In this series, we’re bringing to light the fact that, in spite of job hunters’ best efforts, recruiters aren’t getting what they need to present candidates in their best light to employers. And if there’s any particular topic that unites recruiters, it’s the CONTENT of the resumes they see.
Tracy A. Cashman, Partner & General Manager of the IT Group at Winter, Wyman notes that the most effective resume content for recruiters is one that includes both “overall descriptions of your positions and responsibilities, as well as specific projects completed and what results your efforts produced.”
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She says that recruiters are looking for dollar-related figures, plus “day-to-day responsibilities” that give a solid description of the role itself.
Jolie Downs, a recruiter with Paradigm Staffing who sources candidates in the public relations, marketing and communications industries, says. “It continuously surprises me how few people list their accomplishments on their resume,” instead focusing only on their tasks.
At a junior level, she says, this is acceptable, but more experienced professionals must have an “accomplishment-driven” resume in order to get in the door.
Raj Khera, CEO of email marketing firm MailerMailer, agrees: “Don’t say ‘was involved with,’ as that tells me nothing. Did you make coffee for the project team, or did you increase sales by 40% in 6 months?”
Accomplishments that are "not quantified" can make it harder to see a job seeker's value, adds Randall Neal, CEO of Randall James Monroe Consultants in Executive Search, noting that his resume pet peeves include documents that include “grew sales” instead of “grew sales by 20%.”
Kim Wachter, Senior Staffing Consultant for the Creative & Marketing Division of Boston-based full-service staffing firm Hollister, points out that professionals often fail to “show the benefits of what they’ve done,” adding that her “so what test” means that she wants to see what the outcome was, rather than the job description.
Adds Hollister HR recruiter Adam Pasti, job seekers should skip the “laundry list of responsibilities,” instead highlighting “tangible results.”
When it comes to content, recruiters are also in agreement on the need for a relationship between your jobs and your achievements. Cashman points out that disconnected content in a functional format is a turn-off.
“Most hiring managers prefer to see what you did where, not a page full of accomplishments without any context.” She goes on to say that functional resumes often send a message that the job seeker is trying to hide a negative situation, such as unemployment or lack of real-world experience.
Executive recruiter Kevin Palisi backs up this statement, instructing job hunters to avoid a functional format at all costs. In addition, he says that gaps in employment are best spelled out on the resume.
“Don’t make the recruiter figure where there are gaps,” he points out, noting that the gap itself “draws less attention” when it is clearly explained on the resume.
Holly Green, a former recruiter for AT&T Global Information Solutions who teaches strategic staffing at Webster University, encourages candidates to be more forthcoming about their true value when crafting the content of their resumes.
“Tell me what role you had at an organization,” she says, “and then tell me why I should care. What results did you achieve? What impact did you have on the success of the organization?”
Anthony Corrado, Staffing Consultant in Hollister’s Accounting & Finance Division, says that when “pertinent information” is missing, this makes his job harder.
In particular, he notes that “software experience and full educational disclosure” is important to finding the right candidate.
Technology Division Staffing Consultant Tom Curran adds that for IT candidates, the instructions can be a bit different. “It's not just enough to mention a particular technology a candidate has used under a ‘Skills’ section - that technology should be mentioned somehow under the description of each job where it was used.”
Curran points out that adopting this technique “gives the reader the ability to not only see that a candidate has used” a particular technology, but that the candidate has employed it at “3 out of the last 4” jobs—making them a more valuable fit for employers.
Downs provides an example of a resume that states “responsible for creating and executing webinar programs” and “handled proactive media relations for all clients” vs. a second resume version that includes:
· Created and executed a Webinar program generating 300-800 attendees per event, resulting in a 60% increase in annual web program qualified leads.
· Created innovative projects with national media to engage stakeholders. Examples include features on ABC News, NBC Nightly News, CNN, USA Today, front page of Wall Street Journal and New York Times, SpikeTV, TODAY show and more. Oversaw nation’s #1 ranked campaign producing $48 million in media value.
Resume #2, she says, gets the phone call.
Downs suggests that job hunters review their career histories and ask themselves what goals their employer was trying to attain, then frame their work in light of what they did to solve the problem.
Wachter agrees. The resume is “your chance to market yourself.” she says, “Do it!”
Executive resume writer Laura Smith-Proulx, CCMC, CPRW, CIC is a former recruiter who partners with leadership professionals to gain access to top jobs at Fortune-ranked corporations. The principal of An Expert Resume, her work has won global resume industry awards and been published in numerous career bestsellers.
Comments
I have truly enjoyed reading this series. This is such an important part for a job seeker to absorb. As the times change, we too have to change our creation of selling (branding) ourselves to these "Changing" employers. It was OK back then to have a functional resume and perhaps some still prefer it. We (JobsInClerical) get hundreds of resumes everyday. However to be honest, only about 25% actually get pushed through to the next proofreader and in hopes of presenting them to our clients. That 75% gets forwarded to our partner for coaching and development of there resume/profile with a heavier emphasis on profile. Our social networking accounts seem to have more information than our resumes (smile).
Please keep up with this series! I look forward to reading more.
Chewy Ine
CEO/Founder
JobsInClerical
One thing mentioned in this article that I'd like to point out is in reference to the "accomplishment-driven" resume, specifically in placing "dollar-related figures" and quantified achievements. The thing is, many workers even professionally skilled ones - don't always have access to that kind of information; we're not told dollar figures by the administration, because it is (in their minds) not any of our concern. I often see resume coaches and advice columnists list this as a top choice for inclusion on a resume. How can it be expected that these types of figures and achievements be placed onto a resume, when it is not information that is commonly readily available to most employees?
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