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How to Get Employers to Read Your Resume
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Rich Martin, Editor Slick eZine
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Feb 24, 2003 23:38 PST
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From: Michelle Crespin <mich-@QArecruiting.com>
How to Get Employers to Read Your Resume
The secret to making a C.V. stand out in a crowd? Hook the reader early
-- and trumpet results.
"I don't understand it. I must have responded to over 50 Internet
postings in the last month, and I haven't gotten a single interview."
"I've answered over a dozen ads in major newspapers, and I haven't heard
from one company."
I often hear these complaints from job hunters who sometimes become so
frustrated by a lack of responses that they give up. Adding to their
difficulty is the fact that the job market is tougher than it's been in
recent years, making interviews harder to come by. The tight market puts
employers and recruiters in the driver's seat once again. Fewer jobs are
available, and there's a larger talent pool to choose from.
Companies that just two years ago had to make offers on the spot to
snare candidates now have the luxury of time. They can postpone making
hiring decisions until they find someone who meets all their criteria.
Except in the case of very high-profile executives, employers won't have
to lure candidates with hefty sign-on bonuses and stock options, either.
Lengthen the First Look
How can you compete in this type of market? Your first objective is to
make sure your resume gets read. One of the biggest mistakes candidates
make is assuming that just because they send a resume to a prospective
employer or recruiter, it will be read.
No one will lean back in a swivel chair, cross their legs and then
slowly give your resume undivided attention. Instead, reviewers will
pore through dozens -- possibly hundreds -- of resumes piled in front of
them, yours included. Each resume will be scanned quickly as the reader
searches for reasons to reject its owner or to schedule an interview --
usually the former.
When your resume moves to the top, the scanner will give it a brief look
-- perhaps for 10 to 15 seconds -- for anything that piques his or her
interest. This is your one chance to make an impression. Does your
resume include a statement about your background that's so powerful that
it transforms your initial scan into a lengthy look?
Don't tell readers how good you are, show them. Give them facts and
figures -- results. The results you show will excite the reader. Then
they'll read on. If your resume starts with a convincing statement about
your capability and successes, then in the brief moment your resume is
scanned, employers will be more likely to pause and call you for an
interview.
Beyond the Initial Scan
Interviewers who are impressed with your introduction will read your
entire resume. For the strongest possible presentation, follow these
guidelines.
· Limit your resume to two pages in length, and never use more
than three pages. Summarize your early employment experiences to reduce
length if necessary.
· Prepare your resume in 10-point or 11-point Arial or
Times Roman typeface. Avoid fancy fonts.
· For each employment experience, briefly state your
responsibilities, followed by a description of your accomplishments.
Precede each with a bullet. Focus your accomplishments on important
contributions for past employers. Nothing is more impressive than
explaining how you increased revenues and profits, improved product or
service quality, increased operating efficiencies or reduced costs.
· When discussing achievements, use numbers to show
their extent. Also use the jargon of your field. For example, marketers
should talk about brand management, market segmentation and competitive
intelligence. Manufacturing pros should relate their knowledge of
process improvement, efficiency enhancement and cost reduction,
including the technologies they implemented.
· Use a strong action verb, such as planned, led, initiated, grew,
drove, increased, improved or reduced, to begin each accomplishment
statement.
Taking these steps can help you to write a powerful resume and improve
your chances of landing interviews and the job you want.
Michelle
Michelle L. Crespin
Division Director
Q&A Contract Accounting
15770 North Dallas Parkway
Suite 400
Dallas, TX 75248
972.720.1020 x 101
Q&A is one of the largest and most experienced accounting & finance
search firms in the DFW Metroplex. We have been recognized by the Dallas
Business Journal and work with a number of the most prestigious
companies in the area including 7-Eleven, Frito Lay, American Airlines,
EDS, Kimberly-Clark, Mary Kay, Brinker International, Coca Cola, Centex,
ACS, Verizon and Trammell Crow.
Visit our webpage today at www.qarecruiting.com.
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