Here’s part two of the excellent New York Times interview with Lazlo Block who’s in charge of all hiring at Google. (Part one of the article can be found here.).
The whole thing is great but I particularly liked Lazlo’s observations on resumes, as he echoes what we preach.
Prospective bosses today care less about what you know or where you learned it …than what value you can create with what you know … The key is to frame your strengths as: ‘I accomplished X, relative to Y, by doing Z.’ Most people would write a résumé like this: ‘Wrote editorials for The New York Times.’ Better would be to say: ‘Had 50 op-eds published compared to average of 6 by most op-ed [writers] as a result of providing deep insight into the following area for three years.’ Most people don’t put the right content on their résumés.”
Google is known for its eccentric hiring practices but, in this, they are no different to any other company. Employers want specifics, because it\’s the details that tell them exactly what you\’ve achieved, and therefore what they can expect in the future.
And think about Lazlo’s words: “most people don’t put the right content on their resumes.” This gives you a HUGE opportunity, because if your resume starts with a powerful summary and contains action-packed and detailed bullet points, you’ll be head and shoulders above 90% of your competition.
Time and time again we hear from our resume clients about how their job search was transformed once they started using their new resume. I also get frequent emails from people who bought my ebook on resume writing. Here’s one example, from Anna in San Francisco:
“It has been over a year since I had an interview. I reworked my resume after buying your book and I’m writing to thank you, because I’m currently prepping for two interviews! TWO! I think the secret to my success was your advice about getting into specifics – I had never done that before but, following your formula, I now have two interviews (Did I mention that I have TWO!?). Thank you so much!”
The secret is knowing how to demonstrate that you can add what Lazlo calls “the value you can create with what you know.” If you’re interested in more detail, check out our free resume writing course. You’ll be amazed at the transformation you can make – whether or not you want to work at Google!
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