Video:What to Look for in a Resume

Transcript:What to Look for in a Resume

Hi! This is Meghan Lynn Allen for About.com, and today we'll talk about what to look for in a resume.

Briefly Review a Resume

You should only spend 30-50 seconds assessing a resume before deciding whether or not to move on. In that first 30 seconds to 50 seconds, you want to look for a strong summary statement. You want to know what this employee is about right from the get-go without having to look beyond the first page, or having to read every bulleted item.

Resumes Must Should be Relevant to the Opening

Now you need to look a little deeper. You need to look at relevant skills and experience. You need to make sure that this candidate has the experience for the job opening you have presently. That includes any technical skills that they may need - that includes a degree, a certificate or a license that is very important. In fields like sales, you want to scan the resume for someone who has quantified results; perhaps they increased revenue, or met certain goals.

A good resume should be to the point. It should fit on one page, and it shouldn't say references available upon request. It should not have references attached. Employees should know that references are common policy when being hired for a job.

Look for a Proofread and Edited Resume

Next, keep an eye out for good writing skills, and good editing and proofreading. You want to make sure that this employee not only has the writing and editing skills, but they took the time, they gave respect to this job process on the resume, because they'll give that same respect to the job when you hire them. By looking at these basic resume details, you should start to get a picture of who this applicant is applying for this job.

You're not always only looking for what is on the resume, but what isn't on the resume. The resume should be professional and well-organized. It should not have personal statistics such as family or marriage information, photos, or political or religious affiliation. The resume also should not have any information that's not relevant to the job they're applying for. You want an applicant who took the time to craft a resume and cover letter tailored for your specific opening.

Thanks for watching. To learn more, visit us on the web at About.com.