7 Things Your Resume Needs To Be One Of The 2% That Actually Receives A Response, According To A Recruiting Expert
To make it through, you've got to stand out. These tips help you do just that.
nortonrsx | Getty Images | Canva Pro Getting a job these days can feel like a roll of the dice. If you happen to have the exact right timing and the exact right verbiage on your resume, you might actually get an interview. But what is that timing and verbiage, exactly? Who's to say! But one expert said there are a handful of things you can do, or not do, on your resume that will help it cut through the noise.
Yes, you read that right. Sharon Armstrong is a veteran recruiting expert and founder of Armstrong Appointments, a South Africa-based recruiting firm. She said that the average job posting garners at least 250 responses these days, and out of those hundreds of resumes, just 2% actually get an interview.
So the key is to be among the 2% who are actually qualified, right? Wrong. "People often assume they weren’t qualified enough, but that’s usually not the case," Armstrong said. Rather, it mostly has to do with how a resume is "written, structured, or how well it matches the role."
"Most people don’t realise how quickly we have to make decisions," she went on to say, which brings us to another statistic that will probably ruin your day. Studies have shown that recruiters spend an average of just 6-8 seconds actually reviewing resumes. Add to this how much of the preliminary resume review work is now done by software or even AI, and it's imperative that your resume be optimized for this cutthroat process. "If your [resume] doesn't stand out immediately, it won't make it through," Armstrong warned. So, how do you make your resume pass muster? Armstrong said to focus on seven key things.
1. Make your resume scannable
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Remember that 6-8 second statistic? That means a recruiter (or a bot) needs to be able to get the gist of you from just a glance or two. Armstrong said to do this by making sure your headings are crystal clear and using bullet points rather than blocks of text. "Recruiters need to see the important information at a glance."
2. Tailor it to the role
"One [resume] isn't enough anymore," Armstrong said, "it needs to be tailored to each role you’re applying for." This sounds like you have to literally create several different resumes from scratch, but it rarely needs to be that complicated.
Instead, "mirror the language of the job and align your experience with what they require," Armstrong said. AI tools like ChatGPT are whizzes at doing this, by the way. Copy and pasting a job description into the tool and asking for a summary and keywords can make quick work of figuring out what tweaks to make. Some workers even paste their resume in and have the tool rewrite it for them, though this comes with more risk than reward.
3. Cut the fluff
Brevity is the soul of wit AND job seeking. "Don't bother writing things like 'hardworking' or 'teamwork,' unless you have evidence to back it up," Armstrong said. "Anyone can say this, and they usually do, so you’re not going to stand out." And it's going to take up valuable space that could be used for the next tip.
4. Lead with your value
"Make sure the top section of your [resume] sells you instantly," Armstrong said. "Have a great professional summary and show your most relevant skills straight away." This is another part of your resume that is important to align with the job description keywords, where possible. ChatGPT can be a useful tool for tweaking this, too, if you're stumped.
Once you've joined that much vaunted 2% and have an interview, hooray! Now what? Armstrong said there are some key mistakes candidates make all the time that squander the opportunity.
For one, "Be ready to respond fast," Armstrong said. Raise your hand if you're the type who sees an interview request and says, "Eh, I'll email her back once I get home," or brush it off till your lunch hour? I have always been this way, and it is so consistently on the list of recruiters' and other experts' no-nos that it makes me wonder how many jobs I've lost simply because I wanted to finish my latte before responding. Oops.
"Delays can make you seem uninterested or unavailable. Speed shows enthusiasm and professionalism," according to Armstrong.
Re-read the job description to "remind yourself of what they’re looking for and what you said in your [resume]," Armstrong stressed. When you tweak your resume so often, it can be hard to keep track of what exactly you've said about yourself.
"You’ll need to back it up with clear, confident examples if they ask about it," Armstrong said, so doing a bit of review first will help avoid surprises.
And of course, don't forget to research the company, which Armstrong said this really is one of the things that can make you stand out in a round of interviews.
"Take time to understand what they do, their values, and any recent news or activity," she says. "It shows you’re serious and sets you apart from candidates who haven’t bothered."
John Sundholm is a writer, editor, and video personality with 20 years of experience in media and entertainment. He covers culture, mental health, and human interest topics.
