Doing a recruitment drive is something that every business is likely to do at some point in its existence, which is why it’s important to prepare for the process itself. So once you’ve got your applicants on paper in a pile in front of you, it’s time to start picking out the best. But what does the perfect resume look like?
The Basics
First of all, it’s all about making sure they’ve included the bare minimum. Their name obviously and relevant contact details. This basic attention to detail already is the first test, and you’d be surprised by how many will end up putting an out of date phone number on their resume or an old home address. It shows you that if they can’t recognise these obvious mistakes, they’ll likely have the same level of attention for the job so make sure that you’re carefully scanning the basic information that they’ve given.
Creativity In The Layout
You’re likely to look through many resumes, perhaps even into the hundreds. That’s a lot of applications to read through, and when they’re all the same layout, it can be pretty boring. That’s where it’s good to see a little bit of creativity from the applicant. How have they laid out their resume so that it stands out from the pile? If they’ve opted for something different than a simple template, then it shows that they’re capable of thinking outside of the box and that they want to be noticed. It shows that bit of extra flair and to be honest, it’s going to make your experience of reading through hundreds of resumes, a little more pleasant. This creative resume template is the perfect example of what to look out for.
An Appropriate Length
Giving as much information to an employer as possible is definitely something applicants will be keen to do, but it can be to the extent of putting in too much. As a guideline, a resume shouldn’t be any more than two pages. This again is a good indication of how precise and controlled they can be with sticking to rules and making sure they get their point across whether they do it on one or two pages. Any resumes that are over two pages, you may want to consider not reading.
Customized For The Job In Mind
Any resume should be a work in progress because whenever a candidate is applying for a role, each role and the company in question is different. That means that the resume is going to need tweaking ever so slightly for the job and company in mind. Perhaps there’s relevant skills or knowledge that you’re after and they’ve mentioned each, and every one in their resume. This might not be something that they included in the last resume but holds more relevance for this one.
The resume is the point before you actually get to meet the person, so be careful in your choices so that you don’t let the best ones slip through the net. Equally, you don’t want to be picking the wrong ones for the interviews.
