Recruiters don't spend much time on your resume — three to five seconds total, according to former Disney recruiter Simon Taylor. "Most recruiters have a scarcity of time," he says. They have dozens of roles to fill and dozens of applicants to consider for each.
That being the case, you'll want to direct them to the most important information on your resume first. Under experience, include your most recent title and job duties you've performed that are similar to the responsibilities of the role you're applying to.
Another way to draw recruiters' attention to your relevant job skills is by writing a summary at the top of your resume. Here's how Taylor, whose leadership book "Build Smart" will be out in April, would recommend going about it and why he thinks it's effective.
Write 'a single sentence that summarizes' who you are plus bullets
Below your name and address and above your relevant experience there's room on your resume for a summary. Some career coaches recommend summing up your work experience in one to a few sentences there. Taylor would go about it a little bit differently.
Try writing "a single sentence that summarizes who you are and why you're a fit for the role," he says, then list six bullets "that speak to your skills, knowledge and experience" in two columns of three. He gives the example of the following:
To find those six bullets, go through your resume with the job you're applying to in mind and pick out keywords you think would most prove you're a fit.
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'Set up the most relevant information as quickly as possible'
This approach works because "recruiters are like trained keyword spotters," says Taylor.
They may not be experts in the position they're hiring for, but they know the general job description and what they look for are those very words that signify the expertise the team needs. If you put those upfront, they can see immediately that you're worth moving along in the process.
When it comes to writing your resume the idea is "to set up the most relevant information as quickly as possible in a way that's digestible," he says. A simple, straightforward summary at the top can do just that.
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