Let’s face it, we are all busy. Whether you are juggling your fantasy football team, an active toddler, a destructive pup or you just have a very active social life, we can all understand being a little overwhelmed and not having 100% focus on everything, every single day. This is why it shouldn’t surprise you that recruiters look at your resume for an average of 7.4 seconds. That’s right, seconds.
While this seems like an exceptionally small amount of time, it is actually up from 6 seconds, which was the norm in 2012. So how do you make an impactful impression in just that small moment? The answer: You format your resume to be skimmable. Now this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t put a substantial amount of thought and effort into your document. It means that on top of building a reputable resume, you need to make it easy to read and for the important information to be effortless to extract.
#1 – Put Your Best Foot Forward
If you have only 7.4 seconds, then make them count. Use active and decisive words to start each bullet point. This means using strong language to illustrate your abilities and keep them captivated.
Here are some examples of how dynamic language can change the significance of a statement:
“Assist with compliance for all offices to pass State inspections” to “Ensures the distribution of dental compliance-related documents as well as the coordination of the registration and training of employees to guarantee that all offices pass state inspections.”
“Research potential customers to find new opportunities for business” to “Qualifies leads and client specific needs to customize product solutions to best suit their business”
“Covers breaking news” to “Presents live coverage of breaking news on both television and social media platforms while simultaneously writing copy on the active situations and corresponding with reporters for live updates”
It is also important to remember that a thesaurus is your best friend when writing your resume! No one wants to read “responsible for” over and over again. Find the right synonyms that best display your experience.
#2 – Don’t Bury the Lead
Remember that you only have those few seconds to make an impression so don’t bury the items that employers care about most – keywords! Many employers use applicant tracking systems to grade your resume – and a huge part of the scoring will depend if your resume has the keywords that these trackers are looking for. When in doubt, add to your resume the same skills and important words found in the job description – often times these will be the very keywords that applicant trackers want to see on your resume.
#3 – Show Them Your Skills
Having an actual skills section in your resume makes it nice and easy for an employer to see if you possess the abilities they are looking for in a candidate. However, remember that putting this in a table or column format does make it harder for applicant tracking systems to read your resume, so this is best suited for when you are emailing the hiring manager a copy of your document directly or handing it to them in person.
One handy way of keeping track of your skills and check if they’re being picked up by an applicant tracking system is to use an online resume scanner. These scanners mimic how applicant trackers work and can give you additional information in regards to your resume.
#4 – Give Them Your Digits
It is always a great idea to show your actual impact within a role by using metrics within your document, but remember to use digits when referencing numbers. Don’t write them out. This makes it easier for the recruiter to quickly spot these key details.
Manages a team of 25 employees and developed a SOP to aid in the onboarding process when new hires start their tenure with the company.
Lowered supply costs by 55% within the past year and continually identifies areas of cost avoidance to establish future savings.
#5 – Be Clear and Concise
You want your resume to be like a compelling novel in the sense that it tells a story that you don’t want to put down. However, you do not want it to be the length of a novel. The goal is to paint a picture of the role you played at a company and the imprint you made without droning on and on with unimportant details.
Keep each bullet point to two lines or less and if your function within the business is more difficult to simplify, consider adding a summary paragraph (2-3 sentences) about what your current company is all about and how you fit in, in order to display the big picture.
#6 – Establish a Uniform Layout
Consistency is key when formatting a resume. This means equal spacing between sections, using serif fonts, identical font sizes, aligning dates and job locations in the same spot (right aligned is normally recommended) and having just enough white space to allow for readability, but not enough to imply that your experience is lacking. When it comes to adding typographical emphasis – aka bold, underline and italics – use these sparingly and remember that you want to continue with the theme of keeping things constant. Pick one category, such as section titles, to bold, and another to italicize. Simplicity is your friend!
