Even recruiters need to remind ourselves of a few resume do's and don'ts when preparing our own resumes for recruiter jobs. It's like the old adage about the cobbler and his kids (his kids never have new shoes). Same thing can apply for recruiters. We're all so busy helping everyone else with their resumes, that when we need one for ourselves, we sometimes don't take the time needed to do it justice.

Let's take a look at some reminders for recruiters when building your own resumes:

1. Make it easy to read

We scan resumes for keywords, titles, company names and dates when we review resumes. When corporate internal recruiters, recruiting managers, branch managers and other hiring authorities in staffing firms and internal corporate recruiting departments are reviewing your resume for potential jobs in recruiting, they do the same thing. Help them find what they are looking for by using bold, spacing and line separation to highlight your company name, title, dates and any other important information you want them to see.

2. Practical over fancy

Remember, most hiring managers are in a rush, even those that are recruiters looking to hire for staffing jobs. So, do your resume reviewer a favor and use practical, detailed language to describe your experience. Resist the urge to overstate your role. If you are a recruiter for a regional staffing firm, for example, chances are that you didn't "Implement a strategic plan to maximize company profits." Strategy is usually left to senior leadership. More likely, you "Sourced, screened, and interviewed candidates to present to key clients."

3. Detail vs. fluff

As you review what you have written and you see a vague or generalized phrase like this: "In charge of strategic development of key client accounts that positively impacted office sales." Add some specific sales numbers to give your potential employers more to consider, like "Developed key accounts resulting in $500,000 in yearly gross margin, second highest sales numbers out of 6 account executives." More detail is better with regard to production numbers, activity numbers, etc.

4. How long should it be?

Generally, if you have 1-3 years of experience, one page will be sufficient. For 3 years of experience or more, it's acceptable to use 2-3 pages. If you find you are at 3 or 4 pages, go back and streamline some of your descriptions and see if you can "get to the meat" a little more efficiently to shorten it. 4 pages is generally overkill unless you have some project work you want to highlight. If so, consider adding an addendum that you might send as a separate Word Doc later - perhaps after an initial dialogue has been initiated from your main resume.

5. Cover letters - do you need one?

The hard reality is that you probably spent a lot more time writing a cover letter than any potential staffing or recruiting employer did reading it. It's generally a better use of your time to focus on making the resume stand out.

Emails addressed to hiring managers or internal recruiters that are catered to that specific role and company are more likely to be reviewed. It is advisable to make an initial email to a hiring manager succinct and to-the-point with a 2-3 paragraph targeted message - rather than trying to give them the entire history of your employment in one initial email.

You might also try writing a short template that can be used when the opportunity arises to reach out to a hiring manager. Cater it on the spot to each individual opportunity.

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If you are a recruiter or staffing professional and you are looking for recruiter jobs, staffing jobs, or other jobs in recruiting, with a staffing firm or corporate recruiting dept, check out Openreq.com.

http://www.openreq.com

Perrin Peacock
ppeacock@openreq.com
http://www.openreq.com
http://www.recruiter-talk.com
800-231-4172 ext 1