Have you ever heard of the google XYZ resume format? As the leading trend in the recruitment industry, it is a tool that contributes to your job search. Your resume is a controllable element in your job application. If you can tailor it well to include this format while making it ATS-friendly, you’re one step closer into an organization.
Remember, your resume should be able to get you past those scanning bots, to the recruiter’s table and onto a proper interview. In this article, I’ll explain what the XYZ resume format is, why it’s important and how to use it to secure a job interview.
What is The XYZ Resume Format?
This resume format is sophisticated yet straightforward. In one sentence, it includes what you’ve accomplished (X) + the qualitative results (Y) + the skills or experience you utilized to achieve the outcome (Z). Essentially, it’s an easy-to-read, concise, and practical way to provide context and flow.
Why is The XYZ Resume Format Important?
Nowadays, most recruiters don’t enjoy going through only “what you have done” in the past; they most often want to see “how you did it” and “the results”. With the XYZ resume format, you hone in on specific achievements and impress your hiring manager with past results. It also helps work well with applicant tracking systems (ATS) as you’ll be able to include specific keywords. Since most recruiters are always looking for the ‘X-Y-Z formula’ in resumes, you should definitely use it. Sounds interesting? We have more valuable tips to give you to land a job! Visit us at our services page to learn more.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes the XYZ resume format effective?
This resume format often starts with an active verb that helps provide clarity to the reader while demonstrating your confidence and active participation in your previous work. Following the active verb is your achievement – what you did and how you did it, which helps you focus on the most relevant experience and results for the position while providing a baseline for comparison and details of what you did to achieve your goal.
The use of facts, numbers or figures, which the XYZ resume format allows, helps to add credibility and gives insight into your strengths. This resume format provides the reader with a concise context and a smooth flow while reading your resume. Simultaneously, they get the gist of your achievement and how you are the best candidate for that position with your proven results.
What should a sentence structure in the X-Y-Z format look like?
A sentence structure in the X-Y-Z format should look like this: action verb, achievement, measurement, detail of what you did to achieve your goal. Here’s an example of correct XYZ resume formatting:
Formular: Accomplished [X] as measured by [Y], by doing [Z].
X is in red
Y is in green
Z is in blue
Negotiated reduction in costs to perform post-delivery support by 40% ($900k) with XYZ by designing and using results from an online auction of multiple vendors.
Grew revenue for 15 small and medium business clients by 10% QoQ by mapping new software features as solutions to their business goals.
What are some components of an effective resume?
An effective resume should include at least seven sections. The first three shows your name, contact information and your executive summary or objective. The following two include your relevant work experiences that show what you’ve done in the past and the results that came from it, with appropriate and applicable skills that match the job descriptions. An effective resume should also contain relevant links, traceable educational background, and additional information to give you extra points and standings with the recruiter.
What are some of the biggest resume mistakes to watch out for?
- Spelling and grammar typos – Although they can seem obvious, as a result of tweaking resumes back and forth to fit the job descriptions, you can be vulnerable to this kind of error. Read your resume from bottom to top to help you focus on each line in isolation or have someone proofread it.
- Your resume length – Ideally, a one-page resume is good and if you have a lot of relevant work experience in line with the job offer, opt for a 2-page resume. If you have qualified working experience that goes back 20 years, delete it once they’re irrelevant to the job descriptions.
- Other mistakes include poor formatting, not including your contact information, adding confidential information and using a generic resume for all your job positions you’re applying to.
8 Tips For Important Resume tips
These days, some organizations rarely ask for a cover letter, so there is a lot of emphasis on resumes. And whether you are looking for part-time or full-time work, an internship, or considering changing your career path, it’s essential to make yourself well suited for the job position. Here are eight crucial resume tips that should be noted while constructing your resume.
1. Do the basic formatting.
The fundamental rule is to keep things simple when formatting and ensure that your resume is readable. Make your resume simple and give it a professional look by using black text with consistent font size, style, and design elements to avoid distracting the recruiters. Format your resume as a pdf, and before hitting the submit button, check for typos, use bullet points and make sure your contact info is up-to-date.
2. Incorporate keyword phrases.
Include the exact keywords and key phrases from the job description in your resume summary, skills, and professional work experience. You could copy them from the job description, paste them into your resume, and write words around them to make sure it fits together. Applicant tracking systems calculate the number of years you’ve practiced a particular skill, so adding and repeating industry-specific keywords in each job description will serve you well.
3. Customize your resume to fit the job description.
Make sure to adapt your resume and tailor it to the job requirement by avoiding irrelevant work experience and unnecessary information. If you have tons of relevant experience, you’ll want to describe it while still getting your message across briefly. As much as possible, keep your resume under a single page except when you’re applying for a technical position requiring multiple project experiences, which might take you onto a second page.
4. Use the XYZ resume format.
You should articulate your work experience to fit the one-page rule by using the popular google XYZ resume format, which is the crux of this article. Google describes this as “Accomplished [X] as measured by [Y], by doing [Z].”
Start with your accomplishment (don’t forget to include an action verb before your achievement), add the qualitative evidence of your result (numbers and facts), and don’t forget to add the skills you used to achieve. This resume format shows a lot of credibilities, and efficiency, while maintaining the flow of communication to the reader.
5. Reduce industry shorthands.
A point about industry shorthands is that they come off as you being aware of the trends in the industry, but the disadvantage to using them is that you may never know who is reading your resume. Industry-specific terminologies may consist of complex industry words that might not be easy to understand by people not active in that industry and may not be in the ATS. For example, a person from the software team who is part of the hiring team may not quickly grasp the meaning of shorthands like “QoQ” (for the quarter over quarter). So, only use relevant and straightforward industry shorthands if you’re 100% sure that the resume reviewer will know what you mean.
6. Include numbers, metrics, or data.
Drop the old-fashioned resume that contains only text, and use numbers, metrics, and data. For example: Grew revenue for 15 small and medium business clients by 10% QoQ by mapping new software features as solutions to their business goals.
It’s even more impressive if you can add a comparison, for example, “…compared to an average of 8 small and medium business clients by 5% QoQ from my peers.” Providing meaningful comparison and factual data helps.
7. Add your name and contact info to page 2.
If you’re going to use a 2-page resume format, make sure your up-to-date contact information is on both pages. Your first page might not be convincing enough to the hiring manager, but seeing a skill relevant to the job description may prompt them to tag your name down for the interview. So your name and contact info on the second page would provide the recruiter with your ID.
8. Add relevant links and contact info.
How annoyed do you get when you try to reach someone over the phone a couple of times, and all you get is a voice message saying: this number doesn’t exist or is not reachable? Now imagine your interviewer going through the same thing. Make sure your resume has clickable links and contact info that can help your recruiters reach you or see proof of the recent projects you’ve done.
Additionally, for technical applicants, if you’re going to be adding your GitHub links to projects you’ve worked on, make sure the programming languages you used for each are listed prominently alongside each project.
To wrap up,
There are many formulas for successful resume writing, but the google XYZ resume format is one of the most coveted for employers. This formula makes your resume easy to read without compromising the credibility of your achievements.
Although it may be hard to quantify your hard work, there is almost always something you can point to that differentiates you from others. You can’t control the biases and attention span of whoever reviews your resume, but you can control what’s on the page in front of them. Use the formula, and recruiters will take notice.
