Last year, we interviewed over 8,000 candidates in over 20 offices across the world. In this #careeradvice series, we want to share our behind-the-scenes insights with you. We’re featuring our global Talent team and spilling their secrets.
In this guide, you will learn the secrets to interviewing better, the 5 actions you need to take to build the perfect resume, and 10 insights from our recruiting team on the job hunting process.
Read on to learn more!
5 actions to take to get employers to notice your resume
Most – if not all – jobs ask for your resume. Your resume is a reflection of who you are, your accomplishments and your interests; it serves as an indicator of whether you are a fit for the role that you are applying for.
Resumes are the main way that recruiters learn about you, which is why it’s critical that you give a great first impression—take these 5 actions before sending your next resume:
- Get your formatting right. Anyone should be able to pull the most important information from your resume in 3 minutes or less.
- Focus on impact. Don’t tell us what you did, tell us what results you drove and always use specific metrics.
- Differentiate your resume and LinkedIn profile. They’re both important, but they serve different purposes in your job search.
- Don’t save up using LinkedIn for when you’re looking for a job. Take the time to build your personal brand and keep your profile up-to-date.
- Target your resume to each role and company. Your resume shouldn’t be a one-size-fits-all document because not every company or role is the same.
Dive deeper into the importance of resumes and learn how to write the perfect one before your next interview.
Top 5 tips for a successful interview
Let’s face it: Interviews suck! But our Vice President of Talent, Leslie Kurkjian, put together her top 5 tips for making the experience as positive as possible:
- Be yourself. Yes, everyone says this, but being honest with your interviewer about who you are in a personal and professional context is so important to see if it’s the right fit.
- Organize, organize, organize. Make sure you organize your thoughts using the STAR (situation, task, action, result) method or any other framework that works best for you.
- Ask thoughtful questions. It is important to not only ask thoughtful questions, but to ask them in the right context and to the right audience. Your answers may be communicated differently depending on whether you’re talking to your future boss or a coworker on a different team.
- Be honest with your interviewer when answering questions. We are all human, there’s no need to appear bulletproof. If you don’t know the answer to a question, then be honest, rather than going on a tangent.
- Learn how you fit within the role, but don’t over-prepare and rehearse answers. There’s a delicate balance between preparing and reflecting on your own experiences, versus preparing answers to every possible question you can get and then memorizing it. Make sure you do the former.
Learn more about the above tips and how to apply them to nail your next interview.
10 things recruiters wish you knew
Our global talent team interviewed a lot of people last year and, in the process, they have gained deep insight into the most common misconceptions applicants and interviewers have about how to get that crucial call for an interview. As a result, they now have practical advice on how to combat these misconceptions. We asked 10 members of our global talent team to give their take:
- Focus your energy on your LinkedIn profile, not your cover letter. And, in the process, makes sure there are no grammatical errors, that the information is up-to-date, and that every role has a specific KPI attached to it.
- A lot happens after you apply––and yes we really read your resume. Contrary to popular belief, applicants don’t go into a black hole. If you’re a strong candidate, you better believe recruiters are passing your resume around!
- A referral is a great way to get an interview, but it is only one step. There are productive, proactive steps to building relationships that provide you with insight into new opportunities. However, always remember that being referred to a company doesn’t mean you will automatically get hired.
- Doing your research should start well before the interview. Companies want to know why you want to work there, but they also want to know you’re proactive and ready to hit the ground running. Showing that you’ve done your due diligence in understanding the product, the market, and the competitive landscape is important.
- Your recruiting team is really rooting for you. Recruiters are there to help you. You are not up against some tricky system. Always know that recruiters are working on your side and are your strategic partners.
- Use the STAR method in every single interview. Don’t come to interviews with a half-baked track. Use the STAR method – situation, task, action, and result – to show that you’re taking time to think through your interview questions.
- Be confident––you’re talking about yourself, you know this! Show the interviewer a track record of success. This shows you that you’re qualified to take on new challenges, instead of worrying about having every qualification checked off.
- Interviews are always a two-way street. Go beyond the interview buzzwords and ask natural questions to your interviewer.
- We can feel your energy, and lack thereof. Bring energy and excitement to interviews. Every company will want to see that the opportunity in front of you is something that motivates you.
- Things don’t always work out, and that’s okay. It’s completely okay to pull out of the process. Things come up, whether it is promotions, new job opportunities, or something else.
See the above advice in greater detail by reading what our talent team – from field to technical recruiters – have to say.
Want to apply the above tips to your next job application? We are hiring! Take a look at our Careers site and explore over 230 open positions across 24 departments! And keep following our #careeradvice blog series to learn more about how to make yourself stand out during the job hunt.
