the same frustration. That conversation turned into Resumes.fyi — a platform where people who passed screenings at top tech companies could share their resumes, and job seekers could learn from them. I was the sole designer for the entire product, and six months after we launched, it was acquired by Exponent in February 2026.

Understanding the Problem

Before designing anything, I needed to know if the problem was real

My own frustration felt like enough validation — but personal experience is a data point of one. So before we touched Figma, I ran a survey of 584 people and followed it up with 25 in-depth interviews, talking to university students, recent grads, and professionals who’d been through the hiring process multiple times.

The answers were consistent across all three groups: people weren’t confused about what to put on their resume. They were confused about whether it was good enough — whether the language was right, whether they were even in the right ballpark for the companies they wanted. Without a real benchmark, everything felt like a guess.

Branding & Identity

We needed to look like something people would trust enough to upload their resume to

The platform only works if people contribute — which means the identity had to feel trustworthy, but approachable enough that students didn’t feel like they were submitting to a corporate directory. I landed on a brand that borrowed visual language from the world of studying — sticky notes, paper textures, grids, pins. Something that felt made by students, for students.

Design Process

Every screen had a job to do — and I cut the ones that didn’t

The upload flow was asking too much

The platform’s value comes entirely from what users contribute. If uploading feels like filling out a job application — which our first version did — people will just leave. I streamlined it so users could skip unnecessary inputs and interact with resumes like a PDF.

The explore page needed to surface signal instantly

I ran an A/B test between the original layout and a revised version with a persistent sidebar, enhanced card metadata, and color-coded resume cards. Users spent more time browsing and engaged with more resumes in the revised version.

Outcome

Acquired by Exponent — February 2026

Six months after launch, Resumes.fyi was acquired by Exponent. This project taught me what it means to design something end-to-end — brand, product, decisions about what to build first, and constant negotiation between what users want and what the team can ship. I was doing all of that while being one of the users myself.

Six months of building, iterating, and listening to users taught me more about product design than anything else I’ve done. I’m proud of what the team shipped, and even prouder that it found a home at Exponent where it continues to help students land their next opportunity.