In 2017, Jonathan Javier worked as an operations specialist at Snap Inc., where he was paid $20 an hour for a 40-hour workweek.
He landed an interview with the major tech company when he was 22 years old after messaging a recruiter on LinkedIn, said Javier, who went on to work at Google and Cisco before starting his own professional training and coaching firm.
Before his final round of interviews, he said, he went to Dollar Tree, bought a yellow folder (in honor of Snapchat's logo), and put in his résumé, cover letter, business cards, and an outline of a project from his business-finance class at UC Riverside.
He said that after he completed a case study, the interview panel asked him, "How did you know our entire system?"
"I then pulled the yellow folder under my chair and put it on the desk and said, 'I utilized your whole system from my class using geolocation technology to create my own app,'" he said, adding that the hiring team looked at each other and smiled in response.
One hour later, the recruiter called him to say he got the job. "It was the fastest offer she's ever given," he said she told him.
Of course, to get that far to impress the Snap team in person, Javier had to have written a standout message to the recruiter. Recalling how he tackled it, he said he outlined his "cover letter" based on three of the qualifications that the company was asking for: experience, leadership, and a "high Snapchat score."
Here's what he wrote:
Hi [recruiter's name],
I hope your day has been going well so far! My name is Jonathan Javier, and I am currently a 4th year Business Finance student at the University of California, Riverside.
I wanted to inquire about your recent postings on LinkedIn, as I saw you are a recruiter recruiting for Snapchat. One of the jobs involving Snapchat in Los Angeles interests me greatly. Here is what I can bring to the table:
- Experience: I have been a brand ambassador 4 times for companies as well as interned with Fortune 500 companies.
- Leadership Positions: I also am a well-known individual at UC Riverside, being elected as CHASS Senator with the most votes for our student government and holding a position as the Director of Finance for our School of Business Administration.
- Snapchat Activity: I use Snapchat constantly with a score of over 60,000.
Thank you once again for your help. If you would like to know more about me, please visit my website atjonathanmjavier.wordpress.com. Have a great rest of your day and week!
Best,
Jonathan Javier
In response, the recruiter asked him to forward along his résumé and references, which she said she'd pass along to the hiring manager.
Based on his year of working at Snap, Javier said a successful job candidate is someone who's "a go-getter and willing to learn the different problems a company has and implement solutions toward them."
He added that one of the most integral parts of the interview processes at tech companies such as Snap is showing not only how your experiences relate to the specific role but also that you know the ins and outs of what they're building.
"When I started at Snapchat and saw the other folks they brought on, I noticed that each of these individuals knew the Snapchat product and how it worked," Javier said.
Join the conversation about this story »
NOW WATCH: Why thoroughbred horse semen is the world's most expensive liquid