At Google Students, we aim to provide content for students, by students. As a result, we asked Google interns to submit their best resume tips. Here are the 5 tips that kept coming up:
1. Tailor your resume to the specific company and job position
Every company has different values and traits that they’re looking for in candidates. It’s important that your resume reflects that. To illustrate, at Google, some of our big values are collaboration and problem solving, so if you were applying here, emphasizing how you have exhibited those values in previous roles you’ve held would definitely help you stand out. Similarly, you should adapt your resume to highlight the skills and experiences you have that tie in with the particular job position.
2. Only include roles that you’re prepared to speak about in depth
This is crucial. If granted an interview, everything on your resume is fair game, and interviewers will expect you to be able to talk them through the different experiences you’ve outlined on your resume. So, to be safe, make sure that you feel confident that, if asked, you could speak to each and every item listed on your resume.
3. Use metrics and tangible facts (but respect confidentiality)
This one is especially important when applying to Google or other tech companies, but is useful no matter where you’re applying. Whether it be including how many lines of code you wrote, how much you increased efficiency, or even how many more customers you served per day than the average employee, being able to quantify your impact is a tremendous skill to have, because it adds credibility to your resume and gives recruiters a concrete understanding of what you bring to the table. However, make sure that you’re not breaching confidentiality when quantifying your impact. A safe bet is to use percentages rather than absolute numbers. For instance, “Increased revenue by 25%...” instead of “Increased revenue by $425k…”
4. Include extracurricular activities you do that make you unique
While you should fill the bulk of your resume with jobs and activities that are relevant to the specific job for which you’re applying, don’t be afraid to include a small section at the bottom of your resume that contains a few extracurricular activities that you’re passionate about and that make you unique. Most companies don’t want cookie-cutter candidates, and if you end up getting an interview, this section can provide some great talking points to break the ice at the beginning of the interview.
5. Have friends and/or family proofread your resume
Although it can be embarrassing to have other people read your resume, it’s much more embarrassing to send in a resume riddled with typos. It’s easy to miss typos when it’s your resume, because you’ve read it so many times. So, just to be safe, have several other people read your resume.