Job Ready

Recruiters skim a resume in seven seconds and an applicant-tracking system reads it in zero. Both are looking for the same thing: evidence, in the words the posting uses. "Proficient in Python" is not evidence. "Built a nightly pipeline in Python that de-duplicates 4M events with a 30-second SLA (pandas, Airflow, S3)" is — it names the tools, the scale, and the outcome.

• Skills: group them — Languages · Libraries · Data · Infra · Practices — and list only what you can be interviewed on. Every module in this handbook is a line you can defend.
• Every bullet: action verb, what you built, the tools in parentheses, and a number (rows, users, minutes saved, % faster).
• Mirror the posting: if it says "pandas" say pandas, not "data manipulation libraries". The ATS matches strings.
• Projects section above Education if you have under three years of experience. Link the repo.
• One page. Plain formatting — no columns, tables or icons; ATS parsers mangle them.

Then check it, do not guess: paste the resume and a real posting into the ATS resume checker. It scores keyword coverage against the job, flags the formatting parsers choke on, and shows the exact terms you are missing. Fix, re-run, repeat until the missing list is empty.

One good project beats ten tutorials. "Good" means: it solves a real (if small) problem, it runs from the README, it has tests, and it uses the tools from Module 14 the way a job would. These three cover the ground most Python postings ask about, and each is a weekend.

1. 1
   A data pipeline

   Pull a public dataset or API (weather, transit, GitHub), clean it with pandas, load it into SQLite or Postgres, and produce one chart or summary. Schedule it (a cron, or an Airflow DAG if you are aiming at data roles). Shows: requests, pandas, SQL, the file and error handling from Modules 06–07.

2. 2
   An API with tests

   A FastAPI service over the data from project 1 — two or three endpoints, Pydantic models, pytest tests that hit them, a Dockerfile, and a deployed URL (Render, Fly and Railway have free tiers). Shows: OOP, typing, testing, Docker.

3. 3
   A command-line tool that solves your own problem

   Rename photos by date, dedupe a music library, summarise your bank CSV — something you actually use. argparse, pathlib, a pyproject.toml so it installs with pip. Shows: you write Python when nobody asked you to, which is the strongest signal there is.

• Each README opens with one sentence on what it does and a screenshot or sample output.
• A short "decisions" section: why SQLite, why not async, what you would do at 100× scale. Interviewers ask exactly this.
• Green tests in CI (GitHub Actions is a 12-line file) — the badge on the README is worth more than it costs.
• Pin it on your GitHub profile and put the three links on the resume.

Python jobs cluster in four families, and each one weights the modules differently. Read the posting for which family it is, then lead with the matching projects and modules. The job board here lists current Python roles; every posting can be run against your resume in the ATS checker.

• "Required" vs "nice to have": apply if you cover 70% of required. Nobody covers 100%; the list is a wish.
• Years of experience is a filter for the ATS, not a law. Projects with real scale count.
• Read the verbs: "maintain", "support" → existing codebase, debugging (Module 11 matters). "Design", "build" → greenfield, architecture questions (Module 15 senior tier).
• The tools list is the interview syllabus. Every tool named will come up. Module 14 gives you the day-one version of each.

The exam draws 25 questions from a bank covering Modules 01–12: syntax, data structures, functions, OOP, errors, and the patterns. 35 minutes, 70% to pass, retake whenever you like. Passing generates a SolutionGigs certificate with your name, score, date and a certificate ID — download it as an image, print it, and add it to LinkedIn under Licenses & Certifications.

• Sign in with Google first — the certificate carries your name, so the sitting has to belong to an account.
• Every question is answerable from the handbook; a wrong answer tells you which module to re-read.
• The certificate is exam-gated on purpose. There is no way to earn it by scrolling, which is what makes it worth listing.
• Then: resume through the ATS checker, projects on GitHub, and the job board. That was the whole plan.