Recently ResumeDoctor undertook the immense project of interviewing several hundred recruiters/headhunters to find out what they are saying about resumes. These recruiters stemmed from varied specialties and industries throughout the US and Canada, (Engineering, Information Technology, Sales and Marketing, Executive, Biotech, Healthcare, Administrative, Finance, etc.). ResumeDoctor sought to find out what are the recruiter’s likes and dislikes in a resume they receive and what is going to get a resume read by them. Some of the "Pet Peeves" shared will be obvious, while others might surprise a job seeker.

Unless specifically requested otherwise, your resume should be sent as a Word Attachment. Word is the standard in business correspondence. Do not send your resume as a PDF, Mac file, etc. As mentioned in previous weeks, candidates have to be aware that recruiters receive literally hundreds upon hundreds of resumes per week. A recruiter simply does do not have time to download and convert special files. PDF files require a much longer download time and special software. In addition, do not send your resume in a ZIP file. Not only does a recruiter not want to deal with going through the extra step of opening a resume, but also ZIP files are designed for long documents. No resume should be 60 pages long period. Furthermore, ZIP files can contain viruses that cannot be detected in the email body message. Savvy recruiters will often just delete the email message as to not risk contaminating their system.

Unless you are a graphic designer or multi-media developer, no recruiter will spend time going to your “homepage” to download your resume. Even if you are a graphic designer, you still need a Word attachment resume. So if you are an accountant, engineer, etc. do not try to be fancy, because no recruiter has the time or desire to call up homepage.

Another top reason for avoiding formats other than Word or a plain text file is that it becomes increasingly more difficult to download into many HR and recruiting systems. Often a recruiter will not have a job for you today. If they cannot enter your resume into their recruiting system, they will be unable to match your resume with any positions that do become available. This also goes for mailed and faxed resumes. Unless specifically requested otherwise, recruiters are looking for easy to open Word Attachments.

Recruiter TIP ... many recruiters shared with us that it is always a good idea to name your Word Attachment “Smith, John Resume”. Recruiters have no time to “guess” the author of the attachment. Many recruiters are still organizing resumes sent to them in one folder, so already providing the recruiter with your resume with an easy to follow document name will make your resume easier to find.

When creating your Word Attachment resume, keep your font simple and easy to read on a computer screen. Be kind to your reader. Do not use italics or extremely difficult to read fonts like Edwardian Script. Font size is just as important as style. 8-point fonts are too small to read, even for Superman.

Microsoft seems to have settled on 10 point Arial as their default font in most of their applications. People are accustomed to reading such on their computer screen. For headings, recruiters shared that 12-point bolded is the best choice.

Recruiters told us that that second best choice is Times Roman as every newspaper and magazine is printing with such. Once again, people’s eyes are accustomed to reading text in this font. However, 10-point Times Roman, (unlike Arial), is too small for a computer screen. It is recommended if you choose Times Roman, use 11 or 12 point. If a resume is difficult to read, a recruiter will simply move onto the next one.