Three Things Every Recruiter Looks for in a Resume
If
you are in the middle of a job search, recruiters can be either your friend—or
your foe. They make the choice to keep
you out of the hiring process or to introduce you to corporate hiring decision
makers. The quality of your resume is a
key factor in determining how recruiters will treat you in the job market.
There
are three things every recruiter looks for in a resume:
If
your resume lacks any of these crucial elements, then you are probably not capturing
the attention you deserve, and you are missing out on important interview
opportunities.
1. Focus
Since
recruiters’ time is at a premium, they must know your career focus within
seconds of opening your resume. If your
career focus isn’t clearly stated, you can’t assume the reader will take the
time to search through your resume for clues.
Most recruiters consider “Career Objective” statements worthless if they
contain no real information about the specific position you are looking for and
the industry expertise you offer. The
best objective statements are concise and to the point.
2. Core competencies or transferable skills
Once
a recruiter understands your focus, he/she will want to know if you have the
required core competencies or transferable skills to accomplish the job. A thorough research of employer job
descriptions will help you identify the core competencies your resume must
feature.
You’ll
capture and hold recruiter attention by including only those core competencies
relating specifically to your focus. Be
careful not to muddy up your personal marketing message by including extraneous
skills. If you remember the
all-important rule of relevancy, you’ll go a long way toward keeping the
reader’s attention on your key skills.
3. Accomplishments
Once
your resume has made it through the initial screening for focus and skills, the
recruiter will want to know how you stack up against other candidates. Remember, with record-high resume response
to job openings, recruiters need good, solid reasons to recommend you for
consideration over the mountain of other candidates. Clear, concisely stated accomplishments are the best way to
distinguish yourself from your competition.
Whether
the recruiter works for one corporation or represents many corporate clients as
a third-party recruiting consultant, he or she must be able to give valid
reasons for promoting you as a viable candidate. You can make their job infinitely easier by including the
information they need—and bring your resume to the top of the candidate
pile. When your resume sells itself,
you gain advantage points, and make the recruiter look good as well.
For
optimum impact, write accomplishments that illustrate the strength of your core
competencies, transferable skills and focus.
An accomplishment is only valuable to your resume if it promotes the
skills your target employers are looking for.
Remember the rule of relevancy as you craft each of your accomplishment
statements.
In
today’s extremely competitive job market, employers rely heavily on recruiter
to screen out the crowd of applicants.
Allow them to present you as one of their best candidates by letting
your resume present your best abilities.
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Deborah
Walker, CCMC
Resume
Writer ~ Career Coach
Find
resume and job-search tips in the article archive at http://www.alphaadvantage.com/
Email: Deb@AlphaAdvantage.com
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