Resume wording matters
It’s no secret that there are a lot of people out of work these days. What you may not have known is that the national unemployment rate has a direct effect on everyone looking for a job.
Companies are inundated with resumes, many from people who aren’t necessarily qualified for—or even interested in—the position for which they’re applying. This has been not only my personal experience, but I’ve also heard similar reports from many of my peers regarding the sheer volume of resumes landing in our inboxes.
So how do you highlight the right skills on your resume to stand out, especially given the current quantity of resumes recruiters are sifting through?
In addition to making sure you meet the minimum requirements for the position you’re applying for, take the time to consider how your resume is worded in the context of what we’ve asked for in a successful candidate. You may have the experience we’re looking for, but if your phraseology is different from our requirements, we may overlook that skill when reviewing your resume. An example might be that we’ve asked for:
• A minimum of three years’ experience developing client-server enterprise software
Say that your resume lists the technologies used for client-server enterprise software, and you have more than three years’ experience… but, if a recruiter isn’t familiar with those technologies and doesn’t see “client-server” and/or “enterprise software” – your resume could be passed over along with the glut of other under-qualified resumes.
In these competitive times, it is essential to have concise wording in your resume that is specific to the job opening.
Happy hunting!
-Ryan
8 Comments
Sainath Nagarajan said:
Ryan,
Spot on. This comes back to good old marketing in terms of segmentation / targeting / positioning. Candidates help recruiters and in turn themselves, when they take the time and effort to showcase how they specifically can add value. We need to move away from the mass market outbound marketing mentality and more towards targeted matching of mutual interests.
Thanks, Sainath
Kellogg School of Management, EMBA Candidate
Co-Founder, www.ikembu.com
Sean said:
Good info. Isn't most of the "sifting" done via computer now? Should we be writing our resumes to a companies algorithm rather than for human eyes?
-Sean
McVeigh Group LLC
Sapz said:
Please include some templates for System Administrator resumes
Auzz said:
Good tip and an eye opener. So resumes are scanned based on word matching algorithms. Wow !! We've definitely come a long way.
Ryan said:
You should always write your resume for a person, not an algorithm. Ultimately, no matter how we find you, there's at least one set of eyes on your resume looking to see if you meet the requirements for a position. -- Thanks for the comments!
Ravi B said:
I have a slightly off-topic question:
As an undergraduate student in a business degree that is looking for co-op/internship opportunities in software development, should I list my work experience ahead of my education?
My university tells the co-op students to list their work experience *after* education, as it may not be relevant to the position. In my case, my work experience has more relevance to the positions for which I am applying than my degree itself.
Cheers,
R
Faryal Humayun said:
As a Recruitment Consultant I come across many resumes throughout the day. From experience I have learnt that the resume needs to be customized in order to attract more attention of the hiring managers. Before applying for the job it is important to find out about the company and the role applied for and then make necessary changes in the resume according to the requirements.
Paula Shevick said:
You explain resume requirements. What about the cover letter? Is it important at all?
Thanks,
Sunrise