Recruiter’s Blueprint of Writing a Resume

In the professional world, the resume has always been a critical aspect and its

expected appearance has always raised several controversies. Apart from the various platforms that allow additional people to join the conversation, the digital era has also enhanced these controversies by creating avenues where social profiles can be integrated into the hiring process or to be considered as part of the resume.

Will they be a substitute for a resume?

What vital information must the resume or social media contain?

The fact remains that everybody will always have a different point of view on this.

Knowing that every mundane individual will have a unique perspective about the

resume can be frustrating. But on the bright side, you don’t have to pay attention

to any of them. The most important thing is the basic requirement of hiring

managers and recruiters who are the group in focus. You should not give a thought

to the opinion of any individuals who cannot offer you an employment opportunity.

What is the perfect resume demanded by hiring managers and recruiters?

Although there could be some differences in the preferences of a particular

manager or recruiter, they all currently recognize and agree on some things.

The following are the best practices of developing a perfect resume in the modern

age, here are the Recruiter's blueprint of writing a resume :

1. Avoid the use of an objective.

All employers or recruiters go against this even though this practice was very

popular a few centuries ago. They claim that a description is not required for your

objective since you obviously want to get employed.

2. Have a section where you include a list of your Important skills.

After wiping out your objective, the blank space can be filled with a section of

“important skills” that describe a minimum of 10 skills that are relevant to the

current employment. This section of “important skills” pronounces and enhances

your expertise, which has more advantages than the conclusions from employers

and recruiters that are based on your accomplishments for every position.

This “important skills” section also allows you to tailor your resume for each role.

Develop an all-round outline of about 20 skills that you have. You can then extract

skills that are relevant to any employment or recruiter from this all-round list.

3. Avoid the use of common or less important skills.

The importance of the “important skills” section lies in providing useful

information about you as a unique candidate to employers and recruiters. Your

recruiters are not well informed by obscure or common skills like “problem-

solving” and “good communication”. As a matter of fact, this practice can be

detrimental to you. Employers and recruiters are more liable to simply show

disapproval when reviewing your list and drop it in the trash can.

Always ensure that the listed skills are relevant to the current position. You can be

a senior JavaScript developer, but this role is not relevant when applying for a

sales role (unless JavaScript is required in the sales role).

4. Add Keywords from previous applications.

There is every possibility for any resume you provide to arrive in front of an

employer or recruiter after being screened by the application tracking system

(ATS). Sadly, ATS is not very much advanced and simply use keywords to filter

resume.

The job application must be integrated with keywords to increase the possibilities

of clearing the ATS. Is there any emphasis made on a specific technology,

expertise or responsibility made in the job description? Ensure that they are

integrated into the resume. The “important skills” section is clearly a very simple

method of integrating a few keywords, however, do frame your achievements to

meticulously correspond with the job application.

5. Place less emphasis on your duties.

Although it is quite extreme to entirely avoid pointing out your tasks and

obligations, many employers and recruiters would like to have a few perspectives

on your daily routine from your past employment.

But your work history should not be fully integrated with your daily duties. Give a

short outline of the responsibilities of each position, but what should stand out in

the bullet points is an enriched outline of all your achievements and significant

projects. Recruiters and employers are more interested in your level of

achievement. They seek those who can provide and create value and continue the

excellent norm.

6. Include your social media links.

There have been several controversies from the inception of LinkedIn concerning

its inclusion and other social media profiles in the resume. The hiring procedure

will always involve social media, whether you like it or not. Recruiters or

employers will at some point research about you. You can make the process

easier by adding the links of your social media close to your personal information.

As a guide, just add the social media and website links that portray you in a

professional and excellent way. Social media links on Quora, LinkedIn, and other

online portfolios are excellent for your resume, but you can omit your Facebook

or a personal blog.

7. Avoid Gaps.

Employers and recruiters are usually unaware of the level of unemployment until

the gaps are well clarified. Unemployment gaps that are not clarified to the

recruiters will sadly bring about some speculations and unfavorable conclusions

concerning you.

You can populate your unemployment gaps with consulting jobs, volunteer

opportunities and other projects on the side that will reveal to the firm that you

were still productive when unemployed rather than attempting to slip past your

unemployment gap. An individual with a record of excellent community work will

be seen as an outstanding candidate than any individual who acts as if the gap

isn’t there.

8. Make Sure it is very simple.

It is just a resume, not an autobiography. It should not contain your entire career

history. You should outline your most recent and significant projects. Avoid

including projects that were carried out a decade ago, except if the project is very

outstanding and defines your career. Ensure that your resume does not exceed a

page or two pages only on the condition that it is completely important. There is

no justification if it exceeds this.