How long does a recruiter spend with your resume? On average, about 7.4 seconds.
That’s a long time in a bull-riding competition, but barely any time to make an impression.
If that quick glance shows promise, recruiters will continue reading and potentially hand it off to the hiring manager — which means you have a chance to get the job.
If they don’t see a fit in those 7.4 seconds, however, your resume will likely end up at the bottom of the pile — ultimately sinking your chances of getting the job.
So, those seven to eight seconds mean a lot. The key is writing a resume that will connect with recruiters in that short span of time. In her LinkedIn Learning course, Making Recruiters Come to You, longtime recruiter and career coach J.T. O’Donnell explains exactly how to do that.
In her LinkedIn Learning course, longtime recruiter J.T. O’Donnell explains how to write a resume that'll actually get a recruiter's attention.
Key tactics to writing a resume recruiters will actually read
In her course, O’Donnell introduces several key tactics to make your resume pass a seven-second scan:
Show, don’t tell.
Don’t write something like “you are a strategic, innovative self-starter who loves collaboration” on your resume.
Instead, tell the facts that make that point. Write how you started your own company from scratch or launched a project on your own. Or how you were in the top five percent of salespeople at your company six years in a row. Or how you’ve been promoted at every job you’ve ever had.
Those facts will impress recruiters far more than any adjective could.
List your skills at the top of the resume.
Near the top of your resume, even above your job history, write out your skills. This allows recruiters to quickly scan them to make sure you have what’s needed to do the job.
And, of course, be sure to only list skills that are pertinent to the job you’re applying for.
Ensure your work history on your resume mirrors your work history on your LinkedIn profile.
If these don’t match up, it's a red flag. So ensure that they do. Also be sure to add your skills to your LinkedIn profile.
Keep the margins somewhat wide and the font somewhat big.
You don’t want your margins to be smaller than 0.8 inches or use a font less than 11.
Why?
First off, this will make your resume more appealing to the eye. Second, the last thing a recruiter wants to do is squint to read your resume — that’ll almost guarantee it doesn’t get read.
But, what if you can't fit everything? Then cut, cut, cut. Which brings us to the next point...
For a resume, less is often more.
You don’t need to list every job you’ve ever had on your resume. And you also don’t need to list every skill you’ve ever mastered.
Instead, just highlight the skills and the jobs that are relevant to the role you are applying for right now. Keeping the focus on what recruiters will be looking for will help you keep it shorter and allow for the right things to stand out during that seven-second pass.
“I tell job seekers this all the time,” O’Donnel says in her course, “if a recruiter calls you and says, ‘Hi, I found you on LinkedIn and I checked out your resume, but I need more information’ — you know you've done this right. You gave them just enough to want to connect with you.”
Extra credit: Refresh your resume regularly
Remember that you don’t have to wait until you get a new job to update your resume. Take the time to give it a refresh when you’re not feeling the pressure of a job search.
And if you’re applying for different kinds of roles, you can tailor your experience and skills listed on your resume to each one.
This doesn’t mean you should lie or even stretch the truth. Just emphasize the most relevant parts of your resume for each position. Sho Dewan’s course, 30-Minute Resume Refresh, can help you customize your resume for each application without doing an in-depth rewrite each time.
For a deeper dive into resume construction, try Jenny Foss’ course, Resume Makeover. This hour-long class digs into each section of your resume, from writing a powerful summary to ensuring the rundown of your experience truly shows off your accomplishments.
Ready to make your resume shine in a 7.4-second reading? Check out the courses above and dive into J.T. O’Donnel’s Making Recruiters Come to You today. Among many great tips and pointers, her course can teach you how to:
Topics: Career success tips
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