Alexandria Sauls
- Alexandria Sauls worked at Amazon, Uber, and PayPal before landing a job at Google.
- Now, she has a career coaching business on the side and gives résumé reviews and mock interviews.
- Sauls told BI about the mistakes she sees from applicants, like leaving out their impact on résumés.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with 33-year-old Alexandria Sauls, a Google employee who runs a career coaching side business called No Ceilings. It has been edited for length and clarity.
My break into tech was through a career fair on campus. Amazon was hiring a massive group of people in operations, so that's how I got my opportunity.
I was then able to land jobs at Uber, PayPal, and Google through cold applying through LinkedIn or on the company website. Typically, within the next 24 to 72 hours I would see that someone from the company had viewed my profile. From there, we kicked off the interview process.
I officially started my career service business, No Ceilings, in 2022 and I've helped over 100 clients, primarily with résumés and mock interviews. I've helped people across Big Tech companies as well as smaller tech companies. I have some people who just need some tweaks and some looking to fully pivot.
These are the red flags I see in the application process.
Don't: Steer away from the question
I recommend responding in a very concise way. Sometimes when you don't understand the question and nerves are there, you can kind of go full throttle and then you're like, "Wait, I don't know if this is actually answering it."
I learned the "Star" format at Amazon and I've used this same format of responding at every company since. "Star" stands for situation, task, action, and result, and it really allows you to keep yourself on track by stating the problem you were trying to solve, the specific actions you took to get there, and then making it a full close-out with that result.
It helps the interviewer because they can go through their notes and understand what you did. Your ability to communicate concisely also plays a huge role in how they see you in the business.
I typically recommend the STAR format for behavioral questions, but you'll also get those types of questions like, "How did you go about putting together a strategy?" Although you're not giving the response in the same format, you'll think about the process you did as if it were a behavioral question.
Don't: List responsibilities without impact
The biggest drop-off that I see is some people listing just their responsibilities, like "I generate weekly reports" or "schedule X number of meetings."
When I do a sweep of my clients' résumés, I ask probing questions in the doc, like, 'Do you have project examples, or what was the impact?' Once I get that fuller picture, I'm like, 'Wait, you solved a very complex problem that you put in as "I deliver weekly reports."'
Writing it that way doesn't really give a full picture of the projects they worked on or communicate their compelling impact. Each bullet should be the "R" of the "Star" format: "result." So you should make sure those verbs and words align with the job description and that result.
When you're looking at your résumé, ask if it's showing all of your awesomeness. If not, go back and revise some more. But I can guarantee there are ways to tell more of that full picture.
Don't: Repeat your résumé when asked for an intro
"Tell me about yourself" is such a big question, but I tell people it should be a little mix of personality and a clear understanding of why you're applying for that role.
It's not a walk-through of your résumé — they have the documentation. I typically recommend saying the university you went to if you recently graduated and then talking about the industries you've been in, what kind of projects you worked on, and what led you to apply for that role.
Usually, that will keep you within three minutes or less.
Gray areas: Small talk with interviewers and résumé format
When it comes to small talk, you don't want to give your full life story. But I do like to say I'm originally from Houston and have been living in New York City for the last five years with my husband and our puppy Kygo. Usually, I try to keep it light.
I've had a mix of interviews for one role where someone was super formal, and then the next two were more casual. You really have to adjust to the vibe of the person and know that each person will differ.
With résumé format, I don't have a super strong opinion. I still go for the generic black-and-white résumés and always tell people to focus more on the keywords and content than the layout.
In terms of page number, people say try to keep it under two pages if you have less than 10 years of experience. But the résumé I applied to with Google was definitely two pages because I wanted to get some good examples. You wouldn't want to compromise on including relevant certifications, for example, just because it's over a page.
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