Just finished looking at over 50 resumes today and wow I must say there were a few good ones but most of them sucked. To be specific, out of the 50 resumes I personally look thru everyday on average, about three are good and one is great if I am lucky. This is with the use of applicant tracking systems (ATS). In fact I am at the point where I prefer to do the sorting myself because it seems people have figured out how to abuse the ATS and I’ve come across resumes with keywords just shoved into random parts of the resume.

There is more to crafting your resume than you think. When crafting it, you need to take the positions you are applying for into consideration. If I am reviewing a resume for a position that requires attention to detail and I find errors, this tells me immediately you are not the right candidate as clearly you lack what we are looking for. 

That being said, I want you to understand why your resume sucks and why you aren’t getting as much traction as you would like.

The errors and unorganized formats are the main culprits when it comes to bad resumes. However there is also the lack of ability to sell yourself on paper. Your resume is like an advertisement, you want to draw me in, to take a closer look. Yes great keywords get you passed the ATS, but great marketing is what gets you the interview.

When you are crafting your resume you want to ask your self a few questions.

1.What are my potential employers looking for? – similar to selling to a customer, you need to research the employer and understand what they want in a candidate. 

2.Does this resume demonstrate my ability to fulfill the position in question? – if you are applying for a District Manager position, does your resume prove you have the skills and knowledge to do so? Can you lead, improve sales, manage multiple sites etc?

3.Does this resume demonstrate my ability to do so in 5 seconds? – It is a well known fact that we know within 5 seconds if the resume is worth any more effort.

4.Is my resume in an easy to read format with minimum or no errors? – Font should be between at 10 min and 12 max, don’t get fancy with the font style, keep it simple and use Times New Roman or something similar. 

If while you are crafting your resume you ask yourself these questions, you will be one step closer to getting the career you want. You will get passed the ATS and you will increase your chances of getting the interview. If you need help crafting the perfect resume you can visit us @ eprnational.com Our service is simple, you enter the information and we generate your resume with the perfect format. If you really want to take the next step we offer industry specific expert reviews and resume verifications. 

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