Dear applicants, the recruiters have finally confessed the secret. The time span of a recruiter checking your resume stays between 5-7 seconds, says online job search site The Ladders as per the research done by them. This equals to about 30-40 words on resume in total.

There’s always this anxiety in us to know what happens next when we apply for a job. How long are recruiters reading our resume? What are the major areas of concern on a resume for recruiters?  What interests them to not toss the resume in recycle bin?

Let’s glance through a few facts below unleashing the figures and facts related to recruiters’ activity. (A study was done by Undercover Recruiter on the analytics of CV through a recruiter’s point of view.)

► 200 applications are received when a job is posted
► Average time spent looking at the CV lasts for about 7 seconds
► 15% chance is the attached cover letter will be read too
► 1 spelling or grammar mistake your CV will be thrown out
► 80% of CVs are rejected with photos attached on it
► 60% of recruiters will search for your other social media profiles
► 80% of CVs are rejected if you have unprofessional email address

After the careful analysis of survey done by The Ladders on job recruiters to figure out what matters the most on your resume – firstly, they found out the areas of content that is largely ignored, secondly – the top six aspects on which recruiters pay maximum of their attention, such as –

► Name
► Current Title / Company
► Previous Title / Company
► Current position start end dates
► Previous position start and end dates
► Education

So, what do you do to make your CV gain worth a second glance? We would say, the best solution is to summarize your CV at the earliest.  Try applying following smart tricks to keep your CV visible in that span of 6 seconds precisely –

► Tailor your resume summary as per each job application you apply for – Try to highlight your areas of expertise most relevant to the particular position you are applying for and use them in the summary. This will help a recruiter focus his/her attention on the areas that are expected out of you to perform, hence it improves the interview process.

► Mention the result outcomes you’ve achieved in those areas of expertise – Focus on how you have helped organizations achieve their goals. Simply focus on specific results that have benefited other organizations. And most importantly, how well your accomplishments distinguish you from other candidates.

► Highlight the major industries you’ve been associated along with years of experience – This space gives you an opportunity to explain the industries you’ve been associated with through out your career span. Try to talk about the areas which are most vital in terms of its relevancy and application.

► Make use of important key words that describes you as a best fit – Avoid using generic words. Keywords are essential to make your resume strong in terms of right filtration of the most concerned set of words.

► It is equally important to work on LinkedIn profile alongside – Unlike just having about a few lines on your resumes summaries; you have up to 2000 characters in the summary section of your LinkedIn profile to highlight accomplishments and connect them to what you want to do next.

It is true that other parts of resume are also important. But a summary can captivate a recruiter’s mind at the right spot. Try to distinguish yourself from other candidates and create that need of your profile in recruiter’s eyes. In the end, all you can wait for is a call back on your phone.

References:
The Ladders
Undercover Recruiter