- At most companies, your resume gets a quick scan by one person who decides whether the hiring manager will see it. That scan lasts between 30 seconds and a minute, says Ed Nathanson, director of talent acquisition at Rapid7, a Boston data security start-up.
- If at all possible, find an employee at the target company to submit your resume, along with a personal recommendation. At Black Duck Software in Burlington, vice president of human resources Tammi Pirri says that 35 percent of the company’s hires in 2011 “came from our own networks and employee referrals. And we expect that to grow to 45 percent or 50 percent this year.’’
- E-mail, social media, or old-fashioned mail can get more attention than just submitting your resume through a website. “My favorite thing is when people seek us out, because I need people who are self-starters,’’ says Nicole Bernard Dawes, chief executive of Late July Organic Snacks in Barnstable. “If someone e-mails or sends me a LinkedIn message that says, ‘I love what you stand for, and I really want to come work there,’ that’s something I pay attention to.’’ Audrey Lampert, cultivator of talent and culture at Gemvara, a Boston start-up that sells jewelry online, says that on the rare occasion someone sends a paper resume. “It sits on my desk and I look at it for so long that I eventually call them.’’
- If your resume looks interesting, it will often be compared to your LinkedIn profile. Do the two documents list the same jobs, dates, and skills?
- No one likes a job hopper - but don’t try to conceal it. “If someone has had six jobs in four years, that rubs me the wrong way,’’ says Dara Hagopian, senior recruiting manager at Eversave, a daily deals company in Wakefield. And HR execs are skeptical if you cut out the months and only list the years worked at each company, trying to make the tenure look longer.
