The Small Changes That Make Recruiters Remember You

Wellfound's "Ask a Recruiter" series brings job hunters face-to-face with real tech recruiters who share honest advice on how to get hired.

At Gloria Dallas's recent Ask a Recruiter session, candidates kept asking the same question: "How do I stand out when everyone has the same skills?" After 10 years of recruiting — from Google's Diversity Channels team to co-founding her own agency and now leading recruitment at Snappr — Dallas has identified the small changes that actually move the needle. Most candidates overcomplicate it.

🎥 Watch the full session on YouTube

TL;DR:

Small tweaks make big differences. Use literal keywords, research honestly, and message recruiters after applying. These simple changes consistently help candidates stand out in crowded applicant pools.

The Enthusiasm Factor That Trumps Everything

"Enthusiasm honestly is something that really sets a good candidate apart from a great candidate," Dallas explains. This isn't about being peppy in interviews. It's about demonstrating genuine interest in the company or space you're entering.

If you've never worked in gaming but you're applying to a gaming company, your enthusiasm for the industry — backed by real engagement with similar games — will carry more weight than someone with adjacent experience but no passion. Dallas has seen hiring managers get excited about candidates who haven't worked in their exact space but are genuinely enthusiastic about it.

The key is authenticity. You can't fake deep knowledge, but you can demonstrate real curiosity and engagement.

The Research Trap That Kills Candidacies

Unfortunately, even candidates with the best intentions can make wrong moves. One big one: they make up things about companies they're interviewing with.

Dallas recalls multiple instances where candidates claimed to have been customers of companies that had no customers, or said they met entire sales teams at conventions those teams never attended. "I understand the motivation to try to explain that you know more than you do, but a lot of times it will blow up in your face."

Instead, Dallas recommends honesty about confusion:

"I tried to do some research. I looked at your website. I think it has something to do with security for enterprise companies. But I'm still not entirely sure what's going on. Could you explain to me a little bit more?"

This approach actually helps companies. Dallas notes that when multiple candidates point out the same confusing website elements, teams often go back to fix their messaging. You're providing valuable feedback while showing you did your homework.

The AI Resume Game You Need to Win

Most candidates underestimate how literal AI screening tools are. Dallas shared a telling example: when she asked an AI tool to find candidates with "5 years of product management experience," it pulled up people from completely different industries. She had to rephrase it as "5 years of experience as a product manager" for the AI to understand.

This means your resume needs to be ruthlessly literal. Use exact keywords from job descriptions, not fancy synonyms. If they want "managed a team," don't write "led a team" or "directed a team."

The AI might not make the connection.

Three critical resume rules:

• Submit as PDF, never DOCX. "I have had it to the point where some resumes that have been submitted in a docx format... just turns it into gibberish," Dallas explains.
• Include specific tools within job descriptions to show recency
• Add context about company size and stage (Series A startup, Enterprise company) to help AI ranking and recognizing alignment with the current role.

The Cover Letter Truth No One Tells You

Dallas hates cover letters. She doesn't read most of them, and she's never required them for positions she's recruiting for. But there's one exception: when your career move doesn't make sense without explanation.

Stepping back from management to individual contributor? Leaving a founder role for an employee position? Switching industries entirely? That's when a cover letter becomes valuable — not as a generic enthusiasm statement, but as essential context for a confusing transition.

Hard Skills Get You In, Soft Skills Get You Hired

The filtering process is brutal but simple: hard skills get you through AI screening and initial recruiter review. Soft skills determine who gets the offer. She explains:

"We have so many people that have all of the hard skills. Usually, we're not going to interview someone that doesn't have all of the hard skills... But then the person that we ultimately end up hiring is the person that has the best soft skills out of that group."

This means your resume should emphasize technical capabilities, certifications, and specific tools. But in interviews, you need to demonstrate ownership, conflict resolution, customer-facing abilities, and leadership potential.

The Networking Move That Actually Works

One tactic consistently works: apply first, then send a direct message to the recruiter. Dallas suggests something like:

"I've been working at this computer vision startup for the last 5 years. I just saw that Snappr is also working in computer vision and that you have a product management position. I think I'd be a really good fit. Just wanted to let you know that I submitted my application."

This approach works because it gives the recruiter a reason to pull your application from the pile while showing relevant experience overlap. It's not about knowing someone at the company. It's about making your application visible and relevant.

The Industry Switch Strategy

When pivoting industries while staying in the same role, focus on transferable work patterns rather than industry knowledge. A product manager moving from HR tech to healthcare tech should emphasize experience with enterprise customers, implementation scale, and deal sizes, not healthcare expertise.

Dallas also recommends having a personal story for the industry switch. Many of her successful healthcare tech candidates had health scares or family medical experiences that motivated the transition. The "why" behind your move matters as much as the "how."

What Actually Makes Someone Memorable

Three factors consistently make candidates memorable:

1. Genuine enthusiasm for the company or space
2. Alignment between previous companies and the target role (marketplace experience for a marketplace company, etc.)
3. Practical demonstration of skills rather than theoretical knowledge

Dallas advocates for more practical interviews across all roles not just engineering.

"We end up missing out on a lot of people who are really good at their job, but not good at interviewing, and a lot of times end up hiring people who are fantastic at interviewing, but not so great at their jobs."

The Age and Experience Balance

For those worried about ageism, Dallas recommends limiting resumes to the last 10-15 years and emphasizing current technology skills. She says:

"If you can show that you can work with today's tech... and that you can easily be onboarded, easily learn new things, but you also have a good amount of experience behind you, that is something that will make you very attractive as a candidate."

Take classes through LinkedIn Learning, build side projects with current tools, and get certifications in newer technologies. Experience is valuable, but it needs to be paired with current technical relevance.

Actionable Takeaways

Match keywords literally: Use exact phrases from job descriptions, not creative synonyms. AI tools are more literal than you think. Use the job description as a cheat sheet.

Research honestly: It's better to admit confusion about a company's messaging than to fabricate connections that don't exist.

Apply then message: Submit your application first, then reach out to recruiters explaining specific experience alignment, not generic enthusiasm.

Emphasize recency: Include specific tools and technologies in your most recent job descriptions to show current relevance.

Prepare for practical interviews: Focus on demonstrating actual work capabilities rather than theoretical knowledge during the interview process.

To learn more candidate tips, subscribe and check out 'Ask a Recruiter' on YouTube here.