4 Reasons No One is Reading Your Resume

Posted May 30, 2014 & filed under Job Search, Resume

It’s happened to everyone. You put the time into writing your resume and the most you hear back is a soft ping notifying you that your application has been “received” (it certainly doesn’t seem that way). Even with desirable skills, some resume mistakes cause you to be overlooked. It’s frustrating but isn’t an insurmountable hurdle. Here are the 4 reasons no one is reading your resume.

Your Formatting Is an Eyesore

Resume formatting is nothing trivial. Hiring managers and recruiters spend 6 seconds on each resume and even less time on any that are too obtuse to rapidly read. It’s a major resume mistake that only takes some quick aesthetic fixes.

• Stick to readable fonts. Sans serif fonts (Calibri or Arial) are the most appealing.
• Make your resume easy to scan. The following information is the most important to quickly find:
  • Your Name
  • Your Current Company & Position
  • Your Start & End Dates
  • Your Previous Positions & Dates
  • Your Education
  • Limit the number of bullet points listed per position. Highlight only the best and most relevant responsibilities and achievements, staying within five or six bullet points.

You Used the Wrong Order

Another worthwhile resume fix is to do a quick shuffle of the resume’s order. Try different formats for different results:

• Reverse Chronological Order – Best when highlighting your work history. Start with your most recent job and work your way backwards. Education comes after your work history.
• Functional Resume – Best when highlighting your skills and experience. Start with the skills you want to highlight and include examples of your success.

In most cases, reverse chronological is the best option, but if you are applying for a position outside of your typical field, functional resumes have their merits.

You Left Out Good Keywords

If your resume isn’t being read, you might lack the right keywords. Hiring managers tell you exactly what they want. They give you a list of technologies, methodologies, certifications, and interpersonal skills that they need all in their job opening. This resume fix is almost painfully easy. You just need to play your cards right.

• Don’t overcomplicate job titles – What’s in a name? Quite a bit if you want people to know what you do. See if your title passes the LinkedIn test: Type your job title into the LinkedIn search bar and if you don’t get any search results, distill your job down to a simpler form. Repeat until you get results.

• Give page time to your technical skills – Applicant Tracking Systems are prominent, but even human readers need to see your technical skills. A major resume mistake is to list all technical skills in one bloated chunk. For every achievement, describe which technical skills helped to make it a roaring success.

Your Resume is Boring

Are people bored while reading your resume? One major resume mistake is that candidates don’t get hiring managers intrigued. The whole point is to sell yourself. Bland data fails to do that.

• Play the numbers – Numerical achievements resonate with hiring managers. Quantifiable success can be verified and duplicated with the right formula. So talk about any revenue increases, productivity jumps, and financial savings you’ve made for previous employers.

• Talk up your achievements – Won a major award? In demand by name brand clients? Don’t be modest. Create yourself some hype and tease those achievements in your resume. It’ll encourage employers to move you on with the interview.

by James Walsh