These days a lot of recruiters and hiring managers rely on computers to eliminate some of the hundreds of resumes they receive in response to each advertisement. The computers search for keywords directly related to the skills the company is looking for. But as I’ve mentioned before, keywords are not enough.
No one hires an employee on the basis of a computer search alone. At some point, every resume of interest is read by a real person. Your resume must show that you have the skills and achievements to back up the keywords.
Some hiring managers focus on the beginning of your resume: your most recent job. Some focus on the end of your resume: your education and professional certifications. Some hiring managers read cover letters and some ignore them. You cannot know what part of your resume package will hold the most appeal. So you should make sure that all the information you give is professional in content and format and is easy to find.
Most recruiters and hiring managers do not like purely functional resumes (where jobs are not listed in chronological order and job titles are not clear). They believe that a purely functional resume is an excuse to hide problems. They do not like video resumes; they do not have the time to listen to every word of a video resume when they can quickly scan through a written resume. They do not like surprises. If they search for you on the Internet, they want to see a professional presence on Facebook and LinkedIn (for example) that is consistent with your resume. If you are hunting for a job, remove the rants against your old boss and the party animal photographs.
Trying to think like a hiring manager or recruiter is difficult. I have the years of experience and the contacts in the field to shape an appealing resume from your job history, achievements and skills. As a professional resume writer, I know what the majority of recruiters and hiring managers want and expect in a resume. Email me today.