How Recruiters Read Resumes In 10 Seconds or Less by Brad Remillard

This great post is a reprint from http://www.impacthiringsolutions.com, an Executive Recruiting firm that offers Executive Job Search Coaching and Networking Strategy Development.

The 10 or 20 seconds it takes to read a resume seems to always generate a lot of controversy. Candidates comment on how disrespectful it is, how one can’t possibly read a resume in that time and some get angry at recruiters when we talk about this. I hope this article will help everyone understand how we do this. I realize that some still may not like it and will still be angry, but at least you can understand how it works.
First, let me say I’ve been a recruiter for 30 years.  I’m sure I have reviewed over 500,000 resumes. I can’t prove this but I’m reasonably confident that this is the case, as this is only an average of about 46 a day. I know many days I have reviewed hundreds of resumes and most in less than 20 seconds. I would say the average is probably around 5 to 7 seconds.
So for the record when you hear or read about, “reading a resume in 20 seconds,” that isn’t completely true. It is more than likely, “reviewed the resume in 20 seconds.”
Here is my process for getting through 100′s of resumes in a short period of time. Others may have different ways and I welcome your comments.
I set up a hierarchy of certain “must haves” or you’re out, so at first I’m really just box checking. Generally, 80% of the time these are my knock out blows. There are exceptions to each of these, but I’m dealing with the 80/20 rule. These are not cumulative times.  This is box checking, if I see any one of these as I scan your resume you will be excluded.
1. Location. If the client is in Los Angeles, CA and you aren’t – goodbye. Few if any clients want to relocate anyone in this economy, and I believe most shouldn’t have to. Especially in a huge metropolitan area like Los Angeles. If they do have to consider relocation the position has to require some very unique experience that few jobs do. I can do this in about 1 second.
2. Industry. If my client is in banking and your background is primarily manufacturing – goodbye.  These two often are so different that the client isn’t open to considering such different industries. This works both ways, if you have a manufacturing background I’m not going to consider someone with banking. 2-3  seconds to determine this.
3. Function. If I’m doing a sales search and your background isn’t sales – goodbye. Generally companies are paying recruiters to find them a perfect fit. We never do find a perfect fit, but we have to be very close. They don’t need a recruiter to find them someone in a completely different function. 2 seconds to figure this one out.
4. Level. If I’m doing a VP level search and your title is “manager” and you have never been a VP – goodbye. There are exceptions to this, but again it is the 80/20 rule. Again, clients pay me to find them the perfect fit. It is generally way too big of a jump from manager level to VP level, all other things being equal. It works the other way too. If  I’m looking for a manager and you are a VP – goodbye. I know you are qualified to do a manager level role, but it is clear you have grown past. Most clients and recruiters aren’t willing to take the chance that when a VP level position comes along that you won’t be gone. Less than 5 seconds to figure out.
5. Recent Experience. There is some overlap on this one. If I’m searching for someone with international sales experience in the aerospace industry and the last time you held an international sales position in this industry was 20 years ago and since then you have been in retail – goodbye.  I can find people with more relevant experience and that is what my client expects me to do. 5 seconds to do this.
6. Education Like it or not, I will only work with people that have a college education and most of the time a master’s degree. This is mainly because, as I indicated before, I need to find the very best for my clients. I realize an education doesn’t mean by itself that the candidate is the best, but it is one qualifier of many. Also all of my clients require at least a BA.
7. Turnover. If you have had 6 jobs in the last 4 years, or have a track record of high turnover – goodbye. I realize there are good reasons for turnover and that falls into the 20% of the 80/20 rule. I can’t define high turnover, but I know it when I see it. 3 – 5 seconds.
8. Functional resume. I don’t read them. It is obvious when one has a functional resume they are trying to hide something and I’m rarely going to take the time to attempt to figure it out. 1 second.
9. Obvious things such as, spelling errors, poor format, errors in grammar, too long, verbose and rambling. If after reading it I still can’t figure out what you do, goodbye. 5 – 10 seconds
After all this, 80 – 100% have been eliminated. If there are any left, then I will take the time to actually read them in detail.
If this was helpful to you, please pass it along to help others in  your network. Consider adding it to your status on LinkedIn, posting on Twitter, or emailing the link to your network. Please help others if this helped you.


