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A recruiter has your resume in his or her hand. Glancing it over, he or she will be able to make a split decision about whether or not to bring you in for an interview. Even more importantly, the recruiter may already know if you are likely to be a key candidate for the position.

If you do not know what recruiters are looking for on your resume, you could be missing the career opportunities you are after. What are they looking at specifically?

#1 – Where are you located?

Did you know one of the first things recruiters look for in a resume is this? They do it because, simply, they need to make sure you are close enough to the location they are hiring for or if you are likely to have a long commute.

#2 – What is your job title?

What is the job title for your most recent position? That could be one of the first things the recruiter sees. When looking at your previous employment, the professional needs to know where you worked, what you did there, and, in some cases, if your position progressed. How long have you been in that position? This needs to be included in your resume.

#3 – How long did you work there?

When looking at your resume, the recruiter needs to take into consideration not just when you left, but (even more importantly) how long you stayed there. Someone who moves from one job to the next at a very rapid rate is likely to be a short-term employee and may not be the best hire.

#4 – What are your strengths?

Hopefully, you are including your strengths in your resume. These are the keywords that the bots will pick up and deliver to the recruiter. If you have your resume template in hand, design it to include a bulleted list of your strengths. You can also bold these in the content. You want these to be easy to see and send.

#5 – What did you accomplish?

Just having a job is not enough. Most recruiters are looking for accomplishments on your resume. What did you do for the company? Provide your retention rates, your sales increase numbers, or other data that backs up your claims. This is the information that will tell them how well you compare to the competition.

Take a long look at your resume. Does it provide everything that the prospective hiring manager is really looking for in a candidate? Is it easy to read and it displays not just what you did but what you accomplished while at your previous employment? This will help to sell you to the job recruiter. When he or she is scanning hundreds of resumes, it matters if you are the one that stands out of the pack.

If you are looking for jobs in the Chicago area, and want additional resources to help your job search, contact the staffing experts at Davis Staffing today!