QR Code Résumé: How a Carnegie Mellon Student Landed Tech Jobs at Cisco and Salesforce

Student’s Innovative QR Code Strategy Leads to Tech Career Success

A Carnegie Mellon University student’s creative approach to standing out at a career fair has resulted in a successful career in the tech industry. Anup Ghatage, then a first-year master’s degree student, employed a unique strategy using custom QR codes on his résumés to track recruiter interest and ultimately land a position at Cisco.

Ghatage, who had only been at the university for three months, knew that the career fair was not typically intended for non-graduating students. Undeterred, he created personalized résumés for each employer, complete with unique QR codes that led to his portfolio website. This innovative approach allowed him to monitor which recruiters showed enough interest in his profile to scan the code.

By focusing on companies that demonstrated interest in his profile, Ghatage was able to prioritize his efforts at future career fairs. This targeted strategy proved successful, resulting in six or seven calls from interested companies, including Cisco, where he eventually secured a full-time offer.

Following his time at Cisco, Ghatage worked at SAP before moving to Salesforce as a software engineer in 2019. His journey serves as an inspiring example of how creative thinking can lead to career opportunities in the competitive tech industry.

Ghatage offers several tips for job seekers looking to optimize their résumés:

1. Keep it concise: Limit résumés to one page to avoid overwhelming interviewers.
2. Avoid over-customization: Don’t include small, irrelevant projects solely to align with the role.
3. Provide links: Include links to personal websites and project work to offer more information and track recruiter interest.

Reflecting on his experience, Ghatage suggests that he would now include open source contributions on his résumé, as they closely resemble actual job experience. He also recommends researching how early work experience relates to target positions and adjusting the résumé structure accordingly.

As the tech industry continues to evolve, innovative approaches like Ghatage’s QR code strategy demonstrate the value of thinking outside the box when it comes to job hunting. His success story serves as an inspiration for students and job seekers looking to make their mark in competitive fields.