How to Inspect Your Resume Like a Recruiter

It is getting more and more difficult to land that job you really want, and the reason might be your resume. It’s time to re-examine yours and find out what you're doing wrong and how to fix it. As you read, ask yourself these four questions, which are important to recruiters and employers.

Have You Included Your Professional Profile URL?

Your online social presence is becoming more and more relevant when applying to jobs, particularly professional social media sites. Most recruiters and hiring managers look at your online professional profile whether you include the URL on your resume or not. Putting the URL ensures they find you and not someone with your same name, and it makes it easier for them, which is always appreciated.

Do You Have an Objective or a Professional Summary?

So many resumes have an objective instead of a professional summary, but a professional summary is what really sells you to an employer. While an objective tells the employer why you want this job, a professional summary tells the employer why they want you as an employee, which is what makes them want to hire you. They don’t particularly care what you want; they care how you can meet their needs. Use three to five sentences and make them see why you are the best candidate for the position.

How Much of Your Work History Have You Included?

Work history is important on a resume because it shows what you have accomplished in the past. However, too much work history makes it too long and provides information that is not even relevant to the job. For example, if you are applying for a high-level tech position, your experience at the local fast food restaurant does not help. If you don’t have much job experience, use relevant education, internships and skills you have learned in college. If you have a lot of employment history, cut it down to the past 15 years.

How Does the Resume Look Overall?

To an employer, how your resume looks is just as important as the information it provides. When a resume has too many dense blocks of text, has too many bullets or is too long, it’s difficult to read. With so many other people in the job market, make the employer want to read your resume right away just by how it looks. Use a format that allows you to grasp the important information with just a quick scan by using eye-catching keywords that impress employers.

With these four questions, you will make your resume stand out and show why you are the best choice for the job. Now that you know what you've been doing wrong, pull out your resume and make some small changes that mean big opportunities.

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