Lisa


When I do initial resume reviews, there are certain things I'm focusing on in each section. I’d like to share with you what I look for (and don’t look for) in the resume during this quick scan. Of course, keep in mind that every recruiter is different and what I look for in a resume might be different from what other recruiters look for.

  • Target job title: I love Monster because I don’t even have to open the resume, I can view the target job title from the candidate’s profile. This can also be seen in the objective statement at the top of the resume. I look to see that the role the candidate is interested in is one that I am recruiting for.


  • Technologies: This is very important. If you have experience with a technology, list it. I don’t like viewing resumes that are only about “keywords” and trust me, hiring managers hate it. However, so I can pull your resume in my search results, make sure you have technologies / programming languages you’ve used (ex. OWL, schema, distributed, data mining, IR) listed in the projects on your resume. This also helps me see how long you’ve used a technology and when it was last used.


  • Company names: I’m not looking for anything really specific in terms of company names, but it gives me an idea of the size and type of the project the candidate might have worked on. Was it a small scale banking project which 3 team members completed in a month or was it a high transaction number, large user base online service project with a team of 50 that took over a year to complete? Both types of projects are great, but it gives me an idea of the level and type of experience the candidate might have.


  • Dates of employment: I look to see if there are any gaps in the resume. I don’t mind those as long as it’s documented what took place during that time (ex. maternity leave, took care of family member, pursued a higher degree, etc). I also see how long the candidate was at each company. Are they a job hopper? Have they had longevity with a company or for a specific project? Have they experienced the entire lifecycle of a product?


  • Responsibilities: I look to see what specific pieces they took ownership of and how much they contributed to the projects. When I view a resume that talks all about a project, but it never mentions what the candidate actually did for the project, I wonder if they had a very minor piece.


  • Education: I look to see the highest/most recent degree received and what major it was in. Yes, I do look at all degrees, but I zoom in on the last degree received because generally the candidate would have pursued their current interest for that degree. If someone just received their MBA, they are probably looking more towards program management over development. If they had a Bachelors in Computer Science but received their Masters in Biology, they might be looking to go the Biotech route.

Well, that’s about it. Nothing too out of the ordinary, but now you know what I really look for. How many of you are off to make some quick changes to your resume? ;)

 - Lisa