Brad Remillard, an executive recruiter with over 25 years of experience, has conducted over 50,000 interviews and been involved in more than 1,000 executive searches. A CPA and graduate of California State University, Fullerton, Brad previously served as President of CJA Executive Search, which was recognized as one of the top search firms in Southern California. Brad has conducted nationwide searches ranging from Fortune 500 executive vacancies to entrepreneurial companies. His search expertise includes General Management (CEO, COO, GM), Sales and Marketing, Manufacturing and Operations, Accounting, Finance, Human Resources, and Information Systems. Brad Remillard and Barry Deutsch are founding partners of IMPACT Hiring Solutions. 1-866-730-SOAR.
This was reposted with permission of IMPACT Hiring Solutions.

Size Does Matter: Dream Big!

Monday Morning Pep Talk!

How much longer do you want to perform the work you do today? Even if you are in job search mode are you searching for your dream job or are you looking for work?

There is no right answer because each reponse is as individual as our fingerprint. Financial obligations, family responsibilities and priorities change throughout our lives and impact how much we are willing to indulge in career dreams. In the process of doing what we do for a living don’t neglect to do what it takes to fulfill your life. According to the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation, in 2013 the average life expectancy for a woman in the United States is 81 years and the average life expectancy for a man is shorter at 76 years, so plan accordingly because time is running out.

Here are five questions for your consideration:

(1)  What career/work would make you excited to wake up on Mondays?

(2)  Can you turn your passion into something you can make a living doing?

(3)  Who can you talk to and move your career dream closer to reality?

(4)  Can you learn more about or pursue your field of interest part-time or online?

(5)  What one step can you take this week to push your dream closer to reality?

I provide these five thought-starter questions because at the end of this week---the same 7 days, 168 hours and 10,080 minutes will pass for all of us. Your career dream will remain just that without you initiating some action.

Don’t kick yourself if you just can’t make a move yet and you feel stuck. There may be a host of complex reasons. Maybe you feel like you don’t deserve to pursue your passion. Some of us are more comfortable in a pain that is familiar than stepping out into an unknown that is more fulfilling. I can recommend a popular older book you might consider checking out of the library, downloading or listening to on audible.com.

Your Own Worst Enemy: Breaking the Habit of Adult Underachievement by Ken Christian.

Personally, I’ve found it is often better to explore career fulfillment in baby steps than throwing everything overboard and starting fresh. When I left corporate America in 2001 as a single mother to become an entrepreneur, I developed a few clients while I still had a full-time job and income. After four years, I found my way back to corporate life in a different profession. However, I’ve known others who suddenly quit their jobs or invested severance packages into a franchise or starting a businesses and become very successful long and short-term.

If you are ready to get off the sidelines of wondering or wishing—“can I make a living doing something I love” and you want to “get in the game” with your dream, then do one thing to push your career dream forward this week. Maybe you make an appointment to discuss your idea with someone if you are taking a few vacation days next week for the 4^th of July holiday in the U.S. If you need an accountability partner, tell someone what you plan to do or post it on your Facebook page. Take that first step toward getting unstuck. I have one last question for you. If not now, when?

Make it a great week!

A Career Lesson from the Media Industry

John H. White lost his job last week. A lot of experienced people lose their jobs every week. I don’t even know John H. White personally, yet, hearing his story made me think about why I began career blogging. White is a Pulitzer prize-winning photographer formerly with the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper for forty-four years. In about twenty seconds management announced the photography department and staff were being_____________ (fill in the blank from one of the words below) walked out and turned the stunned staff of twenty-eight over to human resources to answer questions.

laid-off            furloughed       fired   
reorganized     re-deployed     let go  
realigned     optimized        terminated 
right-sized   re-engineered canned                 

It is the end of an era, and something more of us should think about as we manage our careers. The newspaper's management plans to have their reporters shoot photographs with iPhones. The rapid deployment of technology, the rise of the Internet and the dominance of social media can make many professions obsolete. How many more bank tellers were employed before ATM machines popped up everywhere? When was the last time you visited a full-service travel agency in a brick-and-mortar building? The Bureau of Labor Statistics has bad news for other media workers including newspaper reporters, radio disc jockeys and photojournalists, your jobs are in decline. Consumers are accessing media on their smartphones, online and in other digital formats. After 80 years, Newsweek ended publication of the print magazine and moved to an online-only format.

The same advice guidance counselors give students bound for college is important for experienced workers who are thinking career reinvention. Focus on the STEM professions:

Science           Technology               Engineering                Math

Focusing on careers that have historically been “high touch” is not even a 100% safe bet. I remember when teachers taught children in person in a classroom, complete with desks and those uncomfortable little chairs attached.  Now, students may take classes online from elementary school through a doctoral program. Companies are looking for teachers with experience in Blackboard (and I’m not talking about the one with chalk and erasers). Maybe we will not go back to school to major in civil engineering, however, keeping up with basic technology is within everyone’s grasp. Mastering the components of social media is available in a Saturday non-credit university extension course. There are online tutorials, seminars, and certificate programs at community colleges, short courses through university extension programs or opportunities to expand their talents through volunteering. Every day experienced workers need to think about how keep their skills current and what would be helpful to learn.

