Survey Reveals Resumes Have 2 Minutes or Less to Capture the Employers Attention

Survey Reveals Resumes Have 2 Minutes or Less to Capture the Employers AttentionA new study by the Harris Poll conducted on behalf of CareerBuilder confirmed that an overwhelming majority of recruiters and HR professionals invest less than two minutes reviewing a candidates resume. Furthermore, almost 20% of the recruiters and HR professionals surveyed stated that they invest 30 seconds or less. So whats a job seeker to do with a shrinking window of time to capture the employers attention?WOW THEM FROM THE TOP DOWNSince the hiring manager is going to invest the bulk majority of their 30-second to 2-minute scan of your resume at the top, its important that you put the most newsworthy information FIRST. Include the most relevant metrics, specifics, accomplishments, and successes in the first third of your resume, and then as you complete the rest of the resume you can offer more details.WRITE FOR THE HUMAN AND THE MACHINEYour resume has to include keywords or buzz words that applicant tracking software will be looking for when it scans your resume, but it also has to include the right action verbs to convince the employer youre capable of offering the company value. For a list of the best-ranked terms HR is looking for on your resume check out this list. (no link included here yet because blog isnt live)ADDRESS CHALLENGES HEAD ONMinimize any red flags within the resume like job hopping, gaps, and long-term unemployment. These can be immediate deterrents for hiring managers. Invest your time focusing on the benefits an employer would receive from choosing you over another candidate. For example, experience, subject matter expertise, and verifiable successes (be specific here). Then dont hesitate to address those challenges in your cover letter. Recruiters appreciate honesty and directness. If youve taken 2 years off to care for an ailing family member, theres no shame in it and it shows you know how to prioritize and put others firstdesirable qualities in any grea t employee.Resume writing not your strong suit? Thats OK. There are professionals who keep up with trends, standard practices, and resume writing strategies so you dont have to.WANT TO WORK WITH US?You can find out more about our 99+% interview-winning success rate and more here.FURTHER READING17 Worst Words You Can Use on Your Resume15 Words Hiring Manager WANT to binnensee on Your Resume