- Sahil Gaba taught himself programming to safe his first job at a small fintech after which Amazon.
- When he was 29, he managed to land provides from Meta, Uber, and Google inside weeks of one another.
- Here is the résumé that received him within the door at Google — and what he’d change on it right now.
Sahil Gaba was about to graduate with a grasp’s diploma in mechanical engineering when he realized the enchantment of pc science.
He observed that mates who had switched to the pc science subject have been having a comparatively straightforward time touchdown jobs — so he determined to strive it, too.
“One summer season I spent three, 4 months studying programming,” Gaba, who grew up in India, instructed Enterprise Insider.
“I used to be fairly optimistic. I went to the job market, tried to get some jobs, however nonetheless could not get any of these massive tech firms,” he mentioned.
He lastly landed a software program engineering function at a small fintech firm in Chicago, however felt he wasn’t studying probably the most up-to-date software program abilities with them.
“I had that itch of working in massive tech,” Gaba mentioned. So he spent his evenings studying newer applied sciences and honing his interview abilities.
Catching a giant break
It paid off. After two years on the firm in Chicago and lots of of rejections later, he received his first job in massive tech: a software program engineering function at Amazon.
Inside 18 months of beginning at Amazon, he landed provides from Meta, Uber, and Google inside a couple of weeks of one another. He accepted a job with Google with a beginning wage of about $300,000 a yr. He was 29 years outdated on the time.
Here is the résumé he used to land jobs at Meta, Uber, and Google:
What he would change on his résumé right now
The résumé above landed Gaba job provides with three tech giants. Even so, Gaba says there are some things he would tweak on it right now.
Lead with expertise, not abilities: Gaba mentioned he created this résumé earlier than touchdown his first massive tech job at Amazon. “At the moment, as a result of my work expertise was not that robust, I put my abilities on the prime,” he mentioned. It will have made extra sense to guide with work expertise, he mentioned. “I’d nonetheless need to embrace my abilities, however only for the key phrases functions.”
Concentrate on the brand new: Gaba mentioned he would cut back the emphasis on achievements from school. “The honors and awards, they’re very outdated,” he mentioned. “I really feel like for those who’ve not gotten something in latest occasions, you would possibly as properly skip them.” Comparable logic applies to sections similar to “coursework.”
Simplicity of language: With regards to touting achievements, Gaba mentioned he would now prioritize making the language straightforward to know. “To start with, I’d attempt to add cool acronyms in there — you’ll be able to alienate your recruiter or hiring supervisor in a short time by doing that.”
Nevertheless, there are some issues he would preserve the identical.
De-emphasizing schooling: “I’ve labored fairly exhausting for all these levels, however I do know that within the context of the job that I am in search of, these levels should not that essential,” Gaba mentioned. He put his schooling on the correct aspect of the web page, since most individuals are likely to learn left to proper, and would subsequently see the extra related part first.
Hobbies: Gaba mentioned he would additionally retain the part known as “pursuits” as a result of it makes for icebreaker in interviews: “If you happen to discover one thing that overlaps, it begins a dialogue and it results in a heat begin.”
Gaba at the moment works in Google’s Seattle workplace as a software program engineer.
BI verified his employment historical past and his pay historical past.
Acquired a narrative to share about your private résumé journey? E-mail this reporter at shubhangigoel@insider.com.