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My 3 Steps are Keywords, Simplify and PDF.
But, the key to writing an effective resume is keywords, keywords and more keywords.
Keywords: words your client uses to describe their problem or need. These are not your words, or industry standard words. They are the words your client uses.
What to do:
1. Keywords: The only way to make a connection is by matching words (keywords). Your resume must match the words of the client to describe solving their problem. So, add more keywords.
More keywords, a lot more. Make your resume 10 pages long. Repeated words, section headings and specific terms comprise good candidates for keyword selection. Also look at similar job postings as a cross-reference to find the most likely candidates for keywords. There is no way to know how the client will describe their problem, or the way they think it needs to be solved. Just add more detail in every section of your resume. We have listed keywords here, here and here or you can Search 40x50.com for Keywords
2. Simplify: Simple headers, clear and verbose. Make it look boring, your resume must pass a computer filter before any human will read it. Use a single default font, bold headers, normal text for the body, bullet points and full dates. Make your resume easy to read. That is right plain and visually boring.
3. PDF: PDF is better than Word. PDF is typically uneditable. The computer systems read PDFs easier than Microsoft Word formatted resume. Also PDF is easier to parse for the job boards. My resume is built in a text editor, easy to update easy to modify.. no special cost involved.
Bonus tip: If a recruiter wants a word version of your resume, 90% chance they will revise it. You may never see the revision or what was actually sent to the client.
In order to pass through the automated filters, you need to write your resume to match the clients words (keywords) and expectations. Words matter, they are the only thing that is parsed or reviewed. Make sure you assert as much control as possible of the contents of your resume.
Results are the only measurement. No one cares what it looks like, only if it gets results.
As companies have grown from a collection of small- to medium-sized regional players to massive, multi-national corporations, so too has the need for a sizable Human Resources function. Screening applicants, which was once handled by hiring managers with years of deep experience within their verticals, has been outsourced to recruiters who oftentimes either lack adequate details about the job or the same level of subject matter expertise as the hiring manager. And this ineffective screening has only been compounded by the innate challenge of sifting through a never ending supply of candidates who fall along a continuum of completely unqualified to incredibly talented.
Huge companies and an explosion in the number of applicants means most companies had to become great at developing job descriptions more than identifying candidates based on their--potential. If a job seeker's background is even slightly outside of what a hiring company is looking for, it's extremely difficult (if not impossible) to even make it through to a first round interview. Recruiters get frustrated with candidates who lack minimum qualifications and incredibly talented candidates get frustrated with spending hours poring over their resumes and cover letters and never receiving a phone screen, or even worse, a rejection email.
Management consulting firms and similar sectors that value diversity of thought and pure intellectual horsepower seem to find a way to look past a pre-determined and narrowly defined range of academic disciplines or previous work experience. And they might be on to something.
Is it really mission critical to find someone with at least seven years of related work experience because someone with six years and three months just won't cut it? I know there are massive numbers of applications to screen and people to interview, but what about the rock stars you're missing out on because they fall a few months short of an arbitrary milestone?
Applicant tracking systems and a fixation on measures brought much needed efficiency to the hiring process. However, time saved that could be used for more value added and insightful screening must have been redeployed elsewhere.
Until we get better at assessing candidates based on relevant skill sets as well as their potential instead of assessing candidates based upon a rigid qualification check list, we are going to continue to overlook highly qualified employees as well as the occasional game-changing rock stars.
Find Shawn Graham at CourtingYourCareer, on Twitter @ShawnGraham or via email at shawn(at)courtingyourcareer.com.
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