What Corporates see in a Resume

The average life of a resume is 6 seconds.

We often wonder, what are the crucial factors that corporates see in a Resume before shortlisting a candidate.
 What should be there in the resume that it is shortlisted by Microsoft, Google, HUL and such like companies?
 Having experience of over 30 years in HR, I am trying to shortlist what Companies see in a resume to decide whether a candidate is suitable for them or not.

1. Most Recent Role

   HR people try to figure out, what the person’s current status is and whether his/her current experience is relevant to the post for which the hiring is being done, why the candidate wants to shift, how many years he has worked in the last position.

2. Basic formatting

   Recruiters draw conclusions from the way your resume is laid out.You should have a logical flow of information and proper categorization. There should be absolutely no grammatical mistake.

   Very briefly you should describe who you are, what you do and why you are perfect for the job. You should focus on the value you could bring to a potential employer. Your resume should not exceed two pages.

3. Company Recognition

   If the candidate has worked with a brand, it is an added advantage. Recruiters notice patterns and trends among candidates from certain companies and formulate assumptions as a result.

   Company’s name gives the candidate instant credibility. If the candidate has worked for HUL, Microsoft or Google, there is every chance that the candidate will be shortlisted.

4. Overall Experience

   
   The critical section of a resume is where you detail your work history in a consistent and compelling format. You should mention company names, locations, employment dates, titles held and most importantly your accomplishments.
   Is there a career progression? Does the person have an increasing level of responsibility? If he /she is VP ( Marketing ), what is the team size / Sales turnover, Does the candidate’s responsibilities match with the new job being sought.
   This portion is important for recruiters who are interested in information about your career experience and connect your skills to what they are looking for in a potential hire. So make sure your experience stands out

5. Keyword Search

   Usually all the keywords are mentioned in the job advertisement and candidate should ensure that he matches those keyword requirements and should mention all those keywords in his resume also. Suppose a particular job requires Mechanical engineer with 4 years of experience in the moulding industry. Now if a candidate is having 6 years of experience after mechanical engineering but in a different industry. Then he will not be shortlisted.

   For example, if you are applying for a Senior Manager role, the hiring manager is going to be looking for years of experience that the post is requiring and other industry-specific words such as business development, team management, cross-functional leadership or high impact sales volume, etc. The job description really is your best friend when choosing keywords.

6. Gaps

   Gaps is not a problem but should have proper justification. A lady officer might take 3 years off to raise a child. A person might try his own business and fail and may lose 2 years in the process. So whenever a gap is there, a genuine justification clears the point and one should always be honest with it

7. Personal Online footprints

   This is not required, but if a candidate has an online footprint, then it can be included in the resume. This may include personal domains, Quora profiles, Twitter handles etc. and usually HR will definitely check on these accounts. Sometimes this may click and get a good result.

8. Skills

   Skill section has become more and more important as recruiters and hiring managers increasingly look for candidates with specialized backgrounds. It is better to clearly list all your skills, like an additional Business Analytics course or SAP besides your regular MBA/PGDM.

9. Education

   It is important to mention your academic credentials in your resume. However, it should be brief and should not take up too much space. In most cases simply listing where you went to school / College when you attended and what degrees you attained will be sufficient.

10. General Logistics

    Candidate’s present location, his likely place of work, any special mention about the choice of posting, etc. These factors affect shortlisting. HR People take less than a minute on each resume and go through all above-mentioned factors quickly as they have to screen hundreds of resumes.

By following the above tips, you will create a standout resume that will get you noticed by employers in a positive way.

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