Blog written by recruiter Samantha Scott and her colleague Koreena Geisler-Wagner. Though Contemporaries is typically able to get you into a job without your resume based on our relationship with the client, your resume is ultimately the driving force behind marketing yourself for any job (temp or perm). Your resume is a snapshot of your experience and skills, and is meant to give a hiring manager a very quick impression of you.
In her article titled “Want An Unbeatable Resume? Read These Tips From A Top Recruiter“, Kerry Hannon outlines her best tips from her point of view as a recruiter on how to craft the best resume. We’ve taken the liberty of highlighting the tips we think are most applicable below.
The interviewer asks Kerry what she thinks makes an unbeatable resume. The most important thing she notes is this: keep it simple. A resume ideally shouldn’t be longer than a page, but no longer than two pages. Your objective should be clear, and it should be organized well; a typical resume is read in 10 seconds.
A good resume can get your foot in the door, but what really makes an impact is networking and hard work. As Kerry says, networking is key and persistence is important. Call friends, family, former colleagues, and beyond. It’s important to keep your LinkedIn profile current as well.
Kerry says the key ingredient to landing an interview is this: guts. Don’t be afraid to pick up the phone and call. Your resume can only get you so far without an in-person meeting, so be diligent in obtaining that.