“How” And “Where” Are Equally Important

Resume are the forks and knives in the recruiting field.

In today’s busy workday it is very difficult for hiring managers to conduct lots of interviews in too little time. So, they cut the candidate pool down to size using a tool called “resume”. Resumes help them decide which candidates to spend valued time on. Resumes get your foot in door.

This information seems pretty obvious…everyone knows to put their ideal selves forward when applying for a job. Resumes should, and do, present the best of an employee to the hiring party.

But have you ever considered “where” your resume will be viewed? Working from tablets and reading emails on smartphones has become the new norm. So, it’s important to confirm that your resumes presents as nicely on mobile devices as it does on hard copy or a computer screen. It’s very easy for documents to become distorted when viewed from mobile devices. Highlighted points can be rendered unnoticeable, sentences can be split, and not all mobile devices will be able to read all resume formats or programs.  Applicants should review their resumes to make sure that all points come across effectively and the presentation is visually pleasant.

Recruiters who can’t easily read a resume at first try will skip straight to the next one. A survey taken from hiring managers in a variety of companies says that it takes “6 seconds” in average to view a resume. If it catches the eye then they will dig in deeper, so make sure your resume stands out on all possible viewing platforms.

I would also recommend staying away from fancy graphics in your resume. Using basic text is your safest bet that no valuable information will be lost. It’s best to not to use fancy formatting like dots, line numberings and the like. Simply state your experience and accomplishments in simple, concise text so that the resume will be easy to read- no matter where or how it will be viewed or displayed.

Some experts recommend viewing your resume in Notepad before presenting it- if you can read it in Notepad it will be readable everywhere.

Happy job hunting!