Want a successful resume? Think like the recruiter

WANT A KILLER RESUME?  - THINK LIKE THE RECRUITER AND PONDER THE SPECIFICS OF THE JOB ON OFFER

Tired of conflicting advice about what makes a successful resume? There is no shortage of ‘experts’ and professional resume writers, weighing into the debate about what you should and shouldn’t include in your resume.

Ultimately, there are NO RULES with resumes, except one. Have empathy for your audience. Think like the recruiter.  Not just any recruiter, but ‘THE’ recruiter for the role you want. So yes, that means you may need to customize that resume for every role you apply for.

Your mission, as a job applicant, is to stay in the game. A recruiter’s mission is cull, cull, cull and look for reasons NOT to employ you. Weird, given we all thought they were supposed to be finding the best person for the job!

 You really MUST ask yourself for each section of your resume, “What will annoy the recruiter and trigger them to put my day’s work in the round pile under their desk?” and “What is relevant to this recruiter right now?”

Right here are just 5 of the dozens of tips that professionals and even professional resume writers will tell you, but which are not necessarily true, for every role. Like my Grandad used to say “Consider everything you read!”

BE WARY OF TIP NO. 1 – “DON’T ADD YOUR ADDRESS TO YOUR RESUME”

An outstanding resume writer on Instagram, and plenty more, say you shouldn’t put your address on your resume, as people will judge you, based on where you live. Fair enough, I suppose. But then again, I’ve recruited enough apprentices to know that if they have to travel more than about 40 minutes to work, it’s all over. Aside from the time imposition, they simply can’t afford to travel as their pay is so minimal. Same for unskilled workers. That was painfully obvious, when working in labour hire.

If, as a recruiter or Human Resources Manager, I had 122 resumes to review and one doesn’t have an address, it’ll go into the ‘probably not’ pile, for later reference, when I can get around to finding out where the applicant lives. I’ll only get to that if I really need more applicants.  Should an applicant live 40 minutes from the worksite, I’ll likely keep the application on-hand, but toward the bottom of the pile. Sorry, but as a recruiter, my immediate goal is to eliminate contenders until the field is more manageable. You can’t control how a recruiter thinks but you can try to think like one.

For a professional role, as a recruiter, and much like my Insta pal, I’d likely be less concerned about travel. There will likely be fewer applicants and I’ll make the assumption that the applicant can afford to travel and may have other job options. If they have applied, they’ve likely given it good thought and believe the travel is manageable.

It goes without saying, if you live close to a recruiting employer, it’s an obvious advantage to add your address. If you live quite a distance away, you might choose to leave it off completely. Think it through and add / omit accordingly.

WATCH OUT FOR TIP NO. 2 - “IT’S ASSUMED YOU WILL HAVE REFEREES”

The same resume writer mentioned above, says it’s assumed you will have referees and therefore you don’t need to add them at this stage of the recruitment process. There’s a couple of reasons why I don’t agree.

Having actual referee names, tells me, as a recruiter, that you have bothered to seek out their details and that someone has got your back, because they believe in you.  Even if you have included “Referees available on request” I at least know you have contacts who believe in you.

I understand that plenty of candidates have had very unsettling instances where word has got out, they are job hunting and it’s had detrimental effects on their situation. So “available on request” is fine by me, most of the time.

However, if the recruitment task is high volume, and two candidates are otherwise equal, the resume with actual referee contact details is likely to get first preference.  It’s less work for me. I don’t have to make an extra call to you to find out who they are.

Keep in mind that all recruitment processes don’t follow the usual format of interviewing candidates before checking references, so you may not get the opportunity to provide referee details unless a recruiter picks up the phone and calls you for them. If they have a busy desk, you might be a long time waiting. They’re only human too and they forget things. Actually, imagine what their day might look like! It can be a stressful job with not enough hours in the day.

RUN A MILE FROM TIP NO. 3 – “YOU SHOULD ADD A PHOTOGRAPH TO YOUR RESUME”

I had Masters of Electromechanical Engineering student staying with our family or a bit. His lecturer told him he really should have a photograph of himself on his resume to add a touch of warmth or connection with the reader.

