This Resume Received A Tick From Over 20 Tech Firms, Including Google

Positions at Google are extremely competitive given that the company is known for all the work perks it gives to its employees. The technology giant is picky with who they interview but one entrepreneur has created a resume that not only piqued the interest of Google but a number of top tech start-ups as well. Here’s what the resume looks like and some sage advice on how to write your own.

Katie Simon is the founder and chief consultant at More Money For Me, a company that specialises in helping people improve their resumes. She has a wealth of experience in being interviewed by and working for large enterprises. Over at Business Insider, she shared a copy of the resume that she helped her net an interview with not only Google, but with around two dozen top start-ups as well. It took her several months of painstakingly revising her resume over and over again to formulate the perfect document:

Many people struggle with putting together their resumes and are nervous about creating a document that could potentially determine their livelihood. But there are some basic rules that you can follow to ensure that you’re putting your best foot forward in your resume so you can score an interview at your dream company. Most of us already know that it’s unnecessary to include work experiences that are too old or irrelevant to the job you’re applying for and that you should tailor the resume to each employer. Here are some of Simon’s top tips that stood out to us:

• Aim for clarity: You may be tempted to go on about some of your experiences and achievements, but if you have too many words, you risk confusing your would-be employer. Simon’s advice? “Cut ruthlessly both in terms of the type of information and sections you include, as well as the actual words and phrases you use. For every line, ask yourself: Will this improve how the company sees me?”
• Make it fit on one page: You’re trying to be concise here so as mentioned previously, cut down the information you want to present mercilessly. Ideally, you’d want everything to fit onto one page with no more than three to four sub-sections. If you can’t fit everything onto one page, include links to other sources including Github pages, LinkedIn profiles and other social media accounts that are tied to you professionally.
• Add a quirky fact about yourself: Simon said: “Even if it’s not particularly related to your job, consider adding a quirky ‘extra’ that demonstrates positive attributes like entrepreneurship, imagination, or an ability to thrive under pressure.”

We also have another sample of an excellent resume created by Amanda Augustine, career expert at online job-matching service TheLadders, that you can refer to.

But what about the cover letter? Last month we explored whether cover letters are still relevant considering a large number of recruiters don’t bother to read them. Google also doesn’t seem to require a cover letter to go with a resume for an open position. But based on comments on the article from employers, it would appear that cover letters are still relevant for some jobs so it’s worth investigating whether the role you want to apply for requires one.

[Business Insider]