A colleague of mine works for a major glass manufacturer in purchasing. The global company’s in-house recruiting department, like most, uses two things to recruit for open positions: recruiting software/automated tracking system (ATS) and a third party recruitment process outsourcing company (RPO.) In the last six months alone she has referred three candidates for open positions who did not make it past the initial screening by the RPO. Two of them got the job. Closer examination of why this occurred revealed that the candidate did not have well written resumes. In the words of an executive recruiter, “Unfortunately great candidates do not always put together great resumes so they may not get through the auto screening process.”
A good recruiter realizes that the ATS and RPO are tools that support them in finding good candidates for their open position. In the healthcare industry, one open position garners as many as 300 resumes of many unqualified candidates. Recruiters have to rely more heavily on the tools to help them manage through the sifting for a qualified candidate. Additionally, both in-house and third party recruiters often times have broad search assignments and a large number of open positions on their plates. Recruiters are measured and compensated free opportunity seekers email addresses on placement, so the sooner they get a new hire in the door the better. Keep in mind, however, that the recruiter is just the initial gateway to getting a job offer; the hiring manager makes the decision. Many times, recruiters do not have enough in-depth technical skills to really understand what they are looking for and therefore cannot decipher a bad resume when a great candidate is behind it. This is when they start relying solely on ATS searches by using keywords. The more technical or specialized your profession, the more likely it is that the recruiter will use the ATS system more heavily to screen candidates. Thus if you have a bad resume, your chances of being selected are slim. The business of recruiting is a difficult one, make no mistake about it. They, too, are trying to do much more with much less and have a tremendous amount of responsibility on their plates. They are required to have technical knowledge of the job, the recruiting and HR field, and the candidate. The easier you make their job, the more likely it is they will find you. The way to do this is to have a great resume.
The number of people I talk to in a week who tell me they don’t have the “time” to put into researching companies and jobs in the hidden job market is astonishing. If you are a job candidate who is willing to put some elbow grease into your job search then you are already ahead of many. It is a full time job to find a full time job. It’s hard work, too. However, having the right tools to get the job done will make the search go more smoothly and much quicker. The main tool in your toolbox – you guessed it – your resume.
The resume is designed to give the reader a summary of your career. Note the key word – summary. Recruiters do not like, let alone pay attention to, resumes that are long winded, too detailed, not detailed enough or read like a job description. They want to see word jump out at them, first through their ATS software then in print. Keep in mind that they want to find you as much as you want to be found and the more concise your resume is, the higher the chances are that will happen.
SWOT Analysis: The first step to a great resume starts with an assessment of your strengths and what sets you apart from other candidates. The SWOT analysis, Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats, is a great tool to use to do this. This is a critical piece of the resume and one many candidates miss. It can also be the hardest for the job seeker to assess, so take great time and care completing this exercise. Identifying where your skill gaps are relative to the job you are looking at can be helpful in deciding whether you should even apply for it. Don’t waste your time or the recruiters. Opportunities are where you can identify skills that can be transitioned to another industry or field. Threats can help you assess the changing dynamics of the job market in the field you are pursuing and will help you make adjustments to your resume.
The format of your Professional Experience should address three main areas: The challenge to be solved; the action you took to solve it, the results of your actions. Write a sentence or two describing the company you work(ed) for; what they do and how they serve their customer. If you have chosen a functional resume you will want to write a full sentence on a specific expertise you possess within the functional category; spell out for the reader why you consider yourself an expert in that function. It will bring a link between your responsibility and your contribution to the firm. Write a brief summary of your responsibilities and actions, and then give the results in a bulleted list under each job. Results should include hard numbers and show the reader how you added revenue or reduced cost in some way. Going back to your SWOT analysis, quantify your results for the reader and make it easy for a hiring manager to see what you achieved in each position you held.
