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Talent Market is a nonprofit whose mission is to promote liberty by providing talent for critical roles within the free-market nonprofit sector

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Talent Tip #45: The Six Second Résumé

May 18, 2013

Today I want to spend a little time on one of my favorite topics. Shockingly, I’m not referring to college football or dating; I’m talking about résumés.

I often say that you have about eight seconds to prove you’re worth a hoot when someone is reviewing your résumé. Well, it turns out I was two seconds too generous.

A recent study by TheLadders suggests that recruiters spend only about six seconds on a résumé before making the initial yes/no decision. Yikes, right?

So, what you can do to ensure your résumé ends up in the “Yes” pile? Here are three tips.

1. Make it easy to find critical information. It’s a résumé, not a treasure map.  That means that key information should be easy to locate. Specifically, here are some of the things hiring managers care most about:

  • Name
  • Current title, employer, and position start/end dates
  • Previous title, employer, and position start/end dates
  • Education

Make sure this information is easy to find, read, and understand.

2. Avoid confusing the reader. If I need to call in a translator to figure out what in the dickens you’ve done for the last few years, you’re in trouble.

Case in point: I recently received a résumé that listed eight simultaneous roles with no explanation. Were these all part-time, contract positions? Was one of them full-time?  Was the candidate a vampire who didn’t require any sleep? I have no earthly idea because the résumé didn’t clarify.

3. Photographs, tables, and lively colors are great in your house – but not on your résumé.  As stunning as you are – and trust me, you are  – don’t include a photograph on your résumé. And leave the crazy colors for the designers on HGTV; keep your résumé in black and white.  Finally, since you aren’t Piet Mondrian, let’s avoid using tables, distracting boxes, and superfluous lines. Instead, use simple formatting – including bolding, italics, and white space – to organize your résumé. 

You can learn more about résumés here; more about cool treasure maps here, more about selecting paint colors here, more about Piet Mondrian here.

 

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About Us

Claire Kittle Dixon

Claire Kittle Dixon
Executive Director
Claire has more than a decade of experience in the talent development field. She…
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Katelynn Barbosa
Director of Talent Engagement
Katelynn started her career in the Koch Associate Program and then litigated at the Institute for Justice…
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Katy Gambella
Director of Outreach
Katy began her career at the Institute for Humane Studies and later joined the Cato Institute…
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Stephanie Keaveney
Outreach Manager
Stephanie’s career started at the James G. Martin Center for Academic Renewal…
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Lydia Ocampo
Outreach Specialist
Lydia started her career with Young Americans for Liberty. During her time with YAL…
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Wait, You’re a Nonprofit?

Talent Market is a nonprofit. We’ll wait here while that sinks in. We know it’s a crazy concept, but it’s been working like a charm since 2009.

Talent Market’s mission is to promote liberty by providing talent for critical roles within the free-market nonprofit sector.

We provide free consulting and recruiting services to free-market think tanks, policy organizations, research centers, and capacity building institutions dedicated to advancing the principles of limited government and free enterprise. (We do not work in politics, nor do we work with organizations that address social issues.) Talent Market believes that the road to prosperity is paved with freedom and that the success of our movement hinges on the talent that will take us there.

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