On many occasions when we are looking for a new job we think that our resume is so well prepared that we do not know how it does not immediately attract the attention of all those responsible for human resources. Unfortunately, recruitment professionals have the same time as other people … and this means that our CV and anyone else is judged in a very, very short time.
Lindsay Mustain, a former Amazon recruiter, is the author of the book ‘7 Critical Curriculum Mistakes to Avoid’, in which she reviews some concepts to get attention before the critical six seconds, the time a resource manager spends Humans dedicate to receiving the first impression of a CV and approving or rejecting it.
Therefore, it is critical that candidates optimize their resume to make it clear and compelling for any recruiter. Mustain gives three tips for this:
- Take care of the format
The most important thing about any resume, and ahead of the content, is the format, according to Mustain. “If I can’t find the information in those three or six seconds, then we have a problem,” he said.
Mustain’s advice is to think “minimalist”. Keeping a simple resume design, without photos or artifice, so that a recruiter can easily scan it and choose the information they need.
- Choose well what to include
Next, the content of your resume should highlight two key things: the scope and the impact according to the author. Scope refers to the roles you’ve gained experience with, and impact highlights why they were important.
Therefore, his advice is to tell what roles or positions we have had and how they were translated into results in a direct and fast way.
Typically, that scope and impact should also be summarized in a short value proposition or executive summary at the top of the resume.
- Use keywords that are quick to identify
Third, your resume should be “keyword optimized” for the type of language used by the company you are applying to, according to Mustain.
There are websites that allow you to compare the language used in the resume with that of the job description. But, equally, you can use a company’s website and social networks to see how they refer to customers, users, etc., and use it as a guide, Mustain said.
As a general rule of thumb, Mustain says a master resume should be created based on job descriptions that you consider to be three dream jobs. Then modify it based on the specific requirements of each job we apply for.