Resumes, Applications, and Recruiters OH MY!

Applying for jobs is daunting; and I'm here to solve all your problems! Just apply here and get a 3rd application free! Just kidding, I can't do that, but if  you have not looked for a new role recently, or even if you change jobs regularly, there is a lot of work that goes into it and hopefully I have a couple pieces of helpful advise to share. As a recruiter, I see a lot of resumes and applications...I mean A LOT, and I have to admit, there is some truth to the metric on the amount of time a recruiter really spends looking at it (FWIW I think its something like 13 seconds). Given that metric, its important to maximize your time, resume, and application. Honestly, there is quite a bit of preparation that should go into any job search and if you haven't adequately prepared – honey, it shows.

Resume's are tricky. They represent a short snippet of your entire experience and frankly, I'm not sure about you, but its a little bit stressful. There is a lot of judgment passed on a resume regardless of your industry, education, previous jobs, length of tenure, spelling, format, colors, the list goes on and on. I don’t want to use this post to debunk any advise of folks who are more soi-disant "experts" in resume writing may have, but as far as my opinion on a resume goes, I just want to see that its clean and thoughtful.

I'll add the caveat here that I work in the tech industry and primarily hire engineers, so my bar for a good resume is pretty low (no offense to engineers, but y’all aren’t really known for your resume writing skills…just sayin’). Regardless of your industry however, the reality is that you never get a second chance to make a first impression and your resume is just that — a first impression. When I see resumes that have a summary and list of “key skills” that occupies the ENTIRE first page of the resume, you’re already off to a bad start with me. The truth is - I ain’t got time to be readin’ all of that. I appreciate the effort, but thats not where my time is spent. What I do is scroll down to your current job experience and start from there.

I’m not sure why there is still this belief that “keyword stuffing” is the right approach to a resume. Sure, you might get a couple more initial calls, but honestly, I see it get called out in interviews 100% of the time. Rule of thumb - if you cannot speak to it in detail with situational examples that you yourself have experienced — just leave it off. Imma say it again— LEAVE IT OFF YOUR RESUME.  Candidates, you will get found out and when you do, don’t come back and say its the recruiter or interviewers fault that you didn’t get the job. Save it. You tried to dupe the system and you lost.

In general, a resume should be thoughtful. I don’t know that I’m a huge proponent of writing a tailored resume for every job to which you apply, but I do think that you should make sure your resume accurately speaks to the work you’ve done and in doing so, you will find the right job. Your bullet points and descriptions should show some type of action/result and whys (see: STAR Method in your Google search bar), and you should be thoughtful and purposeful in using that resume to apply for jobs that are a fit for your experience, but will still give you the stretch you need to continue to grow your career. Once you have a great resume you'll be the belle of the ball, and have so many calls it will be quite the haul!

Where resumes are the logs, applications are the fire. OK, thats a terrible analogy, but basically every application you submit is a representation of the hard work you put into writing your resume; its the fire. Don’t waste it. Applying for jobs can often feel like running in sand. There are little to no updates or responses unless you get a call for an interview, so it makes sense that you want to throw paper at a wall and see what sticks.The problem with this method is it really is more demoralizing than helpful. Lets look at it this way - you apply to 50 jobs and get 3 interviews. I would bet that doesn’t feel great and probably makes you feel like “you suck”. Lets just put this out there - you don’t suck, but maybe you suck at applying to the right jobs. Earlier, I mentioned resumes should be thoughtful. Well, applications should be doubly thoughtful. You have to be honest about what you want out of your next job. The only way to do that is to be thoughtful about those goals as you prepare. Sure, you should take a chance here and there for something that seems really interesting, and maybe is not a slam dunk, but don’t apply to a nursing role if you’re a software engineer. Chances are you are not qualified.

I’ve also found that when you apply without paying attention you end up applying to the same company multiple times for different positions. One or two applications for roles that really speak to you and are relevant are great, but honestly, when I see somebody who has applied to 15 different openings that are all incredibly different, and mostly not relevant to your experience, you have already lost credibility. Side note: I’m actually still trying to figure out what the thought process is for this — if somebody wants to take this offline and explain, I’m all ears.

Before I wrap this up, I want to take a moment to debunk yet another myth of job seeking: application tracking systems (ATS) do not auto reject resumes. There are real people that review every resume and application and consider those applications for not just for that job, but often for a variety of other openings that could too be a fit. Also, the ATS does recognize the same applicant, so even if a recruiter isn't working on every role, they still know you applied to EVERY. ROLE. I know generally people like to think Recruiters are mindless drones that can’t think past their nose (yes I combined two sayings there), but we aren’t. We are educated, and no, liberal arts educations aren’t lesser than a specific concentration, and no it doesn’t make us dumber.

I’ve said in previous posts that I think recruiters (maybe not all, but hopefully most) do want to help. Take all advise with a grain of salt, and heck do you boo boo, but at the very least keep your resumes clean and your applications cleaner and you’ll be alright.