Recruiters skim resumes in seconds and still glean enough information to decide on a candidate. I have found this to be true across industries, positions and levels. I have recruited for a variety of industries (financial services, management consulting, tech, media, non-profit), positions (client-facing, administrative, strategy, creative) and levels (unpaid interns thru multiple six-figure hires), and my recruiting colleagues and I always skim. With multiple jobs open at any one time and hundreds of resumes to review, it’s simple math that each resume gets seconds of attention. Here are five items on your resume that recruiters notice first:

Brand names

The names that get attention are top schools, Fortune 500 companies, household brands, and hot start-ups. Your employers and schools screened you and selected you over others. Recruiters weigh the competitiveness of that filter. Recruiters’ preferences will depend on the search. For an executive-level position, top schools still carry weight but not as much at this stage of the career as recent companies. For a recent graduate with less information, the school brand matters more. If the role is for a fast-growth newer company, a history with successful start-ups may be preferred over even Fortune 500 companies. However, if the search is specifically to find a large-company executive then the Fortune 500 names will carry the day.

Make sure you put as many brand names as possible. If your employer is not a household name but is a leader in its field, put a one-line sentence to indicate this (e.g., largest textile manufacturer in Japan). If your employer is not itself a brand name but serves brand names, make sure you mention this. If your start-up is gaining traction but is not widely known, include something that indicates success—for example growth figures or media mentions.

Keywords

Many recruiters don’t just look at every resume that comes in. They do a search for specific keywords. It might be a brand name – in the above example of the fast-growth company, the recruiter may search for competitor names experiencing a similar growth trajectory. Other popular keyword searches are technical skills like software or programming languages, certifications like the CPA or PMP, and functional skills like direct response for a specialized marketing search or regression analysis for a data analyst position. Just because you apply for a role does not mean you will be considered for that role. The recruiter may pull up resumes based on keyword, rather than who applied.

Make sure your resume includes detailed keywords even if you think your title makes it obvious. If you are a direct mail marketer by title, you should still elaborate on the direct response, segmentation, and other specific campaigns and analyses you did, even if you think it’s redundant with your title. First of all, recruiters may not ever see your title because they won’t see your resume if you don’t get pulled up in their search. Secondly, recruiters are often generalists who search across a variety of positions, and the one working on the direct mail/ direct response/ email marketing search may not know what your role entails just by its title. Finally, titles vary across companies – do not assume that what you do is obvious.

Chronology

Recruiters zero in on gaps, short tenures, and lack of progression. Depending on how recent the issues are and other competing factors, the chronology in a resume may be a deal breaker. A gap in the middle of an otherwise solid career is less of an issue than a recent gap. A shorter gap (less than six months) is a non-issue. Multiple jobs with a year or less of tenure raise suspicions that the candidate has no staying power – either they can’t commit or the employer doesn’t want them. If this occurs earlier in the career and recent positions show longevity, it probably doesn’t matter. If there is longevity but no increase in responsibilities, title or results, then this shows a lack of progression.

Review your own resume just by dates and tenure. You may need to include shorter stints that you planned to omit but they fill in gaps. You might unnecessarily have short stints listed because one of your employers got acquired so it’s really a name change, not a short tenure, or maybe you moved from one subsidiary to another, each with different names, so it’s internal movement, not separate short stints. Make sure you group these experiences together, so you show continuity. Write your position descriptions to reflect progression especially for roles you have held for a number of years.

Mistakes

Spelling and grammar mistakes jump out. The candidate looks sloppy, unprofessional, uncaring. If proper names are misspelled (a company listed as a client, a software listed as a skill) it raises doubt as to whether or not the candidate really worked at the company or knows that program.

Spell check is the first line of defense, but homonyms and names won’t get caught there, so you still need to copy edit line-by-line. Led versus lead is the most common mistake I see – the candidate means to write in the past tense (“led a team”) but instead spells it as it sounds (“lead a team”).

Potential

This is not one specific item on a resume but the feel across the entire resume. Brand names, relevant keywords, longevity and progression, and no mistakes all contribute to the message that, yes, this candidate has potential. In addition, the body of work – skills plus experience plus specific industry or functional expertise – also point to whether there is a potential fit to the opening on hand. The aesthetics of the resume – layout, readability, conciseness of descriptions – signal professionalism and attention to detail. The emphasis in the resume – the summary on top, the first bullet of each job, the results that are quantified – point to what this candidate feels is their value proposition. Does it match what the recruiter needs for the role?

Give your resume to someone else, anyone else to read. Someone who doesn’t look at resumes all the time will not be able to skim it in a few seconds, but it shouldn’t take that much longer to form an opinion. What jumps out at them? What do they think you do? What job do they think you’re applying for? Once you have all the facts down on your resume, edit it for potential – make sure it’s easy one the eyes and that you’re highlighting your value.

