How To Capture A Recruiter's Attention In 60 Seconds
We tell most candidates that we work with they have 60 seconds to capture a recruiter or hiring manager’s attention with their résumé—60 seconds to two minutes for the recruiters to determine if you are a candidate they want to speak to. Hard to believe or understand, right?
For a trained recruiter—reviewing hundreds of résumés a week or day—they have a limited amount of time to decide if you’re qualified or not. Many have a certain number of calls or interviews they are required to set up in order to meet their goals. It’s difficult to see how, in less than two minutes, this is even effective. How could they possibly make a sound decision?
Even with all of the applicant tracking systems that search for keywords to identify which candidates they should review, they still have too many applicants and too little time. And what about those tracking systems that kick you out of the qualified candidate pool? Understanding how they work and what keywords will pull your résumé up is important.
You know that message you may have received in the past saying . . .
“Thank you for your interest in this position. We received your résumé and appreciate your application. We are reviewing résumés and determining who meets the qualifications. We’ll reach out asap if you are one of those.” or “You are not being considered for this position.”
Then you think, “How can I not be qualified? I have the job title, amount of experience, and meet the requirements.”
This is can be so frustrating and confusing, but indicative of how important your first impression is and how essential it is for your résumé to stand out. After all, once you’ve been “rejected” you have little chance of getting another shot at it.
We’ve all been there at one time or another—job searching or in need of a résumé for an upcoming interview. If you haven’t updated your résumé in a while, or you don’t know how to create one, it can be tricky. There is a lot of advice out there and it can be overwhelming.
So, how do you get recruiters and hiring managers to look at your résumé?
With over 20 years experience in the recruiting business and having consulted thousands of candidates on how to create or edit their résumés, we can provide some suggestions, specific advice, consultation, and a few best practices that could help!
The first thing recruiters look for is job titles and dates of employment. Here are few things to check your résumé for.
1) Consider Your Job Title
Make your job title match the position you’re trying to get. If your job title doesn’t match the one they are trying to fill, they’re probably going to move on to the next candidate.
2) Formatting Is Key
Don’t let the format of your résumé mislead them. Recruiters are looking at your dates of employment to see if you have tenure with a stable work history and haven’t job hopped. If you’ve been at the same company and have been promoted several times, great! Recruiters could quickly see those dates, along with a confusing format and not see that you’ve been at the same company. Be sure it’s clear that these are promotions, not job hops.
3) Your Education Shouldn’t Be Listed First
Only put your eduction at the top of your résumé if you’re a recent graduate. If you can check that box, it’s okay to list your education at the top after your name. Many recruiters expect to see the education at the top only if you’re “green”. So, if you’re not a recent graduate, the first thing they need to notice are your job titles and previous experience.
4) You Don’t Need A Cover Letter Anymore
With technology and the pace of hiring, no one reads them anymore. It’s unusual for anyone to physically mail a résumé, which is where the cover letter came in handy. You can simply email a bio or introduction along with your résumé. If you’re working with a head-hunter, executive search firm, or agency they should do this for you. If not, use a different one! Their job is to market you.
So how do you know you are working with the right recruiter, firm, or resource?