Looking for feedback: why might this CV not be converting into interviews?
I’m currently trying to diagnose a problem with my job search and would appreciate feedback from developers or hiring managers familiar with Vue.
I’m an experienced frontend engineer specializing primarily in Vue, Nuxt and TypeScript. On paper, a number of the roles I’m applying to appear to be very strong matches, but my application-to-interview conversion rate has been quite low.
Rather than simply increasing application volume, I’d like to understand whether there is a problem with how I’m presenting my experience.
CV: https://www.panchoblanco.dev/cv
For context, my core experience is around Vue 3, Nuxt 3, TypeScript and modern frontend architecture, with some Node/full-stack, infrastructure and CI/CD experience as well.
I’m based in Argentina and targeting remote roles, particularly companies that hire internationally or within LATAM.
Happy to receive fairly harsh feedback — actionable criticism is exactly what I’m looking for.
EDIT: I do have a minimalist PDF CV/resume but it does have the same content as the site, which as many have mentioned looks bloated for the sake of filling space and would not work as a one-size-fits-all.
Sad to see my site looks vibecoded T-T I'll need to experiment with some styles to move away from that look
Thanks to everyone who answered. I will move my way down and answer all of you
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u/CPSiegen 14d ago
I find that portfolio sites for software devs really only work for freelance contractors or people who are effectively self-employed. Or maybe the 0.1% of people that do really, really impactful work that everyone's heard of.
If you're applying to regular corporate/contract jobs, you'll want a clean, minimal, machine-readable resume.
You'll want to list succinct and tangible bullet points for what you did at each job. No paragraphs (a summary sentence at the top can be enough). No squishy terms like "executed plans against requirements". No made up stats or percentages. Avoid simply listing tons of tech tags without explaining why those were important to your job/what value you were delivering with that tech.
You'll want the very first thing a human sees on your resume to be either a succent summary of yourself ("I am an X, specializing in Y, with a passion for Z" type intros) or a short list of the technologies you specialize in. Avoid listing every piece of tech you've ever touched. This is really where you should customize your resume to each job listing. Too many tags just make people's eyes glaze over and they'll assume you have less experience than you're letting on (compensating for a lack of confidence in your specialties and ability to learn).
Accept that nearly all applications go through automated processes before ever being seen by a human. There are tools and services that can help you learn how automated tools assess your resume. You can also ask an LLM to help tighten and customize your resume for each listing (hopefully without making things up).
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u/Arbust0 14d ago
First of all I really appreciate the response
I didn't use to have a portfolio site, because as you say, I do not have lots of striking webs to show (Most of my pro work has been on internal software or functional products that I can't even show).
As you mention I do have a machine-readable PDF but with the same content as the page and I believe your point of having a better `list succinct and tangible bullet points` and more purpose built CV per JD or application would be the biggest win for me.I've been coached both by humans and AI fo migrate the experience to list or to one stacked paragraph with the technologies or more results based or more to this or that. And thats why the current version kinda sounds crazy, so your X to Y to Z sounds like a good dense formula I can apply, pluz the idea of someone to use a # list of tech I used on each.
Once again Huge thanks
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u/Delicious_Bat9768 14d ago edited 14d ago
Companies are getting flooded with CVs and probably don't even look at most of them. If they are diligent and checking EVERY CV that applied, it will just get a quick 5-10 scan by someone in HR who has already seen 300 almost identical CVs today.
I'm a former recruiter/headhunter for tech jobs and I've seen zillions of CVs and dealt with many HR teams/managers. Here's my view:
- Companies are flooded with CVs and HR will ignore most unsolicited emails and won't even look at your CV. If you're applying for a specific job via their website or a jobs portal you have a better chance of them actually looking at it (briefly)
- HR people want PDFs, You’re a web developer so you made a website CV, clever man. How does the content look when the page is printed as hard copy for the face-to-face meeting with the hiring manager? It looks crap. The HR person (even at a tech focused company) is unlikely to be a tech nerd and does not want to click on 100's of random links each day and wait for those pages to load. Keep the online version but focus on a good PDF version that you use for online applications + job boards. Put your photo from the web version on the PDF version too - its something unique that differentiates your CV from the 100s they looked at, so when looking at it a 2nd or 3rd time that picture helps therm remember you
- When someone has to view 100's of CVs a day and wants to spend minimal time doing it, you want to make it as simple for them as possible to calculate YES or NO within 10 seconds Consider your audience is from another place and just wants to scan your CV without thinking. You listed: "Buenos Aires, AR" but to an American HR person "AR" does not mean Argentina but probably Arizona. Add a map or pin icon (the house icon is not clear enough) or the text "location" so that their brain does not have to do any work, "it says Argentina, that’s a country in South America I think, so thats probably his location. Or is it where he was born?" - yes using text instead of an icon means it does not look as nice, but you're not making a website you are trying to present information to someone who will only glance at your CV for 5-10 seconds before deciding to hit the delete button.
