5 Things HR Managers are Scanning in Your Resume

Are you stuck in a job and want a change? If so, you are going to soon come up against an HR Manager who will be the first person to review your resume and determine if it is worthy to then refer to the Hiring Manager. 

HR Managers are very busy people and scan hundreds of thousands of resumes daily, so when they are scanning your resume they are looking for a few key things.

Here’s our list of 5 of the things HR Managers are scanning for in your resume:

1. A Strong Professional Summary

When it comes to 6-figure jobs there are thousands of applicants for any given position and HR managers don’t have enough time to read full resumes. So they look for a summary… a great summary. Having a strong professional summary is one of the most important sections of your resume. You must keep it short and describe your strengths and goals in a clear succinct manner. With only 7 seconds to convince the HR Manager to keep reading, a strong professional summary enhances your chance of getting an interview and ultimately that high paying job.

• Your Career Story

Your 6-figure resume should a story about your career. It should discuss not only your past job experiences and periods of time, but is should also indicate what you learned, the value you provided to that position and how you grew as a person as a result.  The story that you tell is important because the picture that you resume conveys on paper will form the initial impression on the HR Manager who has the power to move your resume forward.

• Your Skills 

This is the part where you should be most specific. Tell the employer everything they need to know. Write down your soft and hard skills. You must also describe what responsibilities were assigned to you at your previous job and how you performed them (and provide actionable and quantitative results). How you solved different problems or how you helped them in achieving a goal.

• Resume Keywords

If you want your resume to be noticed by the employer you must use the right keywords that match the job description. The keywords you use must be according to the requirements for the job. You should describe skills, experience, and knowledge you have which match the job description concisely within your resume (without copying the job description word for word). 

• Interest in the Job

Your resume must reflect your interest in the job. You shouldn’t give the impression that you want to get this job just for a better status or money. A great way to accomplish this is by researching the company before applying and ensure that you include some of the key elements of their mission into your resume. Show your interest in the organization, while also demonstrating that you highly-motivated go-getter who can manage and motivate a team as well.

We understand that writing the perfect resume to catch the eye of the HR Manager and pass their initial scan can be difficult, but here are a few of our resume tips which can help you in impressing the employers:

• Use the right keywords
• Include only the relevant information
• Use the standard font and format
• Use appropriate line spacing and margins 
• Proofread your resume

Writing a resume that hiring managers would notice is not easy and requires a lot of time and hard work, but it’s worth it. You need to understand that their job is to hire the right person and they could only that by assessing resumes. Take heed of the following tips and you’ll be able to pass the initial scan and land the high paying six-figure job of your dreams.