Why You Have Seconds for Résumé Writing Services
The Ladders did an eye scan study in that proved just how fast recruiters initially go over your résumé and what they look for.
6 seconds. 6 things. But that was in 2012.
Today I’d say with smartphones and new technology worldwide, hiring managers are getting 100s of applications for each job. So I’d agree more with this May 2018 article from a 20-year recruiter that said you have 5 seconds… and they don’t even work!
Then, in November 2018 Ladders redid their study: Recruiters spend an average of 7.4 seconds on a resume—here are 3 ways to make yours 🅿🅾🅿. (Gotta love that title!! 😉 So 6 years later the time actually went from 6.2 to 7.4 seconds. Woo-hoo!
The point? Whichever you go by, you’d better s̺̤̱͔̙͓͕͒̇t̩a̲͇̻̰͌n̠̲̥̜̮͈̓͑̀ͯ͂ͭ̈d͔̟͓̳̑̇͐̂ͥ͂̎ ̮̗ͥͅͅo̜͓ͫͥ̔u̖͋ͣ͊̿ͫ̚ṱ̰̠̲̯͔̮… in a good way!
I’d venture to say this means you get 3 seconds or less, for the initial decision to even keep reading.
Red Hot FLOW
The following do-it-yourself résumé shown on the left barely got a glance. And mostly in one area.
On the other hand, look at the red on the right (professional) one below. It’s all over the place! Thus, getting you a better initial scan and interest.
As you can see in the red areas, this is where their eyes focus the most. You want to leverage those most-read areas…
TheLadders-EyeTracking-ResumeStudyC2
Sample Résumé 1 – BEFORE
Here’s what I’m talking about. First of all, notice this sample résumé format is hard to read due to it looking all the same.
Furthermore, it has big blocks of text. (Did you see how I just broke that up to make sure you saw this sentence?! 😉
Sample Résumé 1 – AFTER
In contrast, with this résumé example, it has lots of white space and will allow a good eye scan. It is still too busy, but much better…
Resume Example 1 AFTER – LinkedIn-Résumé-Facebook Writing-Training-SPEAKING Profiles That POP!™️
Sample Résumé 2 – BEFORE
Here’s another example. BEFORE…
Everything is crammed in the first half page. By the confusing middle section, you’ve lost the reader – and the ATS. The rest looks the same and doesn’t POP.
Resume Example 2 BEFORE
Sample Résumé 2 – AFTER
After redoing this résumé, it sells the client on the first 1/2 page, then makes you want to keep reading with a clean simple structure…
Resume Example 2 AFTER
CONTENT is Key
Certainly, content is key. Why? Because recruiters and hiring managers are looking for 6 things (per the Ladders study and continual anecdotal evidence I hear from clients):
1) name
2) education
3) current job title
4) current company
5) past job title
6) past company
RESUMES that RESONATE
Are all those pieces of information clearly selling you?
Within 6 seconds?!
- Above all else – RESULTS MATTER.
- We’re talking short bullets with no pronouns like “I” or “We”.
- This is what separates good Résumé Writing Services from the best!
