by Wendy S. Enelow, CPRW, JCTC, CCM
President – Career Masters Institute

The Career Masters Institute recently conducted a study to research resume reviewing practices of HR professionals and hiring managers from companies nationwide. The study, titled “Professionally Written & Designed Resumes: From Getting Noticed To Getting Interviewed,” was directed by Don Orlando, MBA, CPRW, IJCTC, CCM of The McLean Group in Montgomery, Alabama.

For years, hiring authorities have described a 2-step process when reviewing resumes. First, they sort rapidly through the resumes, selecting those worthy of a second look. Then they review this reduced group to choose an even smaller number – those resumes that lead to interviews. Based on that process, there were two questions at the heart of this study:

How do resumes capture a prospective employer’s attention?

From the resumes that have captured their attention, what motivates a prospective employer to chose who to interview?

The research survey was conducted using an anonymous, online questionnaire to protect respondent confidentiality and ensure accurate results. Following are the findings of the 6 survey questions asked of each of 72 respondents.

RESEARCH QUESTION #1:
What visual elements make the best resumes stand out from the others at a glance?

#1 – Easy-to-read at first glance
#2 – Bullets used
#3 – Number of pages
#4 – New, readable fonts

RESEARCH QUESTION #2:
What kinds of content make the best resumes stand out from the others at once?

#1 – Easy-to-read work history
#2 – Documented achievements
#3 – Educational credentials
#4 – Objective statement of career goals

RESEARCH QUESTION #3:
Which element makes a resume stand out more … the visual presentation or the content?

#1 – Content

RESEARCH QUESTION #4:
Think of resumes you discard immediately. What do you dislike about those documents?

#1 – Problem with content (too little or too much information, irrelevant information, missing information)
#2 – Problems with layout (translated as “too hard to read”)
#3 – Carelessness (translated as “grammatical errors or typos”)

RESEARCH QUESTION #5:
Which elements of the resumes you chose motivated you to call the applicant for an interview?

#1 – How well the applicant matched the company’s needs as indicated by accomplishments, experience, education, and professional interests that met the requirements of a specific job.

RESEARCH QUESTION #6:
After you’ve decided who to interview, how do you use those candidates’ resumes?

#1 – To guide interview questions
#2 – Shared with other team members

Research study results can be summarized as follows:

HR professionals and hiring managers are most attracted to resumes with strong content.
HR professionals and hiring managers are drawn to resumes that are easy-to-read, use bulleted listings, and, of course, are error-free.
HR professionals and hiring managers are drawn to resumes where experience and education are clearly indicated and presented.
HR professionals and hiring managers use resumes for more than just making the decision to interview an applicant.

If your resumes doesn’t “match” what research results have indicated, go back and rewrite. You now know what catches a reader’s interest, so be sure that your resume is right on target.