How to get your resume to be viewed more often

Often dozens or even hundreds of applications come to a vacancy. The HR specialist simply does not have time to read everything. Websites for job search allow you to view the list of resumes sent without opening, and find out the most important things: competencies, the last place of employment, salary expectations. If the document arrived in the mail, the employee should be interested enough to click on it.

So it’s important to work not only on the content of the resume, but also on getting it open to begin with.

1. Adapt the title of the resume to the vacancy

Let's say you just quit your job as a PR manager, but you agree to any job that seems similar to you. And so you send your resume for the vacancies of a journalist, copywriter, SMM specialist, content manager and head of the advertising department. But you still have PR manager in your title.

With a high degree of probability, your resume will be ignored, because the recruiter has a lot of relevant responses. Although, if you spent a minute editing the title, you would be in the sample.

I have repeatedly received a resume of office managers for the position of commercial director (nothing like a career jump, right?). One day a "cloud disperser" flew to the position of sales manager.

Inna Kruntyaeva Head of HR Department at Dzotov Partners Group

Don't be lazy to redo your resume. Job sites allow you to duplicate documents and edit each one individually. This is a great way to personalize your vacancies.

2. Add a photo

Imagine yourself in the place of an HR-specialist: you are looking at the table from the “headings” of the resume, some have photos, others do not. Where will your gaze linger? Of course, in the pictures.

Adding a photo is a great way to grab attention. She humanizes the letters and numbers from the document and helps to win over even at this stage. But it's important that the image portrays you as a professional. That is, no pictures from the beach, selfies, sketches from family life. However, a passport photo is also not the best option. It's boring and the units look attractive in this format.

A lively portrait photo in a business style is what you need.

3. Assess salary expectations adequately

This line is important for HR professionals. If the company's capabilities match your desires, this is an additional plus. Job seekers who want a lot more are not suitable: if the employer is not willing to pay that much, why look at a resume? And when salary expectations are significantly higher than the average salary in the market, this raises even more questions.

Often we see an amount 2–3 times higher than the upper bar for the market, and it becomes interesting what kind of a specialist of the level of God is there. Set realistic expectations. And then it all depends on whether you are worth the declared money or not.

Ekaterina Dementyeva HR Director, New Cloud Technologies

4. List Key Skills

There is such a field on many job search sites, and it is very important. First, the site's algorithms recommend vacancies to you based on key skills. Second, they help the HR specialist quickly determine if you are suitable for the position or not at all. So think about what your most important competencies are. Chur stress resistance and sociability not to offer - this is already tired of everyone.

5. Read the job description carefully

Often, HR specialists hide tasks for attentiveness and performance checks there. For example, they suggest starting a letter with certain words. Even if your resume is great, preference will be given to those who have found the strength to cope with the assignment.

If I see a response without completing such a task, it says that the applicant is either inattentive, or deliberately ignored it - perhaps, he considers himself superior and "condescended" to the company with his response.

Inna Kruntyaeva

6. Add a cover letter

Here, expert opinions differ. When it comes to job search sites and line positions, it is quite possible to do without a cover letter, unless otherwise stated in the job description. Most likely, there will be so many responses that HR staff will not have time to read additional materials.

A fairly common question: do HR professionals read the cover letter, does it attract attention at the start? Probably not. If the recruiter is interested in the resume, he will definitely study everything that you have provided in addition to the CV.

Ekaterina Dementieva

But if you're sending your resume directly as a separate document, a personalized cover letter can be an incentive to get it open. Ideally, you should write it on the basis of the vacancy - to convey that exactly you fit the requirements of the company. But be laconic, do not delve into the jungle and avoid stereotyped, faceless wording.

Write with a capital letter when necessary, put periods, do not abbreviate words. "Nr" instead of "for example" will not save time, but it will cause bewilderment among the employer. Check your name and signature in your mail settings. Write in your own words: imagine that another 20 responses will come to the vacancy of your dreams with the same wording. Turn off the copy-paste robot.

Veronika Ilyina HR-expert of Yandex. Practicum

7. Make the document readable

If you are sending your resume as a separate file, make sure that it opens on the recipient's computer without distortion. The PDF format is best suited for this: formatting will not float, and there are reading programs on almost any office computer.

8. Use alternative ways of finding a job

Referral employment still works great. Maybe they will not start opening your resume more often, but every view will be in the eye, the document will be read.

It is equally important to respond promptly. If an HR specialist has already selected a stack of his favorite resumes from the first comers, there is a great risk that he will no longer look at the rest. So don't just rely on job sites.

Make friends with HR of companies of interest to you on social networks, monitor vacancies on career sites and Telegram channels, and send your resume directly to the specified contacts. Being proactive increases your chances of getting your dream job.

Ekaterina Kovalevskaya HR-business partner of the educational portal GeekBrains