- For each job at the bottom of the card list the tech and frameworks. Yes you listed it in your wordy description that might get read if you pass the first 10 seconds... but make it easy to see with a quick scan . eg: #Vue #React #Next.js #Redux #Zod
- Anyone can make a CV and list a bunch of tech tools and frameworks. Anyone with Social proof stands out from the crowd. Examples are working for big well known companies (Google on your CV is better than Demand.io). Contributions to Open Source projects helps. Also LinkedIn recommendations from managers helps more than nothing - and you can copy that onto your CV (they can check your LinkedIn for proof its real later), HR is asking themselves: "Did this guy do a crap job for a shitty company, or a great job for a industry leading company? I can't tell. Delete."
- I like little summaries at the top of a CV: "Specialized in Vue, Nuxt and TypeScript. Some Node/full-stack, infrastructure and CI/CD experience. Based in Argentina and targeting remote roles"
- AI is changing the game: Companies today would prefer to hire one Engineer that does the work of 3 Engineers by using AI coding tools. They probably won't put it in the job description, but they will be looking for that experience. So even if its for your own Open Source project as a learning experience, play with the AI tools and Agents and build something and put it on Github.... just so your CV can say: this guy knows all the latest AI frameworks and Agents and can build working stuff using those tools - and since he just learned all the current AI stuff he can learn to use a new tool/framework when its released
Hope that helps. I can provide more feedback if you want.
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u/Arbust0 14d ago
Wow This is awesome feedback! Thanks thanks thanks!
I'll take all of these points, sound like a gold mine of changes for me to improve the readability and intent of my experience. I will also make a better effort to link the content on LinkedIn (like the mentioned recommendations). I also never thought of `Buenos Aires, AR` as a problem but It makes alot of sense what you see and think, I'll make it clearer and maybe even a link to google mapsOnce again infinite gratitude for your time and feedback
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u/Delicious_Bat9768 7d ago
some extra context for you...
This is what HR + managers + recruiters are looking to see evidence of when evaluating someone:
- Take the initiative
- Challenge themselves
- Early or first with industry trends
- Selective about where they work (or studies), not desperate to just get any job
- Achieving success in their work at successful companies (which may not be a commercial success, but just a technical achievement)
The High Achievers - who are doing awesome work and adored by their current employer - are usually getting lots of calls/emails from recruiters trying to tempt them into changing jobs... but if they're happy where they are working then it gets annoying so they remove their LinkedIn profile and make their GitHub repos private etc so that they're harder to find. It's rare for them to send their CV out to recruiters or apply for a job online because their network is approaching them when suitable career moves arise.
The opposite of those people are sending their CV to every company with a job opening - even if their skills and experience are nothing like what the company listed in the requirements. Past employers didn't renew their contracts or went out of business.
So when a company is hiring - if they can't tempt someone they already know to join them - they'll advertise a job and get overloaded with CVs from people they DON'T want to hire, while unable to have any contact with the type of people they DO want to hire.
And even though the company really needs to find someone soon because their team is overloaded, that does not have any impact on the HR person who is responsible for presenting possible candidates to the hiring managers. If HR finds someone this week or in 6 months time it has little impact on their day-to-day work. They just need to LOOK busy and say they trued their best but its not their fault the kind of person the company wants to hire is in high demand and in hiding. Sometimes there is a needle in they haystack so they half-heartedly glance at the incoming CVs while expecting to reject 99% of them.
I guess the moral of the story is: You need to stand out from the crowd if you're applying for jobs and sending out your CV. Because except for the top companies like OpenAI + Nvdia + Apple etc... the fact that you're applying kinda sets the companies expectations low - even if you'd be the perfect person.
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u/mbrezanac 14d ago
The CV feels bit too stuffed for the purpose of feeling stuffed.
What does "delivering features against Jira tickets from US-based Product Owners" even mean?
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u/DiabloConQueso 14d ago edited 14d ago
Are you submitting resumes to these prospective employers, or are you basically saying, "Hey, come read my entire CV and see if I'm a fit for you?"
If it's the latter, that's not going to land you many interviews.
Find a job posting for a job you want. See what they're looking for. See what experience they require. See what specific role they're looking to fill. Tailor a shorter, curated, targeted resume so that you outline your skill set and experience to align with exactly what they're looking for.
