When job applicants’ resumes receive only seven to ten seconds of a hiring agent’s attention, it is important to make every second – every millisecond – count. For my reading speed, that is 22 to 30 words and, honestly, my comprehension rate is even less. In order to maximize the impression on a hiring agent, compose your résumé with a few keys in mind.
1. Cut Articles
- Cut articles to maximize the impression on a hiring agent, increasing visibility of skills words per second
Not only is it proper résumé format to exclude articles but it also furthers Mission: Impression Maximization. Over the course of an entire résumé, it makes a big difference.
2. Be concise. See my favorite article on brevity.
3. Introduce your résumé with a professional profile or skills summary tailored to your desired employer’s job posting.
Providing a professional profile or skills summary presents hiring agents with a quick-reference guide to your qualifications. Take a second to consider the reasons they might love you for doing so and, more importantly, attribute you with employable skills. … In case one second was not enough time to consider all the reasons, which of course it is not, here they are:
- Saves hiring agents from wasting precious time trying to find your qualifications that are relevant to their available position
- Portrays receptiveness to instruction (in this case, how well you understood the employer’s needs and responded appropriately)
- Exhibits sound judgment in prioritization (in this case, prioritizing the importance of employable traits)
- Demonstrates organizational abilities to compile relevant information in a brief and easy-to-decipher format
- Exemplifies effective written communication techniques
In case you didn’t notice, I totally used Action Words in the list above!
Do not use an objectives statement. … It is up to you to find the job that meets your objectives.
And in case you were thinking about using an objectives statement to fulfill the employer’s need to know about you, know that objective statements are so ‘90s. The ‘90s were two decades ago. Do not use an objectives statement – at all. In this day and age, employers care 500% less about what you want and 1000% more about what you are able and willing to do for them. (Those are undocumented statistics, but I am positive they are true.) As long as they know that you want their available position enough to do what they ask, that is all they need. It is up to you to find the job that meets your objectives.
Want to know how to write a professional profile or skills summary? Then answer the question Am I a Ninja or Superhero? to determine which format is best for you before you start writing.
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