Let’s face it with advances in technology, work is being commoditized. With digital tools, customers can utilize self-service from a mobile device or online and the person who answers the phone if there is a question or problem can be 10,000 miles away. Experienced workers, it is important to be open to reinvention and figuring out how you can take the skills you have and think about transferring them to other jobs or industries.

John H. White is probably going to be okay. I read the 68-year-old photojournalist has a philosophy of faith, focus and flight. His Wikipedia biography quotes him as saying, "I'm faithful to my purpose, my mission, my assignment, my work, my dreams. I stay focused on what I'm doing and what's important. And I keep in flight—I spread my wings and do it.” The Sun-Times Media Group should be so fortunate.

3 Secrets to Finding Work Over 40

If you have not looked for a job since you entered your forties, get ready for a rude awakening! You may feel young, you may look young and you may consider yourself hip with your arsenal of cool tech gadgets. However, in the eyes of those that hire----the 40+ crowd is so yesterday. And if you are in your 50s and 60s, recruiters scrutinize you with the squinty-eyed analysis reserved for police detectives interviewing a homicide suspect. Who is being heavily recruited right now? Older Millennials and the GenX contingent born in the mid-1970s are highly sought after groups. The recruiters are calling them; they are not responding to online recruitment ads or editing their profiles on Linkedin. If you’re not keeping up with the generational definitions-here is a handy cheat sheet:

Generation Name	Birth Years	Current Age Range	What You Need to Know
Millennials	1980-2000	33-13 years old	Grew up on Tech—Entry Level Corporate Recruiters
Generation X	1961- 1980	52-33 years old	Currently in Middle Management waiting to have their moment
Baby Boomers	1943-1960	70-53 years old	Age of many CEOs, Sr. VPs & Policy-makers; Struggling to stay relevant

Unless you dislike your job, most people today do not imagine leaving work at age 60 or 65 to become full-time babysitters to their grandchildren, zip around in a golf cart or plan their next cruise. You know why? At 60 and 65, many workers today are still feeling good; enjoy socializing with others and having a sense of purpose. So how does that person over 40, 50 or 60 find work? I think there are three strategies you should employ to keep your career fresh while others wilt on the vine.

#1: Cultivate a Winning Attitude--No company is going to hire a victim. No company is going to knowingly hire a bitter whiner with a chip on their shoulder. Companies are looking for winners who can help their business grow in these uncertain economic times. If your confidence is in the tank, it is on you to figure out what you need to do to give yourself a boost. At age 40+ the time for negative self-talk has long past, because there are enough people who can find something unflattering to say on your behalf. I am not saying you need to become arrogant, haughty or hard to deal with—Divas Need Not Apply.  Understand and be able to communicate your strengths and explain how hiring you will benefit the organization.

#2: Be an Expert at Something--The world is filled with people with general skills.  Stand out from the crowd by being able to prove you have something—a skill, a talent, a degree, a track record, a certification, a designation, an award—that others don’t necessarily have. I recently met a woman at 50+ newly unemployed through a company lay-off. She has a great resume filled with good companies that have had mass lay-offs that everyone is aware of and a strong background in telecom. She’s a project manager and has her PMP (Project Management Professional) certification. I told her with confidence that while job-hunting in her 50s will not be a walk in the park, her PMP designation will serve her well. If you are a human resources professional take the time to earn your CCP, CBP, CEBS, PHR or SPHR. If you are in health information management earn your RHIT, RHIA, or CCP® (Certified Professional Coder®). If your field doesn’t have designations, then become viewed as an expert by publishing in journals or doing public speaking.

#3: Know and Be Known--It doesn’t matter if you have 500+ connections on LinkedIn if you raided them from someone else. Those people don’t know you. It is especially true as you become a more experienced worker—relationships matter. I have a 40+year-old friend who counts several influential CEOs as close friends. He is in the job market again and doesn’t have to go through HR or gatekeepers to speak to these business leaders. He can leverage these relationships for introductions, a job, and temporary consulting work while he strategizes his next career move. One of them might provide the investment for a business opportunity. Maybe you don’t know any CEOs—you need to know somebody who can help smooth the path for you if you suddenly lost your job. My advice is to create your list of the ten people you would call within 48 hours of a job loss. Tend to those relationships beforehand whether it is sending a birthday card, endorsing them on LinkedIn, forwarding an article you know they would be interested in or meeting for lunch twice a year. Don’t be the type of networker who only shows up when you need something.

