Do you know what recruiters and/or potential employers see when they look at your resume? Well, it’s likely not much — since, on average, they spend only six seconds reviewing it. (Crazy, isn’t it?) It may feel as though devoting hours to writing a resume only to have someone glance at it for such a short period of time is futile, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. The more clear, concise and focused your resume is, the more likely hiring managers are to look at it for longer (and spot the key details they’re searching for).

Here’s what should stand out:

• Name
• Current title and company
• Current position start and end dates
• Previous title and company
• Previous position start and end dates
• Education

The above information comes from a great study conducted by The Ladders and is well discussed in this Business Insider article. 

And if you want to know what a recruiter does, check out our recruiter guest blog “Do You Know What a Recruiter Does?” which demystifies the entire process.

Want to truly see where recruiters’ eyes fall? Check out this heat map of recruiters’ eye movements:

Thanks to its clear, concise format, which includes more bulleted information and less long-form text, the resume on the right gets a lot more time and attention. 

Do you know how your resume would fare with a heat map test? Would a recruiter be able to easily find important information?

If your resume needs a refresh, submit it to our free Resume Review service and get expert feedback from one of our professional career coaches!

Image courtesy here.