How To: Not Annoy a Recruiter with Your Resume

Working in the recruiting department of a government contracting company has afforded me the experience of seeing a LOT of resumes. Every single day they pass before me in some form or another, and sadly, it is fairly rare that I see a resume that I just want to keep looking at or reading. It's very difficult to remain neutral or open-minded about a person when I see typos, bad grammar, and inconsistent formatting littering their resume. I have to decide whether to give them a shot or just disregard them entirely because of the lack of care and attention they gave their resume. 

But apart from the obvious mistakes such as typos, there are other elements on a resume that you may not realize are annoying the recruiter you are trying to impress! Of course recruiters are different and have their own pet peeves, but I thought it might be helpful to share the things I've picked up on over the course of the year that I've worked here.

Let's start with the Do-Not's:

• Do not use vague descriptive words with no meat behind them. Trust me, almost every resume in the world displays words like creative...innovative...hard worker...experienced...great communicator...organized...and on and on. If everyone were as awesome as they say they are, we'd live in a much better world. You may ask then, how are you supposed to describe yourself without using descriptive words?
• Do not describe yourself. Your resume is about displaying the work you have done. If you have a visually pleasing resume, it shows that you're creative and innovative. If you use clear, succinct language, it shows that you're a great communicator. If you give examples of projects you have accomplished or specific things you have done, it will show that you're a hard worker. Want to know what I do when I see 5 bullet points at the top of a resume trying to tell me how hard working and innovative a person thinks they are? Skip. Scroll. Look for actual examples of whatever they're saying they are. A lot of times I can't find them.
• Do not explain that you're "looking for a challenging career" or a "new work opportunity." No duh. So is everyone else. The only time something like this might be helpful is if you're being very specific. For example, "after spending 4 years as X I am seeking to apply my skills as Y or Z" This is especially helpful if you're posting your resume on a job board, because then I will know to call you if I'm looking for a Y or Z, or not to waste my time if I'm looking for an X. You've already answered the first thing I would ask you.
• Do not write in the 3rd person! Never thought I would have to actually say that...
• Do not include "personal interests." I have seen everything from "hiking" to "sewing" to "walking my dog on trails behind my house." Call your mother...I'm sure she'd be glad to hear all about it.

And now for some tips:

• Use bold headings of some kind to catch and guide the eye of the person reading. 
• Consider placing a text box off to the side to catch career highlights or a summary of accomplishments. Whatever way you do it, just make sure you're making the most of the space you have on a page.
• It's fine to have a "Summary" section if you're using it to summarize work you've done. It's even helpful a lot of the time. But just remember, it's a summary of your work, not a summary of your personality or work ethic.
• Everyone hates to hear this, but tailor your resume to the job description. Go through each line in the description and make sure your resume gives an example of how you have done what this job requires, even if it's only somehow related. Don't copy the wording exactly, but pick up on some of the words and place them in your resume to catch the reader's attention. (We really do skim as much as you're afraid we do.) 

If I think of any other potentially helpful ideas I'll add them, but I hope for now this is enlightening and useful even though it's long. If there are any particular questions or things that you wonder about putting in a resume, please leave a comment! I'd love to help however I can. The more good resumes that are out there, the easier my job is.

And as a side note, take a look at this article for a few impressive questions to ask at an interview.