Henry Wang’s Resume: Lessons Learned and Changes Made
Henry Wang’s 2013 resume landed him interviews from Goldman Sachs, Deloitte, and Google. However, in hindsight, Wang realized that he could have made some improvements to his resume that would have made it even more effective. Here are the lessons he learned and the changes he would make to his resume if he could do it all over again.
Resume Mistakes and Changes
Declutter: “When I look at this, my eyes kind of hurt. There’s a lot of text and it’s all very packed together. I could use a more clean font that is easy to read, like Arial, Open Sans, or Lato,” Wang said.
Minimize the work for the recruiter: “I would have an introduction blurb about myself so the recruiter or interviewer does not have to read through everything,” Wang said. “I would summarize my experience into two to three sentences at the very beginning, so it’s almost like a mini cover letter.”
Lead with the new: “At this time, I had already been working two years, which means I could move education below and lead with experience.”
Show your accomplishments, not your work: Wang said he’d focus less on listing tasks, and more on explaining how his tasks became accomplishments. “For example, for litigation paralegal, I would have a short blurb saying, ‘Managed and owned legal workflow for high profile family law cases from discovery to trial,'” he said.
Tailor for what you want: “Pick your battles — not every single work experience is going to be equal,” Wang said. Because he was applying for a policy role at Google, he says he should have emphasized his policy experience over his time in community service.
The Positives and Final Thoughts
It’s not all negative, though. “One thing I appreciate about this resume is that even though there’s a lot of information, I over communicated rather than under-communicated,” he said.
Wang worked at Google’s policy division and later as a product marketing manager. He left the company in 2017 and now runs his own business consulting AI and crypto startups.
In conclusion, Wang’s reflections on his 2013 resume offer valuable insights for job seekers. By decluttering, minimizing the work for recruiters, leading with relevant experience, highlighting accomplishments, and tailoring the resume to the desired role, candidates can make their resumes more effective and increase their chances of landing interviews and job offers.
Analyst comment
This news can be viewed as neutral. Henry Wang’s reflections on his 2013 resume offer valuable insights for job seekers, providing guidance on how to make resumes more effective. By decluttering, minimizing work for recruiters, leading with relevant experience, highlighting accomplishments, and tailoring resumes to desired roles, candidates can increase their chances of landing interviews and job offers.
