How Emma Bostian's resume landed her a job at Spotify

Here's how Emma Bostian’s resume got her hired at Spotify.

1) Stand out

Recruiters spend 7.4 seconds reviewing a resume.

Knowing this, Emma built her resume to capture a recruiter’s attention.

Look.

It stands out with an organized layout, an order that makes sense, and a little visual flair.

2) Easy to read

After earning the recruiter's attention content becomes king.

Emma strategically placed her most relevant info on top.

If you’re experienced, list your most relevant and recent roles first.

If you’re brand new, list your most relevant projects, internships & certifications first.

3) Impact statements

Beneath each role in Emma's Work History, she wrote 2-4 impact statements.

She doesn't just explain her responsibilities here. She highlights her impact and quantifies it wherever possible.

Nailing the work experience section is critical to landing the interview.

4) Action verbs

Each impact statement needs to feel powerful.

To do this, Emma started each of her statements with an action verb like these:

(Hack: Review the job description and use the action verbs they use!)

5) Skills

Rule of thumb: Anything you list on your resume an interviewer will likely ask about.

Emma believes you should feature all your skills, but not overpromise. So she recommends organizing your skills by expertise.

If you have basic experience with Ruby, mark it as basic. If advanced, mark it as advanced.

6) Education

Your education section depends on your background.

If you're a recent grad, list your relevant projects, internships, and certifications here.

If you're self-taught, leave it out. Showcase your top accomplishments instead.

Remember: Most relevant info first.

7) Certifications

If you have any awards or certifications, add them!

Emma’s awards showcase her ability to excel in the workplace.

Emma doesn't list her certifications. But for those new to the industry, certifications are a killer way to learn new skills and beef up your resume.

8) Contact info

Emma's contact info makes a great first impression.

It's complete, relevant, up-to-date, and professional.

(In other words, no emails like ricky_baker1993@hotmail.com.)

9) LinkedIn

If you look at Emma's LinkedIn you can tell she treated it as an extension of her resume.

She dialed in her: professional photo, job title, accomplishments & awards, etc.

This all helped her convince Spotify's recruiters she was a great fit for the role.

10) Github

Emma's Github also reinforced her resume.

For each skill she lists on her resume, she highlights it with a featured repository.

With this, she's making it a no-brainer for Spotify to offer her an interview.

Nod of Appreciation

Big kudos to Emma.

I used her amazing LinkedIn Learning Course, 'Writing a Tech Resume' to help put this together. Definitely check it out.

~

Ok, thanks for reading!

Tbh, this took about a week to put together alongside my full-time job.

If you found it helpful, perhaps share it with some pals. This really helps.

Oh, and if you'd like more on how real developers level up their career, then you might enjoy my newsletter. :-)

Till the next one! –Ryland