Results tagged “recruiters” from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters Tips Blog

Hobbies and Interests on a resume are usually considered superfluous and trivial. Some job-seekers consider these items conversation-starters, while some employers feel the information humanizes the candidate and presents a fuller picture. Many recruiters and employers feel hobby and interest information can expose the candidate to discrimination. A workaholic hiring manager “could perceive the candidate as frivolous with too many outside interests,” observes Alison, a corporate recruiter for a specialized information provider. As with most information on your resume, the option to list hobby and interest information is a personal choice, but it’s usually more risky to list it than to leave it off. Ask yourself: Does this information add value to my resume? Space constraints may also guide your decision. Read more in our Frequently Asked Questions About Resumes: The Complete Resume FAQ.

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A chrono-functional resume is one way to deemphasize employment gaps, but these formats are unpopular with employers and especially recruiters. Another approach, if you can legitimately do so, is to frame periods of unemployment as stints of self-employment, consulting, or project work. Some job-seekers quit their jobs to pursue advanced education or training; you can account for a period of unemployment by listing yourself as a Graduate Student during that period.

One recruiter we tallked to called gaps “a huge red flag,” so they should be explained in your resume if you can gracefully do so. Other options include explaining them in your cover letter or being prepared to do so in an interview (however, gaps may preclude you from getting the interview). See our article, How to Handle a Gap in Your Job History.

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You may wish to present a Qualifications Summary or Profile section on your resume. In addition to Profile and Qualifications Summary, these resume-topping sections go by numerous names: Career Summary, Summary, Executive Summary, Professional Profile, Qualifications, Strengths, Skills, Key Skills, Skills Summary, Summary of Qualifications, Background Summary, Professional Summary, Highlights of Qualifications. All of these headings are acceptable, but our favorite is Professional Profile.

Twenty-five years ago, a Profile or Summary section was somewhat unusual on a resume. Career experts trace the use of summaries or profiles to include information about candidates’ qualities beyond their credentials to the publication of the late Yana Parker’s The Damn Good Resume Guide in 1983. For the last 20-plus years, resume writers have routinely included these sections; however, the age of electronic submissions has now caused the pendulum to swing the other way.

On one hand, electronic submission means that hiring decision-makers are inundated and overwhelmed with resumes and have less time than ever before to peruse each document. That means that many of them do not read Profile or Summary sections.

On the other hand, the age of electronic submissions has increased the importance of keywords so that candidates can be found in database searches. Even some of the hiring decision-makers who don’t read Profiles and Summaries advise including them as a way to ensure sufficient keywords in the resume.

A vocal contingent of decision-makers, especially among recruiters, strongly advocate for a Summary section — but one that is quite succinct — a short paragraph or single bullet point. They want to see in a nutshell who you are and what you can contribute.

For a detailed discussion of these sections, including guidelines for crafting them and samples, see Chapter 3 of our e-book, The Quintessential Guide to Words to Get Hired By: Your Professional Profile: Bullet Points that Describe Your Strengths in a Nutshell.

And use our Resume Professional Profile/Qualifications Summary Worksheet to help you develop bullet points for this very important resume section.

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Hiring decision-makers surveyed for the book, Top Notch Executive Resumes identified this as one of their Top 30 Executive Resume Pet Peeves:

Resume is too long. While there is no consensus among employers and recruiters about resume length, most feel one page is too short. Maureen Crawford Hentz, manager of talent acquisition, development and compliance at Osram Sylvania, Boston MA, particularly disdains “abbreviated or ‘teaser’ resumes” that urge the recruiter, “for more information, call me.” Many recruiters believe that two pages is about the right length; for some, three pages is the outside limit that they will read. “If the resume is longer than two pages, it needs to be well worth it,” noted Hentz’s colleague at Osram Sylvania, Harlynn Goolsby. Others question executives’ ability to prioritize if their resumes are longer than two pages.

Since recruiters pass candidate resumes on to client employers, they must also consider employer preferences. “Most of my clients profess that they are too busy to read anything lengthier — thus, I deliver what they require,” said Chris Dutton, director at Intelligent Recruitment Services and Owner, Intelligent IT Recruitment, Manchester, UK. Recruiter opinions about resume length have been colored in recent years by the growing practice of reading resumes on a computer screen rather than printing them. Resumes that might seem too long in print are acceptable on screen.

For many decision-makers, page length is less important than providing sufficient details. “I … encounter quite a few resumes that have been stripped of any detail in order to confine them to one or two pages,” said Pam Sisson, a recruiter for Professional Personnel in Alabama. “My immediate response is to ask for a more detailed resume. A resume that’s three or four pages but actually shows the qualifications and experience necessary for a position is much preferred, in my opinion, to one that has cut out all the substance to meet some passe idea of a one-page resume.” John Kennedy, senior IT recruiter at Belcan, agreed: “Resume length is of very little importance so long as the information is accurate, verifiable, and pertinent to the position. If a candidate has 20 years of experience directly relating to the position being applied for and that experience is verifiable, it should be listed even if the resume goes four-plus pages.”

See all 30 peeves: executive resume peeves 1-10 in Part 1, executive resume peeves 11-20 in Part 2 and executive resume peeves 21-30 in Part 3.

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Have people told you your resume needs work — perhaps friends, co-workers, professors, recruiters, or others? Sometimes these folks are trying to tell you your resume needs a lot of work, but they are too kind to tell you that.

If you’re hearing this message, it’s probably time to re-vamp your resume — on your own or with the help of a professional resume writer. Read more in our article Why Hire a Professional Resume Writer?

Need help with your resume, cover letter, or other career-marketing document? Order today from Quintessential Resumes and Cover Letters, powered by About Jobs Resume Writing Service.