@360JobInterview.Com blog

Do you know how long an HR person takes to read each resume?

It’s about 30 seconds. Think about it…..

$3 Million

Superbowl advertisers paid $3 million for a 30-second spot – even in this economy – the highest ever.  Of course, they are counting on their commercials to be memorable, to gain buyers/consumers of their goods or services; and 106 million pairs of eyes were viewing those ads.

Would your resume stand up to that type of scrutiny?  Would you “hook” them and get buy in from the HR screener, or hiring manager? Fortunately, you are not up against 106 Million people each time you send out your resume.

As my friend Jan Smith (www.janmsmith.com) has often asked her outplacement candidates,  “If a recruiter read your resume at 4:00 p.m. on a Friday – would you WOW them and grab their attention?”, or would they be unimpressed, and add you to their reject pile?

WOW!

What do you need to have a WOW resume? Here are some quick tips:

1. Begin with a well-written, memorable summary that includes your skills, abilities, strengths and experience, in 3-5 concise sentences.
2. Back up your summary with quantifiable  accomplishment statements demonstrating how you made a difference;
3. Use current industry terminology to prove you know what you’re claiming.

You don’t have much time.  Grab the reader’s attention with the summary.  It needs to make them want to read the rest of the resume, even on Friday at 4:00 p.m.

Does your resume pass that test?