What a recruiter wants to see (or not) on your professional resume

A resume can be the first impression a candidate can make on a potential employer. So it’s good that it’s well-made and attractive.

“It’s an exercise in storytelling about what makes you so attractive,” said Debra Wheatman, resume writer and career coach. “You need to look at this as a marketing tool for yourself. Step outside of yourself and ask how you want the world to perceive you.”

Here’s what should and shouldn’t be part of your resume:

Don’t be “too creative”

The top of your resume is the most valuable space. So make sure recruiters and hiring managers can easily find what they need.

“A creative resume is working against you,” said Stacie Haller, a job search coach. “You have to get someone’s attention in six seconds and recruiters know where to look for information and that’s where we want to find it. We don’t have time to find you.”

She advised including your name, the city and state you live in, your email, phone number, LinkedIn profile, and a statement/summary of your professional qualities if you’ve been in the job market for a while.

Summarize Your Skills and “Build a Brand”

A resume at the top of your resume is a way to highlight your skills and build a brand for yourself.

Those new to the world of work can stand out with their background, Wheatman said, but if they wanted to include a summary, she suggested it could be something like: fresh out of marketing and with skills applicable to the “XYZ” industry.

She added that early-career job seekers can also showcase their communication and collaboration skills.

For more experienced workers, she advised having an executive summary that details the value you bring to a role or company, including examples of successes in your current or past roles.

“It’s a powerful brand statement with an example… think of it like: for this position I bring what,” she said. “You want something specific and measurable up there that is an immediate example of something you’ve done that illustrates how you generate results.”

Avoid setting a goal

One thing that shouldn’t be at the top of your resume: a goal.

“Don’t tell a company what you’re looking for, you need to share information with them about how you can impact their environment,” Wheatman said.

write to robots

Adding the position you’re applying for at the top can help your resume pass through applicant tracking systems, according to Demisha Jennings, a certified resume writer.

These systems look for specific keywords to find potential candidates.

She suggested identifying the keywords used in a job description and making sure they are also included on your resume. Often, the position title and skills needed are some of the keywords that tracking systems look for, she explained.

“If you don’t use those keywords and phrases from the job description, it’s harder to get through the applicant tracking system,” she said.

Be specific

Be clear about your experience and detail your skills and qualifications for the job.

“Early on in your career, you have to show what you can do on your resume,” Haller said. “Later in your career, you have to show what the value of bringing him in as a senior leader is.”

She added that describing quantifiable successes, whether in terms of sales, growth, benchmarks or savings, can help show your impact and attract more attention from recruiters.

“BS meters are out of CV reviewers… when [currículos] are very general, you won’t get a call,” she said.

Don’t include anything and everything

Your resume shouldn’t be a data dump of everything you’ve done.

One way to format your experience is to list the job title, company, and role followed by a few lines that describe your role, and then some achievement-based bullets with more specific detail, suggested Jennings.

“Bullet points should make you stand out,” she said. “The first few sentences highlight the strongest and most complex things you do on paper.”
And list your points in order of importance, Haller suggested. “Stack your bullet points with things you want people to see… [os recrutadores] are probably just reading the first one.”

Recent graduates who don’t have much work or internship experience and want to fill out their resume can add volunteer involvement, related extracurricular activities, and applicable projects.

“Just because you don’t get paid for something doesn’t mean it’s not work,” Wheatman said.

Don’t lie or make mistakes

It’s okay to not have all the skills or requirements listed in a job posting, so don’t make false claims about yourself on your resume.

And be sure to check your resume for spelling or grammar errors before hitting submit.

“A mistake or typo on a resume can get you out of contention,” Haller said. “Make sure someone else checks what you wrote.”