Recruiter Question #1: What catches your eye on a resume?
Recruiters, what is the first thing you look at on a candidate's resume?
Comments
Anonymous
November 01, 2006
Name of the company where they are currently workingAnonymous
November 02, 2006
What they accomplished, not just a list of places and job descriptions.Anonymous
November 02, 2006
Whether their expeirence/education matches the job description.Anonymous
November 02, 2006
Experience and Accomplishments. I never bother with cover letters and only focus on the core skills, experience and accomplishments. If those appear to be a match for ANY of our clients. I pick up the phone and go in depth.Anonymous
November 02, 2006
While I'm not a recruiter in the sense that I spend all my time recruiting, I do a majority of the hiring for our company, so......... First thing? Right now? Location. Then I look for keywords that fit our organization and the position, scanning experience and ignoring titles.Anonymous
November 02, 2006
Heather, if you don't mind my asking, why do you check a candidates current employer first? If you saw on my resume, for instance, that I currently work at Gap, would it deter you in any way from reading further?Anonymous
November 03, 2006
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November 03, 2006
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November 03, 2006
"Why is listing locations of companies on a resume considered standard procedure? Does it matter that a company a worked for was in Anchorage or Monroe, LA? Does that somehow make me more or less desirable as a candidate? " Well, I am not a recruiter, but I have been a hiring manager and I have taken a significant role in major recruiting efforts before (I suppose that's another way of saying "I'm not a doctor but I play one on TV"). I'll try to answer this one. The location or locations you have worked answers a couple of issues for me:
- If you would need to relocate, as an interviewer, I will need to make sure that you are willing to do this - if not, you are wasting our time.
- If all of your schooling and work experience have been in a single location, that might be a reason for me to pry into how well you might adapt to another culture. I might ask more questions about how you have dealt with co-workers in other locations / departments in a company, how much cross-functional team experience you have, etc.
- For example, if the position I am hiring involves dealing with international business issues in Europe, it might be a bonus that you spent a stint of your career in London.
Anonymous
November 03, 2006
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November 03, 2006
Great topic and good advice... I have a question; what are the major red-flags in a resume? I assume, typo's, grammar etc., but is there anything else that at first glance would make you stop reading the rest of a resume? What are your thoughts on not including a cover letter?Anonymous
November 03, 2006
Bad-Brad-great perspective. Chris S- well, I'm going to use that as my next question. I'll start a new thread. Thanks for the question!Anonymous
November 03, 2006
Heather, that's what I assumed, but I was just curious. Thanks :]Anonymous
November 03, 2006
Heather's getting into recruiters' heads to help jobseekers. You'll want to look at their answers to her questions. What is the first thing you look at on a candidate's resume? What are common red flags on a resume? What will...Anonymous
November 03, 2006
Re: Doug I found a job quickly after college and even had my chance with MS, but all the resumes I sent out, my resume was accompanied by a cover letter. Interestingly enough, no one read my cover letter. How do I know? The recruiter asked me questions that were answered within the cover letter. This reflects very poorly on the interviewer/recruiter from my point of view and even the company she/he is representing. However, now that it seems very few recruiters read cover letters, is it really necessary to include one with your resume? I guess better safe then sorry is your best bet, but I'd rather spend my time doing something productive then writing several unique cover letters for individuals that won't read them. Just wondering everyones thoughts on this. -ErichAnonymous
November 03, 2006
Ooh, wait! I'll use that for my next question! Thanks eRock!Anonymous
November 03, 2006
From a recruiter's perspective, what are your thoughts on a functional resume vs. a chronological one? For someone who is trying to make a career shift from one field to another, I would think a functional resume would help a recruiter make the leap from one type of job to another, i.e. explicitly listing skill areas and related accomplishments that lend to another field of work. But I've been told that some hiring managers prefer to see what a candidate has done in each job/position throughout their career.Anonymous
November 03, 2006
The relocation discussion in here is particularly interesting to me - especially being attached to the military and moving EVERYWHERE on the globe. My resume looks more like a connect the dots puzzle than a true representation of my experience and achievements. Anyway, since I now live in SE Alabama <sigh>, I feel as though potential employers think I am a Southern Drawlin' Belle... which couldn't be further from the truth... I don't like to reveal where I am located, much less the location of my last job - based on the fact that it is in such a rural area and the pay ranges are less than adequate. But what else can a candidate do? I do not want to be deceptive or talk poorly of my current geographic location... but I would like to be judged on my credentials and unlimited potential. But I sincerely believe that I am not getting interviews based primarily on my current location - and that is sheer frustration. Getting a decent paying job as a graduate degree holder and working towards a PhD is next to impossible here. (When I moved here 3 years ago, I was told by the State Employment Agency to REMOVE my education COMPLETELY from my resume in order to increase my chances to be hired!) Egads... all this talk is depressing me, but PLEASE keep the good information and tips flowing.... In the meantime, I think I will go read Heather's posts on the 80's and re-live the days of bad hair and flourescent apparel. ~vicki P.S. I recently read about Seattle's intelligence -in terms of its citizens being highly educated as opposed to other US locales. Ahhh... refreshing! Now if only I could relocate thousands of miles away from here. . . LOL!Anonymous
