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Ex-Google Recruiter Explains: 6 Résumé Secrets That Get You Hired | Farah Sharghi | YouTubeToText
YouTube Transcript: Ex-Google Recruiter Explains: 6 Résumé Secrets That Get You Hired
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You've applied to hundreds of jobs. You
tweak your resume, rewrite the bullet
points, fix the format, but still
nothing. And at some point, you stop
thinking about the resume, and you start
wondering if you're the problem. The
real reason you're getting ghosted is
because of mistakes almost everybody
makes. And no one tells you about it.
So, in this video, I'll show you secrets
about what's really getting your resume
rejected before it even gets read. And
after reading thousands of resumes in my
career and sitting in hiring meetings, I
can tell you this is what will actually
get you interviews. Secret number one,
managers hire safe pairs of hands. You
probably assume hiring managers want the
smartest, most qualified candidate with
the most accomplished resume, but they
don't. They just want someone who feels
safe, someone who can step in and solve
problems without creating more. Because
most managers are already drowning in
work. They're behind on deadlines,
stressed about their own deliverables,
and now on top of that, they have to
hire, too. They're looking for the
person who they know won't make things
worse, who will make their job easier.
That means your resume has one job. Make
yourself look like a safe pair of hands.
But most résumés do the opposite.
They're vague or they're just filled
with buzzwords or keywords. and they
read like a list of random tasks with no
outcomes. And when a resume feels even a
little risky, it gets rejected. Not
because you aren't qualified, but
because of how you presented yourself.
So, here's the fix. Every bullet on your
resume should make you look like someone
who's already done the job. You want to
show recent, relevant, clear results.
Things that communicate, "I've done this
before and I can do it again." Here are
the examples of bullet points. Here's a
bad one. handled various operational
duties over five years. What does that
even mean? That's vague. That's risky.
Here's a better bullet point. Cut
operating costs by 15% Q2 2024 by
streamlining vendor contracts, then
providing some details about the vendor
or the contracts. Now, I know what you
did, the impact you had, and that you
can probably do it for me. If your
resume makes you look like a safe pair
of hands, you're already ahead of most
candidates. But even if you're safe, the
language you're using is making you look
junior. And that's the next mistake.
Secret number two, explain risk on the
page, not in the interview. Let me tell
you what recruiters never do. They never
stop to investigate a vague resume.
Before you complain, "Well, recruiters
are lazy." They're not. Imagine you have
to get through 200 rs in a day and on
top of that all the calls and all the
meetings you have. They're not lazy,
they're short on time. So, if something
in your resume is vague or raises
questions like a gap, a pivot, a short
stint, or a weird transition and you
don't explain it, we're going to make up
our own story. Most people think that
being vague makes them look safer. Like,
if I don't mention it, they won't
notice. But in recruiting, silence
equals risk. Because when a resume is
unclear, it's going to slow me down. And
when I'm screening this many, I don't
have time for confusion. So, here's the
shift. Your resume should briefly
explain the risky stuff upfront. If you
took time off to care for a parent, say
so in the summary. If you left a job
after 3 months, give a oneline reason in
your work experience. You don't need to
overshare. You just need to make
recruiters understand what happened.
Here's a bad example. Operations
Manager, March 2022 to May 2022. No
context, no explanation. Here's a better
bullet point. Operations Manager, March
2022 to May 2022. Position impacted by
departmental reorganization seeking a
role with long-term growth. Now I
understand. Now you feel safe. And if
you have a gap, like a career break,
January 2023 to June 2023, family
caregiving responsibilities now
available full-time, that's simple,
clear, with no mystery. If you don't
explain your story, someone else will
and they'll get it wrong. But even when
your story is clear, the language you
use to tell it still matters. That's
what we'll get into next. Secret number
three, transferable skills are useless
without translation.
You know you can do the job. You've got
the skills, the experience, the results.
