Recruiters, Learn How To Write Your Own Resume

After being an IT Recruiter for 12 years, I have recently switched my focus to recruiting Recruiters. I have to say that I really enjoy talking to “my own kind” and the laser focus of not needing to work on 10 plus skill sets a day. One of the most amazing things I have noticed about Recruiters is that they really don’t know how to write a resume. After all, recruiters look at resumes all day long and we each have our own pet peeves that we use to decide if a candidate is worth moving to the next steps. If we don’t like what we see we toss that resume to the side and move on. Knowing that the hiring process starts with a good first impression, WHY in the world as a Recruiter would you make these same mistakes on your resume?

Below are the top mistakes I see on Recruiters resumes on a daily basis.

Mistake #1: “Types of Skill Sets Worked On”

I can go through a whole resume and not know if a candidate has worked in Information Technology, Health Care, Sales, Finance, Accounting etc. Unless you’re a referral, your resume is immediately put to the side or tossed. Create a “Core Competencies” or “Skills” section on your resume and repeat these skills within each job so an employer can see when, where and how you worked with each of these skill sets.

Mistake #2 “Accomplishments”

Recruiting is all about accomplishments. Potential employers want to see results and their positions filled. On your resume, you need to let employers know what accomplishments you have achieved. Don’t think that you can talk about these accomplishments in the interview because you may never get one if you don’t show your accomplishments on your resume.

Mistake #3 “Appealing to the Eye”

We all have our own option on what looks appealing but trying to be too creative with fonts, colors and graphs can just distract the reader from what is important. Typos can also distract a reader from what is important, and most hiring managers that I know will toss a resume because typos and miss-spellings are signs of a lack of attention to detail. Have someone else read your resume and ask them if your resume flows and is appealing to the eye. Often, other people can more easily spot errors because they have not been staring at the resume for hours.

Mistake #4 “Keep Irrelevant Info Off”

I don’t care about jobs you did in College or that don’t relate to Recruiting. I also don’t care that you graduated High School, your interests outside of work or if you have credits at some college that you didn’t graduate from. I want to see “Type of Skill Sets Worked On”, “Accomplishments” and information that is pertinent to the job you are applying for.

Mistake #5 “Not Every Job Is The Same”

Yes, certain aspects of Recruiting are the same but every job is different. I once needed to have a candidate update his resume with his most recent job. His response was “you can just cut and paste from my last job, I am doing the same thing”. NO.. Talk about lack of attention to detail and the epitome of laziness. That candidate what tossed out of consideration. Every position is different including the positions you have worked on, systems used and your accomplishments.

-John Motley is the Director of Professional Services at NSS RPO, a consulting firm that provides on-site and virtual recruiting professionals. Contact NSS RPO to learn about how we can help your organization meet and exceed its hiring goals.