What Do Recruiters Look For In A Resume?
Recruiters looking at a resume on the first glance spend an average of just 6-seconds on each application.
What you read is correct, just a mere 6-seconds is spent on each resume that a recruiter opens and looks through.
Recruiters, especially at bigger, more well-known companies, receive hundreds, if not thousands, of resumes for a position every day.
I once sat with a friend who was head of recruiting at a major telecommunications company and he showed me their internal portal where the resumes received landed.
It was a disaster.
There were thousands of unopened resumes and applications.
People from all parts of the country and around the world were applying for these positions.
And 99% of them would never even have their applications opened.
So, how can you stand out in 6-seconds?
You need to take a proactive approach with every application you send.
We know it’s more difficult.
We know it’s more time-consuming.
But really, the only way to increase your chances when hitting submit on that online application is by curating your resume to the position.
So, here are five tips from recruiters on your best shot at increasing your chances at landing that interview.
Keywords Related to The Job Position
Utilizing relevant keywords on your resume will substantially increase your chances of landing an interview.
Besides passing the applicant tracking system, recruiters will specifically look for these keywords on your resume when considering your application.
If they do not see these keywords, they will move on to the next application.
How do you overcome this issue?
- Read and reread the job description and look for 10-15 keywords which are relevant to the job
- Now, take those 10-15 keywords and add them into your own resume.
Don’t just sprinkle them around.
Actually use those keywords within a coherent sentence which shows off your skillset.
- Finally, make those keywords bold on your resume.
Your job is to catch the recruiter’s attention and bolding those specific words will do the trick.
Have A Consistent Story
For the most part, you should have a consistent story when it comes to previous experience.
If you’re looking to become the Director of Marketing, your resume should follow in chronological order.
For example, you would want to have experience as an Associate Marketing Manager, to a Senior Marketing Manager, to a Manager of Marketing.
This consistent, chronological story shows that you’ve been working towards your goal of becoming a Director of Marketing for some time now.
On your resume, you want to downplay or remove work experiences which don’t help with your overall story.
Use Action Verbs
Recruiters want to know what you did.
What actions you took.
And how you directly helped the company.
They’re uninterested in the mundane.
What actions did you specifically take and what were the overall results?
That’s what they care about.
Use the below action verbs when describing your experience for best results.
We’ve broken the verbs into entry level and managerial level experiences.
Entry Level
Achieved
Administered
Assembled
Conducted
Coordinated
Created
Demonstrated
Devised
Edited
Ensured
Evaluated
Explored
Formulated
Functioned
Gained
Gathered
Handled
Obtained
Organized
Oversaw
Participated
Performed
Planned
Prepared
Prioritized
Processed
Promoted
Recognized
Researched
Revised
Scheduled
Set up
Simplified
Targeted
Worked With
Wrote
Managerial Level
Accomplished
Advised
Advocated
Analyzed
Audited
Authorized
Balanced
Clarified
Communicated
Completed
Consolidated
Consulted
Convinced
Counseled
Delivered
Designed
Determined
Developed
Directed
Discovered
Earned
Elected
Eliminated
Employed
Enabled
Encouraged
Engineered
Established
Expanded
Facilitated
Forecasted
Generated
Heightened
Implemented
Improved
Increased
Instituted
Instructed
Interpreted
Interviewed
Launched
Managed
Marketed
Maximized
Mediated
Modified
Motivated
Negotiated
Operated
Presented
Produced
Ran
Realized
Received
Recommended
Reconciled
Recruited
Reduced
Represented
Reviewed
Saved
Supervised
Transformed
Quantify Your Achievements
Now that you have your action verbs, you’ll want to quantify them with something.
This means you need to show exactly how you improved the situation or made a decision that led to an overall improvement.
Your goal here is to show improvement.
The best way to do that is with number and percentages.
You can say, “I grew the email subscriber list” or you can say, “I implemented 3 initiatives to drive new email subscribers, resulting in an overall lift of 43%.”
Which one do you think sounds better?
Follow The Correct Templates
You’ll want to tailor your resume dependent on your position, experience, and work history.
A seasoned, experienced, industry veteran would want to display different information than someone straight out of college.
- For new or straight out of college resumes
- Focus on highlighting your internship experiences, the classes you took which relate to your career choice, and any extracurricular activities and skills.
- For experienced professionals
- Focus on your actions and activities at your previous roles.
Highlight impacts you made directly and any leadership and team skills.
Conclusion
Following the right template and resume wording is tough in the beginning.
But if you practice and look at resume templates online, you’ll find it gets easier.
Always show how your actions led to growth and a positive outcome for the company.
Also, for additional help, feel free to check out our free resume help.
