Tuesday, October 28, 2014

What recruiters are thinking when they are looking at your resume (and wish you knew)

Image Courtesy of John Massie, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
It would be nice if recruiters spent as much time reading resumes as candidates spend writing them. But it just can't work that way. If it did, nobody would get hired. Like ever.

Recruiters will spend the least amount of time possible reading a resume before they get to a decision on whether to engage the candidate. If something on the resume screams "nope, not the one!", it's time to move on to another resume. Recruiters are looking for quality but they also have to deal with quantity. Fact.

Because of this, you need the right stuff on your resume and you need to put it in just the right places. This post on TheMuse explains the resume tips they wished every candidate followed.

TL;DR version:

  1. Relevant experience, education and skills go front-and-center (I say: lead with the education if you have 5 years or less experience and at least a bachelor's degree)
  2. Desired career changes should be explained in an objective statement (I say: you can explain it in detail in a cover letter; keep it brief in the objective)
  3. Format your resume for easy skimming (I say: focus on fonts and headings, no tables or columns)
  4. Make sure your resume makes sense to folks less-technical than the hiring manager (recruiters)
  5. Check your contact info for accuracy (I say: and take it out of the header or it disappears when your resume gets scanned)



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