“Getting Your Resume Read by a Recruiter or Hiring Manager”
By Karen Gore
Executive Recruiter/Founder of Virtual HR Associates
VirtualHRAssoc.com
Alternatively, as I prefer to tell people “What to do to never have your resume looked at by a recruiter”. Few things make a recruiter or hiring manager turn away from a resume in an email faster than these “habits” detailed below:
1. YOU DON’T TELL ME WHICH JOB YOU’RE APPLYING FOR – Put the JOB TITLE in the SUBJECT LINE! Generally, recruiters are working on filling at least three to four positions at a time, sometimes up to twenty. We do not have the time to open up each resume to decide which job you are qualified or applying for. Several hundred a day come into our email inboxes.
2. YOU DON’T GIVE ME A REASON TO CONSIDER YOU – Tell us why you are qualified for this position. This does not mean some very generic language that you can use for a dozen different positions. Spend some time looking at the job description, highlight how you meet or exceed the requirements. A few well-written sentences are all that is needed. Let us know you actually read the job description.
3. WHY DON’T YOU PROVIDE RELEVANT INFORMATION? – If the job description request experience in a type of industry (i.e. semiconductors or over the counter healthcare) and you have this experience, make sure the industry is listed! Work with me here, recruiters do not know what every company in the world does, nor do we have time to look this up!
4. MAKE SURE I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU MEAN – When a job description uses industry standard jargon, use this in your resume. However, be sure that the recruiter understands what it is, so you might be wise to spell it out a bit. We search on terms, skills, word phrases and dozens of other items looking for resumes. Do not use jargon that is company specific only; every company has terms they like to use. Remember the general business world does not know nor understand what your last/current employers jargon means.
5. DON’T MAKE IT HARD TO ACCESS YOUR RESUME – Avoid emailing through job boards if possible (i.e. monster, dice, etc). These sites are great but the emails they generate can make extra work for a recruiter. Example – when you email through Monster the recruiter has to click on the attached link. Now if we want to download the resume in word, we have to purchase the rights to access this. You lose out when we cannot download a resume. Less work for you means more work for me – not a winning equation. Sending your resume directly is better, plus you can add comments about why you are qualified (see # 2).
6. DO NOT put a job description in your resume - tell us what you did that is different from the person sitting next to you. What are your achievements, what sets you apart from the pack, why should I spend time interviewing you? The resume is a sales and marketing tool and you are the product being sold. Think about a product you buy, let’s say toothpaste. Did you pick the brand because it said it cleans your teeth? All brands of toothpaste do this. So what made you pick this brand? Whitens teeth, removes plaque? Well the same is true for candidates, why should you be the one picked out of the pack to interview?
7. USE INDUSTRY STANDARD TERMS – Use market general titles even if the company used funky ones. Example: Director of Happiness. Huh? How about Director of Customer Service – now we know what your job involved. Remember we search on titles and terms. (See #4)
8. SPELLING AND GRAMMAR COUNT – Spell check your resume and have two other people read it over. Ask if the information makes sense to them. Think of this as the most important essay you’ve ever written.
9. DO NOT use off brand software for your resume – This is the one that drives me nuts. Most companies and recruiters can open MS Word (doc) or pdf (Adobe) file. Always save in an earlier version, not everyone is cutting edge on their software products. If it cannot be opened, it cannot be read – we will not tell you if that happens.
Remember, when is come to resumes, funky is not good.
Babeland