Oftentimes, candidates who are the perfect fit for an open position will go overlooked due to an inadequate resume. Even with the advanced technology used in online recruitment, the job owner or recruiter may still have hundreds of resumes to review before setting up interviews for a popular position with a top company.
Given the high volume of applications that are received for popular positions like Project Managers or Java developers—and especially remote job positions—recruiters can only spend a matter of seconds scanning a resume to determine if the candidate could be a fit for the job opening.
An IT recruiter must make a quick determination about a resume and it will likely be one of the four following determinations:
- The candidate is not appropriate for the job; for example, a Project Manager is applying for a position as a Sr. Java developer. The candidate would not be considered for the job; however, Ntelicor retains the candidate in a database to be considered for more suitable positions in the future.
- The candidate is not skilled enough for the job; for example, the job requires 5+ years of Android development experience, and the resume only shows one 2-year position with that experience in their job responsibilities.
- The candidate is over-skilled for the job; for example, the applicant has many years at a senior-level position and has applied for a junior-level job. The recruiter may assume the candidate will expect higher pay than they know the employer is looking to pay, and would rather save this candidate for a comparable job that requires more experience.
- The candidate is qualified for the position because their experience and skills match the requirements. These are the candidates who get the interview, and this is where you want your resume to end up!
4 Tips to Make Your Resume Interview-Worthy
- Your most recent position should have a similar job title to the position you are applying for. The only exception is if you are applying for a Senior level position without a Sr. title in your last position. In this case, your years of experience in the position would be taken into consideration.
- Be sure your job title or years of experience does not make you appear overqualified for the position. For example, if you held the same position as a Sr. Developer at a company for 8 years, you may need to “downplay” some of your experience if you’re applying for a position that only required 3 years.
- Clearly communicate your experience, knowledge, and skills based on the specific requirements and preferences that were listed in the original job post. This may require minor editing of your resume for each job you apply for, but it shouldn’t be too time-consuming. For example, make sure to mention by name the tools and programming languages that were listed in the job post, and omit any that were not mentioned as a required or preferred skill.
- And lastly, ask for help with your resume! Resume writers and job coaches can be one source of assistance, but some recruiters—like those at Ntelicor—will review your resume and provide feedback on the formatting and what information could use some editing or improvements when applying to IT positions in DFW and throughout the States.