6 seconds. That’s the average amount of time that your resume is reviewed at the initial screening.
That doesn’t feel very long. Because it isn’t. You can take a sip of coffee that lasts longer.
In this video, I’m going to show you how to make sure you’re giving recruiters and talent acquisition folks the goods, in a good way, in order to maximize these 6 seconds.
A few words on the 6 second scan:
6 second sounds SO short. And it is, for people who don’t read resumes for a living.
But you know how you can go to the mechanic and say “yeah, my car is making this sound like thunk, thunk, thunk” and they can quickly diagnose with “ah yes, it’s the flux capacitor,” it’s because they know what they’re looking for.
And recruiters and talent acquisition professionals KNOW what they’re looking for. They’re bringing years of experience to the table, a deep knowledge and understanding of what their business partners need in the role that they’re hiring for, and much much more.
Your job is to give it to them what they’re looking for.
In this video, we’re going to cover the S-method to help guide your approach to writing your resume. And we’re going to use Kevin Malone’s philosophies for life and work to help us learn.
Stack Up To Requirements
“I just want to lay on the beach and eat hotdogs.”
Bottom line, Kevin just wants to eat hotdogs on the beach. You need to bottom line your resume for the reader.
This means, you need to show them how you stack up to, and fulfill, the requirements that have been indicated in the job posting.
This doesn’t mean jamming a bunch of keywords in.
This means demonstrating qualifications through ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
Recruiters and talent acquisitions professionals want to see how you already did the work they need you to do.
I break down exactly how to write your accomplishments, quantifiable or non-quantifiable, in Darryl’s video.
Simplicity
“Oceans. Fish. Jump. China.” Kevin’s onto something.
While we have no idea what Kevin is really talking about, we do want to use clear, simple, direct language when writing our resumes.
This helps the reader get important information fast.
So what does this type of language look like?
Action-oriented verbs.
Leading with results.
Concise context.
This is particularly important when writing accomplishments which are often in bullet form. We want to aim for no more than 2 lines a bullet. Because more than that is VERY difficult to read fast.
Streamlined Structure
“No it’s not Ashton Kutcher, it’s Kevin Malone. Equally handsome. Equally smart.”
Kevin knows how to package, himself, and that’s also what we need to do with our resume. We need a streamlined resume structure which will make it that much easier for the reader to get the information that they need, fast.
So we don’t want a fancy resume. We want an intuitive structure that is easy to ready. To see how to build and format these types of resumes, check out my training videos on resume formatting.
Solution-Focused
“I wanted to eat a pig in a blanket…in a blanket.”
Kevin had a problem, and he found the solution for it.
When we get down to it, organizations hire people to solve their problems.
You need to have a good understanding of what that problem, or problems, are that you will solve in your target role.
And your resume needs to reflect that.
This is why accomplishments in your resume are so important. And that they follow the 5 R formula: reframed so that they are relevant, relate, reinforce desired and required skills and strengths, and resonate with the employer.
Secret Sauce
Kevin’s chili was famous for a unique reason. You need to make sure your uniqueness or secret sauce comes through in your resume.
You want to be perceived as a coworker that the hiring person might like to have.
Your personality comes through in the way you write, the way you describe yourself, and the way you describe your accomplishments. A resume might seem like a boring lifeless document, but really, you can, and should, let your secret sauce spill over in the words.
Just to sum up, the 6 second scan isn’t some arbitrary and aimless cursory scan by recruiters and talent acquisition professionals. Far from it. It’s a well-practiced, daily-executed review of your document, your marketing document, that is looking for very specific information.
Your job is to give them the information their looking for in an easy-to-read fashion.
Which S you going to implement right away? Which S or S’s did your resume already have? Tell me in the comments below!
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