3 Questions Recruiters Want Your Resume to Answer

ResumeGem
ResumeGem
Aug 22, 2017 · 2 min read

Recruiters typically spend less than a minute scanning a resume.

During that short window, a good recruiter will focus on 3 primary questions:

  1. How smart is this candidate?

Employers generally like hiring smart people. They’re easier to train and have higher performance ceilings.

School, Major, GPA, and standardized test scores are useful indicators for “pure smarts” in early career individuals.

Make sure that recruiters/HR Personnel can easily scan for this information when reviewing your resume.

If you went to a lesser-known college, a stellar(3.8+) GPA or good standardized test scores(2100+ SAT, 32+ ACT) can offset questions related to your raw abilities.

2. What has this candidate been doing recently?

Employers like to look at your most recent work experience to make sure you’re applying for the right position.

Your resume should tell a story, and the role you’re applying to should make sense as a next step. For example, if you’re applying for a sales or business development role, make sure to emphasize any experience you have with managing CRM systems, lead sourcing, relationship building, email reach-out, cold-calling, and hitting sales targets.

Make multiple versions of your resume. Each should emphasize different skills/experiences depending on the role you’re applying to.

3. What is their work ethic like?

Performance is a function of talent+work ethic. Here are some indicators of work ethic that might catch the eye of recruiters:

  1. Playing a Varsity Sport(captaining is even better)
  2. Working a student job while pursuing a degree
  3. Strong GPA(especially at tougher schools where pure smarts won’t automatically= a high GPA)
  4. Co-founding a company or organization
  5. Holding multiple Leadership positions
  6. Military experience
  7. Double-majoring in difficult subjects
  8. Finishing your degree in less than four years.

If you’re still in high school or college, you should be striving to add at least a few of these to your resume!

Takeaways

It can be helpful to try and look at your resume through the eyes of a recruiter. Make their job as easy as possible by making sure that they can get a good understanding of your intellect, work ethic, and prior work experiences with a quick 30 second scan.

For more career-related stories and resume tips follow us on twitter @ResumeGem and Instagram!

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