Your resume must pass many qualification steps on the way to producing a successful outcome.
Qualification 1: Is your Resume, and Contact Information Accessible to Recruiters?
Did you know that even if you post your resume to job boards (e.g. LinkedIn, Monster, Indeed) recruiters may still not be able to contact you? Many candidates have no idea that they are “hiding” from the positions they are seeking. What should you do? Send a resume to as many recruiters and companies as possible that you feel you can trust.
However, the quality of the content of the resume you send out is a much bigger factor than people realize. A thorough understanding of ALL of the areas mentioned provides the foundation for a resume which can rank in the top 1% among your competition (the people with similar skills as you).
Qualification 2: Showstopper Errors
(1) Missing keywords
(2) Missing Location Information
(3) Vague or ambiguous date ranges
(4) Restricting access to recruiters and companies
(5) Sending links to resume content rather than sending an actual resume
(6) Other missing information (e.g., short resumes with little content)
Do you understand these showstopper errors? It only takes one to remove you from a recruiter or ATS search. This can happen before a recruiter even sees any spelling mistakes or other errors commonly thought of as showstoppers.
Qualification 3: The 6-12 Second Test
Recruiters may sift quickly through a list of 100 resumes to find the top 3-4 obvious qualified candidates. Your resume should be written to allow recruiters to qualify you in 6-12 seconds for positions you closely match. If someone looked at your resume for 6-12 seconds, would they know what position you qualify for and how much experience you have in your top skills? What is the best method of doing this?
Qualification 4: Human Screening
After passing the 6-12 second test recruiters will look to see if your resume shows value in the most important areas required for a particular position. How do you define value? How can you distinguish yourself from the other 100 candidates who all claim to have “extensive experience”, “proven performance” and a “track record of success”?
Qualification 5: Presentation of the Context of your Skills
The context in which your experience was gained is important to employers. It can allow recruiters to decide to call you immediately or bypass your resume. How should the context of your skills be presented?
Conclusion
You are competing with candidates who have similar skills as you, not with the whole world. It is a doable goal to make your resume rank in the top 1-3% among your peers. To do this you must know for a certainty how to pass through all of these qualification steps.
How do you rate your knowledge on all of these areas 1-10?