Table of Contents

1. Be Transparent
2. Use Chronological Over Functional Format
3. Don’t Apply to Every Job Posting
4. Don’t Call Incessantly to Follow Up on an Application
5. Drop the Objective, Add a Summary
6. Add a Clearly Defined Skills Section
7. Research Salary Ranges
8. Sometimes, Our Team is Short-Staffed and Overworked Too

I chat with recruiters frequently and I often ask them this question: “If you could tell job seekers one thing, what would it be?” Here are their top responses.

1. Be Transparent

If there is a gap in your resume, explain it on the document itself. If you don’t explain the reason for the gap, we will draw our own conclusions.

2. Use Chronological Over Functional Format

I will assume you are hiding something if you submit a purely functional resume. Recruiters need to understand all the movements in your career. If dates are missing or if your resume focuses too much on functional skills to downplay the chronology we will become suspicious.

3. Don’t Apply to Every Job Posting

Only apply to those jobs that you truly meet the qualifications for. Applying to jobs you are not qualified for, or not really interested in taking is a waste of both your time and ours.

4. Don’t Call Incessantly to Follow Up on an Application

Following up once after a few days of the timeline I gave you is perfectly fine, but if you don’t hear from a recruiter and it’s been more than a week, I’m sorry to say you’re probably not a viable candidate. It’s best to keep applying to other jobs.

5. Drop the Objective, Add a Summary

Include a summary on your resume explaining how you can add value to the organization, and what some of your past results have been. This helps recruiters skim through the best reasons why you’re a perfect fit and decide if they want to keep reading your resume.

6. Add a Clearly Defined Skills Section

Make it easy to figure out what your core skills are. We need to know right away if you have the basic skill set to do the job.

7. Research Salary Ranges

Don’t assume you will get a certain salary just because you ask for it, or that it will cover your financial needs. Make sure you know what the average salary range for that position, and your skills and experiences are to back up your ask.

8. Sometimes, Our Team is Short-Staffed and Overworked Too

We wish we could look over every resume, and get back to each candidate in a timely manner. Unfortunately, sometimes we’re doing the best we can too.