People are staying unemployed for longer periods of time as the pace of hiring has slowed down. The median duration of unemployment increased to 9.8 weeks in June from 8.9 weeks in May, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Recruiters are sifting through hundreds of applications. So, it’s crucial to make your résumé not only noticeable but memorable. Here’s a guide on how to get your résumé noticed in seven steps, from my perspective as a former recruiter.
1. Limit Your Résumé To One Page
Conciseness is where most résumés quickly fail. Recruiters typically spend 10 seconds or less glancing at each résumé. As a recruiter, I would send résumés over to senior recruiters or hiring managers and get a response back in just a few minutes. A one-page document forces you to focus on the most relevant and impactful information.
By eliminating unnecessary details, you highlight your core qualifications and achievements. This makes it easier for recruiters to quickly assess your fit for the role, and increase your chances of moving onto the next round.
2. Add Your LinkedIn Profile At The Top
Include a link to your LinkedIn profile at the top of your résumé to provide recruiters with a quick way to learn more about you. Make sure your LinkedIn profile is up to date, includes a professional headshot, and aligns with your resume. A strong LinkedIn presence serves as an extension of your résumé.
Additional recommendations, skills, and experiences that didn’t make it onto the page can be highlighted in your LinkedIn profile. These additional elements also help you become more easily searched for by recruiters whose jobs you may not have applied for, or for companies who are doing confidential searches without a formal job posting.
3. Ditch The Professional Summary At The Top of Your Résumé
As a recruiter, I never read a professional summary that blew me away. Instead of a lengthy one, which can be redundant and often overlooked, start with your experience and work history. Follow this with your key skills and education in a concise, easy-to-read format. This approach allows recruiters to immediately see how your experience lines up with what they are looking for, and what you bring to the table without making them have to skim the page.
4. Focus On The Last 10 Years At Most
Job seekers with long career histories make the mistake of listing every job they’ve ever had. This approach will more likely harm than help your résumé’s appeal to the readers.
Recruiters are most interested in your recent work experience, typically the last 10 years. Highlighting your most recent and relevant roles helps keep your résumé focused and relevant. It also lessens the odds of you getting discriminated against for your age. There’s no job description that will ask for 20 years of experience, and it’s unlikely your experience more than 10 years ago will translate well because of how fast technology has moved since then.
It’s better to spend the bulk of your limited space to highlight your most recent experience. If you have significant achievements from earlier in your career, consider summarizing them in your LinkedIn instead, or shortening the descriptions of the jobs beyond the past 10 years into a short summary.
5. Quantify Your Achievements With Shorter Bullets
When describing your responsibilities and achievements, use bullet points to keep information digestible — not entire paragraphs that you might find in a legal document. It’s more critical now to quantify your achievements wherever possible, such as “Increased sales by 30%” or “Managed a team of 5.” This approach not only grabs attention but also provides concrete evidence of your impact and will distinguish you from other candidates. Keeping these bullet points to no more than two lines ensures clarity and readability.
6. Employ More Impactful Action Words
The words you choose can significantly affect how your résumé is perceived. Swap out common words like “use” for more impactful verbs such as “utilize,” “leverage,” “implement” or “deploy.” Instead of “make,” try words like “produce,” “generate” and “create.” Strong action verbs convey a sense of proactivity and effectiveness, making your accomplishments sound more dynamic and specific. They also reduce reader fatigue from seeing similar bullets from multiple résumés.
7. Have A Career Coach Or Recruiter Proofread Your Résumé
Lastly, have a career coach or recruiter review your résumé. They provide valuable, objective insights from an industry perspective, ensuring your résumé meets current standards, trends and expectations. They can also catch errors you might have missed, or offer suggestions on bullets that seem unclear or confusing to them.
A great way to test this is to ask them to read the résumé for a minute, and then take the résumé away from them and see what they remember from seeing it. Even better is to have a career coach or recruiter do a mock interview with you using the résumé to see where you might have gaps to fill.
By following these seven steps, you can uplevel your résumé so it not only stands out to recruiters but also effectively communicates your qualifications. Keeping an updated résumé helps shorten your job search time and reduces your risk of staying unemployed for longer than you can afford.
Even if you’re not currently on the job market, test your current résumé against these seven steps today to make sure you’re not scrambling when you eventually need it the most.
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