In a candidate-heavy job market like we’re in today, recruiters are drowning in applicants. After years as a recruiter, I’ve been on the receiving end of that resume tidal wave and can attest to the importance of having a clear & skim-friendly resume to cut through the noise.
In a super busy job market, recruiters don’t have time to search for answers, so ensuring your resume gives a quick & clear representation of your experience is key
Enter the skim test. After recruiting for over a decade, these are my top tips to skim-proof your resume to maximize your opportunity of prevailing through the noise.
1. Job Titles - Relevancy & Levelling
Job titles are definitely a ‘quick’ skim aspect to confirm your experience aligns with the opportunity.
Don’t forget, the title your company gave you is proprietary to them! I encourage my clients to tweak (within reason, of course) their titles to showcase what they actually did, with their target next opportunity in mind. Just ensure that you’re staying within the same leveling.
Note: Always make sure your LinkedIn & resume match, so pick one title and stick with it throughout your search.
2. Location, Location, Location
City & State should always be included. Leave out your full address!
Hiring managers care about your time zone and/or potential commute. Even for remote roles, some companies potentially can’t hire out of specific states due to payroll compliance restrictions, so don’t overlook including that important detail.
3. Lack of Company Context
Without a doubt, one of the most commonly requested ‘nice to have’ requirements by a hiring manager is a candidate with similar industry experience.
Not every company is a household name. Adding a short blurb under the organization will help hiring teams gauge your background and compare it to their company’s inner workings.
Startup? Publicly traded? Include company size in that one-liner. For comms professionals, headcount is a great detail to add!
4. Word Salad: Too Much Fluff, Not Enough Impact
Smart people don’t sound smart because they use big words; they sound smart because they explain things simply. The best resumes do the same.
Be specific, measurable, and plainspoken. Results will always speak louder than jargon.
Buzzwords I Avoid: Dynamic, Results-Driven, Passionate, Team Player, Seasoned, Innovative.
Show the reader you’re a great leader by highlighting your team’s tenure or promotion track, or elsewhere in your collateral by highlighting your leadership philosophy on LinkedIn.
Note: If you use an acronym, even if you think it’s commonplace knowledge, I always recommend writing out the full-length term first, with the acronym in (parentheses after). You can then simply use the acronym for any other additional usages throughout the document.
5. Bulky Paragraphs and Tiny Fonts
Bullets over paragraphs every time! Bulky paragraphs are not skim-friendly. I recommend keeping bullet points to 2 lines or less and leaning on sub-bullets if additional info or context is needed.
Don’t shrink your content to fit a page. White space and readability matter more than trying to cram in every detail.
10-point font or bigger, and I encourage 1.15 spacing between bullets for easier reading, too.
Final Thoughts:
Think of your resume as a marketing document, not a biography.
Every element, from word choice to layout, should focus on creating a skimmable and clear document showcasing your value.
As a thank-you to Strictly Internal readers, I’m offering 30% off my LinkedIn PlayBook. I’m also extending 10% off any other service or partnership through the end of the year—just mention this newsletter when you reach out.
