What are employers really thinking when looking at your resume? To find out, we asked former recruiter and co-founder of SixFigureStart, Caroline Ceniza-Levine.
It’s a myth that resumes get you in the door
“While your resume is one of the things you need to have, don’t expect it to open doors for you,” says Ceniza-Levine. Instead, hone in on the companies you want to work for, and try to tap people in your network who are connected to those companies. When searching for the right candidate employers prefer getting referrals from their friends and colleagues and searching on sites like LinkedIn.
Your online profile is more important than your resume
These days recruiters are looking online for the right candidates, so prioritize your online profile before your paper resume. Employers focus most on the “experience” and “summary” sections, so use descriptive keywords about your skills and industry expertise, advises Ceniza-Levine. For example, if your goal is to land a marketing position, sprinkle in as many related keywords like “strategy” and “brand” throughout your entire profile.
Online peer endorsements can help, but references matter more
It can certainly help that former colleagues gush about how awesome you are to work with on your LinkedIn profile, but if a recruiter is seriously considering you for the job, what your references say will trump any online peer endorsement.
Be strategic about what you put on the first page of your resume
If you have over 10 years of experience, your resume will probably spill over onto a second page -- and that’s OK. But be strategic about what you put on the first page because recruiters only spend 5 to 7 seconds skimming your resume, says Ceniza-Levine. “The summary is the first thing that people see, so don’t try to make room on your resume by taking space away from this section,” she says.
Most employers don’t read cover letters, but the ones who do really care
If recruiters are only spending a few seconds on your resume, they’re probably spending even less time on your cover letter. But if they’re looking at all aspects of the candidate, some employers can look carefully at your cover letter so you still need to write a strong one, says Ceniza-Levine. As most pros advise, your letter should be tailored to each position and company you apply for, but writing them shouldn’t be too time-consuming; you can use the basic structure for each one and tweak the relevant parts for different jobs.
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