Editor’s note: This article was first published in November 2013. The figures that 86% of HR professionals search for candidates online and that fewer than 10% of Spanish companies used keyword-screening software are unsourced 2013 claims; applicant tracking systems are far more widespread today.
This would be the perfect resume for today, according to the experts at The Ladders, a company that has spent years matching employers with professionals. Keep in mind that recruiters receive hundreds or thousands of resumes for a single position, and according to a recent study, they spend no more than six seconds on a resume if it hasn’t caught their attention in that time.
According to these professionals, we need to grab the recruiter’s attention quickly, make things easy for them and get straight to the point. To show how, Business Insider asked The Ladders for an example of the perfect resume today, and the company put one together. They stress that this model is meant as a guide for mid-level professionals with three to five years of experience relevant to the job they’re applying for.
At first glance it may look very simple, but they point out that it also avoids many of the mistakes we make in a traditional resume. Much of what people put on a resume could be very interesting in a job interview, but when it comes to the resume itself, the recruiter as a rule has neither the time, the desire nor the patience to read one or two pages from thousands of candidates.
What makes this resume perfect?
1. It includes a URL for the candidate’s online profile
It’s important for professionals to have an online professional profile these days. According to these experts, 86% of human resources professionals already search for candidates and their profiles online. Don’t make them waste time, and try to avoid being confused with someone else.
2. It doesn’t include an objective statement
“Seeking opportunities that will allow me to develop and leverage my skills” is, according to these experts, not useful. It’s too generic. Replace it with an explanation of who you are, what you’re looking for and the exact value you can bring as a professional.
(Read: What the perfect cover letter looks like)
3. Reverse chronological order
It’s more useful for recruiters to see quickly what you’ve been doing in recent years. Reverse chronological order is almost always recommended, except when you want to make a complete career change.
4. It uses keywords
Most people don’t know that many human resources departments already use some kind of software to search resumes for certain keywords. In this example, the highlighted keywords are “forecasting” and “strategic planning”. This means that if a company is looking for a strategic planning specialist and uses such software, out of 1,000 resumes only the five that include those words might come up. Study the keywords used in your industry: although in Spain it’s estimated that, for now, fewer than 10% of companies use this kind of software, its use will keep growing.
5. It describes the company (if that works in your favor)
Being the manager of a five-person company is not the same as having run a company with 350 employees. In the second case, make sure it stands out on your resume. The same goes for team leaders or important positions within a specialty.
6. It quantifies achievements
Many of the mistakes people make when sending out resumes come from listing achievements in dense blocks of text. However many achievements you have, try to include only three to five, and quantify them. You didn’t sell €300,000 in the year you worked there; you increased sales by 20% compared with the year before you arrived.
7. It uses white space
White space points the recruiter to the important parts, so use it, and don’t bury the most important information in dense blocks of text.
8. Simple formatting
They advise against using colors or unusual fonts. The model resume has a minimalist, traditional look, which already says a lot about you.
9. It doesn’t say “references available upon request”
Avoid including anything unnecessary. If the recruiter wants references, they won’t ask you for them; they’ll look for them themselves.
10. It doesn’t use images
This is where I disagree with these professionals. I agree that you shouldn’t send tables or charts in your resume, since they could confuse keyword-screening software. But the truth is that many studies say the most important part of a resume is the photo, and according to most recruiters, it’s where their eyes go first.
In other words, I personally think this is a perfect resume format for not wasting anyone’s time and catching attention quickly. But today, at least in Spain (and I imagine in Latin America too), a photo is still essential.
Further reading
Featured image: Flazingo Photos, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Flickr.
