I am often asked – what are hiring managers looking for on a resume?
There is not a generic answer to this question, and it tells me that the questioner is trying to create a “One size fits all” resume. Nearly every resume you send out will need to be tweaked for the position you are applying to – PERIOD. Which is not to say that you shouldn’t have a master resume with everything on it, so you can customize it more easily when you are submitting it for a position.
In this day and age, before you send your resume to a company for consideration – you should do some homework. What you are looking for in your research is the answer to the question you have posed to me – with a more specific focus – what are THESE hiring managers looking for?
And if you are into nuances, what have these hiring managers expressed to their HR or recruiting professionals about what they are looking for?
If you are responding to an ad, make sure that any and all key words in the ad are in your resume (if you have those skills and experience). Don’t assume that the experience will be inferred, because not everyone who is screening the resumes will recognize that if you did a certain kind of job, you most likely have X skill or experience. Your best bet is to make sure it is a match.
If you have the opportunity to speak to someone on the phone or in person prior to submitting your resume, ask about the skills, experience and/or training that is being looked for or is in the job description (notice I didn’t say the job posting – they are not always the same).
Ask about the hiring manager. How long have they been a manager there? How many other people have they hired? How high is the turnover?
What kind of team is currently in place? What is the character of the team or department - serious with loads of education/certifications,; strongly team oriented; mostly a loosely assembled group of individual contributors (to name a few styles)?
Customize and edit your resume accordingly.
Some things that I personally do not like to see on a resume (and remember it is different for each and every hiring manager):
- I don’t want to see what you did in High School unless you are still in college applying for an intern position or unless it is so unique that you can be googled as some sort of record-breaker or had your 15 minutes of fame with the activity.
- I don’t need to see all the part-time and temporary jobs you held, unless they are germane to the position I am looking to fill.
- I don’t want your personal references – they are your friends, and by definition think highly of you. They rarely will be able to tell me how your experience makes you the right person for my job.
- And last, but not least, I do not need to see the minutia of your daily activities in your resume. High level please, believe me, I will drill down if I am interested.
Hope this helps you in figuring out what you should put on your resume – the short answer is: Tailor it for each position you are applying to.