This article was published in the Employment Section of the March, 2005 issue of the Technology First Magazine.

Dayton, OH
March 28, 2005 -

By Angela Richardson, IT Recruiter, Roytman Information Services, Inc.

If I had only 30 seconds to read your resume, what would I know about you? You are local, a PowerBuilder Consultant, you’ve done some design work, some programming, you have some Oracle database training and a Bachelor’s degree. That’s about it.

According to many sources, 30 seconds is the average amount of time an employer spends looking at your resume before making that first critical cut. After this short period of time, your resume is going to be in one of three stacks: yes, no, or maybe.

It is difficult to believe this statistic, yet depending upon the method of advertising an employer can receive an overwhelming response to a job posting. According to John Marcus, the author of “The Resume Makeover”, one Monster.com advertisement typically results in 500 resumes. You can see how reviewing resumes can be a time consuming process. The employer is faced with the daunting task of sorting through these resumes to obtain a manageable stack that can be more closely reviewed. It is no wonder so many companies seek the assistance of a professional recruiter.

Therefore, it is of the utmost importance that your resume is able to capture the reader’s attention and be easy to read. The way to achieve this is to be focused, clear and concise. I know what you’re thinking, ‘My resume is all these things and more.’ Well, maybe so, but it would not hurt to review it with the 30 seconds scan in mind. Here are some tips to assist you.

Capture the reader’s attention

Concentrate on the “introductory” section of your resume. This is the section that will prompt the scanner to continue reading. One very important thing about the introduction is that it provides focus. It should give the reader an overall picture of you as a professional. Also, it should contain the correct “buzz words” to demonstrate that you are qualified for the position you are seeking. Before writing this section, ask yourself: “What are the most crucial points that I would like to convey?”

Remain focused and clear

The section after the introduction will most likely pertain to your work experience. It is important that you support the statements you made in the introductory section. For example, if you have RPG, AS/400 and MAPICS experience in your introduction, it should be supported and described in more details in the work experience section. If you have experience that does not relate to the job you are seeking, de-emphasize it or leave it out completely. This will enable the reader to remain focused on the experience and skills that are applicable to the aspired position. The trick is not to lie and exaggerate, but rather to highlight the qualifications most pertinent to the specific opening you are interested in. Employers seeking a DBA are more interested in your database administration experience than your technical writing background no matter how good of a writer you are.

Clarity can be obtained by describing your experience in concise statements beginning with action verbs. These statements should be formatted with bullet, not in paragraphs. Remember to maintain a consistent verb tense. This adds flow to your resume and makes it easier to read.

Be concise

It is important to be concise. This is the most essential and most often overlooked point. The generally accepted rule is that your resume should be a maximum of 2 pages. As stated in the VGM Professional Series “Resumes for High-Tech Careers”, “. . . employers do not have the time or the patience for verbose documents; they look for tightly composed, straightforward, action based resumes.”

As a technical recruiter, I see a lot of resumes. Some of you have resumes over 5 pages long! (Don’t try to hide, I know who you are.) I sympathize with your dilemma. If you are a contractor, you have many projects to list. If you have many years of experience, you have a lot of great skills, achievement and education to convey. It is difficult to decide which information to include. It will help you to keep in mind that the most important sections of the resume are the introduction, your work experience and your education. The other sections that are often featured such as publications, training, professional organizations, etc. should only be included if they directly relate to the position, which you are seeking.

It also helps to minimize or completely remove the irrelevant information, such as personal interests, marital status or college greek club affiliation. No self-respected manager is going hire you because you enjoy bowling, have two children or belonged to Phi Gamma Epsilon.

In closure …

Once you have prepared an attention grabbing, clear, concise, and focused resume that will pass the 30 seconds test, rest assured that the details of your well-constructed resume will be appreciated as well. Then if the attentive reader is left yearning for more, you will be granted the opportunity to expand upon your skills and qualifications during the interview. And wasn’t that the whole point of writing that resume after all?

Angela Richardson is a Recruiting Specialist at Roytman Information Services, Inc., a Dayton, Ohio-based provider of Career Placement and Consulting Solutions in Information Technology, Management and Engineering. Established in 1995 the company has been growing consistently in a highly competitive industry. For additional information please visit http://www.roytmanIS.com