Making the Perfect Resume
Throughout my career, I’ve had the pleasure of reviewing literally thousands upon thousands of resumes. I’ve hosted resume workshops at universities, schools, community centers, and many other places. I’ve heard all the resume do’s and don’ts from hiring managers, students, candidates, HR managers, career counselors, recruiters and often times they conflict with each other.
“Add the objective, no, remove the objective. I would like to see more soft skills, no, less soft skills! Make it 1 page, I’m just kidding, put every single job you ever had on there.”
How can someone navigate this? While writing a resume may be tedious and there may be no perfect science; there are a few things people can do to make sure they are giving themselves the best chance to receive that all important initial phone call.
A good recruiter can identify whether or not they want to call a candidate based on their resume within 6 seconds. I’m not kidding here. Literally, 6 seconds. I’d say shorter, but I didn’t want to seem too crazy. When building a resume, that is how long people have to catch a recruiter’s eye.
Here are a few tips to help you strive for the perfect resume; one that catches the eye of a recruiter, HR manager, or hiring manager:
Forget the Fluff!!
Recruiters and hiring managers do not care that someone can use the thesaurus function on their computer. No need to pull out the SAT words to show the linguistic genius behind the resume. They don’t need to know that someone spearheaded a trailblazing initiative that saved the company $50k. The resume can simply say- “created [insert program here] that saved the company $50k.”
Every word and every line on the resume should add value or qualify that person for the role they are applying (you can disregard the SAT word advice if you are applying for an SAT tutor related role)
No One Cares About Your Soft Skills (On Your Resume)
What happens after someone calls and does a phone screen? That’s right; they interview the candidate in-person. This means that as a recruiter- I’m going to make my own determination of their soft skills when I meet them and over the phone.
Every candidate out there believes they are hard-working, dedicated, passionate, and determined. Adding it to a resume adds nothing to someone's qualifications. Never in my entire career have I entered “hard-working” or “work ethic” in a search field to find candidates. A resume is meant to get someone noticed, not interview for them.
Keep It Concise (1 Page, if possible)
If I’m reading an effective and well written resume- I won’t even get to page 2 before I call the candidate.
As a recruiter- I’m looking for recent and relevant experience MOST of the time. That means I pretty much do not care what they did 7 years ago while working as a server at Olive Garden, no need to give me 14 bullet points on their time at Olive Garden (unless of course- one is applying to a job similar to Olive Garden).
The resume should highlight the job they want it to highlight. I’ve told my recruiters to go back and have resumes rewritten because they don’t highlight the detailed experience that matters. If a person worked for 7 years at XYZ Company, they simply did more work than 3 bullet points. Either that person got away with doing nothing for 7 years or they are missing vital details about their job.
Take Off Your Address
I can look up a candidates commute from their home to the job site and determine it’s not a good fit before I even talk to the candidate. Now, a good recruiter won’t make that assumption, but why even chance it? Have the recruiter call and get that information directly from the source.
This isn't 1946. We aren't going to mail anything until someone is actually employed. With all the fraud out there- why put an address out there before it's actually necessary.
My preference is to just put the city or area that you are open for work in (i.e. Washington DC, Seattle, WA, Greater Philadelphia Area)
Keywords, Use Them Effectively
Recruiters and managers search for skill sets and resumes based on keywords. Managers will ask for someone with [insert complex software] experience. What is the first thing recruiters do? That’s right- they search for [insert complex software] by name.
Typically, the resumes that have that word on them the most will rise to the top and be first on their list.
Instead of “Microsoft Office,” one could put “Microsoft Office Suite- Excel, PowerPoint, Word, Publisher, InfoPath” etc.
If someone is responsible for compliance with labor laws, they could name them (FMLA, OSHA, Workman’s Compensation, I-9, FDA, etc.)
This is by no means a comprehensive list and some people have different opinions on what resumes should be. You have to take the tips from everywhere and do what feels right. I believe implementing some of these will help a resume float closer to the top of the ridiculous pile that is sitting on a managers/recruiters desk. That’s what resumes are all about right, to get noticed! Getting noticed leads to a phone call. Once the candidate has a recruiter or manager on the phone, it is up to them to sell themselves and address their “red flags” in a way that makes sense.
Good luck!!
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