It is a challenge, and yet not impossible to find a great job when you have more years of work in your past than you do in your future. It is not a strategy, but it also takes a little luck to connect with that company willing to look past your birth year toward what you can contribute or the hiring manager who sees your experience as strength. You may get a lot of “No” responses; remember it just takes one “Yes”.

Welcome to the Sandwich Generation!

MONDAY MORNING PEP TALK

When the hour I spent with my tax preparer marked the highlight of my week, it showed what a rough seven days had passed. From a four-hour business trip that morphed into a twenty-two hour travel odyssey and enough family drama to quiet the Kardashians; this is my tribute to the Sandwich Generation.

You probably fit in this category too. According to the Pew Research Center over 1 in 8 Americans aged 40-60 is caring for a parent and responsible for a child (of any age). An additional 7-10 million adults care for their aging parents from long distance. Make the picture more complex by looking for work (a stressor unto itself), being under-employed (almost worse) or having a full-time job. I’m sure you have felt the squeeze. Everyone has their own way of dealing with the sandwich, and that is one of the benefits of getting older. You have experience—muscle memory of what you did before that succeeded.

I remember the first time the pipes froze and burst while I was away on a business trip. It was January 1994 and it seemed like one of those my-head-is-going-to-explode moments. My then 2 ½-year-old had a bad cold and could not go to day care; a major proposal needed me in the office to negotiate internally with business unit marketing, sales and finance on where to position our initial offer. As I opened the door from the garage to the house with luggage and snotty-nosed toddler in hand, water was everywhere! Without a lot of experience, I began to cry. Out of sympathy, I guess, my son began to wail uncontrollably expelling yellow phlegm all over his coat. I shut the door, left the luggage in the garage, hopped in the car and drove ten miles to visit an older wiser friend and mother of six children to get help and advice.

I share this personal moment with you because nineteen years later, I’ve evolved into that older wiser woman (without the six kids) that others come to visit for help and encouragement. Many pipes have burst in my life and I’m sure you relate as well. The sandwich generation knows when we are tested at work or at home; our true nature comes to the surface. The essence of who we are really begins to shine and the years of experience we have in life begins to trump what we think we’ve lost in getting older.

Create a great week! I know you can do it.

Why Performance Appraisals Happen in Winter

2013 produced a tough winter both from a weather perspective and personally. Indianapolis’ Chamber of Commerce did not order “Super Bowl weather” since we didn’t host this year and it was windy, icy, cold and snowy for more months than usual.  Enduring an atypical winter, always begs the question about relocating to Indianapolis from Scottsdale. What was I thinking?

On a personal note, two close friends and an acquaintance died in February. For most people this would immediately create somber thoughts about mortality and your personal legacy. My thoughts turned to more first world crisis (in no particular order).

·         If I buy Tumi luggage at an outlet or on eBay instead of taking advantage of the March in-store sale, would the Tumi store still monogram my pieces?

·         My friends in California successfully lost their meno-pot belly flab with TRX Suspension Training. Is a flat belly over 50 possible for everyone? Since I found suspension training in Indy; should I drive further than my gym and pay more money to try?  

·         Can I use my blog to score a press pass for the next Ted Talk?

I’m not proud that my thoughts are often not deep or profound, and in the spirit of full transparency none of these brands pay me to mention them on this post or anywhere on this site. Just as I was sighing the Tumi sale was the only way to guarantee authentic merchandise; my friend Jane* called in tears. (Her name is changed, but she knows who she is and I know she’s reading)

Jane had her first performance appraisal from a new boss who joined their company in November. His appraisal of her work was scathing; it was the lowest rating she received in years and in this fragile recovering economy, 52-year-old Jane was afraid of losing her job. Her merit increase was an insignificant 1.8%. Jane also reminded me that I have not written a blog post in over a month, missed commenting on the Yahoo working from home brouhaha; Sheryl Sandberg’s new book, Lean In or issuing my annual rant about the Best Places to Work list in Fortune. Apologies to all.

Performance appraisal time is a stressful for managers and employees. In the best situations; your PA should not be a surprise. If you and your boss are touching base quarterly on your performance vs. their expectations—the year-end appraisal is basically a recap. Generally, if the former manager is currently with the organization, they will write the appraisal and the new manager may write comments about what (s) he has observed. This is particularly true when the new boss only spent six weeks in the period they are appraising. In Jane’s case her former manager was demoted and moved to a new department when new leadership took over in spring 2012. The new boss is someone new management brought in from their former company. Jane was so visibly upset at the review she asked her new boss for time to review the appraisal at home and create a response before she signed it.

