Hiring Managers From Meta, IBM, Shopify Share Job Search Secrets: 'Your Interview Is Really Your First Day On The Job'

Looking to stand out in a vast pool of job applicants? Consider using these four tips from big tech hiring managers.

Attention-Grabbing Cover Letter

A first impression can make or break your chances of getting a job. There are many ways to separate yourself from other job candidates when applying for a new position, but it all starts with a proper cover letter. 

Amy Thibodeau, chief design officer of Gusto, a SaaS company for HR and payroll, recommends forming a good story around why a certain position is the right fit for you, per Forbes.

You get a chance to explain why you think you are the right candidate before a hiring manager even looks at your experience and skills. If you don't grab the manager's attention right away, you risk being skipped over for consideration.

"If I can't see really clearly why this role makes sense for you, then I'm probably going to move to reject you before we even talk," Thibodeu said.

The Interview Is Day One

McLean Donnelly, former UX director at Shopify Inc (NYSE: SHOP), stressed that how you conduct yourself in an interview says a lot about how you will act on the job. 

"I really think there's a correlation between how you interview and how people perform. And for me, I do keep an eye on that as we go through the interview process," he said. 

One way to approach the interview is to imagine you are having a conversation with a colleague. Engage in conversation instead of treating it like a Q&A session where you are the only one answering questions.

See Also: 100-Year-Old Woman Loves Working, Believes Co-Workers Are The Key To Job Enjoyment: 'I'll Work For As Long As I Can'

Resume Layout & Design

Former International Business Machines Corp (NYSE: IBM) UX research lead Tyler King suggested being very detail-oriented. Make sure you don't overlook parts of the resume and make silly grammatical mistakes. Once you proofread for errors, you should focus on the layout, she said. 

"Help me get through your resume easily and parse very quickly, and make sure you have action words at the beginning of each statement," King said. 

Poor font selection, organization and overall delivery can be a red flag for hiring managers, especially if you are applying for a role that involves doing some design work.

Job Descriptions = Wishlist

Former product manager at Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ: META) Alik Brundrett noted that applicants often see job descriptions as hard requirements instead of looking at them like a wishlist. 

The person who writes a job description for an open position is not always the person who is actually hiring for that role, Brundrett said. 

If someone applies for a job and doesn't have all of the experience or requirements that are listed in the description, they can still be hired if they seem like a good fit and a fast learner. 

"Most hiring managers view that as a low cost way to hire the right fit as it takes minimal cost for us to include training videos on a new tool," Brundrett said.

Read Next: You Have 'Zero Chance' Of Getting Hired If This Is On Your Resume, Says Former Google Recruiter

This story is part of a new series of features on the subject of success, Benzinga Inspire.

Photo: Tumisu from Pixabay.