The road from university to full-time employment can be a daunting one. With advice coming from all outlets and angles, it’s difficult to get a straight answer on the dos and don’ts of job applications. What exactly should we include in our résumé? What should we avoid? How do we stand out? Most importantly, how do we get hired?
I had the chance to sit down with FSU alumna and technical recruiter, Gabriella Miller, to ask for her professional and sisterly advice. From start-ups to big tech, Gabriella has spent the last eight years in the recruiting field, sourcing talent and shaping the future of hiring. While specializing in advanced career placements, she shares her personal views on early career experiences and what makes a standout interview, résumé, and overall candidate.
Her Campus (HC): In a few words, what stands out to you in an interviewee?
Gabriella Miller (GM): Keeping the lens that we’re focusing on early careers, what makes a candidate stand out to me is going to be communication and how they present the experience they do have. Whether it’s on the job, via an internship, or what they learned in school, it’s important that they’re able to articulate what they can bring to the table today.
HC: Are there any red flags that immediately jump out at you in a candidate?
GM: For sure. I think on a résumé, it’s important to only include experience that’s relevant to the type of job you’re looking for, or find a way to gear your experience towards that job. You have limited space on your résumé and attention from the recruiter, so focus on highlighting the experience that most aligns with the role you’re seeking.
In an interview, some of the biggest red flags for me are candidates who just didn’t do their research. You’re always going to be asked, “Why are you interested in working for this company?” The answer needs to be meaningful. How do your interests and skills contribute to that company’s mission? You should be thoughtful about how you articulate that because the candidates who do are more likely to move on to the next stage.
HC: With classes at FSU geared toward résumé writing and interviewing, some claim that cover letters are making a comeback. Have you also seen that revival?
GM: It largely depends on where you’re applying. Smaller companies generally get fewer applicants, which means their recruiters might have time to read a cover letter. If you’re going to use them, use your best judgment. I always recommend looking for ways to help your application stand out. That could be a cover letter, or a better use of time may be finding a hiring manager or recruiter on LinkedIn and sending them a message.
I usually tell people that first impressions are really important. I’ve heard that on average, recruiters scan a résumé for about 30 seconds before determining if they’ll move forward or not. Are cover letters beneficial? Sure. Is everybody going to read them? Probably not. Just use your best judgment to decide if it’s worth it.
HC: It sounds like recruiters don’t always have time to comb through résumés in detail. What key points on a résumé do you hit in those first few seconds?
GM: For an early-career candidate, I’m going to go with years of experience first. After that, I’m going to look at education. If that checks out, I’m going to dig a little deeper. How does this person describe their work, and does it align with the requirements of this job? At a minimum, I’m going to look at the bullets for their most recent job experience. If there are no major spelling errors or crazy formatting and they meet the role requirements, I’d probably move forward.
HC: In a transparent way, what do you just not care about in a résumé or interview?
GM: Definitely fluff. Show who you are and what you bring through your work experience instead of relying on buzzwords or fluffy objective statements. Same thing applies in interviews. Especially in the world of AI, people are heavily using ChatGPT for interview prep. While I think that can be a very efficient way to prep for interviews, my experience is that AI is always going to spit out more fluff than you need.
Focus on conveying what you want to convey in a precise manner, while still being sincere. You don’t want to sound robotic. Sometimes I get candidates who I can tell spent a ton of time prepping for our interview. It’s always appreciated, but if we can’t cut through the fluff, it can easily derail our conversation.
HC: On that same vein of fluff, how should we balance soft skills versus technical skills? What soft skills are just intuitive?
GM: Convey your “soft skills” in your resume bullets. Don’t just say you have these skills in a designated section; prove it. Prove it in the limited real estate you have on your résumé by providing examples. You’re also going to have a chance to showcase those skills in the actual interview. They’ll show through how you present yourself and how you participate in the conversation.
Every job is going to have a different set of technical skills they’ll require for the role, but I’ve found that early-career roles are going to be more flexible on those. Hard skills are going to be things you’ve learned through school or internships. Make sure you point those out and show they’re a strength of yours, and be transparent about what you’re not an expert in. If you do a good job conveying the skills you’ve developed, you’ll make the interviewer feel that you have the aptitude to learn the things you haven’t mastered yet.
HC: If you could give “post-grad you” one piece of advice, or if there’s something you wish you knew then, what would it be?
GM: There have been studies that show that women are less likely than men to apply for jobs they’re not qualified for on paper. Sometimes job descriptions are very cookie-cutter and not an accurate representation of what a team is looking for. With that, I’d encourage everyone, especially early-career candidates, to apply anyway. If you think “I’m missing this one requirement,” try anyway. Be resourceful about it, try to find a recruiter at that company, send them a message on LinkedIn, and start a conversation. Just throw your line out!
The next phase isn’t so scary with some help. It’s baby steps the whole way through, facing one new experience at a time. Gabriella Miller is one of millions waiting for your applications. Recruiters and hiring teams want to see you: what makes you special, what you bring to the table, and what you can do. Let’s get hired!
*Responses edited for length and clarity*
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