What a recruiter actually cares about seeing on you resume

What a recruiter actually cares about seeing on you resumeWhat a recruiter actually cares about seeing on you resumeIn my eight years as a recruiter at an investment bank, I reviewed thousands of resumes. Ive seen and learned a lot, from the importance of proofreading to the art of formatting. Its enough to know that there isnt one acceptable format or approach to creating an awesome resume.There are, however, a few key strategies that can make your resume more effectively do what you intend it to Catch someones eye, clearly communicate your qualifications, and help move you on to the next stage of the hiring process. Youre selling yourself and the value you can bring to an organization. Here are my top tips for using your resume as a marketing tool that will help you catch a recruiters eye.1. Follow the one-page ruleYouve likely heard this one before, and for good reason Its real Recruiters review very large numbers of resumes and will likely make an initial determination about your fit for a role based on a quick scan. If locating the relevant information about your hintergrund requires turning the page, we very well might miss it and move on.Note There are a few exceptions. If you hold a PhD and need to cite relevant work (like published papers), for example, there may be an argument for a second page. No matter what, though, strive to keep your rsum short, clean, and relevant to the position for which youre applying.2. Play with formattingIf the one-page rule is proving challenging, start by making some simple formatting changes. Narrow your margins, restructure your header to span fewer lines, and reduce the indentations of any bullet points. Speaking of which, to make sure your key skills and experiences jump off the page, organize your content into brief, bulleted sentences or phrases instead of paragraphs.While youre at it, proofread and proofread again. Ask yourself Are all fonts and font sizes uniform? Are all dates abbreviated the same way? Do titles and positions line up properly? Your rsum is a sample of your work product and your attention to detail. Be certain that you are representing yourself well.3. Curate your contentOften, the biggest challenge is deciding what to actually include on your resume. Use the job description of the position youre applying for to guide you, and dont be afraid to make tweaks for each application. Your rsum should highlight your relevant education, skills youve learned on the job, and the value youd bring to the target organization. For each role you include, highlight projects in which you demonstrated leadership or accomplished something significant, being as specific and quantitative as possible. Did you lead an initiative that resulted in a 10 percent reduction in annual marketing spend? Or develop a program that led to 2X growth in membership to an employee resource group?Most importantly, do notlage exaggerate. Anything on your rsum is fair game for an interviewer to grill you about and to ask your references to back up. The quickest way to end your chances of getting a job is to give a recruiter a reason to question your integrity.4. Show off your personalityBeyond your education and professional experience, personal interests can help your rsum stand out. For one, organizations want to work with interesting, passionate people, so whether youre an avid soccer player, mountain climber, Eagles fan, or trombonist, dont be afraid to show some personality. If youre involved with any organizations, highlight those experiences as well, noting any relevant leadership positions. Interests can also help you connect with interviews on a personal level which mattersFinally, interests can serve as real estate for you to demonstrate those often harder-to-gauge qualities companies may be looking for. Curate your list wisely, and if you think you dont have room to include hobbies and interests, take a closer look at the other skills and attributes youve chosen to highlight. Whil e hard skills like Advanced C++, SQL, and fluency in a foreign language are crucial, soft skills like being hardworking and a team player dont add much value. Revert back to the golden show, dont tell rule and swap out those adjectives in favor of experiences and commitments that help tell the story of who you are and what you bring to the boardroom table.Nadia Abouzaid works in talent management at Jopwell and was previously a vice president and head of banking analyst recruiting at Barclays Investment Bank in New York City. She holds a B.S.B.A in menschlich Resources and Marketing from Washington University in St. Louis and an M.S. in Human Resources Management from New York University.This article was originally published on Jopwells The Well.