With Fred Coon

September 2, 2003 – 20 Pet Peeves Recruiters Have About Resumes
Courtesy of Mike Worthington, ResumeDoctor.com

PET PEEVE # 20 – Burying or Not Including Important Information in the Resume
Many recruiters shared that candidates often leave off very important and critical experience/information that is pertinent to the job they are seeking. Just as bad is to include this important info, (i.e., holding a Security Clearance or being bi-lingual in Spanish, when it is a requirement of the position), but burying it so deeply into the resume that the recruiter will not see it. No recruiter has the time to play Sherlock Holmes or guessing games to figure out a candidate’s background. Jobseekers must be aware that recruiters receive literally hundreds of resumes a day and spend only about 10 seconds “skimming” through each resume. This is why it is imperative that if a job seeker possesses the requirements of the position, that they GRAB the recruiter’s attention IMMEDIATELY with these skills/experiences. If not, it considerably reduces the chances that a recruiter will call. The best scenario is to customize each and every resume that is sent out and tailor it to the “hot buttons” that will catch the employer/recruiter’s attention within 5-10 seconds.

Recruiter’s likes and dislikes in a resume were surveyed nation-wide by Mike Worthington of ResumeDoctor.com. FACE to FACE will publish all twenty pet peeves in this column over the next months.

ResumeDoctor.com is a service provided by Personnel Department Inc. PDI is Vermont’s largest independently owned staffing agency. They have been locally owned and operated for over 14 years. They have been featured in many publications, TV news programs, and radio broadcasts. You may contact them at: http://www.resumedoctor.com.