It is dream for millions to land a job at Google, however, it is not so easy to get in. Google jobs are incredibly competitive as the tech giant receives huge amount of resumes each year but only a select few are lucky enough to make it through the process. That’s why it’s imperative to impress recruiters from the very start.
Despite news of wholesale layoffs, Google remains one of the most coveted workplaces for people. A former Google recruiter talks about the common mistakes made by individuals in resumes that could prevent an applicant from landing their dream job at the leading tech firm.
Nolan Church, co-founder and CEO of executive talent platform Continuum, was part of Google’s hiring team from 2012 to 2015. Nolan Church in an interview with CNBC shared some tips and red flags about creating a resume. He revealed the number one faux pas Google hopefuls commit when they apply for a job and that can make the recruiters reach for the bin.
Avoid A Word Salad
Church highlighted that the ability to be “concise” is a crucial skill. Resumes that are lengthy, endless and mind-numbing find no favour with Google’s talent acquisition team. “The No 1 thing I don’t want to see on a resume is probably text bricks,” he said.
Keep It Simple
The key to draw somebody’s attention is by using simple terminology. Church warned against applicants going overboard in their resumes. “When people describe what they have been doing, they often have a hard time being concise. Below each job title should be a series of one-line bullets,” he advises.
Avoid Clutter
Church suggests that the layout of an applicants resume should be such that the HR professional can go through it within 10 seconds as the recruitment team has to read innumerable resumes and will probably not have enough time to dedicate on one resume.
Avoid being generic
Church advised applicants to use apps like ChatGPT or Grammarly to help clean up and tighten their résumé. Moreover, the applicants should not be littered with spelling and grammatical errors as it always raises a red flag.
Highlight achievements, not duties
In order to make an impact and give a glimpse into your professional experience, an individual should focus more on the milestones they have achieved rather than summarising their day-to-day duties.