Resumes from the HR Perspective

HR.com’s David Creelman compiled some helpful observations from HR managers on how they read resumes. While HR people may look at resumes slightly differently from the way hiring managers do, the insight in Creelman’s compilation is valuable for job-seekers. Here, we paraphrase Creelman’s article in a way that sheds light for job-hunters:

1. Be sure your resume indicates a clear career progression. Even if you use a functional resume format that de-emphasizes dates, you can include a bare-bones work history that shows how your career has progressed.
2. Include keywords that relate to the specific job you’re applying for.
3. Generally speaking, unless you’re in a very creative field, stay away from brightly colored resume papers and highly unusual presentations. The HR person can more easily glean key information if your resume is in a more conventional format.
4. An HR manager who hires for entry-level office services and all levels of administrative assistants notes that key areas for employer scrutiny are years of experience in a related field and software or equipment proficiencies.
5. An HR manager who receives 50-150 e-mailed resumes daily is annoyed by the scattershot approach of jobseekers who answer ads for jobs they’re not remotely qualified for. Don’t irritate employers by sending out your resume willy-nilly hoping the blanket coverage will result in interviews. Instead, target carefully, and apply only for jobs for which you’re truly qualified and interested in.
6. Focus on accomplishments, not responsibilities. Employers know the responsibilities of the jobs they hire for; they want to know what you’ve done above and beyond those duties.

Creelman concludes that “We [recruiters] all seem to face the same problem of overload. We need to get relevant information quickly. Job candidates do themselves a favor by tailoring the resume and cover letter and making sure the key points are easy to see.”