- Sahil Gaba taught himself to code to secure his first job at a small fintech company and then Amazon.
- When he was 29 years old, he was able to land offers from Meta, Uber, and Google within a few weeks.
- Here's the resume that got him to Google, and what he's changing about it today.
Sahil Gaba discovered his love for computer science as he was about to graduate with a master's degree in mechanical engineering.
He noticed that his friends who transitioned into computer science had relatively easy jobs, so he decided to give it a try himself.
“One summer, I spent three or four months learning how to code,” Gaba, who grew up in India, told Business Insider.
“I was quite optimistic. I went to the labor market and tried to get a few jobs, but I still couldn't get a single job at a big technology company,” he said.
He eventually landed a software engineering job at a small fintech company in Chicago, where he felt he wasn't learning modern software skills.
“I was itching to work for a major technology company,” Gaba said. There he spent nights learning new technology and honing his interviewing skills.
Big break in progress
It worked. After his two years at the Chicago company and hundreds of rejections, he landed his first job in the big tech industry: his software engineering position at Amazon.
Within 18 months of joining Amazon, I had offers from Meta, Uber, and Google within weeks. He accepted his starting salary at Google at approximately $300,000 per year. He was 29 years old at the time.
Below is the resume he used to get jobs at Meta, Uber, and Google.
What would he change in his life? resume today
The above resume earned Gaba job offers from three big tech companies. Still, Gaba said there are some adjustments to be made today.
Lead with experience, not skills: Gaba said he built this resume before landing his first big technology job at Amazon. “At that time, I didn't have much experience in the industry, so I prioritized my skills,” he says. He said it made more sense for him to lead because of his work experience. “I want to include my skills, but just for keywords.”
Focus on new things: Gaba said he will place less emphasis on academic performance. “Honors and awards are very old,” he said. “If you haven't gotten anything lately, I feel like it's better to skip it.” Similar logic applies to sections like “Coursework.”
Language simplicity: When promoting results, Gaba said he will now prioritize making language easier to understand. “At first, we tried to add cool abbreviations to it, which quickly alienated recruiters and hiring managers.”
But there are some things he would like to keep the same.
don't value education: “I've put in a lot of effort to get all these degrees, but I know that in the context of the job I'm looking for, those degrees don't matter that much,” Gaba says. I did. He placed his academic background on the right side of the page because most people tend to read from left to right and see the more relevant sections first.
hobby: Gaba also said he plans to keep the section called “Interests” because it's a good icebreaker in interviews. “If you find overlap, you can start a discussion and get off to a warm start.”
Gaba currently works as a software engineer in Google's Seattle office.
BI has verified his employment and salary history.
Do you have a story to share about your personal resume writing process? Email this reporter at shubhangigoel@insider.com.
