Recruiters are highly productive people. They must sort through hundreds of resumes before selecting the best ones to present to CEOs and supervisors, in addition to being under time pressure to locate new hires for different organizations and companies. Since it’s not the easiest job and every minute counts, your resume needs to have a few of the Virtual Assistant things hiring managers are looking for—otherwise, it’ll end up being thrown away.
Recruiters look through a massive amount of resumes every day, so they are able to tell at a glance at the resume whether a potential candidate is qualified for a position. However, each recruiter has their own list of preferences when it comes to the basic skills and experience candidates should have. Because recruiters don’t have time to spend, it’s critical that your resume is in top shape, appealing to the recruiter after a brief glance. Let’s explore the elements that hiring managers believe are most important to have on a resume.
What are the 3 Most Important Things to Look for in a Resume? (According to Recruiters)
Keywords
Your job hunt will benefit from anything you can do to make your resume stand out from the competitors online. Keywords are simple words or word combinations that individuals enter into search engines in order to locate matches for what they are looking for on the internet.
When looking for candidates, recruiters and employers seek resumes that include keywords related to the positions they are trying to fill. This means that in addition to your primary skills and industry, your keywords should also include the conventional job title for the position you desire. Hiring managers will find you more easily online if you include this information on your resume. If you use the right keywords in your resume while posting it online, the website will also have better search engine optimization for your intended audience.
Also Read | How to Make a Resume for a Job
Numbers
You need to measure your achievements in order to truly demonstrate the effect and show the value you could potentially offer to an organization. Simply said, this means that you should always include numbers and metrics on your resume. For instance, if you have headed a project, consider using numbers to describe the impact of the results on the organization you have worked for.
Add compelling statistics to your resume if they can show hiring managers how your technical skills and accomplishments have benefited the companies where you’ve worked. If at all possible, avoid using generalizations like “tripled” or “decreased spending” unless you can prove them with facts. If mentioning numbers in your resume raises confidentiality concerns, consider adding an overall range to eliminate specifics while still demonstrating to employers the general numerical impact you made.
Customization
With more people competing for jobs online, it’s more important than ever to customize your communication for each position you’re interested in applying for. Sending out a resume and cover letter that are obviously generic and not tailored to the company is a sure way to lose an employer’s trust right away. Instead, thoroughly read the job description and company website before determining which skills and work experiences to emphasize in your application forms for that one position.
You’ll stand out from applicants who take the lazy route if you use your resume and cover letter as a platform to address the precise demands that the hiring manager outlines in the job description and demonstrate how your background and skill set will help them achieve their objectives. While there are some variations based on the preferences of particular recruiters and companies, the following are some of the thing’s recruiters look at first when reviewing resumes.
10 Things Recruiters Look at First When Going Through Resumes
No Career Gaps
Learning the pros and cons of a new profession and finding your place on a team take time. One who frequently jumps from one job to another in their profession probably lacks the perseverance and resolve to stick around long enough to make a difference. Of course, there are exceptions, such as when a person needs to take time off to care for their family or encounters difficulties in their path.
Interaction & Communication
Recruiters are drawn to a resume or application that is interactive and written clearly. For candidates who have an objective statement on their resume, hiring managers would want to be able to see their strongest points, their experience and talents, and the industries they have worked right away. They will continue to evaluate the resume if it is well-written. Otherwise, it’s likely that the candidate won’t move on to the next step.
Having the Ability to Follow Directions
The capacity to follow instructions is the first quality to consider when hiring, especially for remote work. Did the applicant comply with the requirements of the application process, submitting all required information and materials, including a resume and cover letter? Did they respond when you asked them to explain why they were the ideal choice for the position or did they just leave a general message? A person is a strong candidate to take into consideration if they can “read between the lines” of the job description and follow instructions.
Past Job Descriptions
Some job applicants may write out their responsibilities in their job descriptions, which are very similar to those they were likely given when hired. Instead of making an effort to explain what they actually do, they most likely copied and pasted the job’s responsibilities, as shown by the use of the word “processes invoices” rather than “processes invoices.”
