Advice From A Recruiter

Nobody knows the hiring process better than a recruiter, and if you want to learn the secrets of getting hired, a recruiter is who you want to turn to. We recently spoke to Jason Wong, the Head of Recruiting at Udacity, and he gave us some great tips!

Top 5 Recommendations for How to Nail your Job Application

1) One-Page Resumes. No exceptions. Recruiters get thousands of applications. As much as they might want to, they’re not going to read a 2-page resume. Make it easy for them to get a sense of your qualifications, and your passion for the job.

Pro tip: They care most about what you’re up to now or recently; the older stuff isn’t as important.

2) Typos = You don’t get hired. Typos, margin errors, punctuation mistakes — they add up. They’ll give the impression you didn’t take the application seriously enough. When they see things like that, they lose their trust in your ability to do the job, and they’ll move onto other candidates with better attention to detail.

Pro tip: Have someone else read your resume. 4 eyes are better than 2.

3) Research the company, and tailor your application to them. Make clear you know what the company is about, and you’re way more likely to earn their consideration.

Pro tip: It’s really obvious to recruiters when an applicant uses the same resume or cover letter and spams a bunch of different companies.

4) Know your audiences. A recruiter may prioritize your resume, GitHub profile, LinkedIn profile, and personal website over other materials, so make sure to optimize for who you’re sending to.

Pro tip: Keep in mind that different people will read your application at different companies. Do your research, and plan accordingly.

5) Referrals matter! If you know someone at the company, reach out to them. Recruiters love referrals. A referral is a vote of confidence from someone the recruiter already knows and trusts. If you don’t know someone at the company, see if you know someone who does. Maybe they could make introductions for you.

Pro tip: Use your network!

Great stuff, right? Here’s a little bonus insider information for you!

6 Tips for Giving Good Interviews

1) Don’t TALK about how passionate you are. SHOW how passionate you are. Give real examples. Projects you’ve built. Events you participated in or helped put on. Memberships in clubs. Volunteer work. Awards you’ve won. Anything that is evidence of your passion.

2) Don’t lie about your skills. You can’t save yourself after being caught in a lie, but if you’re honest about not knowing something, you can still make a case for being able to learn those skills.

3) Don’t be negative. If you speak negatively, recruiters will think you’re negative. No one hires negative.

4) Give extra detail without having to be asked. Talk about projects you’ve worked on, and focus on what you did beyond meeting the bare requirements.

5) Be aware of social cues. An interview is a test on how you’ll work in a team. Working well in a team means being aware of others. Show that you’re aware.

6) Tell interviewers why you want to join the company. Don’t tell them a recruiter reached out, or that you lost your job, or that you were looking for a change. None of those say anything about the company or the job you’re applying for. So they don’t count.

That’s just a sampling of the kind of insights we got from our talk with Jason Wong, Head of Recruiting at Udacity. Jason, thank you so much! To read our full interview with Jason Wong, please click here.

Good luck in your job search! We can’t wait to hear about how you got hired!