But if you're applying outside of your
current industry or you're shifting
roles, here's the problem. Recruiters
don't read your resume to decode your
potential. They read it to look for
signals that they already recognize. So
even if your experience technically fits
and you're not using the right language,
you won't get considered. So here's the
fix. Every bullet needs to translate
your past experience into their business
priorities. That means scanning the job
description and mirroring their verbiage
so you sound like someone who's already
in their world and in that role. So,
here's some examples. Here's a bad one.
Led weekly ops syncs to resolve
escalations between regional managers.
This sounds really internal. It's very
jargony and has no context. Here's a
better one. Resolve high priority
operational issues across 12 markets,
reducing delay time by 30% and improving
team delivery scores by 12%. Now you
sound like someone who drives outcomes,
not someone stuck in internal meetings.
If the right person reads the wrong
words, it doesn't matter how good you
are. And even if you do use the right
language, your resume might still look
interchangeable. That's the next
mistake. If you're enjoying this video,
go ahead and give it a like. And if you
want to learn more recruiter secrets, go
ahead and click subscribe. Secret number
four, the words you use define how
senior you look. When recruiters skim
your resume, and we do skim, the first
thing we see are the job titles and the
first word of every bullet. And that
first word tells us a lot about how
senior you are. If your bullets start
with help, supported, or worked on,
you're signaling that you weren't
leading. Even if you were qualified,
even if you are running the show, that
language makes you sound like a
passenger. So, here's the fix. Lead with
verbs that show ownership, like led,
spearheaded, drove, launched, or owned.
These words don't just change the tone,
they change how we perceive your entire
career level. Here are some examples.
Here's a bad one. Worked on a migration
project for internal tools. Tools for
what? What do those tools even do? I
have no context. I don't know what you
did, what happened, or what was the
point. Here's a better one. Led
migration of internal tools to cloud
cutting infrastructure costs by 25%. Now
I know what you did and what you
delivered. Now an even better example
was if you would provide additional
context around the point of the project
and who it helped. The verbs you use are
shaping your perceived seniority. Fix
that and your resume immediately feels
stronger. But even with strong verbs
that show ownership, if you only
demonstrate one type of value, you're
still missing something. And that's what
we'll cover next. Secret number five,
your resume isn't a life story. It's a
signal. You scroll through your resume
and it's job after job, bullet after
bullet going back 10, 15, maybe even 25
years. It looks complete. It shows
everything you've done and what you're
proud of and you should be proud of. But
here's the truth. Recruiters don't need
to know your life's story. We're
scanning for signals that you can solve
our hiring managers problems that
they're having today. So, when your
resume gives equal weight to a job from
2023 and one from 2004, it all starts to
blur. Most people think that showing
everything makes them look experienced,
but all it really does is bury what's
most relevant for the job. So, here's
the shift. Your resume should really
highlight the last 5 to seven years.
That's your proving ground. That's where
your story needs to be sharp. So, cut
down your older work experience to maybe
two to three relevant bullet points.
Again, only if it reinforces what you're
doing now and that applies to the job.
Your resume isn't a timeline. It's a
signal. And if there's too much noise,
the right signals don't get through.
Now, even when your signals are clear
and recent, they need to show range. Let
me explain. Secret number six, résumés
need more than one kind of strength. You
might have the skills, the results, the
leadership, but if your resume only
shows one type of strength, you don't
look complete. And that's the trap
because you're missing something because
you're only showing one side of
yourself. If your resume leans too
technical, you look like a builder
without direction. Too strategic and you
sound like fluff. We wonder if you can
actually roll up your sleeves and get
the job done. The best résumés balance
these three things: technical
credibility, business impact, and
leadership. This applies to all jobs.
Here's a bad example. Senior engineer
developed an internal reporting tool in
Python. I don't know what your focus,
your value, or your outcome was. Here's
a better one. Senior engineer built $200
million product line by translating
research into scalable platforms.
Developed Python based tool used by 900
plus engineers, saving $2 million
annually. That's range, clarity, and
impact on one line. When you pair
clarity with substance, that's when you
get interviews. You just turned your
resume into something that actually
shows that you can deliver. Now, the
next battle isn't on paper, it's in the
interview. And in this video, I'll show
you the eight unspoken recruiter signals
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