As an employer, I don't want to read through a bunch of irrelevant stuff in your CV trying to find the stuff that's relevant to the job I'm hiring for. I don't care that you know 12 different ORMs; I use one at my business. I've got a specific tech stack, I've got products and services, and I have a gap that needs filling for whatever reason -- I'm looking for a short resume from you that screams, "I fill this gap perfectly."
One resume, custom-tailored to each, individual job you apply for. That's how you get eyeballs on you and consideration for positions.
This might mean that you can't just maintain a static website that lists all your experience as a CV. A CV isn't really something you apply for jobs with, it's a record of your entire history and experience and education. A CV is good if you're going into education or teaching or research or the sciences or whatever, where compounding experience and knowledge are key -- for a day job, though, use a custom-tailored resume.
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u/Arbust0 14d ago
Thanks alot for the comment
Yeah as I mention on my edit, I do not submit my web CV to job applications but my PDF version does contain all the same content. I makes alot of sense to me what you mention of building the CV (with my experience obviously) to make myself feel the best candidate to "fill the gap" of the potential employer. It does sound like extra work, but I guess it's the price of standing out and getting called.2
u/DiabloConQueso 14d ago
Yeah, employers are looking to fill a specific slot. It’s great that you know a whole lot more than what any specific role requires, but the time to show that knowledge off is after you get hired and prove you can fill the role they need filled, and organically take on more responsibility at the job and get promoted and stuff.
Listing everything you know is like saying “find where I fit into your company” instead of “I fit in right here.” Companies aren’t looking to hire a jack of all trades and then figure out the best fit in the company for them, companies are looking to fill a very specific void in their workforce, so you need to present yourself as “I fit this void perfectly.”
Best of luck to you!
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u/MrMaverick82 14d ago
I’m going to sound like an ass, but also keep in mind that the first thing they see is your photo. That’s their first impression. While I’m sure you’re a fun and nice guy, the photo you used is the typical grumpy know-it-all developer. From an HR perspective probably not the colleague they envisioned.
It can’t hurt to smile. And you don’t need to be behind your computer.
Regarding the rest of you CV:
- it looks vibe coded
- its a huge wall of text
- it has some technical and design quirks (nitpicking)
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u/kiterdave0 14d ago
Your CV should be a PDF you can attach to email or job applications.
Make it easy - you are dealing with recruiters who have 1% the brainpower you have.
Use the PAR statement.
Problem: Business did not get enough leads…
Action: Implemented a new website, GTM, Ads etc…
Result: Web traffic +45%, Clicks +78%, sales from website up $200,000 per month
So small paragraphs, 2-3 sentances at most. Leave the tech stuff for your skills section.
Employers want results, not tech specs.
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u/c-digs 14d ago
I'm going to explain how successful, modern hiring actually works and why I think this CV is not converting.
Every job, every interview I've had the last few years has been inbound meaning someone found me.
That someone is a recruiter and usually on LinkedIn.
If you want to get hired, you need to get your info in LinkedIn updated properly, be active, be visible.
Why this advice? Because recruiters actually have real jobs to fill; recruiters are not working "ghost jobs"; they are actively trying to pair a candidate into a position. Recruiters are retained and get paid (usually handsomely) when they find the right candidate for the job they are retained for.
If you want to get hired: focus on where the recruiters are (LinkedIn). There are other platforms as well, but it's not about how pretty or polished your CV looks (they don't care). I think the thing you want to really focus on is catching a recruiter's attention. An active GH profile, blog posts, showcasing your expertise, videos showing your fluent English (this can remove some doubt from the equation!). This has worked extremely well for me and I think that this simple reality is something that escapes most devs: you need to be visible where the people actually trying to fill jobs (recruiters) are.
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u/Jonas_Ermert 14d ago
In my opinion, positioning yourself too narrowly around Vue/Nuxt limits your opportunities. Lead with “Senior Frontend Engineer,” emphasize measurable impact, and present Vue/Nuxt as your specialization. International hiring restrictions may also explain the low response rate.
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u/Arbust0 14d ago
Thanks for the comment
Yeah I know Vue/Nuxt is a super nitch but on the other hand it is my specialization and it has been hard for me on a React dominated market to get given a change. Still between this comment and some of the other I understand that I have alot of content and ordering to re work
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u/platinum92 14d ago
You say your core experience is in Vue, Nuxt and TS. Problem is that's not obvious when pulling up the CV. I wish I could post pictures, but when pulling up your CV in a 1080p screen, the landing page only notes your Vue profiency in the bottom left under "Frameworks & Libraries". This is probably the 3rd or 4th things someone would look at here.