Remember that a resume is the start of a discussion, not the close. You are trying to get a meeting or interview, not a job outright. Don’t feel like you have to put every detail of every project. Put enough information – brand names, relevant keywords, longevity and progression, error-free presentation, potential value — so that you are clearly in the ballpark for the roles you want, but it will never be all the information you have. Your resume as an invitation to get to know you further.

This article was written by Caroline Ceniza-Levine from Forbes and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Talent HQ is a premier information channel empowering professional development for recruiting and HR communities through regional events including Minnesota Recruiters, Wisconsin Recruiters, Oregon Recruiters and California Recruiters.

5 Things Recruiters Notice First On Your Resume

5 Things Recruiters Notice First On Your Resume

By David Strom, Alumni Fellow, Society for New Communications Research of The Conference Board The news reports about the lawsuit between Apple and the FBI over a terrorist’s iPhone is fraught with misinformation and security theater. It has been characterized as privacy’s last stand or as the tech industry’s gift to criminals around the world, […]

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

“Global Press Institute is leaning in because we believe women are the future of international journalism,” says Global Press Institute founder and executive director Cristi Hegranes.

GPI became an offical Lean In partner this week, joining other global corporations in changing the conversation about women and work.

Co-founded by Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, Lean In is a network that encourages women to pursue their ambitions in the workplace. “We are committed to offering women the ongoing inspriration and support to help them achieve their goals,” wrote Sandberg on the Lean In.org website. “If we talk openly about the challenges women face and work together, we can change the trajectory of women and create a better work for everyone.”

Hegranes’ Lean In story was featured last month. (Read it here.)

Hegranes founded GPI seven years ago at the age of 25. In the years since it has become an award-winning, world renowned platform for global news. GPI trains and employs more than 130 women across 26 developing countries.

Learn more about Lean In here.

If you have attended a conference or live seminar, you have experienced the power of bringing together a group of people who are united by a common goal. Live events offer a unique learning experience PLUS a must-have for business success: the opportunity to build new connections face to face….

Who says you can’t go home again?

I’m talking about returning to work for a former employer. There’s no time like the present to remind jobseekers of yet another avenue that’s often overlooked when it comes to landing a new job.

If you’re like most people, when you part ways with an employer, your instinct is to brush your hands together, move on and don’t look back.

But hold your horses. Sometimes circling back can be a win for everyone.

Last week, I spoke to David Almeda and Dan Schawbel, a career guru whose WorkplaceTrends.com worked with the Workforce Institute at Kronos to release a new study: The Corporate Culture and Boomerang Employee Study. Schawbel’s also the author of Promote Yourself: The New Rules to Career Success. David Almeda is the chief people officer at Kronos. I will get to our conversation in a minute.

According to the duo’s study, there’s “a changing mindset about boomerang employees, someone who left an organization, for whatever reason, and then rejoined that same organization at a future date, and the organizations they once left.”

In the national survey of more than 1,800 human resources (HR) professionals, increasingly alums are returning to the fold and being greeted with open arms.

“You have a better chance now than ever of getting into company where you formerly worked,” says Schwabel. “Maybe your original job was not a good fit. Something new may have opened up since you’ve been gone that’s a better position for you and your current skills.”

What’s changed? Based on survey results, nearly half of HR professionals claim their organization previously had a policy against rehiring former employees – even if the employee left in good standing – but 76 percent say they are more accepting of hiring boomerang employees today than in the past. Managers agree, as nearly two-thirds said they are more accepting of hiring back former colleagues.

While only 15 percent of employees said they had boomeranged back to a former employer, nearly 40 percent said they would consider going back to a company where they previously worked.

In the past five years, 85 percent of HR professionals say they have received job applications from former employees, and 40 percent say their organization hired about half of those former employees who applied.

When we spoke, Kronos’ Almeda identified “four flavors “of boomerang employees:

1. Those who left to further their career. These are folks who worked for an employer for a number of years, but saw an opportunity to add new skills and progress and then came back at a higher level and higher pay, he says. They may have been gone three to five years.

2. Folks with a career itch to scratch. They’d been at a company a fairly long time. Their colleagues may have moved on to do something different. They saw an opportunity they couldn’t pass up. Or they came to the conclusion to try something different, maybe an opportunity to change industries or follow a passion. They thought, ‘if not now, when am I going to do it?’ Sometimes that works out well, but sometimes it doesn’t. “Whoops, it looked better on paper, or in my head then when it got to be reality,” he says. So they circle back and reach out to their former boss and say, humbly, ‘I’d like to come back if opportunity arises.’ And the dance begins.

3. A life event forced them to leave. A spouse may have relocated, which required them to leave their job, or they took time off to take care of sick parent. Now they want to return as a contract worker, or work remotely with some flexibility.

