Why Recruiters Ignore Your Resume
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A recruiter has asked you to submit your resume for a search assignment they are trying to fill. Then silence. You may think your resume landed in the black hole, but actually, these factors may have negatively influenced the recruiter.





1. You don’t have a gmail email address. Executives are thought of as movers and shakers, people with forward thinking. Those are the types of executives that recruiters are looking for. An AOL or Hotmail address does not shout “technically savvy and up-to-date.” Even if you create a gmail account and use it just for job search you will be better off. Exception to a gmail email address: if you have your own custom URL (domain name), and in that case use the email address associated with it. Both of these email addresses tell the recruiter, without saying a word that you are keeping up with technology.



2. You can’t be found on Google. Every job seeker today including Executives should know that having a presence on Google is important. Social media makes it easy to build an online reputation, and if you have done the basics (created a LinkedIn profile, personal web page, and Twitter too!), you should appear in Google. Of course if you want to show up on page one when a recruiter searches your name, you have to be more engaged in social media by posting your status on LinkedIn, being involved in LinkedIn Groups, and tweeting helpful information (example: Just read a great article from Wall Street Journal on the changes in board of directors. www.WSJ.com/linktoarticle). Make a diligent effort to get your name on page one of Google because most recruiters don’t search past page two initially (unless they are looking for anything negative that may be found).





3. You don’t have a LinkedIn photo. Recruiters will pass on you if you don’t have a photo on LinkedIn. People are more willing to engage with you if you show them who you are in your photo. That doesn’t mean posting a picture of you in your neighborhood rock band or decked out in a Hawaiian shirt on vacation. The photo should be a professional headshot. No selfies please.




4. You don’t have numbers to validate your accomplishments. Recruiters understand that some companies do not want employees to share proprietary information that could tip off their competition or maybe even impact the stock market. But they do expect to see some quantifiable metrics that support items in your resume. Even if you write, “Dramatically improved sales 45% during a downturn in the market” shows a level of measurement without giving away company secrets.




5. Your resume has errors. It doesn’t matter if it is a spelling error or an incorrect word (thanks to auto correcting manager can change to manger); whatever the error, it screams to the recruiter that you didn’t pay enough attention to ensure your resume is error-free. They think that if you are careless with your resume, where else might that characteristic show up in work?



These few resume strategies will help you overcome getting yourself screened out before you have had a chance to show the recruiter that you are the best person for the position.