Originality Shines
You can only learn so much about a candidate from a resume, an application for a job, and an online profile. Recruiters want to hire someone who has relevant experience for the position and that unique quality that makes their skills come to life. They look for a sense of originality and integrity to shine through in the application because, often, the best employee is someone with the most intangible qualities.
Flexibility is Required
We live in an agile environment where we must hire for potential rather than just the project or role at hand. Therefore, in today’s constantly evolving digital environment, agility and the ability to be flexible are essential.
Length of the Resume Matters
Many people still have resumes that go well above seven or eight pages, in spite of all the advice to keep them brief. A lengthy resume suggests to recruiters that you haven’t taken the time to update it, are unable to decide what to leave out, or believe the rules shouldn’t apply to you. A long resume does not have any advantages.
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Spelling and Grammar
Grammar and spelling are crucial when submitting a resume, even when they may sound outdated. The applicant has enough time to read, review, make necessary changes, and have it edited by a third person before submitting this document because it is not urgent or time-sensitive. Strong written communication skills are a need in every job description, and this is the first opportunity to demonstrate them to a potential employer.
Achievements and Metrics
In every resume, recruiters want candidates to demonstrate the influence they made in past roles by utilizing numbers. They would want to speak with a candidate if they can clearly explain the background of their prior successes and provide figures demonstrating how they enhanced performance, raised revenue, or increased their user base.
How They Present Themselves
How a candidate presents themselves as a person is always of interest to recruiters. What do they put focus on? How do they describe their experience? Titles are merely labels, and abilities may be learned. An individual’s growth and potential for success in a new role can be shown in how they have changed through time, how they approach their experiences, and the kinds of tasks they have accomplished to go above and beyond.
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How Do I Make My Resume Stand Out to Recruiters?
Omit the Objective
Almost all recruiters and hiring managers today are against these methods, even though they were popular a decade or two ago. They say that since it is obvious that you desire a job, your objective doesn’t need to be explained.
Include a Skills Section
After the objective has been removed, you can fill in the empty area with a “key skills” section that lists ten or so of your talents that are relevant to the position at hand. Instead of relying on recruiters and hiring managers to deduce your skill set from the accomplishments listed under each role, the core skills section gives you the opportunity to make your skill set crystal clear and obvious.
It is also simpler to customize your resume for each position, thanks to the “key skills” section. Think about keeping a master list of the 20 abilities you have. You can select skills from this master list for each job you apply for based on which are most relevant to the position and employer.
Don’t Include Irrelevant Information
The “key skills” section is only beneficial if it provides recruiters and hiring managers with information about you that they would not have known otherwise. Communication and problem-solving are examples of generic or vague skills that reveal nothing about you to the company.
Additionally, check that the talents you offer are applicable to the job at hand. Even if you are an expert in JavaScript, it generally won’t help you much if you are applying for a sales position.
Don’t Focus on Responsibilities
Some will advise you not to mention your responsibilities and duties at all, but this is a bit of a stretch. Most hiring managers and recruiters want to know, at the very least, an idea of what you did on a daily basis at your past jobs.
However, the emphasis of your job history shouldn’t be on your regular duties. Give a brief summary of your responsibilities for each role, but focus the majority of your bullet points on your notable projects and measured achievements. What you can accomplish is what recruiters and hiring managers are interested in. They’re searching for someone who can provide value rather than just maintain the existing quo.
Have a look on A Step-by-Step Guide to Write a Resume With no Experience
Include Social Links
Whether you like it or not, social media is now a part of the employment process. In any case, hiring managers and recruiters will Google you. Put the URLs of relevant social media profiles next to your contact information on your resume to save them time.
Include links only to websites and profiles that show you in a good, professional light. Facebook and your personal blog may probably be left off of your resume, but LinkedIn, Quora, and your online portfolio are all worthwhile additions.
Keep It Brief
It’s not an autobiography; it’s a resume. Spare employers your whole professional history. List your most recent and relevant employment. If it wasn’t a truly amazing, career-defining project, try to avoid including any work from more than ten years ago. One page is ideal; two pages are acceptable, but only in extreme cases. There is practically never a need to have more than two.
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