According to TheLadders (click for link) research, recruiters spend an average of “six seconds before they make the initial ‘fit or no fit’ decision” on candidates.
While a resume doesn’t tell your whole story, it’s your first impression and is hugely important! This article gives some good advice to make sure your resume makes it past that 6-second test alive!
- Make it easy on the eyes. This does not mean embellishing with graphics, wild colors, curvy lines or icons. Keep it simple but visually appealing. Choose a classic font, clean lines, and nice, even margins.
- NEVER lump all of your responsibilities in to a paragraph. Use bullets to make it easy to read through and write just enough to wet our appetite, leaving us room to ask questions to find out more.
- Put the most important and relevant details in the top 1/3 of your resume. This is where recruiters spend most of their time. If you don’t win us over on the first page we will not continue on…
- Write your resume to match the job you are applying for. This is especially important for those folks that consider themselves “a jack of all trades.” Yes, you are capable of handling multiple varying tasks but unless the job is requiring that, you want to show more depth of experience in the most relevant areas. Showing breadth of experience across many areas will likely only lead to the employer questioning how much depth you have! Identify the keywords in that job description and make sure they are emphasized in your resume (especially within the first page)
- Give clear, specific examples of how your work had a direct impact on the bottom line, if applicable. For instance “implemented a system that saved the company 20% in operating costs.”
- Check yourself! Proofread that resume multiple times and don’t just rely on spell-checker (think of words like ‘there’ and ‘their’) and always check your social presence to make sure all is in order and a good professional representation of you.