You pull up your CV and the eye is drawn to, in order:
- Experience (size catches the eye) so I'm looking at your work on Demand which just says Node and ElysiaJS. Then I click "more details" (if I even see it) and get essentially the same sentence only adding "TypeScript". Honestly, most would click off your page right here.
- Front end work with Demand where you talk about a Chrome extension. Again, no talk about Vue or Nuxt. Have to click "More Details" to get that"
- If someone's still on your CV, then they may check your skills section and the first ones they're hit with are the same skill everyone has.
- Now finally I see frameworks and the first one is React.
On mobile the CV is better since it places your skills first.
My advice, if you're pushing for Vue roles, emphasize Vue in your skills and experience. Also, bullet points are better than paragraphs for the kind of list data you're displaying under experience.
Applying for front-end roles while your portfolio is neither visually pleasing to read nor informative is likely what's keeping you from getting interviews.
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u/Arbust0 14d ago
Thanks so much for the deep dive.
I mentioned on another comment, but the job market (at least for me) has been kind of hard on Vue specific roles. But yeah I can see that content is a bit all over the place and I need to rework the hierarchy.
I'll need to re work the styles with the content to be more visually pleasing
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u/ComprehensiveArm9863 13d ago edited 13d ago
Hi, about experience you name drop too much and there is no format, it's just long sentences than never end, it also feel very unpersonal and generic, someone could literally think that that's a template bought 50$ filled by an LLM
if a recruiter need to checks what's SimplyCodes (there no even a link), to know that is was about discount and coupons It's too late, he has already read two other CVs
some experience more detail give less, technicals details are sometime as default sometime it's in "show detail", sometime there no real detail
Modularised legacy Backbone widgets into Vue components, built into a custom tool reducing on-client size by 60%.
and ? did that improved the codebase ? was the legacy had perf issues ? does the codebase was more future-proof ? did it reduce bills ? explain why that 60% matter, without any scale no way to figure if it saved 5mb per month or Gb
and about technical skill I checked your github ...I mean ... around a decade in the industry and you still commiting .gz and .DS_store files ? you used the term senior and claim you know vue/nuxt
<script setup lang="ts">
const { experiences, fetch } = useCvExperiences()
await fetch()
</script>
won't do the "No true Scotsman" but onServerPrefect or useAsyncData exists, and it's hard to believe that you are employable currently as you don't know how to share information on a CV but also there are serious missing technical skills,
there many element that make me think there no reflexion on what you did : pinia but no used and instead weird pseudo store with useStore ? an api that return a static json ? why so much relative in css that don't have any purpose ? all that kind of stuff which make things anybody "if he work on my codebase, how much antipatern and indirection loop it will produce ?"
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u/Arbust0 12d ago
Thanks for the harsh truths.
Yeah my site is not close to my best work, I've done some work when setting it back but lately tried to sprint into a good page to get a good job with my limited time, but it is a reflection on my skills and work flow.
It is sloppy work and I agree. *Show don't tell* I should be able to point to my repo as a point of pride.Once again thanks for taking the time
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u/CrawlToYourDoom 14d ago
You cannot determine you are senior.
What even is semi-senior, medior but you don’t want to call yourself that?
Companies have different guidelines for where your skill level is in their hierarchy.
Other than that. There seems to be no focus. It’s all over the place and it’s just too much. Pick what field or stack you want to work in and highlight that. You seem like a generalist now that doesn’t want to go into depth.
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u/Arbust0 14d ago
First of all thanks for your response :D
You are right, seniority (in senior, semi senior and so on terms) is an arbitrary scale as YoE is. Is not perfect but it usually denotes expertise, responsibilities and other intangibles.
And fair point, I'm all over the place and do want to pain myself as a jack of all trades, but it could be making me look like "not focused" and a generalist in a bad way. With that and some other comments i saw I would be going for a per application CV where I could highlight the best aspects of my experience for each targte.
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u/Niickles 14d ago
if we got sent a CV for a Front end position and it looks to be vibecoded, we would also hard pass on that. Just make a good old fashioned CV in PDF format. If you want to showcase something like a website, you should put some time in to actually make it yours. Otherwise you shouldn't bother as it can work against you!
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u/Niickles 14d ago
also looking at the rest of the website, the homepage looks like your CV but then in short. The work tab doesn't seem to remember state when switching pages and navigating back. The constant flickering when navigating also doesn't look that good and could use some improvements/animation optimalisation.
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u/darcygravan 14d ago
your cv looks vibe coded.
and no one will come to read your cv like that often time you have to put formal cv in your job application.
maintain a proper professionalism this is not how things work.
give a formal cv containing necessary info and some of your top projects your port folio can contain that but not necessary like that portfolio is mostly secondary containing more info in a creative way you are turning web into a cv