Ex-Microsoft software engineer shares why tech workers should update their résumés every 6 to 9 months

Business Insider

5 hours ago

Akshay Phadké knows what it takes to move up in the tech industry. The Seattle-based 31-year-old's résumé includes positions at startups and behemoths alike, including Ericsson, Microsoft, Vareto, and his current company, Webflow, where he is a senior software engineer.
He's also secured final-round interviews at Meta, Amazon, Dropbox, and Yelp and job offers from 23andMe and Wayfair.
Some people might think that once you've secured a job, you don't have to update your résumé — but that's not true, Phadké told Business Insider.
Updates as a self-check-in
He believes that current and aspiring tech industry employees, including software engineers like himself, should prioritize updating their résumés every six to nine months.
"Engineers tend to be forward-looking and forget their accomplishments that are further in the past," he said. "Looking back regularly on your accomplishments helps you commit them to paper and retain all the context."
Giving himself six to nine months between updates affords him enough time to accrue meaningful medium- to long-term accomplishments, Phadké said.
He added that documenting these meaningful accomplishments can also serve as a regular "self-check-in."
"If they exceed your expectations, then that should embolden you to talk to your manager about recognition, merit-based compensation increases, and promotions," Phadké explained. "If they fall short of what you were hoping, it's also a good forcing function to take action."
Performance reviews can be fodder for résumé updates
Formal performance reviews can serve as a gold mine for résumé data. "You're already tracking your achievements through the official company performance review process," Phadké said. "Once you've taken out any sensitive or proprietary information, it makes a lot of sense to utilize that information to update your résumé."
Many of the key points of a performance review, such as how your work connects to an OKR or other performance metric, can become résumé updates to show your continuing contributions.
He added that other factors to consider include reviews from collaborators, your manager's assessment, your performance relative to your peers, and how your work helped the company's overall performance.
Keeping your résumé updated could help during a layoff
"Even if your performance and your ratings are solid, there's a possibility of head count reduction if the company doesn't meet investor or shareholder expectations," Phadké said. "You may choose to look for another role, or you may not have a choice."
Waiting until you need your résumé revamped, such as after a layoff, can create a stressful, panicked situation as you hunt through documentation under the gun of job-search deadline pressures. By making it routine to update your résumé after every performance review, you'll be ahead of the game.
"Having a regularly updated résumé means one less thing you have to worry about," Phadké said.
You're signaling your network
An updated résumé — and in conjunction, LinkedIn profile — lets your professional network know what you've been up to and keeps you in the loop for opportunities.
Phadké said keeping his LinkedIn profile in sync with his résumé has helped him stay on the radar of recruiters and hiring managers. In 2025, he's received an average of five messages a month from recruiters asking about his interest in roles they're looking to fill — and in April alone, he received nine recruiter messages.
Even if you're not seriously looking for a job, Phadké says his approach to maintaining his résumé can help find interesting work and compensation.