If you’re looking for a career change or just want to freshen up your resume, we have a fantastic lesson for you from Bill Gates, a living resume example. The former CEO and billionaire bachelor spent nearly half a century in the technology industry, and his 48-year-old resume is still sought after by employers on his resume. It’s a list of skills, accomplishments, and experiences that are crossed off and sometimes inanimate, like a piece of software.
Bill Gates said in an interview with The New York Times. “It’s not detailed career history. It’s not ‘ Boss guy worked here 15 years and was really good at his job.” We think his resume is so good, in fact, that we’ve transcribed most of it word for word below. Check it out:
Bill Gates’s resume is like a series of PowerPoint slides optimized for LinkedIn. There’s a lot of information, but it’s organized in a way that makes it easy to read. Here’s a closer look at each section:
1. Experiences
This is where you list any non-technical experience or roles you’ve had since high school. Maybe you were the student president or a member of the debate team. This is also the place to mention any volunteer work you’ve done.
2. Professional accomplishments
This is where you list any professional awards or achievements. This might be a given name, award title, company, or project. Be sure to edit your resume for any tinnitus (ringing in the ears) or hearing loss you may have.
3. Technical experience
This is where you describe your software engineering career history and experience. Be sure to edit your resume for any tinnitus (ringing in the ears) or hearing loss you may have.
4. Abilities
This is where you describe your technical skills and abilities. Be sure to edit your resume for any tinnitus (ringing in the ears) or hearing loss you may have.
5. Licenses & Certifications
This is where you list any relevant licenses and certifications. This might be a given name, award title, company, or project.
6. Skills
This is where you describe any non-technical skills you have. Be sure to edit your resume for any tinnitus (ringing in the ears) or hearing loss you may have.
7. References
This is where you list any relevant references, including your previous employers if you have them. If not, you can simply say “none.”
8. Interview Experience
This is an optional section you can include if you want. In it, you can give a short summary of your resume.
9. Values
This is an optional section you can include if you want. In it, you can give a short summary of your resume.
10. Mileage
This is the total number of miles you’ve traveled in your career. You can use an activity tracker or something similar to record your driving mileage for each employer.
11. Education
This is where you list any college or university degrees you have. If you’re pursuing an advanced degree, mention it here.
12. Training & Experience
This is where you list any relevant training you’ve done and the years of experience you have.
13. Technical Skills
This is where you describe your software engineering skills and abilities. Be sure to edit your resume for any tinnitus (ringing in the ears) or hearing loss you may have.
14. Communications
This is where you list any relevant communications skills you have. Be sure to edit your resume for any tinnitus (ringing in the ears) or hearing loss you may have.
15. Key Accomplishments
This is an area you should be proud of! Here are some examples of hard skills you can highlight:
- Started multiple successful projects
- Managed a team
- Founded or co-founded a company
- Tested new products on the market
- Generated revenue
16. Recognitions
This is an area you should be proud of! Here are some examples of recognitions you can highlight:
- Won an award
- Received a certificate
- Got a mention in a newspaper
17. Hobbies & Interests
This is an area you should be comfortable sharing. It’s okay to be creative here. Think about things you’re interested in, things you like to do, or even sports you play.
18. Passions & Preferences
This is an area you should be comfortable sharing. It’s okay to be creative here. Think about things you’re interested in, things you like to do, or even sports you play.
19. Emotional Intelligence
This is an area you should be proud of! Here are some examples of emotional intelligence you can highlight:
- Positive attitude and outlook
- Resilience in trying circumstances
- Flexibility to change
Gates’ advice for job seekers is to focus on their passions and not their qualifications
As reported by Business Insider, Bill Gates shared his 48-year-old resume with the Yale School of Nursing students. In it, Bill Gates explained how he had helped the world’s most vulnerable people, and why their interests should come first when hiring. Here are some of Bill Gates’ main points:
- Do whatever you can to improve your resume.
- Focus on relevant skills, experience, and training. Give less weight to activities that don’t demonstrate relevance to the job you’re applying for.
- Put most of your weight on your last five years of experience — especially if you have work experience in an area of potential job interest.
- Limit your use of accomplishments to no more than two or three per section (e.g., skills, performance, results, impact).
- Highlight your strengths, rather than your weaknesses.
- If possible, tie your strongest skills and abilities to a hobby or personal interest.
- Mention any awards or recognitions you’ve received.
- If you’re a parent, mention how you relate to your kids.
- If you’re a student, note how you connected your coursework with real-world work experience.
- Bill Gates concluded by saying that he had always tried to make sure his resume “dressed for the job”
Bill Gates also advises job seekers to persist in their job search and not give up.
It’s never too late to learn, and Bill Gates is the latest expert to tell us that. The billionaire founder of Microsoft also recommends that job seekers should update their LinkedIn profiles and use online tools to research companies they are interested in applying for jobs with. “The job market is really, really tight. It’s like competition season has started early,” Bill Gates said on LinkedIn’s “Work Life Podcast.”
He added that companies that were once considered “haves” are now looking to fill jobs with candidates who may be short on experience but long on potential. “They’re going to look for those people and give them an interview,” he said. While Bill Gates’ comments may be music to the ears of many job seekers, they may also be heard by those hoping to land a role in the corporate world.
After years of zeros and zeroes, it seems that employers are now more focused on hiring people who can hit the ground running rather than ones who need a round of interviews. And that could pose a problem for those hoping to update their CVs before applying for a job. “CV-driven” is a term often used when talking about the hiring process. The idea is that hiring managers will base their decision on a candidate’s resume rather than their Curriculum Vitae. But is a “CV-driven” hiring process really a thing of the past? Not necessarily.
Wrapping It Up
In a recent interview, Bill Gates shared his 48-year-old resume and a lesson for job seekers. Bill Gates said that when he looks at his own resume, he is reminded of the importance of continually learning and growing. He also said that he would not hire himself today because Bill Gates does not have the necessary skills for the job. This is a powerful reminder for all of us to keep learning and growing so that we can stay relevant in the ever-changing workforce.
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