step brothers

job recruiter

Recruiters tend to make some pretty big snap decisions based on your resume.  Sometimes, it might be personal bias more than anything, but they definitely look at things in order to figure out who you are and what you’re about within a few seconds.  Below is a list of things that recruiters make snap decisions on:

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Your Graduation Year

If you think that you might be too young, or too old for the role, leave your graduation year off your resume.  If they do ask you for this information, it could be considered age discrimination in the United States.  While I agree with this one, it’s sometimes hard to fake.  If you’ve got your years of experience on the resume, they might be able to figure this out.  For example, I have 12 years’ experience in my particular field.  Add in four years for college, and anyone with a calculator can certainly do the math.  It’s a tough call, but if you think you’re going to be judged because of your age, leave it off.

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Your Email Address

If you’re still using Hotmail, or (gasp) AOL, companies are going to judge you for being out of touch.  Even if you just open up a Gmail account for the purpose of sending out job applications, you’re better off.  Maybe this isn’t a good thing for a company to do, but it does show that you might have problems adapting to change.  Also, if you have an inappropriate email address, this gets noted as well.  Stick with your name, and again, if you have to open up another email account which is just your name, please do. It’s going to help you in the long run.

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Your Location

This is another one that is a bit concerning to me.  If you don’t put your location on, the recruiter might not know where you are.  And maybe that’s ok.  If you’re not living in the city where you’re applying for the job, you might get ruled out automatically as not being serious about the job, or want to work remotely.  If you’re in the process of relocating, make sure your resume says this.  You want the recruiter to know that you’re serious about the job that you’re applying for.

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Your Photo

I feel like this goes without saying, but don’t include a photo.  Studies have shown that if you put an image of yourself on your resume, recruiters will spend 3 of the 6 seconds that they allocate to your resume, just on your face alone.  Not only that but in my experience, some Managers like to hire people because of the way they look.  You want your resume to stand out on its own, based on your skills and experience.  Not what you look like.

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Number of Jobs

Last, but not least, if you’ve had many full-time jobs, in a short amount of time, you’ll want to think about how to present this information.  Otherwise, you’re going to be viewed as a job hopper.  Or someone who can’t hold down a job.

Overall, you want to present your best self.  Take our advice, and hopefully, you’ll land the job of your dreams.