4. Those who boomerang on purpose. Almeda calls these, “See you next year workers.” Periodic planned boomerangs are increasingly popular, particularly with “retired” boomers, think seasonal workers, who take on positions at National Parks, ski mountain resorts, or even amusement parks. They routinely work a season, and then return the following one. Snowbirders also fit into this category. I identify several of these kinds of jobs in my book Great Jobs for Everyone 50+

Why you should consider boomeranging. Boomerang hiring makes perfect sense to me. Sending a resume blindly out to job postings where you have no connection to the employer is, generally speaking, a futile and frustrating effort. I pull my hair out when I hear jobseekers telling me how many resumes they have zapped off to faceless hiring managers, computer program scanners, or HR gate screeners once removed.

Yes, there are now intermediary firms hired by employers to screen applicants via online and virtual interviews, so you’re one step removed from the decision maker from the get go. It’s daunting and demoralizing, and oh so impersonal.

In truth, landing a job these days is not all that different as it used to be. Employers hire people they know, or people they know know. Simply put, it’s less risky for them and it’s all about rolling the risk.

What’s the attraction for employers and employees alike: For you, its knowing what you’re getting into, so it removes the fear of the unknown, plus for both you and the employer, it’s an easier training ramp up than if you’re a brand new employee. And on some level, the employer, too, has less worries if you already past muster the first go-round.

Here are some things to consider if you’re job-hunting right now… or think you might be before too long.

Join employer alumni groups on LinkedIn and Facebook. According to the Kronos Workforce survey, HR practitioners say they use several strategies for keeping in touch with former top employees, including alumni groups (27 percent). Facebook is the platform of choice for alumni groups according to HR professionals (42 percent) and LinkedIn (33 percent) close behind. Comment on posts from others and add your own. It displays your expertise to prospective employers.

Keep an eye on former employer job postings. If you had proven yourself at a company, you’re a commodity coveted to rehire, says Almeda. In other words, step on up. Don’t shy away from reaching out to a former manager, or someone you know at your ex’s place, if there’s a position that catches your eye.

Make graceful exits. Never burn a bridge. If you’ve parted ways on good terms, you have no reason not to check back in with an ex. Moreover, if you’re considering leaving a job right now, remember, always depart in the right way and establish relationship that will allow you to return. If done properly, no one is going to kick you out of the family. I’ve resigned from five jobs during my career. I’m still regularly hired to work as an expert columnist and writer for former employers and bosses from my previous staff positions, and I love it.

Do you know an insider at the company where you want to work? Current employee referrals are a key pathway in the door. According to CareerBuilder, a whopping 82 percent of employers rate employee referrals above all other sources for generating the best return on investment; 88 percent of employers rated employee referrals above all other sources for generated quality of new hires.

And an analysis of over 441,000 job interview reviews posted on Glassdoor since 2009 reinforces the idea that “employee referrals have long been a preferred hiring method among employers, allowing companies to tap the personal networks of current employees as a talent pool for recruiting,” wrote Andrew Chamberlain, chief economist for Glassdoor in a blog post on the research.

“Of the six job interview sources we examined, employee referrals performed best, boosting the chances of a successful job match by a statistically significant 2.6 to 6.6 percent.”

Dig deep into you Facebook and LinkedIn contacts and search out who you know currently working at the firm that interests you, or who someone you know who might be connected to someone who does, and ask politely for an introduction to him or her. (For more advice on how to do this delicately, check out, my new book, Finding The Job You Want After 50 for Dummies).

Checkout open positions with a former client or customer. According to the Workforce Institute at Kronos survey, 75 percent of HR professionals say that customers have also applied for positions at their organization, with 60 percent saying they have hired at least one former customer.

Network like crazy. Boomerang or not. It comes down the human touch. Networking, as I like to say, is just one letter off from not working. If you don’t establish any personal connection to the company, you’re probably wasting your time even applying.

This article was written by Kerry Hannon from Forbes and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Talent HQ is a premier information channel empowering professional development for recruiting and HR communities through regional events including Minnesota Recruiters, Wisconsin Recruiters, Oregon Recruiters and California Recruiters.

Welcome Back: Hiring Boomerang Employees On The Rise

Welcome Back: Hiring Boomerang Employees On The Rise

When you hear the word “sales,” what comes to mind first? If you’re like most people, you might think of negative qualifiers such as “icky,” “pushy,” or “sleazy.” But selling is not only an integral part of running your business; selling is a way for you to help people. Your…

By Matteo Tonello, Managing Director, Corporate Leadership, The Conference Board While companies devote considerable effort to creating and managing social media presences, little is known about how they use social media to communicate financial information to investors. A new report from The Conference Board’s Director Notes series examines the use of social media by S&P […]

In this session, Benjamin Jankowski, Group Head, Global Media – MasterCard and Virginia Pereira, Business Leader Regional Media Marketing – MasterCard shared how MasterCard is leveraging the programmatic space and data to guide their storytelling strategy.

The ANA, in partnership with GfK, conducted research to find out how B-to-B marketers can become drivers of growth in their organizations.

Advertising and trade promotion spend are closely tracked, but historically there has been no comprehensive view of the total marketing ecosystem available to marketers. The ANA, in collaboration with and licensed from PQ Media, recently completed the first-ever forecast of brand activation marketing expenditures.