The Recruiter's Soapbox

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The Importance Of A Stand Out Resume In An Online World

Recruitment Consultants in today’s market have a wealth of options available to gain an employer’s attention, not just their resume. From writing thought provoking blogs to networking a room; savvy recruiters are not short on methods to impress.

This being said, over the last few months I’ve lost track of the number of times I have been asked to interview and represent via a LinkedIn profile. In this day and age when everyone has LinkedIn, are resumes an outdated tool? A thing of the past? I would argue strongly, no.

Here are my reasons why if you are serious about securing the best opportunities, you should not forget about the good, old fashioned resume:

  • As a Recruitment Consultant, your online profile is written to make you visible/approachable to your target market. It is essentially an external marketing persona. It’s not written with the aim of securing you a job. It tells someone what you do, but it doesn’t tell them how you do it or whether you are succeeding. Your resume will correspond with your online profile in terms of your expertise and niche market knowledge, but a well written resume gives you the opportunity to brag.
  • A good recruitment resume will highlight key achievements. It’s your opportunity to present what you have done. The best sales resumes give clarity around role and responsibility but just as importantly, give you the opportunity to sing your accomplishments. I can assure you that this is what clients are looking for.
  • Can’t be bothered to spend an evening putting a resume together? Have a think about what message this sends. What does this say about your commitment to finding the right opportunity, or are you just looking for the easiest avenue?

It never ceases to surprise me, that for an industry of professionals who look at resumes day in and day out, recruiters seem to struggle to put together a strong resume for themselves.

As a quick guide, a good recruitment resume should as a minimum cover:

  • Achieved revenue against targets set. If applicable, numbers of contractors running and gross margin figures.
  • New business wins, ideally giving detail such as client industry sector or ideally specific client names.
  • Performance against KPI’s.
  • Promotions.
  • Awards, titles, competitions won, performance ranking in the business.

If you feel that your resume needs some work or indeed you are starting from scratch and don’t know where to begin, feel free to get in touch with one of the consultants at BMR who can provide you with a best practice framework.