We’ve all been told that making a good first impression is essential. To prospective employers, your résumé represents you. It goes before you, and stands in for you, and makes that first impression of you to recruiters, HR professionals, and hiring managers. You only get 7 to 10 seconds to make that first impression!
The résumé, as your stand-in, is all they have to go on when making decisions about you and your abilities. They don’t know you nor have they had the opportunity to work with you. They don’t know if you will fit within the team and the organization in general. All they have to go by is the résumé that you sent them, which makes that piece of paper or electronic file all the more important. Your résumé must set you apart and present you among the best qualified candidates for the job. During those 7 seconds of the initial review, the person’s mind is working through a complicated set of parameters. They are searching for enough reasons to both consider you a candidate and for enough detractors to eliminate you as one. To potential employers your resume represents you. They consider your résumé to be an example of the quality of work you will do for them if you are hired. It is a sample of how current you are in regard to contemporary hiring processes and technology.
- Your résumé is it outdated? Maybe your skills are, as well.
- Are there typos and misspelled words? Likely you will do the same on the job. Perhaps you won’t care about doing the job ‘right.’
- Is your résumé unfocused? Then perhaps you will be unfocused on the job and make mistakes.
These are just some of the thoughts that run through the résumé reviewer’s mind.
This one document determines whether you should be given further consideration. It determines whether you will be invited for an interview. The information in your résumé will be used to formulate questions that will be asked during the job interviewing process. This information is partly responsible for the salary or wage you will be offered. That makes your résumé an indicator of your financial worth.
Once hired, your résumé becomes a part of your permanent employment record with the company. New and future managers will probably view it as a way to get to know you before you officially meet.
Your resume represents you. In short, your résumé determines your future. Are you a faint glimmer in the eyes of hiring managers or standing out and shining brightly? It’s your résumé and your reputation, make them shine!
Feeling like your resume is lack luster? Contact me today, so I can help you shine brighter.
