Woman’s creative video resume that landed her job at Google goes viral

Mariana Kobayashi’s unique approach received online accolades

A woman who was let go from her job at LinkedIn in May last year landed a job at Google with almost double the salary, thanks to her out-of-the-box job application.

Mariana Kobayashi’s application to Google after she was fired from her job at LinkedIn featured a video resume and pre-recorded references – that she claims helped her land a job at the tech giant’s Dublin office.

Ms Kobayashi ditched the traditional resume and instead took an unconventional approach to job hunting and post went viral with several praising her for her unique thinking.

A screengrab from Mariana Kobayashi’s video application to Google (Mariana Kobayashi / YouTube)

She wrote: “The best way to stand out when applying for a job is thinking about what everyone else is doing… and doing something else (in anything in life, really)!”

She added: “Please steal my method and good luck.”

Creating the video resume required more than 10 hours of effort, she said.

She sent it directly to Google’s hiring manager and also uploaded it on the internet. Along with her application, she included documents that outlined her identified weaknesses and her strategies for overcoming them.

Ms Kobayashi kept in constant contact with the recruiter throughout the process. Following her progression through three rounds of interviews, she made it to the final list of candidates.

Later, a recruiter from Google reached out to her, indicating that she was “overqualified” for the job she had applied for. However, they were impressed by her proactive approach and showed interest in considering her for alternative positions within Google. However, she later landed a job and now works as an account executive with Google, according to her LinkedIn profile.

Ms Kobayashi told Business Insider that she was “proud of everything that happened”.

“I’ve grown two levels in my career – which wouldn’t have been possible if I had stayed at LinkedIn – my salary has almost doubled, and I’m in a company that is much more suited for me.

“The experience taught me not to tie my self-worth to my job like that again.”

LinkedIn users sent her well wishes. “I love this video and how your personality totally shined through!! Truly harnessing the power of video to stand out as a candidate, I’m stealing this idea.”