Heres Why The Recruiters Ignoring Your Resume

Heres Why The Recruiters Ignoring Your Resume Heres Why The Recruiters Ignoring Your Resume In a conversation I just had with a senior-level, experienced candidate, she expressed the frustration that comes from applying for jobs that look like they fit to a T, only to hear radio silence. “There have been at least 100 roles over the last 6 months,” she said. “I look down the list of qualifications and I can definitely check off those boxes, I have reached out in every way I know how, but people just don’t respond.” Recruiters are busy people, yes. But it’s certainly possible to catch and hold their attention, in order to prompt them to call you. Let’s take a look at three simple fixes you can make on your resume today. Center On What You Do I know you have dreams. I know you have aspirations. I know you just know you can do the job. That’s what you know in your mind, but ask yourself this question: does your resume actually SAY that? On countless occasions of writing resumes for candidates over the last 19 years, when I ask what they can come into a company and do, I get some nebulous answer regarding how they can provide leadership to cross-functional teams. Do you realize that that’s not actually the center of what you do? EVERYone can say they lead cross-functional teams. So here’s a pro tip: if everyone can say it, then you don’t belong saying it. Center on your job function. Are you a Marketer? An Operations Manager? A Chief Financial Officer. Say that without all the fluffy and self-??compl?i?mentary language. Center On What You Did With Excellence Your resume is not a history lesson history is boring. Your resume is a marketing document that showcases what you’ve already done well. Highlighting these points makes the business case for what you can do next. Your past employers didn’t just hire you and retain you because you did your job as written in the description. The expectation was that you would perform with excellence. Assuming you did so, then it’s critical that you say so. Did you conduct sales? In what size territory? In as region with what ranking? You captured how many new customers? You delivered how much in new revenue? We’re you in marketing? You innovated what campaign? It reached how many members of your ideal audience? The campaign directly led to what amount of revenue? Center On What You Will Do (Based On What You Have Done) It falls so flat when your resume opens with, “?Finance industry executive with 25 years of experience. Andso WHAT? Solely stating your number of years of experience doesn't mean much. It's important to adopt the what's in it for me? mentality just apply that to the person on the receiving end of your resume. Think forward to the next step: your number of years of experience means you can come in and actually DO something that the potential employer needs done. For example, Finance industry executive who builds and optimizes the accounting function, defines internal control framework, and structures the organization for growth. ?Centering on what you do, what you've done in the past with excellence, and what you're ready, willing, and able to do for your next employer, provides the foundation for an attention-grabbing, engaging message that tells the recruiter what she needs to know within the 1st few seconds of glancing over your resume. You can further differentiate yourself by reaching out directly to the recruiter or decision maker. We lay out the steps to do exactly that in our free webinar, 5 Secret Job Search Hacks For The Age 50+ Job Hunter. Register for the program today, and you'll also find out how to avoid the killer mistake that will automatically make the recruiter ignore you.?