How I Read Your Resume:

I read thousands of resumes every year, so my process is to try to quickly rule out candidates who don’t fit for the job requirements. I…

I read thousands of resumes every year, so my process is to try to quickly rule out candidates who don’t fit for the job requirements. I hope by understanding how hiring managers process resumes, you be more effective at capturing our attention.

First: Location. If your location isn’t compatible with my requirements, or it’s not clear where you live, I may assume you don’t fit the role. Even “fully remote” jobs have location requirements, and recruiters will probably rule out more than half of candidates because of location. These requirements should be given in the posting, but they often aren’t.

If you’re open to relocation, are hoping to move to a particular place, or already plan to move, say that plainly on your resume right next to your current location.

Next: Your most recent job title. Your title should relate directly to the role, or it’s going to be difficult to consider you. You should use a title and describe your work so that it sounds like a twin for the job opening.

If you’re making a major career change, address this at the top of your resume, e.g. “I’m looking to apply my 10 years in event management to the field of software project management.”

Next up: Years of Experience (YOE) indicates if you qualify for the level of seniority. I’ll count up your YOE directly relevant to the role. If it’s a people manager role, I’m counting YOE managing people, so indicate this clearly.

Now, education: I don’t think I have ever passed on a candidate over education. I might note remarkable facts, like a fancy school, overseas study, or advanced degrees, especially for engineering candidates.

I definitely don’t care when in life a candidate earned a degree, how long it took, or your GPA. I’m always impressed by language skills graded as proficient or better, and I can tell when you’re lying.

Employment gaps: Wow, do you even read my posts? I don’t see employment gaps.

If I’ve gotten this far, I will go back to the top and scan the objective and the body of the work experience. I’m looking for thoughtful, careful, crisp writing. I’m trying to predict whether we can afford you. I’m trying to answer the question “If I were this person, would I really want this job?”

If yes, then I’ll probably interview you. I won’t actually read your resume carefully until right before the interview, although it’s more likely by then I’ll just be looking at your LinkedIn profile.

That’s how the process looks for me. I hope it’s helpful. Ask me anything in the comments.