November 03, 2006
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November 03, 2006
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November 04, 2006
I look first at their objective, primarily to see if they can write at all well, whether they've given any effort to match it up somewhat with the posted job description, and whether they have any idea of what they want to do.Anonymous
November 04, 2006
Deb- thanks for the practical perspective. Good point about stating whether one will relocate themselves. If the company has budget for relo, they will pay for it, but if it doesn't, the candidate is well served by letting them know they will self-fund. Earlier in my career, I would have done this (less stuff and no mortgage back then). Gary- great point. I don't think that the objective, if it lists a position-type, should match the job description. I have to admit that I often find the objectives a little fluffy too...not enough for people not to include them if they feel strongly about it but I'm looking for the list of ingredients on the label, not the marketing slogan.Anonymous
November 04, 2006
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November 06, 2006
vicki70- I wouldn't worry about seeming older. I can't imagine a company thinking that thirty-something is old (despite the fact that it is sillegal to discriminate based on age). Im wondering if maybe this is a case of TMI in the interview process. None of that personal stuff is any business of the recruiter/interviewer. A couple thoughts...
- When someone says "retire", it does conjure an image of an older person mostly because most folksd retire later in life (the age 65 comes to mind). I know that "retire" is the actual term for someone who completes their career with the military, but perhaps you could use a different set of words that would be less confusing to the recruiter or company. Something like "my husband is moving into the private sector after serving in the military for some time. We have agreed that now is the time to focus on MY career". Nothing age specific about that and it shows the interviewer that your career is a family prioirity.
- Re: teenage kids; this is none of their business. Don't bring it up. I'm not saying that anyone would decide not to hire you because you have kids, but they could think "why did she bring that up in the interview? Will she have a hard time working here or would she rather be at home with her kids?". Back when I was interviewing people regularly, I would (could) never ask if people had kids. The job is the job and if they can do it, they can do it. Not sure what kids have to do with it. You know, asking about whether you need a coach...that is a smart question. I think it sounds like a good idea. It's always good to get an objective opinion on your interviewing skills. It's like when I was in college and my roommates said "stop doing that with your hair!". You don't realize it until someone points it out. My objective opinion is that you might be focusing more on the obstacles (location, perceptions of your personal situation) than on the reasons why people should hire you (education, passion for your work, etc). It's easy to do (I'm a glass half empty gal myself...can't help it). I think that if you do look for a coach, you find one that can help with your personal "pitch" (something I would need help with myself if I were inthe market right now). I think once you get that down, you'll be in great shape.
Anonymous
November 06, 2006
A short response this time (no more TMI from me): THANK YOU! ;) You rock! ~vickiAnonymous
November 06, 2006
vicki70-we don't mind the TMI here : )Anonymous
November 07, 2006
Heather, great advice for vicki70. I was thinking along the same lines but wasn't being successful at finding a tactful way to say it. Sometimes I like to refer to this as my own "selective denial", but it's good to be careful to not be so focused on all the reasons one isn't finding a job. It's hard to stay upbeat and focused at times, especially if one isn't getting the response they hope for. Stay focused positive. (But a coach may be able to help identify that thing that Heather talks about -- whether there are any issues with being able to be objective about where one's previous experience and skills might actually land them.)Anonymous
November 07, 2006
Deb-you are giving me an idea for another post....it's comingAnonymous
February 23, 2007
The answer is different depending on the level of search and years experience the recruiter has. The answer is different depending on the level of research you need to do in locating the candidate. Junior recruiters and HR usually tend to match buzz words to determine a match for the hiring manager and the hiring manager takes it from there. I’ve been doing IT Executive Search for individual contributors and middle management (90-200K) for 12 years. Most of my clients know they do not want to pay for relocation on top of my fee and it’s expected I can bring them a local candidate. I am usually doing the research myself on locating a candidate and I’m only giving about 30 seconds per resume. Keep in mind that I always use search criteria of zip code and minimum education to qualify for any search (in essence you could say those are the first two items I look at). I’m looking at their most recent positions within the past 7 years to see what they have done, for whom and does it scale to my client; their name to ascertain any closer fit for my client. What is more critical than any great resume content is how the candidate performs in my first conversation. That’s when I go back to reread the resume in detail and decide if they make it to a final candidate pool to be submitted to the client. Don’t spend money on fancy resume writers or cover letters (rarely read) as most other senior recruiters I know all feel the same way. L. Rubin