You’ve spent hours perfecting your resume. Tweaking your wording, selecting the right font, and trying to fit everything on one or two pages. But here’s the hard truth: recruiters often spend just 5–7 seconds scanning your resume before deciding whether to keep reading or move on.
So, what are they actually reading in those initial few seconds? And how do you get your resume seen?
Let’s get started.
1. Your Name, Job Title & Contact Info
Employers want to view your name and contact details before they look at your experience or qualifications. Glancing, they’ll scan:
-Your name (should be large and readable)
-A clear job title or headline that matches the role you’re applying for
-Updated contact details (phone number, professional email, and LinkedIn URL)
Pro tip: Skip the outdated “Objective” section. Use a short professional summary instead.
2. Your Formatting and First Impressions
The look and feel of your resume matter. In the first few seconds, recruiters decide whether your resume is:
Clean and professional, or cluttered and hard to read
Easy to glance over at a glance (imagine bullet points and plain headings)
Job-specific or generic copy
Pro tip: Use normal format, leave margins clear, and don’t get too cute with fonts and colors.
3. Your Most Recent Experience
Hiring managers will typically start by looking at your most recent employment. They’re looking for:
-Job titles that match the job they’re hiring for
-Company names that are nameable
-Employment dates that reflect continuous work history
-A brief snapshot of your successes or tasks
Tip: Begin each bullet point with an action word and emphasize outcomes, not activities.
4. Job Description Keywords
Yes, keywords do count — particularly if the resume goes through an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) before it ever sees human eyes. Recruiters are told to find these in a hurry.
Pro tip: Carefully read the job listing and naturally incorporate relevant keywords in your experience and summary sections.
5. Relevance Overall
Finally, recruiters are asking themselves one bottom-line question: Is this person worth looking into for this job?
They’re looking for:
-Relevance in industry
-Career development
-Skills or qualifications that are relevant to the job
Recruiters are human. But they’re usually glancing through dozens of resumes at once. Make it easy for them to say yes to yours.
✅ Keep it clean
✅ Make it relevant
✅ Hook them from the top
And keep in mind: you don’t need a showy resume. You need a strategic one.
Axcess can help you find and land your ideal job.
Contact us!
(844)-929-2340
info@axcesstms.com