I have been a headhunter for over a decade now, and I have learned two important things about resumes…
- Most people think they know how to write a really good resume.
- Most people are unfortunately wrong.
Job candidates do indeed work hard at writing resumes, no doubt. But not enough time is spent thinking about what a recruiter will actually want to see. Most talent acquisition professionals will look at more than 100 resumes per day (I personally look at about 150). You have to stand out, and in the right way.
You need to get your resume to the point where the recruiter feels they have no choice but to call you to learn more…
Here are some of my best tips…
- Highlight Quantifiable Results.?Don’t just highlight what your responsibilities are, but point out what you have achieved. And always do your best to quantify the results. For example, rather than saying ‘managed a team’, you can say ‘hired and managed a team of 6 people’. Or another example, rather than saying ‘proficient at Word’, you can say ‘can type 42 words-per-minute error-free using Word’. Get a number in there if you can. Quantify everything you can. Not only are you showing the recruiter that you have experience in a certain area, you are also ‘proving’ to them precisely how good you are.
- Use the Correct Font.?This may seem like a fickle point, but some fonts appear better on the screen than others. If anyone prints out your resume (which almost never happens anymore), it will only be at the final interview. The recruiter, HR Manager and Hiring Manager will all review your resume on the screen before meeting you. Make it easy for them. Use Calibri, Courier or even Garamond. For the love of God, never use Times New Roman.
- Appealing Layout.?Any marketer worth their salt will extoll upon you the virtue of white space. Don’t overcrowd your resume. The white space ensures that the eye is drawn to the right spot. Use a hint of color, but do not overwhelm the reader. Paying a little attention to design will show you pay attention to detail, a good trait for any job candidate in any industry.
- Use Objective Statements correctly.?I normally skip right past objective statements when reviewing candidate resumes. Why? Because they are normally all about you, rather than about how you can help me, the employer. And they are usually boilerplate statements like ‘My objective is to obtain a role where I can showcase my…blah, blah, blah’. Make it about the employer instead. Use this tried and tested format that makes me read the whole resume every time, ‘My objective is to land the position of {job title} with {company name}’. It immediately lets the reader know that (a) you know what you have applied for, (b) you went to the trouble of tailoring your resume, and (c) you have probably read the entire job description, decided that you are a fit for the role, and then applied (rather than using a shotgun approach to job applications). Here is an example: ‘My objective is to land the position of Marketing Manager with Acme Inc.’
- Insert Keywords.?Before your resume is read by a human, it is making its way through the employer’s ATS (Applicant Tracking System), which is a software system that, as the name implies, tracks applications. Unaffordable by all but the largest organizations a few years ago, even a small company can pick one up for a few bucks a month now. Normally, HR will set keywords that will filter out applications that do not contain certain keywords. If you are an Android app developer, you need to have the word Kotlin in your resume. If you are a digital marketer, you need to have the word Analytics etc. The best way to decide what keywords to use is to look on the actual job description. Use their own terminology, but don’t overdo it.
- Spelling Hack.?Until a few years ago, I would have told you the best way to check for spelling is to print off a hard copy and read the resume on paper. It works well, but there is lots of free spelling / grammar software nowadays that works better. Grammarly comes to mind, which I used to edit this article - found 6 spelling mistakes.
- Create a Video Cover Letter.?I get a lot of pushback on this one, but I am including it because it drastically improves results and only takes a few minutes per application. Record yourself on your phone talking about how your skills match up with the job description. Then upload to YouTube (unlisted so the whole world can’t see it) then insert the URL into your resume. In the video, mention the company by name toward the beginning so the viewer knows you made it just for them - show them the love. I have seen job candidates who use this technique skip right to the final interview. Essentially you are conducting the first screening interview on yourself.
If you wish to download a pre-formatted resume that I have created, please do so here…?
