What a recruiter looks for in an initial resume review

Posted Dec 17 2008 7:52 AM by the JobsBloggers
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

13 Comments

  • Sanjay said:

    The biotech route?  Whatever does that mean?  Does that mean that you're going to skip over their resume, because you're assuming that they'll only be interested in biotech jobs? I hope that's not the case, because it's the sort of thing that exacerbates the "talent shortage", and gives recruiters an incredibly bad name.

    Here's a hint: if a candidate has submitted a resume to Microsoft, it means that THEY WANT TO WORK FOR MICROSOFT.  You may look at their degrees, decide if they're able to write software, or filter for direct experience, but if you find yourself dismissing people because you think that they "might want" another line of work, then you've overstepped your bounds.

  • Lisa said:

    Hi Sanjay,

    Thanks for your reply.  I don't skip over a resume only based on one of the above criteria.  I look at the resume as a whole and each of those items before deciding to proceed or not.  Also, yes, if a candidate applies to Microsoft's career site, they are definitely interested in pursuing opportunities with us.  As recruiters, we review those resumes, but we also go out and try to find resumes of candidates who haven't applied yet to Microsoft too to get them interested in our company.   Thanks for your comment and let me know if you have any other questions.

    Lisa

  • Richard Tanner said:

    I appreciate this initial resume review.  The students we assist at Almeda University will find this helpful information when job searching and resume building.  We will pass this along to our alumni.

  • Joshua said:

    "ex. maternity leave"

    In the US, it is illegal to ask questions about a candidates children or medical history.

  • Lisa said:

    Hi Richard,

    Wonderful!  I hope it helps them with their resume building.

    Hi Joshua,

    We don't ask questions related to family or medical history, since you are correct that it violates employment laws.  I would however like to know the reasoning behind a large gap in a resume.  You don't have to specify the specific reasoning, but even mentioning 'personal leave' would be a good explanation.  Let me know if you have other questions.

    Lisa

  • Aaron Linne said:

    You mention job responsibilities... but nothing about job results.  I've always heard that some kind of quantifiable number is good to have in a resume; would you agree?

    How would you react if the numbers seemed almost too good to be true?  I think it's vital to give a true reprenstation of one's self, but at the same time manage to work some sense of humbleness into the resume.

  • Lisa said:

    Hi Aaron,

    Yes, absolutely!  I agree that you should include quantifiable results when talking about your accomplishments.  I seemed to have accidentally left this piece out of the post.  

    If I saw a number that seemed too good to be true, I would get the story surrounding it in the phone interview.  I know it can be difficult writing about yourself and your accomplishments.  Even I feel silly when I write my resume and talk about myself.  But be honest, include quantifiable successes, and be prepared to talk in detail about anything written on your resume.

    Thanks for your comment!

    Lisa

  • Nikhil said:

    Hii..

    I want to Know can candiate having less than 6 month of wrk exp.. can apply as a recent cllge grad...

    Or thr any postion for those candiate in the Microsoft as a S/w Developer...

  • Timm said:

    Better you look for some professional resume services offered by some career sites

    -Timm

    <a rel="nofollow" target="_new" href="http://zip2.info/firstsalary">http://zip2.info/firstsalary</a>

  • yaskil said:

    Hi Lisa,

    What about code samples? Is it better to send a few source codes (demos) with resume. Does it have any effect?

  • Lisa said:

    Hi Yaskil,

    It depends exactly what you mean.  If you are referring to the actual source code, I probably wouldn't include it with the resume.  Most teams will test your coding skills in the interview process.  If you are referring to demos of past work, I would recommend including screenshots of designs and links to webpages and applications that you developed.  I always find it neat to see first hand what the candidate has worked on.  Hope that helps!

    Lisa

  • Sundar Narasiman said:

    Hello Lisa,

    Let me introduce myself. This is Sundar Narasiman from India. I'm a SharePoint MVP (Most Valuable Professional) . I work as Technical Architect for a Tier1 IT Consulting company in India.

    My dream is to work for Microsoft's SharePoint Product Team at Redmond. Could you please let me know whether i can apply for US jobs from India ?

    Thanks & Regards,

    Sundar Narasiman

  • Microsoft's JobsBlog said:

    A few months ago, I did a post on what a recruiter looks for in a resume review. This time, let’s take

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