I chat with recruiters frequently and I often ask them this question:
“If you could tell job seekers one thing, what would it be?” Here are their top responses.
- Be transparent. If there is a gap on your resume, explain it on the document itself. If you don’t explain the reason for the gap, we will draw our own conclusions.
- Use a chronological format over a functional format. I will assume you are hiding something if you submit a purely functional resume. Recruiters need to understand all the movement in your career. If dates are missing or if your resume focuses too much on functional skills to downplay the chronology we will become suspicious.
- Don’t apply to every job posting. Only apply to those jobs that you truly meet the qualifications for. Applying to jobs you are not qualified for is a waste of both your time and ours.
- Don’t call incessantly to follow up on a job posting. If you don’t hear from me, I have nothing to tell you.
- Drop the resume objective. Include a summary on your resume explaining how you can add value to the organization, rather than an objective explaining what you are looking for. Hiring managers aren’t interested in what you are looking for; they are interested in people who can solve their business problems.
- Add a competency or skills section to your resume. Make it easy to figure out what your core skills are. We need to know right away if you have the basic skill set to do the job.
- Get rid of the entitlement act. Don’t assume you will get a certain salary just because you ask for it. We are willing to negotiate if it is within our budget.
- Don’t upload a Microsoft Word document into the text box of our job site. We can’t read it. The formatting is severely compromised when you do this and we will ignore your application. Instead, convert your Word document to a text only file.
Building relationships with recruiters is one way to get closer to landing your next job. If you can learn to appreciate their needs, you will increase your chances of landing more interviews.
