5 Steps For Designing A Recruiter Friendly Resume

Most of the Recruiters, who are hard pressed for time for delivering results to their internal and external clients, never look at any Resume for more than a couple of seconds to dig out the information relevant to the assignment under consideration.

So, while designing a Resume, the first and the most important thing for you is to make that information visible to the Recruiters and within those few seconds.

Being a Recruiter myself for more than 2 decades, some of the strategies coming to my mind are:

1. Make only 2 or 3 page Resume

Recruiters don't have time to read the entire Resume and they normally flip through the first few pages very quickly to find our relevant information.

So, ideally, a 2 page Resume is most appropriate. However, if you find it difficult to accommodate your details in 2 pages add just one more page only.

2. Focus on the first page

Every Recruiter, while matching a Resume against a particular mandate, always focus more on the first page for checking out relevant information. Their interest to capture information from the subsequent pages goes down substantially.

So, strategically, you must make the first page of your Resume simple but attractive with relevant information pertaining to the position you have applied for clearly visible.

3. Go for a simple Resume Template

Anything simple is always visible, because people can easily find out what they are looking for and also understand the messages with less effort. Same rule applies here also.

So, while designing your Resume, always avoid flashy and complex templates and use the most simple format.

4. Put bird's eye view of your career in the beginning

Recruiters are always interested to first know the names of the companies you have worked for so far. Making this information - if interesting - available in the beginning of your Resume would influence them spend more time on the same.

So, make a simple chart, writing down the names of the organization you have worked for, along with your designation, function and duration of stay over there. It should just be a bird's eye view of your career progression so far.

5. A brief on responsibility in each assignment and corresponding achievements.

Recruiters, after registering the names of the companies you have worked with so far in their mind, would now look for what you had done there and also your achievements that are pertinent to the job under consideration.

So, your next step should be to write down a few lines about your job responsibility in each assignment, followed by your achievements. Keep it short and to the point, and restrict it to the first and the half of the 2nd page.

Once you design a simple but information bearing first page, the next and final step would be to provide more information related to your professional life -- including your qualifications and the training programs you have attended.

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