6 Key Areas Recruiters Pay the Most Attention to on Your Resume

Posted by in Career Advice •


Ever wondered to yourself what the most critical areas are on your resume when a recruiter is giving it the initial review? As a former hiring manager, I will tell you exactly where I’m looking when I review your resume. However, don’t just take my word for it; a recent study on recruiter behavior conducted by The Ladders confirms exactly what I’m about to tell you … recruiters spend the most time reviewing the following areas:

 

1.      Your contact information. Believe it or not, this is critical in a recruiter’s search. Mostly because they want to ensure you’re located near the position for which they’re recruiting so that you can easily make it to interviews—and also not have a ridiculously long commute to work.

 

 2.     Your most recent job title. I believe this is why it’s so important to put a job target/job title at the top of your resume. It makes vital information easily accessible to recruiters so that they don’t have to spend too much time searching for it. That being said, they will scan down your resume and look at the most logical place your previous employment would be listed. What they are looking for here is relevancy to your most recent positions. Have you previously been in this position?

 

 3.      Dates of employment. When I was a recruiter I was trained to not call anyone with fewer than nine months of job longevity at previous employers. Fewer than nine months indicates that you may be a job hopper—which makes you a potential risk to that recruiter.

 

 4.     Primary Job Accomplishments/Responsibilities. You can say a lot about what your previous duties were just by simply writing accomplishment-based statements on your resume. Attach numbers or metrics to everything when possible. Don’t just tell them you improved sales; tell them by how much. Don’t just say you can retain customers; show them you can by providing your retention rates.

 

 5.      Keywords/Core Strengths. Most recruiters will scan a bulleted keyword section at the top of your resume to find matching keywords from the position they are trying to fill. Make sure your resume includes the most relevant keywords, and put this section at the top of your resume. Don’t make the recruiter go searching for it.

 

 6.     Education. You can almost guarantee the recruiter is going to be looking at the bottom of your resume to find out if you have the credentials the position requires. If you don’t hold the minimal level of education or certifications for the position, considered yourself weeded out.

 

 These are the top six areas a recruiter will be reviewing in his or her initial resume scan to determine whether you are a match for the opening the company is trying to fill.  And this illustrates why it’s so critical that you customize your resume for each and every submission!

 
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  • Tara T
    Tara T •
    Excellent to know this information.  Now I know why no one will call me for an interview.  Their loss!
  • Alma W
    Alma W •
    I noticed #3 that is not true.  I am a contractor not a job hopper and that is my business.  This is stereotyping  Job hoppers are people who hop from one permanent job to another on an ongoing basis.  Contract people are difference
  • Tiffany M
    Tiffany M •
    Loved the information, it really helped me see what potential recruiters are looking for when they are looking at my resume. Thanks
  • albert r
    albert r •
    Excellent documentary about how job search has changed and the areas to focus upon. This shall assist Veterans with finding suitable employment
  • Adriana R
    Adriana R •
    I agree with you. I worked as a recruiter for many years in Colombia and that was exactly what I looked for in the resumes.
  • Rory M
    Rory M •
    I wondered why with my skill set I wasn't getting calls. In my exploration to find something new, I made one HUGE mistake...it appears that I was job hopping. Good tip! I will need to be more discriminating in what I take in order to give a good impression in the long term. The juggling act will be in trying to manage personal affairs to accommodate, in truth desperation makes one make unforeseen mistakes, as I have seen here.
  • Evelyn S
    Evelyn S •
    How can one state accomplishments of jobs which cannot be quantified or non managerial jobs where individual effort cannot be determined.  
  • Yudelca M
    Yudelca M •
    Thank you fr this advise. This information is being helpful for me. But what happen when you mess up with previous jobs longivity date. In my case I wrote the wrong date by mistake.
  • Funso J
    Funso J •
    The contents of this article will surely be helpful. It is direct and straight to the point. Thanks.
  • Mia A
    Mia A •
    It's nice to know what they are looking at and why. It is very helpful while taking your resume seriously. I do agree with Mr. Siyam S. on his article.
  • TammyT
    TammyT •
    I think this is very true........As a recruiter in today's market itis very important to provide the information that the recruiter is looking for.
  • William K
    William K •
    Fantastic and true advice!
  • Tamala S
    Tamala S •
    This article is great. The information provided is very helpful to me to have an idea of what employers and recruiters look for on resumes.
  • Angela S
    Angela S •
    Dates of employment: suppose your most recent job was simply a seasonal job, which lasted only a few weeks? That would be less than 9 months. Wouldn't that unfairly put an otherwise stable worker at risk of not being hired?
  • Judy McC
    Judy McC •
    I read through this article and found some good points to know. The reality is that many of us have many years experience and no degrees. I have worked in accounting and finance since 1983 in various companies. Today I take any job to keep a roof over the heads of my children and myself. I have much to offer but I find that there are many with maybe more. Years ago many companies did on the job training which I feel made it better for them being the person knew more of what the company needed than what they had brought from other companies. After uprooting my family and relocating to give them a better life I am being given no alternative but to sell my house and move back to our former location just to have work. This is the way the economy is hurting families. Their father stayed behind because I couldn't find a solid position. Thank goodness for temporary staffing agencies. If not for them I would not have worked at all.As for job hoppers; sometimes employers just decide to divy up a position amongst other workers just to save the money.
  • DAVOR M
    DAVOR M •
    yeah , that is right all this 6 steps.. thank you!Davor
  • MARGARET C
    MARGARET C •
    Great article - informative and helpful!
  • Michael P
    Michael P •
    Good advice
  • Kim M
    Kim M •
    The article was very helpful for me because I am a Career Advisor and I review college students resumes daily.  The information is very helpful for my students.  
  • J.R. R
    J.R. R •
    Certainly makes sense and very helpful.
  • Crystal E
    Crystal E •
    I have done all of this yet no return phone calls within 6months of looking.
  • Kathleen K
    Kathleen K •
    very helpful. thank you..
  • Beth S
    Beth S •
    It's very discouraging to know that resumes are automatically discarded simply because the person has no degree, yet has 20 years of exceptional  & relevant experience. Recruiters need to understand that there wasn't always the financial assistance for college that there is now.  It's almost a form of discrimination.
  • Walter S
    Walter S •
    Very interesting...its time recruiters, HR and hiring managers watch the movie titled, Moneyball...it is a eye opener...
  • YVONNE N
    YVONNE N •
    It's unfortunate that people that would be perfect for a position never get a chance to interview because of some of these points.  Experience doesn't seem to count as much anymore, everyone wants you to have a degree.  They don't realize these young people will use them as a stepping stone to add to their resume and then will move on.  I agree with comments below that "job hopping" should not always be assumed.  For example, a Hospital reduced my hours to 3 days per week right after I had purchased a home.  I didn't want to leave my job, but I needed to work fulltime to pay my mortgage. The above points are good ones, and probably explain why I have been overlooked for so many jobs.  

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