You just saw a great vacancy advertisement. It was just the right job for you. You have the skills, experience, the qualification. You send in your application. Days, and then weeks go by but you dont get any revert from the company. You wonder … Did they see your application? Is the vacancy still open? Why didnt they call me?

I have been in the recruitment industry for 14 years and let me answer those questions for you by letting you in on the ‘behind the scenes’ facts. Its actually really simple.

Firstly, if the job was advertised, it is obviously open. Secondly, did they see your application? YES they did. Thirdly, why didnt they shortlist my application? Because you were not the right fit. But you will argue..but I am. Sorry, but, your resume didnt show that.

You know, for each vacancy a typical recruiter get hundreds of applications but only few make through. A typical recruiter will give your resume only a few seconds to decide whether you are a fit or not. Dont make the mistake of undermining the importance of your resume. Its your first step and a very important step to getting the job you desire.

GET ALL NECESSARY DETAILS: First things first. Does your resume have all the important details, namely-. Name, email, address, phone number, qualification, current and previous employers, current and previous designation, start and end dates of each emplyment. All the mentioned details are important and you shouldnt miss any. If you resume misses some key details a recruiter may call you for clarity, but honestly if that recruiter has hundreds of resumes to check, he will prefer to move on to the next candidate. Attention to details is reflective of your character as a future employee. Many a times I have heard HR managers say- if he cant remember basic details and doesnt even care to present a good resume, we dont want that guy on our team.

CLARITY: Belive me I have come across resumes where I have struggled to find out the candidates contact details and email id or phone number and then found them mentioned in the footer of the resume! I have come across resumes where I have struggled to find out where does the candidate actually work? I have looked up and down and up again. Key skills are mentioned, role is mentioned , project names are menioned but the names of the employers, the duration he worked in each company is menioned either at the end or obscurely hidden in between paragraphs of text. It irritates me when I need to look through several time to find those critical details. Already this candidate has wasted my time. Also it also creates the impression that the candidate is trying to hide something, so he is not mentioning certain details with clarity.

TOO MUCH INFORMATION: A good resume to me is ideally of not more than 2 pages. I have resumes that go on for pages and pages. Candidates think by mentioning all my skills, all my achivements, all the details, there will be something that the recruiter will find in it in order to hire me. The more I write, the more I lenghten my list, the more skillful I look. More often than not, the candidates turn out the eaxct opposite when they face the interview. I had once got the feedback from the panel who interviewed a candidate whose resume went on for 7 pages- He is mad! the interviewer had commented.  

TOO LITTLE INFORMATION: Yes, there are some candidates who provide too less informaton. Usually it is the over confident candidates who do this. They think just be looking at a few key elements in their resume- that is the great company they worked in, or the certifications they have got, or the college they studied in, the employer will just grab him. Those credentials are important to create that positive image but the lack of furthur details will do just the opposite. 

DO NOT LIE : It doesn’t make sense to lie about anything on your resume, because sooner or later the interviewer WILL find out. They have very thorough methods to do that. HR managers have told me several times, if there is a problem and the candidate comes forward and tells it to the hiring manager they may be able to handlt it. If they find out later during the reference and third party checks it’s too late because the lie in this stage has got documented. The matter is escalated and becomes an integrity issue which is serious matter. No matter how talented you are the company will not be able to take you in