This is the average amount of time a recruiter takes to scan the top of a resume for qualified candidates after the resume gets through the pre-qualifications in the online recruiting software system. Many job seekers are so focused on cramming minutiae into a resume using ‘older standards’ for job searching, they hurt their chances of being seen by the hiring manager. 

Resumes are supposed to be ‘teasers’ and a ‘synopsis’ of achievements to give recruiters and headhunters an idea of the job seeker’s capabilities. If the resume covers too much, it wastes white space, creates a cumbersome number of pages, and there is no need to interview an applicant if everything is already in the resume. 

The resume should have unique elements in the top four and a half inches of text and keep it as simple as possible to use the white space for easier readability.

Name – make sure your first name, middle initial, and last name are on the top line, but do not add the Jr., Sr., III, Ph.D., P.E., or other identifiers – this may gum up the parsing engine’s ability to fill in the fields to the Automatic Tracking System (ATS).

Address – keep it to the city, state, and zip code only. Otherwise, your employment history and street address may open you to identity theft when someone searches your garbage for birthdates, social security, or banking records.

Point of Contact – should be a cell phone number (not work – ethics issues; not home – backward research provides street address); one private email address (not a business or school.edu; those will eventually become extinct). If you have a LinkedIn URL, resist putting it at the top of the resume to avoid ATS confusing with an email address.

Objective – one line, not a paragraph. The information should simply be the job title the applicant seeks with a new employer. Subjective and wordy ‘summary of experience’ paragraphs waste recruiters’ time and wear out their patience.

Summary of Experience – is vital when applying for government services (GS) jobs or corporate jobs. A bulleted list helps recruiters in commercial industries quickly add years of experience history. This list should be concise (e.g., XX years, Customer Service, Food Industry; XX years, Recruiting, Retail Industry; XX years, Marketing, Health Care). 

Suppose the job seeker aims for a position in the federal (government) or federal contracting industry. There are three vital bullets to add before the backward chronological employment history. These bullets help the recruiter avoid asking illegal questions.

Security Clearance – whether current or expired, noting it will indicate a background check has been performed and likely the job seeker is a trustworthy individual.

Passport Information – recruiters are not legally allowed to ask if a job seeker is a U.S. Citizen. Offer this information in the resume to avoids the awkward subject. If not a U.S. citizen, this statement can provide green card status and work permit information.

Work Location Preference – identifies where the job seeker is willing to work to avoid the question, ‘Are you willing to move to this location to work? The company has no relocation funding.’ If in the process of moving, note that in the resume to expand job considerations).

Planning carefully to ensure your resume has the most concise data will entice recruiters to read further. Having specific information in the resume avoids wasting time when the job seeker’s capabilities and background do not match the job requisition requirements.  Nothing is more frustrating when a recruiter believes they have a perfect match and then finds out the applicant doesn’t want to move or needs a work permit that may require months to obtain.

Keeping the information to a minimum at the top of the resume makes reading easier and quicker.  Compiling all the vital information in the top four inches of the resume makes it easier for recruiters to quickly identify the job seeker’s capabilities to a job requisition.

Dawn D. Boyer, Ph.D., manages and operates a consulting firm in Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Richmond, Colonial Beach (Dahlgren), and Gloucester, VA. Her background is 25+ years in the Human Resources field, of which 12+ years are within the Federal & Defense Contracting industry. She is the author of 1,020+ books and textbooks on business, human resources research, career search practice, women’s studies, genealogy lineages, and adult coloring books. Her books are listed on Amazon.com under her author’s page for Dawn D. Boyer, Ph.D.