Trouble is, actual surveys, described by Jim Bright, Joanne Earl and David Winter in their book ‘How to write a Brilliant CV’, found that completely the opposite is true.  It’s great when science can help to clear the air!

It’s been broadly researched and reported that we humans are hard-wired to identify people who are either like us or are from a different tribe. We are ALL either overtly biased or blissfully unaware of our biases. We judge people, whether we like it or not and pretty much anything, is fair game – bent nose, tattoos, specs, frizzy hair, brunette, blond, unattractive, too attractive!

Having a photo on your resume, is a bit like telling someone on your first date how much money you have in your bank account. It’s simply too much information and too much ammunition.

Further, do you really want someone to judge you based on your looks? You deserve better than that and even if you are downright glamorous, you have even better traits worth telling employers about, starting with those that are relevant to the job!

BUT wait. What if you are applying for a role in theatre? Yes, there are some exceptions, but as a rule, leave the photo off. And certainly, don’t add a pic of you holding a beer! Yes, it’s been done and no, they didn’t make the interview stage.

If something is telling you really need a recruiter to actually see you, adding your LinkedIn account to your resume, is an acceptable addition. It should contact your (professional) image.  

IN THEORY THEY’RE RIGHT ABOUT TIP NO. 4 – “DON’T ADD YOUR DATE OF BIRTH”

In theory you don’t need it. Yes, ageism is alive and well. I get it. In most cases, leave it off.  There is no sense perpetuating the nasty habit of selection based on age. For most of us, its not relevant should be left off.

If you’re a young superstar applying for a role usually filled by someone more mature, you may be considered a threat. If you’re moving on up through the decades, you may be regarded as ‘slow on the uptake’ or ‘set in your ways’.  Nothing here is actually based on anything logical.

But, again, apprentices serve as one exception to the rule. Pay rates may be determined by age or length of time out of school. Employers want to be able to calculate how much you’ll cost them. They ARE allowed to advertise for a ‘mature’ apprentice if pay rates reflect this.  If an employer can’t afford you, they simply won’t go there. As a recruiter, it’s just easier if it’s shown in this case.  Not having it included, can mean an extra phone call that a recruiter may choose to make later, if at all.

HEAR ME OUT ON TIP NO. 5 – “YOUR RESUME MUST BE CREATED ON A FANCY NEW DESIGN TEMPLATE”

Please, no. So many resume writers appear to be graphic designers in disguise.

Imagine, you the recruiter, working your way through 178 resumes to source an experienced office manager.  They all look completely different. It’s not the burning flames, (because that applicant knows they’re on fire!), No, that’s not the problem.

Some have multiple columns with multiple fonts.  Others break with the norm, showing newest jobs at the end. It’s time consuming just digging out the essential information, let alone assessing the candidate’s actual suitability for the role.

Keep your resume clean and tidy but don’t overthink the design. Content is king (another blog, another day, says I). Oh, and those flames, they’re not relevant to the job.

BUT… if the job is for a creative role, a little more pizzazz is going to be the order of the day. Still make the content easy to find on the page, though. Again, try to get inside the mind of the recruiter. What is likely to appeal to them? If you don’t know, do some more research.

NOW if you’ve stayed with me, you might think I’m a dragon lady. But honestly, I’m one of the gentlest recruiters around. I’d rather spend time with candidates tidying up their resume and helping them to understand how they could do better, than simply culling them in a berserker-style frenzy.  But sometimes, culling resumes is a brutal and fickle affair, at least until the numbers are more manageable. Often some applications don’t even get clicked open. So sorry to tell you this, but, like you are recruiter only has so many hours in a day.

So, use your judgement in the first instance, ponder a bit and rely on friends and family as sounding boards. Don’t forget real employers too. Asking them for help and information, is not as terrifying as asking for job and not as silly as it sounds. But, that’s a blog for another day, dear readers.

If you decide you need help to get your resume working for you, think about the background of the writer. Have they been a recruiter or have they worked as a marketer, a graphic designer or a writer?  All of these are commendable vocations, often with enviable attributes, but can they get you thinking like you are in the recruiter’s chair?