7 FASCINATING FEATURES THAT ATTRACT RECRUITERS TO YOUR PROJECT MANAGEMENT RESUME

Introductions

You may have read in textbooks back in the early centuries, when you graduate from college and you pick up the Yellow Page and call up an employer; “I’ll like to work for you”, then on the phone, interview is arranged. Or you might even walk in and discuss your capabilities and suddenly they will tell you to start work next Monday!

High unemployment arising from the global recession, technology growth and globalization has suddenly erased the idea of simply picking a phone and telling a prospective employer “I love to work for your company, I want to interview with you,” like we may have read in recruiters articles in recent past.

As you are well aware, times have changed. Depending on the skill or the field, we have for every 1 vacancy there are more than thousand qualified applicants waiting to apply.

The Great Challenge

The question now becomes the survival of the fittest; how can I stand out among these contemporary to secure an interview and showcase “your prowess”?

Well, the answer lies in an enchanted resume that will captivate the attention of the recruiters.

Creating an attractive resume has been misconstrued by many to mean you need to sound incredible, by inflating your resume with bogus and high-sounding grammar, abuse the “cut and paste’ technology and zoom your way to your next job offer.

Doing all of these with the hope that the recruiters and HR ‘never read the stuff,’ they just invite you for interview and offer you the job, is not happening at all!

To debunk these claims, we went out of our way to speak with recruiters, headhunters and Human Resource personnel on one hand and successful candidates who have landed a better offer in recent times on the other.

There was a noticeable trend in our data, and there were seven items that continue to stand out each time. We therefore conclude that these seven items could be the criteria for screening prospective candidates who will be shortlisted for a potential job interview.

These are listed and discussed one after the other in a way you can take a second look at your resume.

1. Relevant Academic Qualifications.

The recruiters said they are matching job opportunities with relevant academic qualifications.

They look at the position under consideration and look at the academic qualification of the job applicant. But this is just the beginning of the screening.

There are some with wrong academic qualifications but the right matching work experiences.

So, please take a look at the position you are willing to submit your resume; is there any similarity or total disconnect. Seek a frank opinion if in doubt.

Conduct your research and don’t fly blind by assuming they will just call you anyway.

2. Relevant Certifications.

In view of the fact that employers do not show interest in offering professional training, they seem to delight in applicants who are “trained-ready”.

The question is; can you explore your field and learn about applicable certification(s) you can acquire, now that you are free; I mean have some time to job hunt, you could as well squeeze a relevant certification into your schedule. It will be a selling point on your interview.

See the trick I shared in this blog on this subject.  that will hone your skills for a better opportunity.

There are several online resources that will guide you in the right direction.

At Project Managers Academy Inc., we offer PMP/CAPM certification on weekends to aspiring professionals, within a window of 8 weekends, you are closer to earning your PMP/CAPM certification.

3. Relevant Experience.

Most recruiters confided that they often use experience ‘a lot’ to weed out and scare many applicants from applying.

They acknowledge the havoc caused by this repellent, but it has also emboldened other applicants who are determined to be considered to proceed with submission of their cover letter and resume.

They suggested that applicants should reflect relevant experiences and achievements in their resume, rather than highlight only roles and responsibilities.

They will like to know ahead of time, how what did before now, will help you succeed on the prospective job that you are applying.

They will like to know whether you are effective and put your initiatives to good use all the time and you are conscious of growth and challenge.

These recruiters will like to sniff these details before inviting you for an interview.

4. Relevant Skills.

The recruiters complained that many applicants do not completely read and understand job adverts when applying.

This lapse becomes noticeable when the recruiters are screening the resume.

When they are looking for say, ‘interior designer skills’, the applicants are presenting ‘fine art skills’. This is a mismatch already.

The recruiters affirmed that they match skills and qualifications with the job opportunity under consideration, not trying to do puzzle!

So, the recruiters’ recommendations; when applying, try to understand the job advertisement, list out these skills and be honest in including all you can demonstrate as if you will be offered the job.

A number of these recruiters even suggested that skills should be listed on the resume, because if they should scan the resume for skill keywords relating to the field, the software application will not select such resume, even though the experiences may be matching.

5. Acquired Relevant Training.

In certain organizations, employers offer on the job training to their staff to enhance their efficiency and productivity.

HR personnel we spoke with recommended that these training are assets to these employees, and it should be on their resume.

The goal is to showcase to the prospective employers that these applicants possess skills that will save them time and scarce resource in training. It could be short- or long-term training as long as it is relevant to the position you are applying, do not hesitate to include them on your resume.

Others may be skeptical that because the skills certificate or diploma may have expired, as such it is not necessary to be on the resume.

These recruiters suggested that it does not matter, as long as you can explain, and prove you have the diploma, it is part of asset that might change the game for you. If the skill is relevant, please remember to include it on your resume.

6. Good Layout. Better Formatting.

One experienced HR sighed and relates an experience of a professional that was qualified for a position, but she said; had it not been that she was looking through the resume during her lunch time she would have discarded such an applicant.

She complained that the applicant is qualified for the job, but the resume left much to be desired, in terms of layout, disjointed fonts and poor arrangement of vital information.

Therefore, she recommended using word processing templates that are attractive and lay out the contents in a good order.

The web is inundated with better suggestions and other captivating templates in this regard. Remember, first impression matters; show your resume to a good friend, that will tel you the truth in a nice way. if your friend has problem understanding or appreciating the look and feel of your resume, same will happen when the recruiter reviews it.

MS Word application offers a wide varieties of template, you can spend $5 on Fiverr for a beautiful resume template that fits your skill.

In order words, make your resume “legible” to read to the recruiters, please don’t assume or justify errors. Arrange everything appropriately, so that recruiters will not need to “buy” a microscope to search for information on your resume!

7. Honesty is the Best Policy.

All the recruiter and the HR personnel spoken with acknowledged this issue about honesty.

Since all the applicants desire to get the job, they employ different tactics to convince their prospective employer to prove that they are the best. But with advance technology, and cheaper communication, verifying information are available a few clicks away.

These recruiters recommended that applicant should assume that all that is on resume will be investigated even after they have secured the opportunity. If anything is contrary to what is stated, well, we all know the consequences.

They want the prospective employee to know that there is a process called “background check”, it means everything relevant to know about you will be searched, it is just like applying for security clearance.

They will validate your former place of employment, your academic qualifications, even if you are from a foreign country, it is one phone call or fax request away. They will contact your references and former employers.

More so, you want to be a trusted employee, that should commence before you walk in the door.

The resources interviewed related so many bad experiences, but I am rest assured you will not repeat any of them, because “a word is enough for the wise”!

Conclusion

If you are in the job market searching for an opportunity, please do not despair.

Keep a brighter hope, be optimistic each day that you will secure a matching and better opportunity, it is just minus one day to that happy day. Make sure you keep a smile on your face, as you anticipate the arrival of that happy day.

Make the best use of your time each day, challenge yourself by thinking of becoming an entrepreneur in your field of interest, if eventually you are hired, you can operate it as a side gig.

You can use it as a selling point when you are interviewing. The income can also sustain you in your time of need.

These are experiences that can better serve you in your next opportunity. Don’t stand still, keep making progress. Do something productive each day.

You can even reach out to register for CompTIA: Project+ or CAPM/PMP with Project Managers Academy Inc.

By and large, please make sure your resume reflects these seven fascinating details. I have a strong feeling, the next call you will receive after reading this blog will be a quick phone interview for the next great opportunity.

I will like to share in your celebration afterwards, please keep me posted. Remember I am praying for you as you read this blog!