I’ll share my thoughts and advice to Jane over the telephone and look forward to your comments about performance appraisals and how you handle them.

#1: Recognize that the performance appraisal is just one more sign, your workplace is changing. New senior management, new mid-level managers with different expectations, your former boss shoved into a broom closet without any direct reports. The critical questions become:

(a) can anything you do be valued or is the new manager there to “clean house”?

(b) do you want to stay with the company or are you ready to move on?

(c) how will you manage/survive this situation until you can get on the same page as the new boss,  transfer to a new department or find a new job if you choose to leave?

#2: You must sign the performance appraisal. Not signing the appraisal in many organizations is viewed as insubordination. Your signature is acknowledgement that you reviewed it with your supervisor NOT that you agree.

#3: Getting visibly emotional over the PA and asking to bring it home was probably not the best reaction Jane could have made and there is no “do-over” now. I suggested she salvage the situation by writing an objective, upbeat comment including her interest in collaborating more closely to insure her performance and his expectations are more closely aligned in the future and that she plans to meet with him quarterly to discuss her progress.

Performance appraisals have been part of my corporate life for 36 years, and it is one of the few areas of the work experience has not benefited from innovation. From giving PAs, receiving them, listening to employees rant about them, reading about PAs in HR exit surveys; watching PowerPoints from $200 p/hour consultants presenting their firm’s  solutions to connect performance management with business results and trying to make them better as an HR consultant; there are few areas in HR less contentious, except executive compensation.

My bottom line about performance appraisal and performance management is trust. To have an effective conversation about your perception of someone else’s performance or their understanding of what it is expected of them does not happen for an hour or ninety minutes once a year. You build trust with the people you work with and the people you work for every day. As a leader you give honest feedback, have tough conversations and just as important, you listen to employees. 

The Early Retirement Myth, Part Two

Early feedback from part one of this series was clear, retiring early is a myth of youth. The more years we work either as an employee or an entrepreneur, adults realize retiring at forty or fifty-five years-old is an illusion. An e-mail I received this week summed up the myth, it read:

“...if you have the smarts, passion, energy and focus

to achieve the financial resources needed to retire at 45 or 55

and live another forty years; you are by definition a driven person.

The same goal-oriented, successful individual is not going to be

satisfied with what you term a “3-G” retirement...”

Many times “early retirement” is a euphemism for trading in an unsatisfying job or career for work that is more meaningful and rewarding. It is not about ending employment to spend forty years on the beach relaxing; it is about reinventing yourself and discovering happiness in the second half of your life. Life after fifty looks different for everyone and the options are endless. You can continue to work if you like your job and the company values the expertise of mature employees. There are more options to work from home as technology improves or to have a flexible work schedule if you must go into an employer’s building. All of these changes make it easier to continue working into your 60s and 70s if you choose.

Over the years, I began to view the retirement life stage more  holistically including health, financial well-being, satisfying relationships, meaningful activities whether they are paid or unpaid, physical activity and spirituality. As the global economy sputters towards recovery, the financial impact of retiring early cannot be ignored. According to the Census Bureau in 2010 nine percent of U. S. senior citizens lived in poverty. A global income study, Elder Poverty in an Ageing World, by a team of researchers (Smeedling et. al) was published in 2008. In their study, the United States had 25% of seniors over age 65 in poverty leading Australia, United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Sweden and Canada with 6 percent based on 2000 data.

I know many workers experienced forced “early retirement” through a lay-off, company shut-down and unexpectedly being terminated from employment in their 40s and 50s. “The element of surprise is the worse feeling,” according to one 50+ blog reader that emailed me about their small town plant closing last summer. The human resources professional did not see it coming. New owners acquired the manufacturing plant two years ago and assured the senior management team their operation was performing satisfactorily two weeks before filing the WARN Act (impending plant closing) paperwork. Recently I received an e-mail through LinkedIn. The 54-year-old former HR Director found work at a higher salary after a four month job search, lots of networking and earning certification in her HR specialty. In the past few months, more experienced workers are finding good jobs again. One blog reader recently purchased a franchise after reading the post in July, performing their research and contacting Jim Gleason.

http://workinglater.blogspot.com/2012/07/buying-franchise-is-it-right-for-you.html

Maybe early retirement is an oxymoron. What is your plan for your life after work? Retiring early? Share your views in the comments section anonymously if you prefer.  I'm interested in hearing from you.

 You have 168 hours, make it a great week!