New Study Finds Recruiters Give Resumes Only 6 Seconds

Posted by in Career Advice •


A recent eye-tracking study of recruiter behavior when reviewing resumes revealed some rather surprising information. While we’ve known for some time that resumes aren’t given much initial consideration time, most experts thought that roughly 30 seconds were given to examination; some thought even less—maybe 10-15 seconds. In actuality, the study found an initial scan of the resume by recruiters was only 6 SECONDS. That’s it. Six seconds is all your resume gets to make an initial impression.

 

The implications of the study, of course, are far reaching and suggest that it’s even more critical to have an eye-catching resume and to make the most of the six seconds you are afforded. So where do you start and what do you focus on when you have only six seconds to make the right impression? Here are the six areas that recruiters spent more than 80% of their time focusing on:

 

NAME

 

Name, address, and initial contact information are important. The recruiter will most likely want to know if you’re in the area in which the position is located. This is also a great place to put any degrees, certifications, or special designations so the recruiter knows your qualifications right away. For example:

 

John M. Doe, M.B.A.

 

CURRENT TITLE/COMPANY

 

It’s very important to place your current company’s name and your current job title in a logical place on the resume so it’s easily found by the employer. Don’t make them go searching for it. Judgments will be made based on this current position title, so know that in advance.

 

PREVIOUS TITLE/COMPANY

 

Ideally your resume will show job search progression steadily moving up the corporate ladder and taking on more responsibility and bigger roles.

 

START/END DATES

 

Your dates of employment are very important to recruiters because they will tell them about your job longevity and in most cases are considered an indicator of your reliability and stability.

 

EDUCATION

 

Education can be critical to your resume and is definitely a factor recruiters will use to weed you out if you don’t have the required degree.

 

The reality of the initial resume scan is to weed out candidates and to narrow the search to a select few qualified candidates. Each recruiter will complete his or her initial six-second resume scan and thus determine within those six seconds whether they think you’re qualified for the job or not. That’s why it’s so important to write your resume for the position you want and make the most of the areas you know the recruiter will be looking at so that you can reduce your chances of being weeded out in the first round of the review.

 
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  • E. Steven C
    E. Steven C •
    Jim, I think you may be missing the point of the article. And thank you for your service by the way. So you know I too have the pleasure of reviewing resumes for job position that I have. I used to get 50 resumes a day for each position, which I had opened. Since I was not only the hiring manager, but the Program Manager as well, I did not have much time to review in detail each resume to dig out all the relevant information. I too have over 30 years of work experience and can tailor my resume to 1 page when necessary.The point of the article is to get noticed among the other applicants. Hiring decisions come after the interview not on the 6 second review.  Focus you resume on the job requirements only. Use a functional style resume and if the job requires a degree, ensure you name has the degree recognized i.e. John M. Doe, M.B.A.If the job requires a security clearance, ensures that is listed right below your contact information. I put mine in red ink. Resume readers may have to review 500-1000 resumes in a single day. No one has that much time to spend if the applicant is qualified by reviewing every word on the resume. The main idea in the initial screen is to determine if this candidate has what the job requires.  As the reviewer, I’d want to quickly know if the applicant has the required knowledge and skill to do the job and is employable. Some companies only want current working employees.
  • Stephen b
    Stephen b •
    Well, having been around for awhile, and meeting recruiters, they are in my opinion, as a general rule, just plain duds.
  • Cynthia D
    Cynthia D •
    Excellent Advice. I'm retyping my resume and I did find faults. Thank you.
  • Jim L
    Jim L •
    WOW. 6 seconds. The article is very helpful in giving me some good information on the changes I need to make to my resume. It also points out the problem most job seekers have with getting an interview for jobs they may be the best candidate for but are overlooked because their resume wasn't "eye catching enough." Don't get me wrong, I realize that the shear number of applicants for a specific job in today's economy can be massive. But it is the job of an HR department to find the most qualified applicant possible for the position. If a recruiter is only taking 6 seconds to "Glance" at a resume then they are NOT doing their job. I am 51 years old. I have been working since I was 15. If a recruiter is not taking the time to read the 30 plus years of accomplishments they are not getting the full understanding of who I am and what I can do for their company. Now my many years of hard work and service to my country(Navy) has been reduced to how eye catching my name is at the top one inch of a piece of paper. HR departments are now judging the book by its cover. Sad, very sad.

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